Palmerston North Technical School (Former) was built on the former site of a large forest clearing, called Papaioea, where a pā associated with important Rangitāne tūpuna was located. The place has historic and social significance because the various educational institutions based there since 1909 have catered to rural and urban Māori, as well as others seeking vocational and tertiary education opportunities. Located within the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) Manawatū’s central city campus, Palmerston North Technical School (Former) comprises the remnants of the school’s 1909 red brick main building and the neighbouring 1928 reinforced concrete workshops which was extended a few years later, in 1936-37. Prominent architect, Frederick de Jersey Clere’s distinctive two storey Edwardian building’s façades and cupola have landmark qualities and architectural values, which are complemented by the single storey Stripped Classical workshops, designed by influential architect John Thomas Mair’s Government Architect's office. The remains of the pā in Papaioea were present when the Crown acquired the wider area in 1864 and surveyed the town. Settlement intensified from the 1870s and by the end of the nineteenth century calls for greater educational opportunities became louder. Like many places around New Zealand, vocational training for Palmerston North’s young adults and school leavers was topical at the time. After a haphazard start under the Wanganui Education Board’s leadership, in 1905-06 the recently established High School Board took over responsibility and the Technical School was earnestly established. With community and governmental financial support, they achieved the goal of purpose-built facilities in 1909. The popularity of the day and night courses, ranging from art classes, dressmaking and secretarial studies to carpentry and plumbing, meant that additions to the school quickly followed. Capacity issues continued as the city’s population steadily grew and in 1928 resulted in the new workshops building, on a site donated by the Borough Council. In the mid-twentieth century there was a nationwide move to better define the roles of technical high schools and senior technical schools. In 1955, this led to the creation of a new secondary school in Palmerston North. All the courses, except those in the workshops, then moved to the new Queen Elizabeth Technical College campus and soon after Palmerston North Teachers’ College (1956) was created and had its first home in the former main technical school building. The perennial problem of space continued and in 1971 the college moved to its Hokowhitu campus, with the new Technical Institute taking its place. The 1909 building and workshops formed the historic heart of the city’s vocational training facility and this continued through the Technical Institute’s subsequent incarnations as Manawatū Polytechnic (1983) and then UCOL Manawatū (2000) – vocational learning providers with a regional focus and a much broader range of courses and degrees than envisioned in the early twentieth century. By the late 1990s a centralised and expanded campus was long overdue. As part of that project the 1909 façade of the original building was retained and restored in 1997, with a new building constructed behind its red bricks and its cupola and distinctive gable-ends reinstated. The former workshops building, which was adapted for use as a performing arts space in the late twentieth century, was closed after a seismic assessment spurred by the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake indicated structural deficiencies. These have yet to be resolved (2021).
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1266
Date Entered
7th July 1982
Date of Effect
7th July 2021
City/District Council
Palmerston North City
Region
Horizons (Manawatū-Whanganui) Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Legal Road, Lots 53-54 DP 223, Lot 1 DP 87609 (RTs WN56A/398, WN56A/400), Wellington Land District, and parts of a building and a building known as Palmerston North Technical School (Former) thereon. The extent includes: the north, east and southern façades of the original 1909 main school building (Lots 53-54 DP 223); its reconstructed gable-ends; and roof cupola; and the exterior and interior of the former workshops building (Lot 1 DP 87609). Excluded from extent is the section of road known as King Street, located between the 1909 building remnants and the former workshops.
Legal description
Legal Road, Lots 53-54 DP 223, Lot 1 DP 87609 (RTs WN56A/398, WN56A/400), Wellington Land District
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1266
Date Entered
7th July 1982
Date of Effect
7th July 2021
City/District Council
Palmerston North City
Region
Horizons (Manawatū-Whanganui) Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Legal Road, Lots 53-54 DP 223, Lot 1 DP 87609 (RTs WN56A/398, WN56A/400), Wellington Land District, and parts of a building and a building known as Palmerston North Technical School (Former) thereon. The extent includes: the north, east and southern façades of the original 1909 main school building (Lots 53-54 DP 223); its reconstructed gable-ends; and roof cupola; and the exterior and interior of the former workshops building (Lot 1 DP 87609). Excluded from extent is the section of road known as King Street, located between the 1909 building remnants and the former workshops.
Legal description
Legal Road, Lots 53-54 DP 223, Lot 1 DP 87609 (RTs WN56A/398, WN56A/400), Wellington Land District
Cultural Significance
Social Significance or Value Since its establishment in 1909, Palmerston North Technical School (Former) has contributed to the social and economic vitality of Palmerston North, and the wider Manawatū area, by being the base of learning for generations of rural and urban students seeking vocational and tertiary education. Local demand and support enabled the purchase of property and construction of the main and workshops buildings, and Palmerston North Technical School (Former) has on-going relevance as a socially important community asset through integration into UCOL Manawatū’s campus. This place has social value because the founding and on-going aim at Palmerston North Technical School (Former), through its various incarnations and uses, is to provide a range of vocational courses for young adults and job seekers, so they can up-skill and apply themselves within local industries and sectors.
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value Developed from the single corner site in 1909 through to the much larger UCOL Manawatū campus in the late 1990s, the two Palmerston North Technical School (Former) structures are milestones in the city’s vocational and technical education history. The school reflected the broader growth in this sector of New Zealand’s education system in the early twentieth century. As demand from Palmerston North’s increasing population for technical and trades training gained momentum so did the local school’s facilities, firstly with the hard-won original main building and then with its accompanying workshops in the late 1920s, resulting from critical space shortages. The two buildings at the corner of King and Princess Street continued to be the traditional heart of the institution through its subsequent incarnations of Palmerston North Technical Institute, Manawatū Polytechnic and then UCOL Manawatū. Palmerston North Technical School (Former) also has regional historic significance because the main building’s remnants are intrinsically linked to the foundation of Palmerston North’s Teachers’ Training College. The college, created in response to ‘baby boomer’ demand for teachers after the Second World War, was based there from 1956 until the early 1970s, while the workshops remained in use by Queen Elizabeth Technical College for manual classes. Use of the buildings by these separate institutions has historic significance because it is indicative of a transitional period, dictated by government policy, for the local education sector which eventually led to Palmerston North Technical Institute being established back at its traditional home.
Physical Significance
Architectural Significance or Value Palmerston North Technical School (Former) has architectural value as a cohesive pair of characteristic educational structures dating from the twentieth century’s early decades, which complement each other stylistically and provide a focal point within their streetscape. The 1909 former Palmerston North Technical School’s red brick façade, including sympathetically designed late 1990s reconstructed gable-ends, and its distinctive cupola, has local architectural significance for its landmark qualities. These remnants are significant because they are indicative of important New Zealand architect Frederick de Jersey Clere’s approach to educational buildings, which included frank but not overly ornamental Classical detailing. Likewise, the school’s former workshops, dating from 1928, has architectural value as an example of the Stripped Classical architecture typical of Government Architect John Thomas Mair’s office in the late 1920s and into the 1930s.
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
This place was assessed against the Section 66(3) criteria and found to qualify under the following criteria a and e. The assessment concludes that this place should be listed as a Category 2 historic place. (a) The extent to which the place reflects important or representative aspects of New Zealand history Palmerston North Technical School (Former) reflects the growth of New Zealand’s vocational and technical training institutions in the early twentieth century. Palmerston North Technical School (Former) is a longstanding Palmerston North institution whose foundation was the result of community action, such as local business community donations and support, and evolved over the course of the twentieth century in-step with education sector developments. The 1909 former main school building’s remnants are the earliest markers of the drive to establish a suitable environment for vocational training in Palmerston North. Considerable expansion of the technical school, with the workshop facilities in the late 1920s and then further additions in 1936-37, represents the coming of age of the institution in line with its counterparts around the country in that period. (e) The community association with, or public esteem for the place Although generally associated with the longstanding vocational training institution which has evolved since 1909 into UCOL Manawatū, Palmerston North Technical School (Former) is also linked to the establishment of Palmerston North Teachers’ Training College. That community recognised its connection with the former Palmerston North Technical School’s remnants in 2016, through the installation of a commemorative plaque. Summary of Significance or Values Palmerston North Technical School (Former) is a pairing of early twentieth century educational buildings with historic and social values reflecting the development of the vocational and technical education sector locally and throughout New Zealand. Generations of students and staff have an association with the longstanding institution that had community support from the outset. Palmerston North Technical School (Former) has played a part in broader education sector shifts and trends demonstrated by its various names and changes to its structure, including the re-shuffle of Palmerston North’s vocational and tertiary educational facilities in the 1950s-1970s. Some of the physical effects of these vicissitudes include the construction and significant changes to its buildings, which have architectural significance as representative examples of their types and of the oeuvres of their architects.
Construction Professional
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
Designgroup Stapleton Elliot
Type
Architect
Biography
Clere (1856-1952) was born in Lancashire, the son of an Anglican clergyman, and was articled to Edmund Scott, an ecclesiastical architect of Brighton. He then became chief assistant to R J Withers, a London architect. Clere came to New Zealand in 1877, practising first in Feilding and then in Wanganui. He later came to Wellington and practised there for 58 years. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1886 and held office for 50 years as one of four honorary secretaries in the Empire. In 1883 he was appointed Diocesan Architect of the Anglican Church; he designed more than 100 churches while he held this position. Clere was a pioneer in reinforced concrete construction; the outstanding example of his work with this material is the Church of St Mary of the Angels (1922), Wellington. As well as being pre-eminent in church design, Clere was responsible for many domestic and commercial buildings including Wellington's Harbour Board Offices and Bond Store (1891) and Overton in Marton. Clere was also involved in the design of large woolsheds in Hawkes Bay and Wairarapa. He was active in the formation of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and served on their council for many years. He was a member of the Wellington City Council until 1895, and from 1900 a member of the Wellington Diocesan Synod and the General Synod. He was also a member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts.
