Early history of the site
The site occupied by the house and former stables at 25-27 Princes Street was part of a significant Maori and early colonial landscape on the Symonds Street ridge. Prior to European arrival, land at the northern end of the ridge incorporated a pa known as Te Rerengaoraiti. Another settlement, Horotiu, may also have been located in the immediate vicinity, occupying high ground overlooking the Horotiu (now Queen Street) gully. Ongoing cultivations on the ridge were intermittently maintained during inter-tribal hostilities in the early nineteenth century and re-established by Ngati Whatua in the late 1830s. Ngati Whatua left these cultivations as a result of their offer, and the subsequent purchase by the Crown, of some 3,000 acres at Auckland in 1840 to accommodate a capital for the new British colony.
Following the establishment of Auckland as a colonial town, the Symonds Street ridge was at the epicentre of British administrative and military power in New Zealand. Significant buildings in the area included the Colonial Governor's residence at Government House, the Provincial Council and General Assembly, and the Albert Barracks - which was the largest military installation in the colony. Erected using Maori labour in 1846-1852, the basalt walls of the Barracks enclosed accommodation for approximately 1000 soldiers. The Barracks wall lay immediately to the south of 25-27 Princes Street. A military road connecting the main gate of the fortification to the southern terminus of Princes Street ran directly through the property. A large drill hall flanking the road was also located in the eastern part of the site.
Following the relocation of the colonial capital and its associated administration to Wellington in 1865, many of the troops were withdrawn. In February 1870, the last of the fourteen British regiments to serve in New Zealand left the Barracks, after which the fortification was decommissioned.
Redevelopment of the Albert Barracks Reserve
Decommissioning enabled a large part of the eastern core of colonial Auckland to be redeveloped. Prior to the construction of the Barracks, the Surveyor-General Felton Mathew had intended that the northern end of the Symonds Street ridge should be occupied by residences arranged in fashionable avenues and crescents. In the 1870s, the area remained desirable for its proximity to places of high social standing such as the former Government House, and for its elevated vantage point overlooking Auckland's commercial district. The Auckland Improvement Commission subsequently laid out new roads, subdivided the land and promoted the creation of Albert Park.
The redevelopment appears to have marked a new approach in urban Auckland, consciously creating a neighbourhood based on wealth. Formal restrictions for leaseholders stipulated that sections could not be further subdivided and that the houses erected were to be two storied, roofed with slate or iron and to be built at a cost of at least £700. Plans for the houses were also subject to the approval of the commissioners. Earlier residential areas in Auckland were generally more mixed and influenced by shared places of work (such as occupation of the Symonds Street ridge by high officials and ordinary soldiers alike), although some areas were traditionally more prestigious than others. The redevelopment attracted many wealthy merchants, who had become Auckland's new elite following the departure of government officials to Wellington. The former were often self-made men from working- or lower middle-class backgrounds, whose success reflected the unusually high potential for social mobility in colonial New Zealand. Their rise was assisted by a prolonged economic boom in the 1870s and Auckland's emerging role as a major Pacific entrepot.
As part of the improvements, Princes Street was extended southwards in 1873-1875. In keeping with the proposed elite nature of the area, this and adjacent streets were metalled, lit with gas and provided with drainage and sewerage. In December 1875, the Auckland Improvement Commissioners auctioned 99-year leases for fourteen sites on the western side of the road. Regarded to be the premier plots within the redevelopment, these were advertised as desirable for their 'unsurpassed and uninterrupted view' over the surrounding area and their proximity to the Government House grounds. They were also considered suitable as villa sites for businessmen as they lay just a few minutes walk away from Auckland's main commercial district in the Queen Street gully. All of the eventual purchasers secured at least two conjoining allotments to provide generous sites for their homes.
Initial construction and use of main residence and stables
In 1877 a successful brewer, Thomas Whitson (1845?-1881), purchased the leases for three allotments, Lots 7, 8 and 9. Construction of a large two-storey timber house of a restrained classical Italianate style took place in the same year. Built and occupied as a grand family house, this building was subsequently relocated, then demolished at a later date (see below). Whitson was an associate in Whitson and Sons, whose Albert Brewery in Queen Street is said to have been the largest brewery in Auckland Province. He was also the brother-in-law and business partner of George Johnstone, who had already erected a residence next door, at number 29 Princes Street, in 1876.
