The Bridge of Remembrance was converted in 1976 to pedestrian use only and remains a notable feature of the riverside area of Christchurch. Its design is a significant example of the work of one of New Zealand's leading architects of the time. Gummer's combination of utility, monumentalism and muted symbolism created a distinguished and substantial memorial to New Zealand's dead. The site on which the bridge was built is also significant as a place that all the Canterbury soldiers passed as they marched off to war.
List Entry Information
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Able to Visit
List Number
289
Date Entered
2nd April 1985
Date of Effect
2nd April 1985
City/District Council
Christchurch City
Region
Canterbury Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes the land described as Stopped Street SO Plan 14545, Canterbury Land District and the structure known as the Bridge of Remembrance thereon, and its fittings and fixtures.
Legal description
Stopped Street SO Plan 14545, Canterbury Land District
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Able to Visit
List Number
289
Date Entered
2nd April 1985
Date of Effect
2nd April 1985
City/District Council
Christchurch City
Region
Canterbury Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes the land described as Stopped Street SO Plan 14545, Canterbury Land District and the structure known as the Bridge of Remembrance thereon, and its fittings and fixtures.
Legal description
Stopped Street SO Plan 14545, Canterbury Land District
Construction Professional
Name
Gurnsey, Frederick George
Type
Carver
Biography
Frederick George Gurnsey (1868 - 1953) was born in Wales. He was apprenticed to Harry Hems and Company, a leading ecclesiastical carving firm in Exeter, and worked for them once his apprenticeship was complete. Gurnsey visited New Zealand in 1904-1905 and returned in 1907 when he was appointed as an instructor at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch. At the School of Art he taught carving, modelling, casting, enamelling and metalwork, and was the acting director of the school from September 1917 to April 1920. He resigned in 1923 to become a full-time carver. Gurnsey executed thousands of carvings, in both wood and stone, for churches, civic buildings, public monuments and various private commissions. Some of his more prominent carvings include the reredos in the Christchurch cathedral, his work in the Chapel of St Michael and St George, the carvings on the Bridge of Remembrance in Christchurch (1924), those on the Massey Memorial in Wellington (1930), and those in the Church of the Good Shepherd at Tekapo.(1935). During the Depression Gurnsey diversified into making domestic furniture. He has been described as 'one of the greatest European carvers ever to have worked in New Zealand', although due to his personal modesty and the way in which carving falls somewhere between fine arts and craft, his achievements have, until recently, largely been unrecognised. Confident with carving in both wood and stone, Gurnsey was responsible for many beautiful works, particularly in the South Island.
Name
Gummer, William Henry
Type
Architect
Biography
Gummer (1884-1966) was articled to W.A. Holman, an Auckland architect, and qualified as an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1910. From 1908 to 1913 he travelled in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. During this time he worked for Edwin Lutyens, a leading English architect of the time, and for Daniel Burnham in Chicago. Burnham was a major American architect and one of the founders of the influential Chicago School of Architecture. Gummer joined the firm of Hoggard and Prouse of Auckland and Wellington in 1913. Significant commissions undertaken during this period included the New Zealand Insurance (later known as the Guardian Trust) Building, Auckland (1914-18). In 1923 Gummer, one of the most outstanding architects working in New Zealand in the first half of the twentieth century, joined with Charles Reginald Ford (1880-1972) to create an architectural partnership of national significance. The practice was responsible for the design of the Dilworth Building (1926), Auckland, the Dominion Museum (1936) and the State Insurance Building (1940), both Wellington. Gummer and Ford were awarded Gold Medals by the New Zealand Institute of Architects for their designs of the Auckland Railway Station and Remuera Library. Gummer was also responsible for the Bridge of Remembrance, Christchurch and the Cenotaph in Dunedin (1927), and the stylistically and structurally advanced Tauroa (1916), Craggy Range (1919), Arden (1926) and Te Mata (1935) homesteads at Havelock North. Elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1914, he was president of the Institute from 1933-4 and was later elected a life member.
Construction Details
Start Year
1923
Type
Original Construction
Start Year
1976
Type
Modification
Description
Closed to traffic.
