The Dunedin Harbourside Historic Area (hereafter Historic Area) is made up of the core of the port operations and associated businesses surrounding the steamer basin at the Upper Harbour in Dunedin which had developed by the first decades of the twentieth century. It includes a major portion of the land in Rattray, Willis and Cresswell Streets which was reclaimed by the end of the nineteenth century. It also includes the Fryatt Street and Cross Wharves, including the wharf sheds on Fryatt Street Wharf, as well as the former Otago Harbour Board Administration Building at the Junction of Birch Street and Cross Wharves, the former British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre, and the former Briscoe's Wharf Store and Works on the corner of Birch, Wharf and Roberts Streets, and the walls and bridge abutment on Roberts Street which are the remnants of the bridge which linked that Street to the city.
The best description of the interrelationship between the port and surrounding businesses comes from a report to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfront Industry which gives a description of the importance of the waterfront and the significance of the interrelated functions: 'The waterfront industry is a name for a set of operations carried out at a point where transport by land and transport by sea meet. The ramifications of these operations are widespread. The industry presents a scene of great activity with many occupations, all of which, however, are related more or less closely to the primary occupation of servicing ships and cargoes. These are Harbour Boards, ships chandlers, carriers, marine engineering works, stevedores, the Customs and many others.' Central to port operations was the 'loading and unloading of ships carrying cargoes of all types, sizes and shapes, and round this centre revolve all other occupations engaged on the waterfront.' The Otago Harbour Board provided wharves, wharf equipment and sheds and contracted stevedoring firms to handle overseas cargo to and from the ship's side. This excerpt provides the basis for the Historic Area.
The Historic Area is based around the core of the Rattray Street and Cross wharves, and the land reclaimed by the early twentieth century. The wharves were the centre of the network of transport services reaching into the hinterland connecting with markets throughout the world. The businesses which developed around the harbour reflected the important requirements of trade and industry. The first significant building was a wool merchant's premises; the merchant was followed by engineering works which grew up to service both the shipping and gold mining industries. The pattern of businesses throughout the twentieth century reflected the changing trades, and also the social and economic climate of the times. The wharves were the centre of the significant workforce involved in handling cargo. Lumpers (also known as 'wharfies'), seamen, carters and harbour board staff members were important workers. The port functions shaped the buildings which grew up around the Steamer Basin - the Wharf Hotel, the British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre, the Otago Harbour Board Offices, the Waterside Workers' Hall, the Customs Department Wharf Office, and the wharves and wharf sheds. These places mirror the history of the area. The various stores in the vicinity of the harbour demonstrate the importance of the area as a transit point between transport links and markets.
The extent of registration reflects the development of the harbourside area, with its long history of engineering, manufacturing and warehousing, as well as services and structures associated with the operation and administration of the port. The extent includes the areas which had been largely reclaimed prior to 1900, and which had seen long term industrial development, and where significant structures remain providing a window into the histories of work at the harbourside.
A number of buildings do not contribute to the historic or architectural character of the harbourside. These are outlined in blue in the plan in volume 2. Any future development on these sites should be sympathetic to the surrounding heritage environment.
The look of the buildings reflects their uses. In particular the rhythms of the engineering works and the wharf sheds contribute to the overall look of the Historic Area. Some buildings have strong design qualities, for example the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Building, the New Zealand Iron and Steel Co. Building, the Waterfront Industry Commission Administration Building and the British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre. In addition the views back to Troup's Railway Station, the Otago Settlers Museum and Queens Gardens are significant visual elements of the Historic Area.
KEY ELEMENTS OF THE HISTORIC AREA:
The Historic Area is based around the core of the port operations and associated businesses surrounding the Steamer Basin at the Upper Harbour in Dunedin which had developed by the first decades of the twentieth century. The Historic Area includes a major portion of the land in the vicinity of Rattray, Willis and Cresswell Streets. The Historic Area also includes the Fryatt Street and Cross Wharves, including the wharf sheds on Fryatt Street Wharf, as well as the former Otago Harbour Board Administration Building at the junction of Birch Street and Cross Wharves which surround the Steamer Basin, and the former British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre on the corner of Birch, Wharf and Roberts Streets, the former Briscoe's Wharf Store and Works on the corner of Birch and Roberts Streets, and the remaining walls and bridge abutment on Roberts Street.
