Jean Batten Place Departmental Building (Former)

7 Fort Street, 9 Jean Batten Place and 12 Shortland Street, AUCKLAND

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The text below is from the original report considered at the time of registration. Located in the commercial heart of Auckland, the Jean Batten Place Departmental Building is an imposing seven-storey structure, built in 1937-1942. It is closely linked with the activities of the First Labour Government (1935-1949), the commemoration of the famous New Zealand aviator Jean Batten, and the architectural work of John Mair, the Government Architect. The building was designed to house government offices, at a time when the administrative duties of civil servants increased due to a greater emphasis on state regulation. Greater regulation was particularly introduced as part of a radical social and economic agenda under the government of Michael Joseph Savage, which oversaw a programme of state house construction, the nationalisation of broadcasting and guaranteed prices for dairy products. Savage came to power following widespread poverty during the Great Depression of the early 1930s. The building was one of two major office buildings constructed by the government from 1937 in the administrative centres of Wellington and Auckland. While the Departmental Building in Stout Street, Wellington, was to form the largest office block in the country, the Jean Batten Place Departmental Building appears to have been the first to be fully completed. Both structures were constructed under the guidance of the Government Architect, John Mair, who adopted a radically different approach from the Stripped Classical design of his earlier government structures. Both were designed in a more contemporary Moderne style, reflecting ideas of modernity and progressiveness appropriate to the new government's agenda. The Jean Batten Place Building may also have been among the earliest large-scale buildings in New Zealand to employ part-welded steel-frame construction. The site chosen for the offices lay close to the position of the first timber building constructed in Auckland, the Government Store (1841), and in the same location as another significant government building, the Shortland Street Post Office and Custom House (completed 1868), which was demolished prior to building work occurring. As part of the demolition, a thoroughfare was created between Shortland and Fort Street, ultimately enabling the new building to present three main elevations to the public, and providing better natural lighting for offices. In October 1936, the Auckland City Council held a civic reception for Jean Batten, and named the street - which she viewed - Jean Batten Place in her honour. Batten had three days earlier, arrived in Mangere, Auckland at the end of her solo flight from England, the first ever direct flight from England to New Zealand completed. Batten was also the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia and back, and the first woman to pilot herself across the South Atlantic, and was one of the first New Zealanders to establish a reputation of international renown in any field. Following its completion in 1942, the new building was formally named after Jean Batten Place - rather than Shortland Street or Fort Street - enshrining her name in its title and associating the structure with both modern New Zealand achievements and glamour. The building continued to have an association with Batten in later years, and she visited a mural of her airplane inside the building in 1977. Completed under wartime conditions, the building was first used as the United States Navy's Operating Base from 1942, following American entry into the Second World War (1939-1945). The building eventually housed the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Navy Central Communications, the U.S. Joint Purchasing Board and the U.S. Red Cross. At ground floor level, the building was occupied from an early stage by the Auckland East Post Office, replicating the role of the previous building on the site. The post office is said to have become the busiest in New Zealand by the early 1970s and the only one in Auckland to issue vehicle licences. Following U.S. withdrawal from the building towards the end of the war, the remainder of the building was taken up with government offices, as initially intended. Having marked the presence of central government in the commercial centre of Auckland for half a century, the building was sold in 1989, following widespread deregulation of government activities. The building was subsequently converted into a backpackers and has been empty since 2002. The building and its site are considered to have aesthetic, architectural, cultural, historical and social significance.

Jean Batten Place Departmental Building (Former), Auckland. Image courtesy of www.flickr.com | M P | 23/02/2018 | M P
Jean Batten Place Departmental Building (Former), Auckland. Image courtesy of www.flickr.com | Chris | 24/10/2022 | Chris Beaton

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

7631

Date Entered

12th December 2005

Date of Effect

12th December 2005

City/District Council

Auckland Council

Region

Auckland Council

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes part of the land described as Lot 1 DP 379909 (RT 320234), North Auckland Land District, and the building known as Jean Batten Place Departmental Building (Former), its fittings and fixtures, thereon.

Legal description

Lot 1 DP 379909 (RT 320234), North Auckland Land District

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