Name
Clere, Frederick De Jersey
Type
Architect
Biography
John Thomas Mair (1876-1959) was born in Invercargill and began his career with the New Zealand Railways on the staff of the Office Engineer, George Troup. In 1906 he travelled to the United States of America where he studied architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He then worked in the office of George B. Post in New York before travelling to England where he was admitted as an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He became a Fellow in 1940. On his return to New Zealand he entered private practice, one of his first buildings being the Presbyterian First Church, Invercargill (1915), a prominent building of Romanesque character. He then practised in Wellington, carrying out largely domestic commissions. In 1918 he was appointed Inspector of Military Hospitals by the Defence Department, and in 1920 he became architect to the Department of Education. Following the retirement of John Campbell in 1922, Mair was appointed Government Architect, a position which he held until his retirement in 1942. During this period he was responsible for a variety of buildings, including the Courthouse, Hamilton, the Post Office in High Street, Christchurch, Government Life Office and the Departmental Building, both in Wellington, and the Jean Batten Building, Auckland. Such buildings show a departure from tradition, with the emphasis on function, structure and volume as opposed to a stylistic treatment of the building fabric. A Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, Mair was made a Life Member in 1942. His son John Lindsay Mair also practised as an architect.
Name
Mair, John Thomas
Type
Architect
Biography
Messrs Anderson and Williamson were building contractors, active in Palmerston North area in the early twentieth century. In the 1920s and 1930s the firm completed important Palmerston North building projects, such as the Masonic Lodge, Palmerston North Technical School Workshops and Public Library.
Name
Anderson and Williamson
Type
Builder
Biography
The Union Timber Company was based in Palmerston North and active around the beginning of the twentieth century. As well as working on the brick additions to the Club Hotel and hospital, this company was also the contractor for the original 1909 Palmerston North Technical School building.
Name
Union Timber Company Limited
Type
Builder
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
Public Works Department
Type
Architect
Construction Details
Description
Technical School main building constructed
Finish Year
1909
Type
Original Construction
Description
East and south gables removed and roof reconfigured.
Finish Year
1932
Start Year
1931
Type
Modification
Description
North, east and south façade retained and restored and structure behind demolished. New building constructed behind the façade.
Finish Year
1998
Start Year
1997
Type
Modification
Description
Seismic strengthening
Finish Year
2011
Type
Structural upgrade
Description
Workshops constructed
Start Year
1928
Type
Additional building added to site
Description
Workshops Extended
Finish Year
1937
Start Year
1936
Type
Modification
Description
Partial demolition of Workshops’ transverse brick wall and rebuilding using plasterboard
Start Year
1948
Type
Maintenance/repairs
Description
Installation of roof-mounted ventilation unit and associated changes to the Princess Street entrance and interior of the Workshops
Period
Mid-twentieth century
Type
Modification
Description
Removal of Workshops ventilation unit and roof lanterns
Period
Between 1983-88
Type
Modification
Description
Technical School main building demolished except for north, east and south façades. Cupola reinstated on replacement roof and gable ends reinstated in style of 1909 building.
Finish Year
1998
Start Year
1997
Type
Partial Demolition
Description
Seismic strengthening work on Technical School main building’s façades
Start Year
2011
Type
Structural upgrade
Description
Plaque commemorating Teachers’ College placed near former Technical School main building’s Princess Street entranceway
Start Year
2016
Type
Other
Construction Materials
Brick, concrete, glass, steel, timber
Palmerston North’s location was previously a large forest clearing known as Papaioea, where Rangitāne people had a pā. Rangitāne o Manawatū descend from the eponymous ancestor and grandson of explorer Whātonga, who arrived in Aotearoa / New Zealand in the Kurahaupō. The iwi established itself in the Heretaunga / Hastings area before moving south, settling and intermarrying with other iwi throughout the Manawatū, Horowhenua, Wairarapa and also across Te Moana o Raukawa / Cook Strait to Wairau. The pā at Papaioea was associated with ‘rangitira Rakaumaui and was a significant site for Rangitāne o Manawatu’. Rākaumauī was among Rangitāne’s descendants who ‘were the first of his line to settle in Manawatū’. In the mid-nineteenth century the lower North Island’s European colonisation moved upwards and inwards from Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington and Whanganui, with eyes eventually settling on the Manawatū. By this time the pā at Papaioea had been abandoned but some structures and buildings remained. The negotiation process between iwi and the Crown for the area’s purchase was protracted, but was eventually acquired in 1864. Before then there was limited European entry into, or settlement of, the Manawatū. However, in 1866 Palmerston township (renamed Palmerston North in 1873) was surveyed and The Square was created at the location of the former pā. Settlement in Palmerston North and the surrounding district gained momentum in the 1870s when the government’s immigration and public works scheme enticed more people to the area. Being centrally located, the Palmerston North Technical School’s future neighbourhood was developed for commercial and residential purposes in the late nineteenth century. For example, the site and surrounding area was up for auction in 1881 and described as ‘valuable…[and] so quickly and well-settled’, contributing to Palmerston North becoming ‘the most flourishing and important [town] in the North Island’. At the time, the parcels either side of King Street at its intersection with Princess Street (called Duke Street at the time) were owned by prominent businessman Joseph Edward Nathan (1835–1912). By the early twentieth century various residences, shops, stores, offices, a private school and private hospital were in this part of Palmerston North. Palmerston North Technical School As the town’s population grew, so did its educational institutions. Around 900 people were living in and around Palmerston North in the late 1870s and Central School (later called Campbell Street School) had opened. By the beginning of the twentieth century, when the population had risen to approximately 6000, there were further public schools – College Street and Terrace End – as well as privately run schools. Vocational training in Palmerston North began, in a faltering way, at the beginning of the twentieth century. This was the result of mounting local pressure in the late 1890s, including raising funds towards a school building and the cause being taken-up by Member of Parliament Frederick Pirani (1858-1926). The Wanganui Education Board was offering weekly art and technical drawing classes, under the heading of technical classes, in 1900 and then some day and evening classes began in 1902 at the newly created District High School. There were several public meetings to gauge support for a technical school’s creation. That same year Cabinet granted the Education Board £700 for a technical school building in addition to money it had set aside; to the £220 raised within the community; and £800 the High School Board committed to the project. However, the project stalled for several years, apparently because student numbers were not consistent enough to convince the government of its feasibility. Amid growing frustration at the lack of progress, in 1905-06 the High School Board determined it would take up the mantle, formally establishing Palmerston North Technical School and managing it. The establishment of the technical school was part of a growing nationwide trend in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to provide young adults and school leavers with additional educational opportunities in work-related areas. At the time, the vast majority of New Zealanders went ‘straight from primary school to work’, so vocational training was considered important for on-going personal development. An added benefit for Palmerston North was ‘a marked decrease in larrikinism…The fact that youths were attending the evening classes for two or three hours a night and were under discipline had good effect on civic orderliness’. Palmerston North’s school followed in the footsteps of those in Wellington (1886), Dunedin (1889), Whanganui (1890), Auckland (1895), Invercargill and Masterton (1896), Napier (1899) and Timaru (1901). Within the Manawatū there was another technical school which opened in Feilding in 1907. New Zealand’s early technical schools were generally established as a result of local persistence and drive. Palmerston North’s institution was no different. Local service industry employers were particularly keen for technical classes to be available for training their apprentices. Once set-up, the institution depended on donations from the local councils and groups, such as: the Agricultural and Pastoral Association, Citizen’s Lunch Club, Farmers’ Union, New Zealand Society of Accountants and the Plumbers Association. Support came in other ways as well, such as public donations towards specific projects and scholarship funding from groups like the Palmerston North Working Men’s Club. Despite being earnestly underway in 1907, it was several years before Palmerston North Technical School had a permanent home. In early 1908 the technical school was described as ‘a very large institution, but it is housed in rented premises in various parts of the town, and difficulty is found in obtaining accommodation for the increasing numbers’. After the appointment of Francis Dudley Opie (1872-1924) as the school’s Director, student numbers went from strength to strength and creating purpose-built facilities became imperative. Within a few weeks of announcing its intention to find a site, the school’s committee raised £600 through local and district subscriptions for the purpose and purchased sections on the corner of Princess and King Streets in May 1908. Having moved quickly to secure a site, the High School Board were keen to maintain the momentum. Fundraising continued and prominent architect Frederick de Jersey Clere (1856-1952) completed the plans in late 1908 for the building anticipated as being ‘a striking addition to the architecture of the district’. Aspects of the main building were said to have been based on Clere’s recent design for Petone’s technical school, although that was a smaller scale structure and less ornate. The ‘up-to-date in all respects’ red brick, two-storey, centrepiece of the school would include administration and library spaces and cooking, science and general classrooms. Tenders for the building contract closed in late March 1909 and the successful contractor was the Union Timber Company. This company was a local business which, despite its name, had experience with brick construction. Some of their earlier contracts for brick buildings included additions to the Club Hotel and hospital. Clere’s son Edmund Herbert de Jersey Clere (1884-1967) supervised the work. A workshops building, located behind the main building, was completed