The former Auckland Gas Company Offices and Workshops is the main remnant of a large industrial complex in Freemans Bay that produced and supplied gas to Aucklanders for much of the twentieth century. Initially constructed in circa 1902, the substantial brick building fronted the newly-created Victoria Park and formed the main public face of the works. The Auckland Gas Company was one of Auckland’s oldest companies, and at the time that the building was created was the fourth largest producer of gas in Australasia. Operations were affected by the conversion from coal-based to natural gas in the 1960s and 1970s, after which much of the complex was demolished.
Waiatarau (Freemans Bay) was traditionally used by Maori for settlement, fishing and trading. After the founding of colonial Auckland in 1840, the area became an important centre for industrial activity. By the early 1880s, land at Freemans Bay had been purchased by the Auckland Gas Company to allow for future expansion of their operations. Founded in 1862, the company had opened one of the earliest gas works in New Zealand at Brickfield Bay in 1865. It initially supplied gas lighting to a limited number of commercial premises in the centre of Auckland, but by the end of the century serviced some 8000 customers. Between 1897 and 1906, the company developed a new complex on its site at Freemans Bay, partly to cope with expanding demand. Excavations from the site were used to reclaim a large part of the bay, and to create Victoria Park.
The new complex included a large coal store, purifier and retorts. The works were fronted by a large, two-storey brick ‘offices and store’, conceived by 1898 and designed in more detail in October 1901. Nine bays in length, the building housed a general office in its southern part, and a store and other rooms to the north. Its style was based on Italianate commercial architecture of the late nineteenth century, and incorporated Palazzo elements such as vertical piers between each bay and numerous windows highlighted using polychrome brickwork. The designer may have been the works engineer, Chenery Suggate, who oversaw the creation of the complex and erected New Zealand’s largest gasholder for the company in 1901. It has also been suggested that the architectural firm of Edward Mahoney and Son could have been involved.
Gas production by the company more than doubled between 1901 and 1910. Gas was increasingly used for heating and cooking, particularly with the development of electricity as an alternative for lighting. Competition from the latter emerged after Auckland Council created power generating facilities at its nearby Municipal Destructor complex in 1907-8 as a counterbalance to the private monopoly of the gas company. In 1910, Edward Mahoney and Son oversaw the construction of a twelve-bay northward extension to the office building to house workshops for a variety of services, including meter and stove repairs. The two-storeyed brick addition was visually similar to the initial structure but was less ornate in design and incorporated a steel and concrete flooring system. In 1912, the addition was partially heightened with the construction of a third floor.
Minor modifications to the building in the following decades may be linked to changing working conditions. After construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, gas from the complex was supplied to all parts of Auckland area including the North Shore. Following the conversion to natural gas, the offices and workshops building was modified for alternative commercial activities. In 1997, the Auckland Gas Company ceased to exist. Further alterations to the building occurred in 2001-3, in association with redevelopment of much of the former complex to create high-density residential housing. The building has since been used for retail purposes.
The Auckland Gas Company Offices and Workshops (Former) is architecturally significant as a comparatively well-preserved example of early twentieth-century industrial architecture in Auckland, reflecting the shift from buildings based on traditional load-bearing construction to those encompassing concrete and steel. It is historically important for its connections with the development of gas facilities in New Zealand, and particularly the height of the gas boom in the early twentieth century. It has significance for its lengthy associations with the Auckland Gas Company, which was one of Auckland’s pioneer companies and the fourth largest gas provider in Australasia in the early twentieth century. It has additional value for its links with the development of Freemans Bay, including reclamation of the bay and the creation of Victoria Park. The place has social significance for its connections with the spread of a utility that affected the lives of a large number of citizens through its use for lighting, heating and cooking; and as part of a major industrial workplace in Auckland over much of the twentieth century.
Waiatarau (Freemans Bay) was traditionally used by Maori for settlement, fishing and trading. After the founding of colonial Auckland in 1840, the area became an important centre for industrial activity. By the early 1880s, land at Freemans Bay had been purchased by the Auckland Gas Company to allow for future expansion of their operations. Founded in 1862, the company had opened one of the earliest gas works in New Zealand at Brickfield Bay in 1865. It initially supplied gas lighting to a limited number of commercial premises in the centre of Auckland, but by the end of the century serviced some 8000 customers. Between 1897 and 1906, the company developed a new complex on its site at Freemans Bay, partly to cope with expanding demand. Excavations from the site were used to reclaim a large part of the bay, and to create Victoria Park.
The new complex included a large coal store, purifier and retorts. The works were fronted by a large, two-storey brick ‘offices and store’, conceived by 1898 and designed in more detail in October 1901. Nine bays in length, the building housed a general office in its southern part, and a store and other rooms to the north. Its style was based on Italianate commercial architecture of the late nineteenth century, and incorporated Palazzo elements such as vertical piers between each bay and numerous windows highlighted using polychrome brickwork. The designer may have been the works engineer, Chenery Suggate, who oversaw the creation of the complex and erected New Zealand’s largest gasholder for the company in 1901. It has also been suggested that the architectural firm of Edward Mahoney and Son could have been involved.
Gas production by the company more than doubled between 1901 and 1910. Gas was increasingly used for heating and cooking, particularly with the development of electricity as an alternative for lighting. Competition from the latter emerged after Auckland Council created power generating facilities at its nearby Municipal Destructor complex in 1907-8 as a counterbalance to the private monopoly of the gas company. In 1910, Edward Mahoney and Son oversaw the construction of a twelve-bay northward extension to the office building to house workshops for a variety of services, including meter and stove repairs. The two-storeyed brick addition was visually similar to the initial structure but was less ornate in design and incorporated a steel and concrete flooring system. In 1912, the addition was partially heightened with the construction of a third floor.
Minor modifications to the building in the following decades may be linked to changing working conditions. After construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, gas from the complex was supplied to all parts of Auckland area including the North Shore. Following the conversion to natural gas, the offices and workshops building was modified for alternative commercial activities. In 1997, the Auckland Gas Company ceased to exist. Further alterations to the building occurred in 2001-3, in association with redevelopment of much of the former complex to create high-density residential housing. The building has since been used for retail purposes.
The Auckland Gas Company Offices and Workshops (Former) is architecturally significant as a comparatively well-preserved example of early twentieth-century industrial architecture in Auckland, reflecting the shift from buildings based on traditional load-bearing construction to those encompassing concrete and steel. It is historically important for its connections with the development of gas facilities in New Zealand, and particularly the height of the gas boom in the early twentieth century. It has significance for its lengthy associations with the Auckland Gas Company, which was one of Auckland’s pioneer companies and the fourth largest gas provider in Australasia in the early twentieth century. It has additional value for its links with the development of Freemans Bay, including reclamation of the bay and the creation of Victoria Park. The place has social significance for its connections with the spread of a utility that affected the lives of a large number of citizens through its use for lighting, heating and cooking; and as part of a major industrial workplace in Auckland over much of the twentieth century.
