The Whanganui River is the major feature of the namesake region and city. Early Maori recognised the river’s potential as a food source and main transport route into the central North Island. The river valley also provided fertile flats for cultivation and, as a result, Te Ati Haunui-a-Paparangi hapu created settlements along the river and into its hinterland. Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi occupied a pa site known as ‘Nukuiro’, that was formerly in the current Wanganui Collegiate School campus. It was for similar reasons that the area caught the attention of the New Zealand Company when they were planning an auxiliary to their first settlement in Wellington. The initial purchase of the Whanganui block progressed in 1839 between the Company and a small group of chiefs from outside of the large tract of agreed land. Because it was a pre-Treaty of Waitangi purchase, the Government was obligated to later investigate the transaction. This process began in 1843 and the New Zealand Company’s purchase was largely considered invalid. However, the sale of the land near the mouth of the river, which eventually became Whanganui, was deemed legal, despite opposition from local Maori that led to a series of skirmishes. In 1847, the ‘skirmish’ known as the ‘Battle of St John’s Wood’ occurred very near to the site that would become the Wanganui Collegiate School. In May of that year, 700 Ngati Haua-te-rangi warriors, led by Hemi Topine Te Mamaku (?-1887), blockaded the town of Whanganui. A result of disputed land purchases and sovereignty issues, the catalyst for the blockade appears to have been the hanging of four Maori for the killing of a settler family in April 1847. Governor Grey bolstered the military presence to approximately 800 British soldiers behind the town’s defences, who were supported by Maori from Putiki and the town’s residents. On 19 July the two sides finally met at St John’s Wood. The battle resulted in the deaths of three Maori and two British troops and a total of 21 wounded. Despite not being a decisive victory for either side, a truce was sought and on 23 July, Te Mamuku and his men ended the blockade and returned home. The following year, in 1848, the Whanganui block’s sale became official. The development of the town was closely linked to its port, which was established only a few years after the New Zealand Company ventured into the area. In 1855 Whanganui became a Port of Entry and a significant trading centre. By this time, the town and farming district’s population had consolidated, numbering nearly 700 people. During this period, the town again became known as Wanganui, revoking the New Zealand Company name, Petre. The early years of Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui was still in its infancy when Wanganui Collegiate School was established in 1854. It is one of the oldest secondary schools in New Zealand, second only to Christ’s College in Christchurch (1851), which both remain the country’s only endowment schools. The current location is the school’s second campus; initially it was based on Victoria Avenue and called the Native Industrial School, and then the Wanganui Endowed School. These names reflect the terms of the Industrial School Estate grant which stated the land’s purpose was to enable ‘the education of children of our subjects of all races and of children of poor and destitute persons.’ The term endowment school comes from the fact that land was granted to Anglican Bishop of New Zealand Augustus George Selwyn (1809-1878) to generate income that would ensure this continued to happen. Therefore, the current Wanganui Collegiate School site has been associated with the school its entire history, being part of a grant by Governor Sir George Grey (1812-1898) in 1852. While much of the land surrounding the current campus has been subdivided and built upon, the northern part of the campus near Glasgow Street (Pt Wanganui Industrial School Reserve) is a relatively unmodified part of the original estate, which may retain subsurface archaeological features from earlier times. From its Victoria Avenue campus, the school developed slowly. By the twentieth century it had become ‘the New Zealand counterpart of an English public school.’ However, in the early 1870s there were only around 30 students, including a few girls. The school became a single-sex boys’ institution in 1878 and girls did not attend Wanganui Collegiate School again until 1991. It was in the 1880s, under Headmaster Reverend Bache Wright Harvey (1835-1888), that the school began shaping itself along the lines of the English public school model. Harvey was a distinguished Cambridge mathematics graduate and came to New Zealand in the 1860s, with his first position being Vicar of Westport. While some considered this more elitist form of school contrary to the terms of the grant, others, including Governor Grey, felt it permissible to have paying students. The name Wanganui Collegiate School dates from 1882 during Harvey’s tenure. From the late nineteenth century until 1901, when the public District High School was established, the local option for parents who could afford the fees was to send boys to Wanganui Collegiate School, or their girls to Wanganui Girls’ College. At this time there were 25 secondary schools in New Zealand, and of the 2800 pupils, 1800 were boys. The roll at Wanganui Collegiate School averaged around 200 pupils in the same period. Christ’s College and Wanganui Collegiate School were exempt from the provisions of the 1903 Secondary School’s Act, the two Anglican schools becoming private institutions that were supported by public endowments. It is recorded that at this time both schools had a strong boarding component and drew students from all over New Zealand. Creating the new campus Wanganui Collegiate School, as it is recognisable today, was the result of early twentieth century events. The school faced an uncertain time in 1906 during an Education Trust Commission inquiry to determine whether the conditions of the original grant were being adhered to. The Commission’s recommendations led the Board of Trustees to propose shifting the school’s campus to Liverpool Street, despite this being on the outskirts of Whanganui’s residential area at the time. In late 1908, prominent architectural firm Atkins and Bacon was appointed to design the majority of the new campus’ buildings. The decision to use this firm, instead of the diocesan architect Frederick de Jersey Clere (1856-1952), is said to have been based on partner Roger Francis Bacon’s (d.1959) previous experience practicing in London. Alfred Atkins (1850-1919) was well established locally when Bacon became a partner in his practice in 1907; both were based in Wellington at the time of the Collegiate commission. Atkins had designed several prominent Whanganui buildings including its first public museum in 1893, Wanganui Hospital completed in 1897 and the Ward Observatory in 1903. Arthur G. Bignell (1861-1944), Board Chairman, has been singled out as a driving force behind the successful transition to the new campus. Bignell, a former Whanganui Mayor (1904-06) advocated for local businesses to undertake the design and building work. Himself a notable local building contractor, Bignell showed considerable understanding and business acumen throughout the tendering process and directed the Board towards those with specific experience, like Bacon. The Board received Supreme Court permission to borrow up to £35,000 to build and furnish the school buildings. Subsequently, loans of £50,000 were also approved. With plans in hand and funds secured, preparatory site work began in 1908, with the foundation stone being laid by Governor Lord Plunket in 1909. In late 1909, it was publicised that Nicholas Meuli was the successful tenderer for what would be ‘the finest and most up-to-date school in Australasia.’ The building contract was for six separate two-storey school and accommodation buildings. This included Big School: ‘…containing an assembly hall as large as any of the churches in Wanganui, with class-rooms adjoining. This, the main structure, will be a most striking edifice, with every modern convenience, including a large library.’ By Easter 1911, this building was substantively complete with the campus official opening ceremony, by Governor Lord Islington (1866-1936), taking place there. Many of the other buildings were not finished at this time, but the opening was held early to coincide with the annual reunion of former students. A few buildings from the first campus were relocated, for example the former Big School became a gymnasium, and an old headmaster’s residence became a sanatorium for a time. Classes did not begin until the end of May 1911. The development of Wanganui Collegiate School Wanganui Collegiate School has an august history, with many well-known New Zealanders being educated there. Many past students have distinguished themselves nationally and internationally in a variety of fields, such as academia, politics, the military, and in sport. Some examples include David Kirk, the former All Black captain and Rhodes Scholar, and Lord Cooke of Thorndon, who served on the judicial committee of the Privy Council. The hub of the school life for these distinguished alumni, as well as thousands of other past students and staff, was Big School. Initially provision for classrooms and administrative activities was made in the Big School building; its large central hall was also the location for school assemblies and performances. However, as the school became settled into business at the new campus other facilities were gradually added to ease the demand on Big School. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Wanganui Collegiate School was the largest boarding school in New Zealand. When the new campus was opened the House system quickly became the ‘most significant feature of school life.’ This is not surprising considering the majority of students were boarders. For example, in 1925, there were 222 boarders and 31 day students. It has been noted that boarders, in particular, tended to identify strongly with the school. After all, it was the place where they spent the majority of their time. While day boys could go home to their families, the Wanganui Collegiate School campus became a substitute for the family home. The boarding experience left ‘an indelible impression upon the minds of those who spent their adolescence in the close company of one hundred or more of their peers.’ The initial Houses were Selwyn, Hadfield, and Grey, named after the important early Anglican clergymen, and the Governor. These buildings were constructed next to each other, featuring adjoining courtyard areas that had small ablutions blocks. It was noted in the mid-twentieth century that these played a part in student hierarchies within the Houses, with junior students relegated to using these external facilities. The construction of the fourth House, Harvey, named after the early Headmaster, was delayed until 1920 because of financial considerations. Once again Atkins and Bacon’s practice, which was now Atkins Bacon and Mitchell because Cyril Mitchell had joined as a partner, were on board to design the building and Meuli was the builder. During this period a day boy’s facility and music room, as well as Chaplain’s and Steward’s residences were also built. Harvey House was opened in 1920. However, fluctuating rolls in the 1920s and 1930s saw it closed and reopened on several occasions. Indeed, because of this Harvey House was described as ‘the barometer of the school’s fortunes.’ Loyalty to one’s House, and competition with rival ones, were important aspects of boarders’ lives and a definite sense of identity and community arose which day boys felt removed from. However, this did not deter day students. In 1914, the day boys had their own Master, and eventually day boy Houses were set up as a means of trying to include the students in this integral aspect of school life. Numbers of day students dramatically increased in the late twentieth century which required more facilities. One of these Houses was named after Governor-General Arthur Porritt, who opened it in 1971. Porritt received his secondary school education at Wanganui Collegiate School from 1914. Later he not only represented New Zealand in the sporting arena, but also became a Rhodes Scholar, before being appointed our first New Zealand born Governor-General. As an Anglican institution, a chapel was of course part of the original concept for the campus. Its construction was prompted by the retirement of ‘one of the most inspirational and influential early headmasters,’ Walter Empson (1856-1934). Empson suggested that if there was to be a testimony to his time at the school he would appreciate it taking the form of a chapel. Therefore, the chapel differed from the other original buildings because it was paid for through Old Boys subscriptions, and they appointed their own architect, William Gray Young (1885-1962). This project came early in the career of Gray Young, who was on his way to becoming a well-known Wellington architect. Again, Meuli was awarded the building contract along with John Jones. The building was dedicated in Easter 1912, the first anniversary of the opening of the new campus and the laying of its own foundation stone. By the late twentieth century, students of different Christian denominations, as well as from other religious groups, were attending Wanganui Collegiate School. However, as a traditionally important aspect of the school’s activities, these students were still expected to attend chapel. Because of growth in student numbers, by this time the chapel’s capacity was too small and earthquake strengthening was also an issue. Therefore, the building was extended in the 1980s, a project also paid for through Old Boys’ fundraising efforts. The enlarged chapel was dedicated in September 1986. Cultural activities, such as music and drama, were fostered at the school. Aside from the teaching that occurred in the music room, there was generally a strong tradition of choral and all school singing, particularly at chapel, which continues today. Performing arts at the school was given a boost in 1984 when a new auditorium was completed, named in His Royal Highness Prince Edward’s honour. He had been Selwyn House’s Tutor for two terms between 1982 and 1983 and was visited there by Prince Charles and Princess Diana during their 1983 tour. The auditorium had substantially better acoustic qualities than Big School’s hall, and was a more appropriate size for the, by now, enlarged school population. Later the Foundation Music School was added to this building. The school also hosts concerts and public events at the auditorium and chapel, and the long-standing relationship that the New Zealand Opera School, held at Godwin House every January, has with the school strengthens its cultural ties with the community. An essential part of the English public school model was an emphasis on morale and school community-building sporting and cadet experiences. School historian Andrew Sangster noted that in the new campus’ early period someone browsing the school’s magazine, Collegian, could be forgiven ‘for believing that the school’s main care was for sports.’ Rugby, cricket, and rowing have traditionally been very important at the school, although many different field sports were available, and there were swimming, tennis, and hockey facilities developed. All Blacks Jimmy Hunter and David Kirk, Silver Fern netballer Joline Henry, and gold-medallist rower Rebecca Scown are all alumni of the school. The value of sports to students can be gauged by the fact that the playing fields at the new campus were twice the size that were planned, primarily because students volunteered during holidays to level the grounds. They are also said to have laboured to create the cricket ground (the memorial Pavilion was built later in 1917), swimming pool, bicycle sheds and other minor buildings. In the mid-twentieth century, a new gymnasium, as well as other amenities, was seen as one way of retaining day student levels in light of anticipated competition from a new local public school, Wanganui High School. Indeed, it was from this period that day students began to grow substantially in number. That gymnasium was superseded by the Izard Sports Centre in 1994. The centre was funded by a significant contribution from Old Boy Richard Izard and the school’s extended community also fundraised, buying bricks engraved with donor names which were used in the building’s construction. Significant changes took place at Wanganui Collegiate School in the late 1960s, with one commentator describing it as possibly ‘the most dramatic private school expansion that is now underway.’ The need to increase capacity was already apparent in the 1950s. With the school roll at a record level in 1956 an entrance exam was introduced as a way to manage the growing waiting list. This demand reflects a general post-war trend in New Zealand in placing greater importance on a full secondary school education. This has been linked to the growth of urban areas and, correspondingly, the professional workforce which required higher qualifications. The need to expand the school was also driven by baby boomer children reaching secondary school age by the 1960s, further increasing demand for places at Wanganui Collegiate School. In 1960 the roll was 342, considerably more than when the Liverpool Street campus was first created. This pressure on the school’s facilities motivated additions such as a new dining hall, junior boarders’ house (Empson House) and science block, as well as the renovation of many existing buildings. Auxiliary functions located in Big School were also accommodated elsewhere as part of the programme, in order for Big School to become specifically a classroom block. As such, the library was moved into the original dining hall. By 1976, these building projects enabled the school’s roll to increase to 545 students. By the late 1980s, there was a noticeable drop in the numbers of boarders. This was a worldwide phenomenon not exclusive to Wanganui Collegiate School. The economic effects of the 1987 share market crash on groups from which the school traditionally drew its students, the farming and business communities, worsened the situation for the school. This decline does not seem to have been compensated for with increases in day boy numbers. Therefore, a concerted effort was made to promote the school, but the school fees and the single-sex character were inhibitive. Opening the school up to accepting female pupils (initially only senior students) began in earnest in 1989. Godwin House was built to accommodate female boarders in 1990 and the next year Wanganui Collegiate School received its first female students in over a century. However, this was not the end of the troubled times at the school. Consolidation was needed, and one measure was to dissolve the day boy Houses and redistribute these students into the boarders Houses. As such, Marris and Porritt House was converted into a technology teaching block in 1999. Despite being testing times for the Board of Trustees in 2003, the atmosphere within the school was said to be positive and the roll began to recover. Because of the continued maintenance of existing assets and new building projects the school environment was described as ‘unsurpassed in New Zealand.’ The debate about whether Wanganui Collegiate School should integrate into the state school system began to gather momentum in the 1970s. This has periodically been a concern of the Board of Trustees in all of the subsequent decades, mostly as a potential remedy for financial woes. However, it was only in late 2009 that the school formally applied to the Ministry of Education for integration. In early November 2012, this was achieved following a ‘difficult and drawn out process.’

Current Description Wanganui Collegiate School has been described as being ‘a village set within a town’. The campus occupies a large section facing onto Liverpool Street and bounded by the railway line to the northeast, and Glasgow, London, and Grey Streets. Playing fields are also located on the opposite side of Grey Street, but these are not within the extent of the historic place. Connecting the two entrance points on both Liverpool and Grey Streets is The Drive. This and other paths wind their way through the schools buildings, structures and open spaces. In general the original buildings are located in the southeast quadrant, and as the school has developed building works have progressed towards London Street endeavouring to maintain the original layout principle of providing an environment structured for the efficient and effective running of the school. Despite this growth, there has been a conscious effort to retain large open spaces, such as the cricket grounds associated with the Pavilion, and the less formal and public hilly area located at the rear of the boarding houses, acting as a communal backyard and golf course. The careful campus design, balancing open and built spaces, physically represents the school ethos of providing a well-rounded educational and boarding experience for students. Buildings and structures included in the Historic Place The places below have been assessed as being of particular importance to the overarching heritage values of Wanganui Collegiate School. These are not ranked in terms of significance; instead this section is generally structured geographically and by function – taking the viewpoint of a visitor entering through the main entrance on Liverpool Street and moving through the school before exiting using the north Grey Street driveway. Big School (1910-11). Big School is the public face of the school as well as central to school life. Others in this group of initial buildings designed by Atkins and Bacon include: Grey, Hadfield and Selwyn Houses, their associated toilet blocks, the original Dining Hall, and the Headmaster’s Residence. These were described at the time of their construction as being ‘treated in a frankly modern manner’ that recalled English Domestic architecture. The campus’ original buildings can be identified by their 1910 dated downpipe caps. Other shared features include Marseille tile roofing and two-toned brick and stucco exteriors. Big School is a two storey building constructed around a large central double height gabled hall. Excepting a few post-1911 single storey additions on the southeast side, this building is strongly symmetrical. Fronting Liverpool Street, Big School features areas of ornamental brickwork, and upper storey arch windows that repeat the main entrance’s form. Big School’s original decorative arched parapets were removed as an earthquake safety precaution in the early 1930s. Likewise, the chimneys on Big School, and the other older buildings, are now purely aesthetic constructions because of later earthquake concerns. A feature of particular note in this classroom block is the hall, touted by Hon. Henry George Ell (1862-1934) soon after it opened as ‘one of the finest in the Dominion.’ Big School was refurbished and strengthened in 1990-91. The works by architects Belchambers Bondy included creating a balcony at the northeast end of the hall to link the galleries. The interior steel and timber beams, added during the post-Hawke’s Bay earthquake works, were tied together at roof level with steel rods and the posts likewise reinforced. Centrally located on the northwest side of Big School, the Gilligan House Memorial Room was added in 1991 and also designed by Belchambers Bondy. With its gabled roof terminating over an apse, this building is a memorial to one of the school’s former off-site boarding houses and is a versatile theatre-style space. On the adjoining lawn, between the current library and Selwyn House, is a bronze Paul Dibble (b.1943) sculpture commissioned in 1999. Chapel (1911-1912). The placement of the Chapel and Big School on either side of the main entrance forthrightly states the school’s twin pillars of education and religion for visiting public and students alike. Although part of the new campus’ planned complement of buildings, the Chapel had a different architect, William Gray Young, who won the competition run by the WCS Old Boys Association. However, it sits comfortably among the Atkins and Bacon buildings, through sympathetic style and scale, and similar materials, although in the Chapel stucco gives way to Oamaru stone detailing and tracery and slate roofing instead of Marseille tiles. There are three stained glass windows in the Chapel which were relocated from the school’s earlier church, including a South African (Boer) War memorial window. Many more memorial windows have been added to over the last century, commemorating those killed in World War One as well as others associated with the school. Other World War One memorial features include the sanctuary’s 1921 reredos and panelling, and the pulpit. A carved partition at the southwest end of the building creates a vestibule known as the Porch of Memories, beneath the World War One memorial organ in its loft. Names of fallen Old Boys have been progressively added to this, commemorating those who fought in the South African War, and World Wars One and Two. The Chapel has beautifully intricate examples of carved timber altar furniture. Among these are the 1936 oak choir, chaplain and headmaster’s stalls by noteworthy craftsman, Frederick George Gurnsey (1868-1953). Between 1985 and 1986 the Chapel was strengthened and extended through the addition of an aisle either side of the nave. This increased seating capacity from 300 to 600 people. The architects for the project were Dickson Elliott Lonergan, Whanganui, and Smith Lechars, Wellington. The project won the 1988 New Zealand Institute of Architects National Award for Conservation and Restoration. Hadfield, Selwyn, Grey (1910-1911), and Harvey (1921) Houses and Toilet Blocks (1910-11). From the beginning, boarding has been an essential aspect of school life at Wanganui Collegiate. The close proximity of these early residential buildings to Big School and the Chapel created a village-like cluster, with Atkins and Bacon’s use of the English Domestic style particularly suited to conveying a reassuring sense of home comforts in the boarding Houses. Each was also designed to include accommodation for the housemaster and his family. Although seemingly democratically similar to the design of Hadfield, