Court House
58 Alfred Street And 12 Seymour Street, Blenheim
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Court House, Blenheim. CC Licence 2.0 Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org.
Copyright: Mattinbgn - Wikimedia Commons. Taken By: Mattinbgn. Date: 26/11/2011.
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Court House, Blenheim. CC Licence 2.0 Image courtesy of www.flickr.com.
Copyright: Peter Burge. Taken By: Peter Burge. Date: 18/04/2013.
List Entry Information
List Entry Status
Listed
List Entry Type
Historic Place Category 2
Public Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1509
Date Entered
25th November 1982
Date of Effect
25th November 1982
Locationopen/close
City/District Council
Marlborough District
Region
Marlborough Region
Legal description
Sec 4 SO 1640 (RT MB5A/1160) Marlborough Land District
Location description
Corner Alfred Street and Seymour Street, Blenheim
Linksopen/close
Construction Professionalsopen/close
Mair, John Thomas
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.
Additional informationopen/close
Construction Dates
Original Construction
1937 -
Other Information
Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero 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.