first and opened in June. The contractor’s work on the neighbouring main building was described as splendid and ‘the closest and most critical inspection fails to reveal any bad workmanship’. The Technical School’s official opening was celebrated on 29 September 1909 and was undertaken by Minister for Education George Fowlds (1860-1934). A large crowd gathered in front of ‘the finest technical school building in the dominion’, for the opening and other dignitaries included Member of Parliament David Buick (1848-1918), representatives from local councils, as well as the architect and Opie. After the ceremony the building was ‘thrown open for [public] inspection’ and student work was on display. The celebrations included an evening concert in the building. The local population rose from 10,000 in 1911 to 20,000 in 1930, earning Palmerston North city status. The steady population growth across 20 years coincided with a national trend of increasing interest in vocational training opportunities. By 1913 Palmerston North’s was the largest of New Zealand’s provincial technical schools. This was physically reflected at the school through additions to the buildings. By 1926 the school had a roll of 1000. Classes ran from 9am to 9pm and students came from a wide catchment, including Dannevirke, Marton, Ōtaki and Pahīatua. However, before more students were accepted the facilities needed further expansion. The capacity issues were not Palmerston North specific – there was ‘a continual cry’ around the country about overcrowding. In 1925 the Board approached the Borough Council about purchasing their vacant section opposite the main building. However, the asking price was too high. Subsequently, the Council had a change of heart, possibly influenced by Councillor Matthew Henry Oram (1885-1969) who was their representative on the Board at the time. In December 1926 the Council donated the land for new Workshops, on provision that it ‘shall only be used for educational purposes’. With the site secured it was time to campaign for the Workshops building’s construction. In July 1927 Minister for Education Robert Alexander Wright (1863-1947) gave approval for a purpose-built single storey building and provided a government grant. It was several months later before Government Architect John Thomas Mair (1876-1959) signalled the plans were ready and the Public Works Department called for construction tenders in December 1927. Messrs Anderson and Williamson’s tender was accepted and work had begun by late February 1928. The contractors described themselves as ‘long standing’ in Palmerston North, and in the 1920s and 1930s completed important buildings such as additions to the Chief Post Office, the Public Library and Masonic Lodge. It was anticipated that the Workshops would ‘constitute a very handsome addition to Palmerston North’s growing number of educational buildings’. The building was nearing completion in mid-August. Unfortunately, the Minister for Education could not attend a proposed opening ceremony in September so the school’s committee decided to forego an official opening altogether. However, completion of the building was timely because trades courses received a big increase in enrolments that year. Technical school classes in this period were reasonably gendered, with girls and women generally taking courses in cooking, dressmaking or secretarial skills. The Workshops’ facilities included carpentry and plumbing workshops, as well as classroom space where skills such as architectural drawing were taught. However, in 1928 at least one woman took a trades course there: ‘In the woodwork class is a lady teacher who motors fifteen miles [for evening classes] to make herself proficient enough to give elementary instruction to boys away from the manual centres’. The fact that this was unusual enough to be reported about in the Manawatu Standard indicates the teacher’s presence probably raised eyebrows in the predominantly male domain of the Workshops. In the 1930s technical schools around the country could not keep-up with demand and Palmerston North was no exception. The technical school enjoyed a very good reputation and speaking there in 1932 Sir Apirana Ngata (1874-1950) emphasised its importance in expanding the opportunities available to young people, especially the rural Māori students who travelled into town to attend. There was a wide range of weeknight classes for those who wanted to ‘Learn More to Earn More’ in addition to high school manual classes during the day. Further pressure was created when the first Labour Government abolished the policy of a proficiency exam, which made vocational training opportunities even more accessible. Therefore, despite the recent construction of the Workshops, expanding the school was an on-going issue throughout the decade and into the 1940s. This included extending the Workshops, by adding two rooms in 1936-37, ‘complet[ing] that building as it was originally intended’. The technical education sector went from strength to strength in the mid-twentieth century, driven by schemes like compulsory apprenticeships. In the same period there were secondary school sector changes and moves to better define the roles of technical high schools and the tertiary education sector’s newly termed ‘technical institutes’. Changes at Palmerston North Technical School reflect this shift. In 1945 it was recommended that, along with others in main centres, functions be split to create a separate technical high school and the existing school would ‘assume more of the character of senior technical institutes’. However, it was several years before the technical high school was realised, with the creation of Queen Elizabeth Technical College. The college opened at its new campus in 1955, but its students continued to use the Workshops for manual classes. Palmerston North Teachers’ Training College In 1956 further tertiary education opportunities became available in Palmerston North, through the establishment of the Palmerston North Teachers’ Training College. This had been on the cards for a while because of the increased demand for teachers as ‘baby boomer’ children became old enough to enter the education system. The use of the main technical school building was mooted in 1954 and costs for alterations were explored. The necessary works were approved in July 1955, resulting in a convenient and relatively cost-effective place for the new teachers’ college. It opened in March 1956 after a ceremony officiated by Prime Minister Sidney Holland (1983-1961). In a replay of 1909, a large crowd gathered in front of the former technical school’s building and Princess Street was temporarily closed for the event. The initial in-take was 160 aspiring teachers - mostly young women. The opening of the college has been described as ‘a pivotal event in the history of the city and of education in the region’. The trainee teachers came from the Manawatū and surrounding provinces such as Taranaki, Whanganui and Hawke’s Bay. The Princess Street site was meant to be a temporary home for the teachers’ college. In 1962 there was speculation the college, already pushed for space, would end-up at Hokowhitu. Until the mid- to late-1960s teacher training consisted of two years, but students could opt for a third year in a specialised subject. However, with the introduction of a standard three years of training in 1969 space at Palmerston North’s college became critical. This prompted a purpose-built teachers’ college campus at Hokowhitu, which the college began moving into in 1971. At the end of this interlude the technical school (rebranded as Palmerston North Technical Institute) found itself back at the site traditionally associated with vocational education. In 2016 the diamond anniversary of the college’s establishment was celebrated its foundation home, with the Mayor Grant Smith unveiling a commemorative plaque. From Technical Institute to Manawatū Polytechnic and UCOL The technical school’s establishment in the early twentieth century was part of a national trend. By the 1960s communities were advocating for technical institutes (the forerunners of polytechnics) to be established in provincial centres, but the feasibility threshold was high. However, in 1969 the National Government lowered it and Palmerston North was the first to benefit when the vocational courses offered by Queen Elizabeth Technical College were taken over and expanded by the Palmerston North Technical Institute in 1971. The creation of the institute meant that Palmerston North became like New Zealand’s other university cities, with a full complement of tertiary education options: a university, teachers’ college and technical institute. The technical institute opened with 23 full-time equivalent tutors providing courses for nearly 1300 students. ‘Significant additions’ to the range of courses offered included: ‘horticulture, forestry, recreation and sport, hospitality and catering, and the only national courses in fellmongery and leather tanning and dying’. In 1983 the technical institute changed its name to Manawatū Polytechnic, ‘anticipating a trend towards the widespread use of the name [‘polytechnic’] from the late 1980s’. The choice of Manawatū, rather than Palmerston North Polytechnic, recognised the institution’s regional reach. The 1980s also saw growth in health-related courses, such as nursing – training had previously been hospital-based. The use of the Princess and King Street buildings was, again, only meant to be temporary, because they were ‘considered to have a limited structural life’. However, there was much debate and indecision about other potential sites. Therefore, the polytechnic ended up staying put, but taking over further property to cater for its growing student and staff population. This included sharing the Hokowhitu campus with the teachers’ college from the early 1980s, which had its own issues. In the early 1990s more than 40 per cent of Palmerston North’s population were involved in the education sector as students or staff, leading to it being dubbed the ‘Knowledge City’. It was important that the polytechnic could continue to contribute to that status and it was given a boost of confidence in 1996 when the development of a single central city campus became feasible through a $22 million dollar contribution from the government. The character and role of the institution had changed significantly since 1909 and this was reflected by the campus’ expansion in the late 1990s through the construction of new buildings and acquisition and adaption of existing buildings. The former technical school main building was substantially demolished as part of the project, but three façades were retained. The new campus helped to consolidate the polytechnic’s facilities at its traditional home and opened in 1999. That year the institution reported a 23 per cent growth in enrolments, over the previous two years. It was also in this period that a new workshops facility was created and performing arts courses began being based in the former Workshops. Manawatū Polytechnic became known as the Universal College of Learning (UCOL) in 2000. From its Palmerston North base UCOL subsequently incorporated or set-up campuses within its wider region, including in Whanganui, Masterton and Levin. The broader tertiary education sector faced challenging times in the early twentieth century, including government funding cuts and reforms in 2006 and 2019. However in 2019, UCOL confidently described itself as: ‘a high performing government funded Institute of Technology and Polytechnic, covering a large geographic area of the lower North Island’.
Current Description The UCOL Manawatū campus, which the two former Palmerston North Technical School buildings are the nucleus of, is situated on flat ground within Palmerston North’s central business district. There is a range of adapted or purpose-built buildings within the campus, including the 1909 remnants of the Technical School’s main building and its former Workshops. The majority of the campus buildings typically reflect the popular architectural styles and principles of their respective eras, dating from the 1920s and through to the early twenty-first century. The main focus of the campus is the area bounded by Queen, Princess and King Streets, with five connected buildings, between two and four storeys high. The other buildings tend to be single storey. The late 1990s campus development was designed by Designgroup Elliott Architects, led by architect Brian Elliott. Because the two Palmerston North Technical School (Former) buildings were within the boundary of Palmerston North’s ‘brick area’ they needed to be constructed in permanent materials. This bylaw had been in place since 1891, as a response to increasing fire risk as the central business area developed. Palmerston North’s Borough Council was ‘one of the earliest councils in the country to regulate building in this way’. Arguably Frederick de Jersey Clere would have designed the 1909 building in brick regardless, because red brick was traditionally associated with educational buildings in the United Kingdom and his recent technical school building at Petone had been constructed in that material. Likewise, industrial-type buildings, such as the Workshops, were generally constructed in permanent materials because of the increased risk of fire due to the nature of the activities inside. The brick area rules were in place throughout the early twentieth century, so the campus’ earlier buildings and remaining buildings from this era in the surrounding streetscape are all brick and concrete structures, including the original Palmerston North Technical School building/Block 1/Opie Building and the former Workshops building/Block 5/Buckman Building. Technical School façades The former Palmerston North Technical School building is located on a prominent corner site at the intersection of King and Princess Streets/State Highway 3. Dominated by running bond red brick, the street-frontages and northern side featured gabled sections with large arched windows and the façades were populated with Classical features, such as pilasters with simplified capitals, and rusticated bands of brickwork in place of quoins. At the time of its opening, it was said the building’s ‘severity of style is fitting’ and ‘the whole handsome exterior is finished in brick, relieved only by the reinforced concrete piers in the windows and lintels which are plastered in white sand’. These elements provided a sense of tempered importance benefitting that main building’s educational use. The building’s double-hung sash windows were originally a single pane of glazing in the lower sash and the upper sash was divided into six panes. A practical and attractive feature of the original building was a central cupola, topped with a wind vane – the largest and most ornate of the building’s original roof-top Boyle ventilators. Despite the building sustaining no ‘vital structural damage’ as a result of the 1931 Hawke’s Bay Earthquake, classes were disrupted and changes were made to the main school building for the purposes of reducing seismic risks. The 1909 building was strengthened and its roof was reconfigured to remove the original gables, their impressive gable-ends and arched windows. This resulted from seismic assessments which stated the building was ‘incapable of wholly resisting the forces induced by violent earthquake movement’. The works were completed in early 1932. Subsequent changes to the front/Princess Street façade included the introduction of fire escapes and an entrance canopy when Manawatū Polytechnic occupied the building. The building’s lower windows sashes had been changed to multi-pane glazing by the late twentieth century as well and the front entrance had been altered to a glazed entranceway. An aim of the late 1990s project was increasing seismic resilience as well as creating a focal point for the Manawatu Polytechnic’s central city campus development. To establish the King Street extension involved demolishing all of the former Technical School main building with the exception of its north, east and southern façades. Demolition also included the brick addition to the former main building (1926), which linked the main school building to the original workshops building (1909). The project also involved reconstructing the building’s gable-ends that had been removed in the early 1930s. A concrete-framed building was then constructed within the envelope created by the remaining façades. Heritage New Zealand’s advice was sought at the time and there was no objection to this approach. Work began in 1996, with demolition started by early September 1997. This resulted in the loss of original internal layout, features and fabric (predominantly timber), as well as subsequent changes and accretions from 90 years of the building’s use for educational purposes. The façades’ reconstructed concrete and brick gable-ends and the replacement structure behind the façades, designed by Designgroup Elliott Architects, were completed in early 1998. A replacement Princess Street entrance door appears to have been installed at this time, which was sympathetic in style to what would have been the original timber door. However, the main access point was reorientated to King Street. A cupola was also reinstated on the new roof, in its traditional position at the centre-point of the building’s main aspect. The vintage of the cupola is not confirmed in the associated documentation on file at Heritage New Zealand, but it appears to be the original ventilation cupola. The resulting building was subsequently described as ‘the brick heritage heart of the UCOL campus’. The 1909 building’s remnants are prominent in the streetscape - they are not overshadowed by the other campus buildings, which are a similar height and set well back from the road-front. Subsequently, some seismic strengthening work was completed in 2011. In 2016 a relatively discrete bronze plaque was attached to the front façade, just north of the former Princess Street main entrance. The plaque reads: This plaque acknowledges the establishment on this site of the PALMERSTON NORTH TEACHERS COLLEGE February 1956 Placed here by the 1956 Foundation Students in March 2016. Workshops building The Workshops building was constructed in 1928 using reinforced concrete framing with infill reinforced concrete panels for the exterior. The building features Stripped Classical detailing on the Princess and King Streets frontages, including stylised pilasters with roundels above, cornicing, parapet and pediments above the entranceways. ‘Technical Workshops’ is denoted on the King Street façade. This detailing struck a balance between being a purely utilitarian industrial building and its educational use. The