In December 1882, the lease for the property was transferred to local doctor Charles Haines (?-1929) starting a near-century long association of the site with members of the medical profession. Although initially purchased by merchants, many of the Princes Street properties were soon occupied by wealthy professionals, including several doctors. Medical practitioners may have initially been encouraged to move to the area by a combination of wealthy patrons and the perceived associations between open space, clean air and good health. The redeveloped area incorporated tree lined streets and a planned public park, and was also located away from the gullies in which commercial and industrial activity took place.
By the time of Haines' purchase, a timber outbuilding had been erected in the northwest corner of the property, probably for use as a stables. In 1883, this was superseded by an impressive brick structure of L-shaped plan. Still standing on the property, the building incorporated stalls for at least six horses on its ground floor, and a loft for storage above. The structure was probably accessed from a courtyard to its south and east, which was itself reached by a service lane at the rear of the property.
The stables were located in the lowest part of the section, potentially enabling drainage to flow away from the house. It also allowed general views to be maintained between the main residence and the commercial heart of Auckland in the Queen Street gully, where Haines had held professional rooms. Employing polychrome brickwork, the stables was designed in a sufficiently ornate manner to reinforce perceptions about the taste and prosperity of its owner. Charles Haines had qualified in medicine in Ireland and is known to have been driven to visit his patients by his coachman. In general, colonial New Zealand relied more heavily on horse transport than more substantially urbanised countries such as Great Britain. A brick garden wall in the southwest corner of the property may have been built at a similar time.
For a few years, Haines' brother Humphrey (1856-?), who was a distinguished ear, nose and throat surgeon, also lived in the house. Both men had married daughters of Edward Isaacs a general merchant and member of Auckland's Jewish community, and were also members of the elite Northern Club. Charles Haines was Club president in 1896 and 1898. Both the Northern Club and Auckland's main synagogue were located on Princes Street, a few doors to the north.
Continuing its medical connection, the property was subsequently leased by Dr Thomas Savage, who extended the main residence before 1908 with a substantial two-storey masonry addition. Located on the south side of the original structure, this was designed in the same classical Italianate style as the earlier timber building, although providing it with a more contemporary, asymmetrical-fronted appearance. The elegant addition incorporated ornate detailing in its downstairs rooms, had separate external access from that of the main house, and may have been purpose-built as a consulting room and surgery. The upstairs area, probably a master bedroom, contained an impressive fireplace and a smaller room enclosed within a unusual cantilevered projection, which was possibly used a bathroom.
Changes to the stables in the early 1900s reflected the decline of horsepower and the advent of motorised transport. Part of the building had been converted into a garage by 1923, at which time the structure was also modified to create X-ray and consulting rooms for Dr Bruce McKenzie. Aspects of this work appear to have been planned in 1921 but perhaps not carried out. Alterations included a new staircase to the upper floor, a garage addition in the building's southeast angle and a single-storey extension to the north to accommodate an office and a utility room. These changes also reflect the increasing number of medical practitioners working from the area in the early and mid twentieth century, which eventually led to the locality being known as Auckland's equivalent of Harley Street.
Modification of the main residence, and subdivision into two properties
Major changes occurred in the 1930s, towards the end of the Great Depression. In 1934, the timber portion of the main residence (1877) was relocated onto the northern part of the property next to the former stables as part of a proposed subdivision. For the next thirty to forty years, the northern and southern parts of the site were under separate ownership.
A large two-storey plastered brick house was built on the southern part of the site, forming a substantial addition to the pre-1908 remnant which remained in its original position. As the main body of the house was rebuilt slightly further west than the earlier structure, the pre-1908 addition assumed greater prominence as a forward projecting element. This work was carried out for a noted surgeon, Kenneth Mackenzie (1885-1942), a founder member of the Clinical Society at Auckland Hospital and an early member of the Auckland Division of the British Medical Council. The earlier additions may have been retained because they incorporated specialist workrooms. The new elements evidently involved the conscious creation of modern living accommodation.
Mackenzie was also president of the Auckland University College (now University of Auckland) Council when these modifications were carried out. He had been a member of the Council since 1921. The Auckland University College had occupied premises in the neighbourhood since the late nineteenth century. The erection of its landmark Arts and Commerce Faculties building (Old Arts Building, University of Auckland, NZHPT Register # 12, Category I historic place) in Princes Street in 1923-26 effectively marked the success of a campaign to maintain the university on a central site in the city. Located almost immediately across the road from each other, the Arts building and Mackenzie's remodelled residence shared the same architect, Roy Lippincott.
American-born Lippincott was an architect of considerable renown, who had been connected with the 'Prairie School' of architecture in Chicago. He had also worked in the Australian practice of Walter Griffin, which had designed Canberra. In New Zealand, Lippincott was noted for several designs carried out on the Auckland University College campus in the 1920s and 1930s, particularly the Arts and Commerce Faculties building, which represented a radical departure in New Zealand architecture. Lippincott was subsequently engaged on other educational buildings, such as Massey University Science building (1929-1931).
Lippincott designed Mackenzie's house in conjunction with Martin Hutchison. Their blend of pre-1908 elements and 1934 additions is considered to have created 'a remarkably harmonious and elegant whole'. The overall design is considered to reflect contemporary American influences, notably aspects of both the Chicago School and Spanish Mission. There were also links to the Prairie houses of the renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Lippincott's domestic work is generally held to explore the principles of the Chicago School, which addressed new forms of living space through an organic response to surrounding context. American styles were not infrequently used for buildings with an educational connection in early twentieth-century New Zealand, as exemplified by the adoption of Spanish Mission for the Auckland Grammar School (1916). This trend can be seen to represent progressive thinking and a move away from more constraining, British-influenced approaches.
Lippincott was also responsible for alterations carried out in 1937 to convert Mackenzie's residence to two apartments and consulting rooms. Further alterations were carried out in the front section in 1942, the year of Mackenzie's death. By 1950 two medical practitioners were working from the address, and Dr H.G. Feltham, the last practitioner to use the building as medical rooms, moved out in 1975. On what was now an adjoining property to the north, the stables also continued in use by radiologist Bruce McKenzie until at least 1950.
Heritage protection and subsequent use
By the 1970s, the land on which the main house and stables stood had reverted to Auckland City Council ownership following the expiry of its 99-year lease. In 1963 the Council had decided that the buildings, along with its neighbours on the western side of Princes Street should be demolished to become part of Albert Park. By 1972 a developing awareness of the importance of preserving heritage, and heritage values in formal city plans, led the Auckland City Council to retain and restore the Victorian residences. The Auckland Improvement Trust Act 1971 allowed the Council to keep one or more of the houses as examples of Victorian architecture, and a subsequent Act detailed how the buildings were to be managed. In 1974 the Council resolved to designate the houses and the adjacent synagogue as a conservation area and to restore them.
With the exception of a brick wall in the southwest corner of the site, physical boundaries separating the properties from each other appear to have been removed at this time or later. More significantly, the relocated timber building (1877) on the northern part of the current site was demolished in spite of a public campaign for its retention. A 1923 addition to the stables was also removed at this time.
The stables building was leased to the Auckland University Club, along with the adjacent building at 23 Princes Street. In 1979 a paved area with fountain was established in front. The former stables were converted into exhibition space (ground floor) and two residential flats (loft) in 1986, with funding largely provided by the Sargeson Trust for its writer-in-residence flat. The George Fraser Gallery was named for the late arts patron and former associate director of Fletcher Construction. The work was supported by Fletcher Construction who undertook to renovate the building at cost.
The main residence is currently (2007) used as a language school. Some of its interior spaces have been reconfigured and an upstairs balcony has been incorporated as part of the structure.
The former stables is the only currently known example of this building type to survive in the area that was redeveloped as a premier residential address by the Auckland Improvement Commission in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Other probable domestic stables at 29 and 31 Princes Street have been demolished. Few, if any, other domestic stables are believed to survive within Auckland's inner city from a time when horses were the dominant form of transport. The main house is an elegant and increasingly rare survival of a doctor's residence in the Princes Street and Symonds Street area, a locality that once had very strong connections with the medical profession.
