Constructed in 1908 as a residence and surgery for eminent surgeon and medical practitioner Donald Johnstone McGavin, the former Red Cross Building is a striking example of neo-Tudor architecture. It demonstrates a high level of design and execution in the revivalist style, with well-articulated features including a half-timbered façade, double-pitched roof, octagonal corner turret, prominent gables and leadlight windows. These elements are particularly well resolved and contribute to the building’s strong visual presence at the Willis and Ghuznee Street intersection. The building retains a high degree of physical integrity, with most of its original exterior fabric intact. Internally, it features quality finishes and remains in a largely authentic condition. Designed by Wellington architect William Turnbull, it is a rare example of the Tudor style in Wellington and contributes meaningfully to the city’s early-twentieth-century domestic architecture canon. It holds historical significance for its connection with Sir Donald McGavin, and with the United Industries Club for women and girls after World War Two. It was the headquarters of the New Zealand Red Cross for over three decades.

The renowned Polynesian navigator Kupe first explored the Wellington area during his voyage to Aotearoa from Hawaiki, the ancestral homeland of Māori. The earliest permanent settlers in the area were the descendants of Whātonga, a chief from Hawke’s Bay. His son, Tara, travelled south from the Mahia peninsula and established a settlement at Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the great harbour of Tara. Prior to European arrival, the fertile soils of the inner harbour supported abundant food sources, and the rohe saw successive waves of tribal occupation. Between 1824 and 1834, several migrations from Taranaki brought hapū to settle the coastline of Te Whanganui-a-Tara and into Wairarapa. In 1835 Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama migrated to Wharekauri (Chatham Islands) prompting Te Ātiawa hapū to return to Te Whanganui-a-Tara from Wairarapa. The rohe remains significant to Te Ātiawa, Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, and Muaūpoko.

Rapid colonisation took place following the purchase of the Port Nicholson Block by the New Zealand Company in 1839, completely transforming the gardens and kāinga of Te Aro into a dirty and polluted urban Victorian landscape. Initially the British settlement of Britannia had been planned at Pito-one, but following severe flooding in March 1840, the settlers moved to Thorndon and Te Aro on the opposite side of the harbour. The land was parcelled into 1,100 town acre sections in 1841. Section 142 in Te Aro was purchased by Edward Daniell. Originally a larger section, it subsequently changed hands several times and was eventually subdivided. The plot at the corner of Willis and Ghuznee Streets, diagonally opposite St Peter’s Church, was purchased by Mrs Agnes Paul in January 1886. Mrs Paul sold the property to Donald Johnstone McGavin in July 1906. Doctor McGavin had worked as a civilian surgeon during the South African War, and was a volunteer medical officer in the New Zealand Field Hospital and Bearer Corps. He later served during World War One as assistant director of medical services for the New Zealand Division and was awarded a DSO. McGavin was knighted in 1921 for services to medicine.

On 4 October 1907 a building application form was submitted to the Council by builder J. Stanford for a ‘dwelling house’ commissioned by Dr McGavin. Intended to serve both as his residence and as his consulting rooms, the building was designed with two entrances, both fronting onto Ghuznee Street and framed by curved brick archways. The smaller, western section of the house was the consulting rooms and servants’ quarters, whilst the larger, eastern end with its more generous-sized rooms was his residence. McGavin started advertising his new premises in April 1909. The building’s location on Willis Street, once a hub of medical practices, enhances its historical significance as a rare surviving example of this early-twentieth-century use pattern. McGavin remained there until 1944 when the building began being used by the United Industries Club, an organisation working to promote the war work of women and girls in industry. In 1947 the New Zealand Red Cross purchased the building for use as its headquarters.

In the 1970s the building was threatened with demolition due to the proposed realignment of the motorway exit at Ghuznee Street. Eventually the Ministry of Works announced in January 1978 that the building would not be demolished as the off-ramp intersection had been realigned in such a way as to avoid it. The Red Cross continued using the building for several more years until, the space being insufficient for their activities, they sold it. It was purchased in 1981 by architectural firm Mitchell and Mitchell, whose originating partners were involved with the original drawings for the building in 1908. Since then, Red Cross Building (Former) has had several owners and is currently tenanted as office space.