Originally built as a boat-house for the Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteers in 1894, the Wellington Rowing Club building is a prominent feature of Wellington's waterfront.

The Wellington Naval Artillery was formed in March 1879. It was one of a number of Naval Artillery Volunteer Corps throughout New Zealand at the time. These groups consisted of men who provided their own uniforms and weapons and carried out military training of their own free will. The Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteer Corps were present at the 1880 Parihaka occupation. Levels of volunteer activity fluctuated throughout the 1880s; the 'Russian Scare' of the early 1880s boosted numbers while the depression conditions of the late 1880s led to a decrease in volunteer activity. A report on defence issued in 1894 recommended the strengthening of harbour defences. This led to the construction of the boat-house.

The building was designed by architect Frederick de Jersey Clere. He was responsible for the design of numerous churches, as well as another notable building on Wellington's waterfront, the Bond Store (Record no. 234). The two-storeyed building was constructed from timber with a corrugated iron roof, and includes features such as a tower and the use of decorative timber bracing on some of the external walls. The ground floor was designed to house two naval cutters on issue from the government, while the first floor was used as a social hall by the volunteers. The building was originally sited on reclaimed land on the waterfront. At the time of construction the building was located on Jervois Quay and was situated between the Municipal Fish Market, also erected in 1894, and the then recently relocated Star Boating Club Building (Record no. 1431).

By 1921 the Naval Artillery volunteers had become part of the fifteenth Coastal Battery at Fort Dorset, and had vacated the building on the Wellington waterfront. The building then became the Wellington Free Ambulance's first ambulance station in 1927. The building was adapted to house four cars, a casualty room was built and the upper floor was converted into accommodation for the superintendent and his family. The Wellington Free Ambulance moved out of the building and into their new depot in 1931.

The Wellington Rowing Club, which had formed in 1871 and was reorganised in 1885, then moved into the former Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteers Hall, and on the 28th of November 1931 the building was officially opened by Mayor Hislop as the clubrooms of the Wellington Rowing Club. The club continues to occupy this building today.

Aside from the building's long association with the Wellington Rowing Club, it has also been used by numerous sporting and cultural clubs such as the Irish National Club, the Wellington Operatic Society, the Mazda Club and the Wellington Winemakers Society. During the early 1970s a joiner operated a factory from the upper floor of the building, making women's wooden shoes and joinery. Dances held in the building during the 1950s, by groups including Bill Crowe and his orchestra, attracted the attention of the Wellington City Council who were concerned that the building was a fire risk and that it might collapse. By the 1970s discussions were underway between the Wellington Rowing Club, the neighbouring Star Boating Club (Record Number 1431) and the Council, who advised that buildings should be demolished and the Clubs re-sited. The two clubhouses, which had been joined by an infill addition since 1931, were deemed to be in poor repair and were referred to as 'an eyesore in the centre of the Capital city'. The Wellington Rowing Club was issued with an eviction notice in 1972 which was later cancelled. Instead, the Wellington Rowing Club building was extensively renovated during 1974-5, including replacing weatherboards, a new roof and the restoration of the balcony. In 1989, as part of the redevelopment of the harbour, both the Wellington Rowing Club building and the Star Boating Club building were relocated 100 metres north and rotated 180 degrees so that they faced the city rather than the harbour, providing access to the harbour through a more sheltered lagoon. At this time both buildings were also extensively restored and a shared single-storeyed structure, for housing additional boats, was built connecting the two buildings and continuing the longstanding relationship between the two clubs. The Wellington Rowing Club building was also restored in 1998.

The Wellington Rowing Club building continues to serve as the club's premises, as well as a function centre. As an example of prominent architect Frederick de Jersey Clere's work, the building is of architectural significance. It is also of historical significance due to its longstanding association with the Wellington Rowing Club, as well as its early history with the Wellington Naval Artillery and then the Wellington Free Ambulance. Along with the neighbouring Star Boating Club, the building is a notable part of the Wellington waterfront. Together they provide a tangible reminder of Wellington's long standing connections with the harbour.