Construction Professional
Name
Gurnsey, Frederick George
Type
Carver
Biography
Frederick George Gurnsey (1868 - 1953) was born in Wales. He was apprenticed to Harry Hems and Company, a leading ecclesiastical carving firm in Exeter, and worked for them once his apprenticeship was complete. Gurnsey visited New Zealand in 1904-1905 and returned in 1907 when he was appointed as an instructor at the Canterbury College School of Art in Christchurch. At the School of Art he taught carving, modelling, casting, enamelling and metalwork, and was the acting director of the school from September 1917 to April 1920. He resigned in 1923 to become a full-time carver. Gurnsey executed thousands of carvings, in both wood and stone, for churches, civic buildings, public monuments and various private commissions. Some of his more prominent carvings include the reredos in the Christchurch cathedral, his work in the Chapel of St Michael and St George, the carvings on the Bridge of Remembrance in Christchurch (1924), those on the Massey Memorial in Wellington (1930), and those in the Church of the Good Shepherd at Tekapo.(1935). During the Depression Gurnsey diversified into making domestic furniture. He has been described as 'one of the greatest European carvers ever to have worked in New Zealand', although due to his personal modesty and the way in which carving falls somewhere between fine arts and craft, his achievements have, until recently, largely been unrecognised. Confident with carving in both wood and stone, Gurnsey was responsible for many beautiful works, particularly in the South Island.
Name
Gummer, William Henry
Type
Architect
Biography
Gummer (1884-1966) was articled to W.A. Holman, an Auckland architect, and qualified as an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1910. From 1908 to 1913 he travelled in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States. During this time he worked for Edwin Lutyens, a leading English architect of the time, and for Daniel Burnham in Chicago. Burnham was a major American architect and one of the founders of the influential Chicago School of Architecture. Gummer joined the firm of Hoggard and Prouse of Auckland and Wellington in 1913. Significant commissions undertaken during this period included the New Zealand Insurance (later known as the Guardian Trust) Building, Auckland (1914-18). In 1923 Gummer, one of the most outstanding architects working in New Zealand in the first half of the twentieth century, joined with Charles Reginald Ford (1880-1972) to create an architectural partnership of national significance. The practice was responsible for the design of the Dilworth Building (1926), Auckland, the Dominion Museum (1936) and the State Insurance Building (1940), both Wellington. Gummer and Ford were awarded Gold Medals by the New Zealand Institute of Architects for their designs of the Auckland Railway Station and Remuera Library. Gummer was also responsible for the Bridge of Remembrance, Christchurch and the Cenotaph in Dunedin (1927), and the stylistically and structurally advanced Tauroa (1916), Craggy Range (1919), Arden (1926) and Te Mata (1935) homesteads at Havelock North. Elected a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 1914, he was president of the Institute from 1933-4 and was later elected a life member.
Construction Details
Start Year
1923
Type
Original Construction
Start Year
1976
Type
Modification
Description
Closed to traffic.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
20th August 2001
Report Written By
Melanie Lovell-Smith
Information Sources
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
MacLean, 1990
Chris MacLean and Jock Phillips, The Sorrow and the Pride: New Zealand War Memorials, Wellington, 1990
Thornton, 1996
Geoffrey Thornton, Cast in Concrete: Concrete Construction in New Zealand 1850-1939, Auckland, 1996
Other Information
This place was identified as significant under previous legislation with different information requirements. It remains significant under the current legislation. There is opportunity under our legislation and policies to add to this information. Further information about this place may be available from the Southern Regional Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. 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.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
20th August 2001
Report Written By
Melanie Lovell-Smith
Information Sources
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography
MacLean, 1990
Chris MacLean and Jock Phillips, The Sorrow and the Pride: New Zealand War Memorials, Wellington, 1990
Thornton, 1996
Geoffrey Thornton, Cast in Concrete: Concrete Construction in New Zealand 1850-1939, Auckland, 1996
Other Information
This place was identified as significant under previous legislation with different information requirements. It remains significant under the current legislation. There is opportunity under our legislation and policies to add to this information. Further information about this place may be available from the Southern Regional Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. 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.
Current Usages
Uses: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Memorial - World War One
Uses: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Monuments, memorial, site of particular event - other
Uses: Transport
Specific Usage: Bridge/ Viaduct
Current Usages
Uses: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Memorial - World War One
Uses: Commemoration
Specific Usage: Monuments, memorial, site of particular event - other
Uses: Transport
Specific Usage: Bridge/ Viaduct
Location
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