This warehouse was originally built in 1875 for Bendix Hallenstein’s (1835-1905) New Zealand Clothing Factory, which was situated behind it. The building has historical significance as the site of the first clothing business to manufacture men’s clothing in New Zealand and as the office of the National Fire and Marine Insurance Company for over 80 years, as well as architectural significance as a design of architect David Ross.

Both iwi history and archaeological evidence show Māori occupation in the Ōtākou / Otago region since the twelfth century. The site of today’s Exchange area was a Kāti Māmoe-Kāi Tahu landing place in the Otago Harbour known as Toitū tauraka waka. During early European settlement in the 1840s, the tauraka waka would feature briefly as a pivotal site for Māori-Pākehā enterprise before becoming an example of the rapid exchange of political dominance within Ōtākou once European immigrants settled into their new landscape. The colonial enterprise to establish the city of Dunedin resulted in the channelisation of the Toitū and reclamation of the foreshore for the nearby railway station (then at Queen’s Gardens) and wharves. The area was considered ideal for commercial enterprises.

Bendix Hallenstein purchased the land of part section 48, block XI3 Queens Gardens in 1871. After having trouble obtaining regular supplies of imported men’s clothing for his stores in the Queenstown area, Hallenstein decided to establish his own clothing factory in Dunedin. Hallenstein’s company – the New Zealand Clothing Factory – was the first to manufacture men’s clothing in New Zealand. Its premises consisted of a three-storey brick building which he converted into a factory. About two years after the factory opened, Hallenstein added a warehouse onto the front of it. The warehouse was designed by David Ross, who was the architect of choice for Stage 1 of Hallenstein’s project to convert an existing building into a factory. The tender was for a four-storied stone and brick warehouse. The builder was Robert Howlison.

David Ross (1827-1908) was one of a significant number of architects who came to New Zealand from Australia in the early 1860s, prompted by the news of the Otago gold rushes. He was at the forefront of the development of mass concrete construction in this country and was also a member of the first Dunedin City Council (1865-66), and in 1876 he became the first president of the joint Institute of Engineers and Architects in Otago.

Very shortly after the warehouse was completed, Hallenstein ran into financial difficulty and consequently sold the factory and warehouse in 1876, on the condition that he could rent back the factory portion. With the money he had raised from the sale, Hallenstein bought the lease on a building on the corner of the Octagon and Princes Street for a retail store, and the chain of stores known as Hallenstein’s originated.

Built in a classical style, the ground floor of the warehouse has pillars, columns and a keystone arched main entrance. The first and second floors have a central bay with pillars and rusticated stonework, and the second-floor windows are keystone arches with a decorated parapet above.

The purchaser of Hallenstein’s factory and warehouse in 1876 was the National Fire and Marine Insurance Company (later known as the National Insurance Company), which used the warehouse as its head office for about 86 years. It provided cover against the high risk of fire in early New Zealand and was one of the key local firms to meet local insurance demands. The building underwent alterations as part of this change of ownership, including installation of a strong room and the partitioning of the ground floor for offices. It also housed a wood-panelled cage lift, which has been removed from the building but is retained and being refurbished after years of sitting in the basement.

After the National Insurance Company moved out in 1962, the building continued to house an insurance office (the Royal Insurance Company) but has since held a variety of entities, such as the Taimex Trading Company, Duke of Wellington bar, and various restaurants. It currently houses a Korean restaurant and apartments. An extensive refurbishment and full earthquake strengthening was undertaken in 2021.