The Steamer Basin sits at the eastern edge of the main business district of Dunedin City and has formed the focus of port activities since the nineteenth century. The Steamer Basin is bordered by wharves on three sides: Birch Street Wharf on the south, Cross Wharf on the west and Fryatt Street Wharf on the north. On the west the Steamer Basin is cut off from the city by the railway corridor which runs in a north/south direction, blocking the historic access routes to the wharf area which were via Jetty (now Birch) Street, Rattray, and Stuart Streets. These historic routes linked the wharves (the Stuart Street, Rattray Street and Jetty Street wharves) with the businesses in central Dunedin, illustrating the close ties that grew from the wealth of gold: the former company headquarters and remarkable warehouse buildings line the nearby streets. Stuart Street, Rattray Street and Jetty Street (now Mason, Fryatt and Birch Streets) provided a continuation of Charles Kettle's city plan, with these streets marking the extension of the grid. Subsequent road development realigns the industrial area surrounding the harbour with the railway line, providing a new axis for streets such as Thomas Burns Street.
The main areas of development in the nineteenth century sprang up around what was then Rattray Street Wharf, and, as reclamation allowed, spread north to the two adjoining blocks on Willis and Cresswell Streets. A mix of industrial, commercial and service businesses developed. From the construction of the first substantial building in the 1870s with the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd's premises, through to the consolidation of engineering firms in the twentieth century, these blocks have illustrated the mix of businesses representing the typical portside activities of the period.
Ports were the terminus of sea, land and rail transport. Ports drew around them the businesses necessary for their functioning: Harbour Board offices, warehouses and stores, cartage firms, engineering works, manufacturers, shipping agents, brokers, and stevedores as well as services for those people working the port - wharfies and seamen. The Historic Area recognises the core of the interrelated buildings and structures, which were established in the nineteenth century, and which developed and consolidated their activities in the twentieth century.
Fryatt Street and its buildings and structures are characterised by a mix of building styles, and they mostly line up with the edge of the street. On the south side the uniform rhythm of the concrete wharf sheds, with their sheltering overhangs backing onto the wide street allowing for loading and offloading of cargo, which provide a largely unbroken mass to the streetscape. The now largely underused wharf provides the physical and historical link to the once bustling sea-based trading links.
On the north side of Fryatt Street the buildings show a wide range of styles, representing the range of businesses which have operated there: the ornate Victorian New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd building, which was first a woolstore, and later headquarters of an international merchant company forms the western boundary of the Historic Area; there is a smaller jumble of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, largely two-storey brick buildings, which reflect the mixed businesses from that period. The mid-twentieth century is represented by dominating engineering workshop and offices of the Farra Co.
One block further back from the Steamer Basin is Willis Street. The south side of Willis Street between Thomas Burns and Fish Street sees the rear of the buildings fronting Fryatt Street, including the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd's premises, as well as the Farra Engineering buildings. Between these are some infill buildings which contribute to the character of the streetscape through their jumble of forms, rather than architectural merit. The block between Fish and Tewsley Streets is of a similar character: a mix of one and two storey business premises reflecting the historic range of businesses operating on these streets.
The blocks bounded by the north side of Willis Street and Cresswell Street are of a different character. In this part of the Historic Area whole blocks are characterised by a uniformity of style, reflecting the function of the buildings. The Farra engineering complex makes a significant contribution to the architecture of the area with its streamlined facades to both Willis and Cresswell Streets. The east end of the block shows more architectural variety, and illustrates the older buildings associated with the engineering companies which have occupied this site since the 1880s. The Salmond Reed report considers that twentieth century architecture makes a significant contribution to the streetscape, particularly the architecture associated with the engineering firms.