original building was approximately two thirds of the current (2021) building, and when it was extended in 1936-37 the earlier exterior detailing and glazing units were repeated. As well as providing as visual link to the 1909 main school building opposite, forming a pleasing and complementary pairing, use of a Stripped Classical architectural language was a characteristic of designs coming out of Mair’s Government Architect’s office in this period. Examples of this approach include the Post Offices at Marton (1927), Westport (1931) and Taumarunui (designed 1931). A similar treatment was also used at another technical school workshops building, Petone Technical School (1932). The original Workshops’ facilities in 1928 included woodworking and plumbing workshops, as well as office and storage spaces. Steel roof trusses support the Workshops twin gables and it had interior brick walls. The centrally placed entrance from Princess Street provided direct access into the carpentry shop, store and office area. The main entrance was from King Street and had an associated porch and hall. The building’s light and ventilation, provided mainly by the large areas of multi-pane glazing units around the building (except the southside), was highlighted as a notable feature of the Workshops. These windows appear to have consisted of central projected windows and top and lower rows of awning windows and hopper lights, respectively. The entrance door fanlights each featured four triangular panes forming a cross-shape. In 1936-37 the building was extended west along King Street to create room for additional workshop spaces. The extension is demarcated on the interior with a matchlined wall between the two sections on the south side of the building. The upper office space, located towards that end of the building in the gable valley of the roof, is likely to have been constructed as part of that project or relatively soon thereafter. It, as well as the associated dog-legged stair, is similarly matchlined (walls and ceiling) and the staircase and landings have exposed timber boards. The interior layout of the building is similar to what it would have been in 1936-37, with the exception of: the removal of an original office space which was adjacent to the hall and store; and the store (south side, front section) has been divided. Works appear to have been completed after an inspection in 1948 determined that ‘the brick screen walls in the workshop block appear to be in need of urgent attention’ because of strain and, in some places, cracking caused by earthquakes. The Public Works Department’s Acting District Architect recommended reducing the brickwork of the main transverse wall to make it level with the exterior walls’ upper band, and replacing the brickwork with battened plasterboard. It seems that some internal alterations were also completed in the building in the mid- to late-twentieth century because of the presence of concrete block walls and plasterboard partitions in the central and southern parts of the building. These could have been part of the project to ‘substantially refurbished’ the Workshops in 1999, converting it to performing arts use. A large roof-mounted ventilator unit, installed in the mid-twentieth century and positioned in the gable valley adjacent to the Princess Street entrance, was removed around the mid-1980s, as were the roof lanterns. However, what appears to have been a substantial timber casing for the unit remains, on an elevated platform adjacent to the Princess Street former entrance. There is an associated timber casing/ceiling lining extending centrally through the former woodwork shop space, supported by columns. The Princess Street entrance was probably altered at the unit’s installation, with the fanlight glazing replaced with timber. In 1937 the King Street side of the building featured the original entrance as well as a smaller doorway leading into the addition. Glazing units on the King Street frontage, alternating between the 1928 and 1937 entrances, were partially removed by 1983 to create roller-door loading bays. Some UCOL Manawatū campus buildings, including the Workshops and neighbouring former Plunket Rooms, were assessed for seismic resilience following the Canterbury earthquake in 2010 and closed as a result. It was anticipated that strengthening works or other solutions would be undertaken by early 2012. The Safer UCOL Buildings Project was completed with the exception of work on the Workshops and Plunket Rooms, ‘pending developments in construction techniques so that we can make these buildings safer in an economic way’, according to UCOL Chairperson Trevor Goodwin. As well as resolving the seismicity concerns, there are several areas of deterioration and minor cracking on the former Workshops’ exterior, including loss of concrete and exposure of steel reinforcing on window sills near the corner of Princess and King Streets. The Workshops building has remained closed and is currently (2021) used by UCOL as a storage facility. A concept design for strengthening the building to 80 per cent of New Building Standard (NBS) has been completed by Designgroup Stapleton Elliott (2021).
Completion Date
6th June 2021
Report Written By
Karen Astwood
Information Sources
Dougherty, 1999
Ian Dougherty, Bricklayers and Mortarboards: A History of New Zealand Polytechnics and Institutes of Technology, Palmerston North, 1999
Historic Manawatū-Horowhenua, 2013
‘Palmerston North Technical College (now UCOL)’, Historic Manawatū-Horowhenua, 2013, p.27, http://www.historicmanawatuhorowhenua.org.nz/Records/Technical%20College.pdf, accessed 18 Sep 2018.
Openshaw, 1996
Openshaw, Roger, Between Two Worlds: A history of Palmerston North College of Education, 1956-1996, Palmerston North, Dunmore Press, 1996
Palmerston North Technical School 1906-1956
Palmerston North Technical School 1906-1956: Golden anniversary souvenir booklet, Palmerston North, Queen Elizabeth Technical College, 1956
Report Written By
A fully referenced New Zealand Heritage List report is available on request from the Central Region Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions. Archaeological sites are protected by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, regardless of whether they are entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero or not. Archaeological sites include ‘places associated with pre-1900 human activity, where there may be evidence relating to the history of New Zealand’. This List entry report should not be read as a statement on whether or not the archaeological provisions of the Act apply to the property (s) concerned. Please contact your local Heritage New Zealand office for archaeological advice.
Current Usages
Uses: Education
Specific Usage: Education - other
Uses: Education
Specific Usage: Polytechnic
Former Usages
General Usage:: Education
Specific Usage: Adult Education/training
General Usage:: Education
Specific Usage: Teachers College
General Usage:: Education
Specific Usage: Technical Institute
General Usage:: Manufacturing
Specific Usage: Factory/workshop
General Usage:: Manufacturing
Specific Usage: Industrial Office/Admin Building