The block immediately to the east is occupied by another group of buildings associated with one function, also reflected in the uniformity of the architecture. These structures housed the Sargood, Son and Ewen boot and clothing factories from the 1880s up until the mid-twentieth century. The factory takes up almost the entire block and makes an outstanding architectural and historical contribution to the Historic Area.
Diagonally opposite the Sargood buildings, to the north east, are the 1924 Farra engineering premises, the first of that company on the harbourside. Farra Engineering has expanded to become the dominant business concern in the Historic Area. The 1924 brick buildings provide another important architectural and historical contribution to the Historic Area.
A little further to the east is the substantial brick warehouse constructed by the Otago Daily Times Company as a store. This building, designed to fit the uneven lot shape, with its gable cranked in the middle to match the shape of the lot, is notable. Immediately across the road is the former Massey Harris & Co. Store (known now as the Evening Star Store), another handsome brick building which makes a strong contribution to the streetscape.
At the west end of the Steamer Basin the redeveloped Cross Wharf provides a focus for recreational activities, particularly fishing. The former Custom's Department Wharf Office, at the north end of Cross Wharf, has been redeveloped as an upmarket restaurant. The striking nautically-themed former Otago Harbour Board Administration Building sits on the junction of Cross and Birch Street wharves and is now home to commercial operations. To the south on the corner of Birch, Roberts and Wharf Streets, the former British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre, now houses another popular eatery, continuing to be a social centre on the waterfront. The former Briscoes Wharf Store and Works (circa 1910), on the corner of Birch and Roberts Streets, has a notable street front and windows, also makes a significant contribution to the streetscape. The historic link with the town is recalled through the remnant stone walls and abutment of the overbridge which linked the harbourside with the mercantile premises on Vogel Street.
The defining characteristic of the Dunedin Harbourside Historic Area is the interconnected nature of the history represented by the variety of activities carried out in the harbourside from the nineteenth century, and their development in the twentieth century. The streetscape that has developed reflects the consolidation of businesses, particularly engineering companies, as well as the rise and fall of businesses. The large engineering premises and the jumble of smaller premises give the streetscape its distinctive character, and while there are standout components within the Historic Area (listed in Appendix 1), it is the cumulative effect of the mix of style and form which contributes to its significance.
The best description of the interrelationship between the port and surrounding businesses comes from a report to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Waterfront Industry which gives a description of the importance of the waterfront and the significance of the interrelated functions: 'The waterfront industry is a name for a set of operations carried out at a point where transport by land and transport by sea meet. The ramifications of these operations are widespread. The industry presents a scene of great activity with many occupations, all of which, however, are related more or less closely to the primary occupation of servicing ships and cargoes. These are Harbour Boards, ships chandlers, carriers, marine engineering works, stevedores, the Customs and many others.' Central to port operations was the 'loading and unloading of ships carrying cargoes of all types, sizes and shapes, and round this centre revolve all other occupations engaged on the waterfront.' The Otago Harbour Board provided wharves, wharf equipment and sheds and contracted stevedoring firms to handle overseas cargo to and from the ship's side. This excerpt provides the basis for the Historic Area.
The Historic Area is based around the core of the Rattray Street and Cross wharves, and the land reclaimed by the early twentieth century. The wharves were the centre of the network of transport services reaching into the hinterland connecting with markets throughout the world. The businesses which developed around the harbour reflected the important requirements of trade and industry. The first significant building was a wool merchant's premises; the merchant was followed by engineering works which grew up to service both the shipping and gold mining industries. The pattern of businesses throughout the twentieth century reflected the changing trades, and also the social and economic climate of the times. The wharves were the centre of the significant workforce involved in handling cargo. Lumpers (also known as 'wharfies'), seamen, carters and harbour board staff members were important workers. The port functions shaped the buildings which grew up around the Steamer Basin - the Wharf Hotel, the British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre, the Otago Harbour Board Offices, the Waterside Workers' Hall, the Customs Department Wharf Office, and the wharves and wharf sheds. These places mirror the history of the area. The various stores in the vicinity of the harbour demonstrate the importance of the area as a transit point between transport links and markets.
The extent of registration reflects the development of the harbourside area, with its long history of engineering, manufacturing and warehousing, as well as services and structures associated with the operation and administration of the port. The extent includes the areas which had been largely reclaimed prior to 1900, and which had seen long term industrial development, and where significant structures remain providing a window into the histories of work at the harbourside.
A number of buildings do not contribute to the historic or architectural character of the harbourside. These are outlined in blue in the plan in volume 2. Any future development on these sites should be sympathetic to the surrounding heritage environment.
The look of the buildings reflects their uses. In particular the rhythms of the engineering works and the wharf sheds contribute to the overall look of the Historic Area. Some buildings have strong design qualities, for example the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Building, the New Zealand Iron and Steel Co. Building, the Waterfront Industry Commission Administration Building and the British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre. In addition the views back to Troup's Railway Station, the Otago Settlers Museum and Queens Gardens are significant visual elements of the Historic Area.
KEY ELEMENTS OF THE HISTORIC AREA:
The Historic Area is based around the core of the port operations and associated businesses surrounding the Steamer Basin at the Upper Harbour in Dunedin which had developed by the first decades of the twentieth century. The Historic Area includes a major portion of the land in the vicinity of Rattray, Willis and Cresswell Streets. The Historic Area also includes the Fryatt Street and Cross Wharves, including the wharf sheds on Fryatt Street Wharf, as well as the former Otago Harbour Board Administration Building at the junction of Birch Street and Cross Wharves which surround the Steamer Basin, and the former British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre on the corner of Birch, Wharf and Roberts Streets, the former Briscoe's Wharf Store and Works on the corner of Birch and Roberts Streets, and the remaining walls and bridge abutment on Roberts Street.
The Steamer Basin sits at the eastern edge of the main business district of Dunedin City and has formed the focus of port activities since the nineteenth century. The Steamer Basin is bordered by wharves on three sides: Birch Street Wharf on the south, Cross Wharf on the west and Fryatt Street Wharf on the north. On the west the Steamer Basin is cut off from the city by the railway corridor which runs in a north/south direction, blocking the historic access routes to the wharf area which were via Jetty (now Birch) Street, Rattray, and Stuart Streets. These historic routes linked the wharves (the Stuart Street, Rattray Street and Jetty Street wharves) with the businesses in central Dunedin, illustrating the close ties that grew from the wealth of gold: the former company headquarters and remarkable warehouse buildings line the nearby streets. Stuart Street, Rattray Street and Jetty Street (now Mason, Fryatt and Birch Streets) provided a continuation of Charles Kettle's city plan, with these streets marking the extension of the grid. Subsequent road development realigns the industrial area surrounding the harbour with the railway line, providing a new axis for streets such as Thomas Burns Street.
The main areas of development in the nineteenth century sprang up around what was then Rattray Street Wharf, and, as reclamation allowed, spread north to the two adjoining blocks on Willis and Cresswell Streets. A mix of industrial, commercial and service businesses developed. From the construction of the first substantial building in the 1870s with the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd's premises, through to the consolidation of engineering firms in the twentieth century, these blocks have illustrated the mix of businesses representing the typical portside activities of the period.
Ports were the terminus of sea, land and rail transport. Ports drew around them the businesses necessary for their functioning: Harbour Board offices, warehouses and stores, cartage firms, engineering works, manufacturers, shipping agents, brokers, and stevedores as well as services for those people working the port - wharfies and seamen. The Historic Area recognises the core of the interrelated buildings and structures, which were established in the nineteenth century, and which developed and consolidated their activities in the twentieth century.
Fryatt Street and its buildings and structures are characterised by a mix of building styles, and they mostly line up with the edge of the street. On the south side the uniform rhythm of the concrete wharf sheds, with their sheltering overhangs backing onto the wide street allowing for loading and offloading of cargo, which provide a largely unbroken mass to the streetscape. The now largely underused wharf provides the physical and historical link to the once bustling sea-based trading links.
On the north side of Fryatt Street the buildings show a wide range of styles, representing the range of businesses which have operated there: the ornate Victorian New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd building, which was first a woolstore, and later headquarters of an international merchant company forms the western boundary of the Historic Area; there is a smaller jumble of late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, largely two-storey brick buildings, which reflect the mixed businesses from that period. The mid-twentieth century is represented by dominating engineering workshop and offices of the Farra Co.
One block further back from the Steamer Basin is Willis Street. The south side of Willis Street between Thomas Burns and Fish Street sees the rear of the buildings fronting Fryatt Street, including the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. Ltd's premises, as well as the Farra Engineering buildings. Between these are some infill buildings which contribute to the character of the streetscape through their jumble of forms, rather than architectural merit. The block between Fish and Tewsley Streets is of a similar character: a mix of one and two storey business premises reflecting the historic range of businesses operating on these streets.
The blocks bounded by the north side of Willis Street and Cresswell Street are of a different character. In this part of the Historic Area whole blocks are characterised by a uniformity of style, reflecting the function of the buildings. The Farra engineering complex makes a significant contribution to the architecture of the area with its streamlined facades to both Willis and Cresswell Streets. The east end of the block shows more architectural variety, and illustrates the older buildings associated with the engineering companies which have occupied this site since the 1880s. The Salmond Reed report considers that twentieth century architecture makes a significant contribution to the streetscape, particularly the architecture associated with the engineering firms.
The block immediately to the east is occupied by another group of buildings associated with one function, also reflected in the uniformity of the architecture. These structures housed the Sargood, Son and Ewen boot and clothing factories from the 1880s up until the mid-twentieth century. The factory takes up almost the entire block and makes an outstanding architectural and historical contribution to the Historic Area.
Diagonally opposite the Sargood buildings, to the north east, are the 1924 Farra engineering premises, the first of that company on the harbourside. Farra Engineering has expanded to become the dominant business concern in the Historic Area. The 1924 brick buildings provide another important architectural and historical contribution to the Historic Area.
A little further to the east is the substantial brick warehouse constructed by the Otago Daily Times Company as a store. This building, designed to fit the uneven lot shape, with its gable cranked in the middle to match the shape of the lot, is notable. Immediately across the road is the former Massey Harris & Co. Store (known now as the Evening Star Store), another handsome brick building which makes a strong contribution to the streetscape.
At the west end of the Steamer Basin the redeveloped Cross Wharf provides a focus for recreational activities, particularly fishing. The former Custom's Department Wharf Office, at the north end of Cross Wharf, has been redeveloped as an upmarket restaurant. The striking nautically-themed former Otago Harbour Board Administration Building sits on the junction of Cross and Birch Street wharves and is now home to commercial operations. To the south on the corner of Birch, Roberts and Wharf Streets, the former British Sailors' Society Seafarers' Centre, now houses another popular eatery, continuing to be a social centre on the waterfront. The former Briscoes Wharf Store and Works (circa 1910), on the corner of Birch and Roberts Streets, has a notable street front and windows, also makes a significant contribution to the streetscape. The historic link with the town is recalled through the remnant stone walls and abutment of the overbridge which linked the harbourside with the mercantile premises on Vogel Street.
The defining characteristic of the Dunedin Harbourside Historic Area is the interconnected nature of the history represented by the variety of activities carried out in the harbourside from the nineteenth century, and their development in the twentieth century. The streetscape that has developed reflects the consolidation of businesses, particularly engineering companies, as well as the rise and fall of businesses. The large engineering premises and the jumble of smaller premises give the streetscape its distinctive character, and while there are standout components within the Historic Area (listed in Appendix 1), it is the cumulative effect of the mix of style and form which contributes to its significance.
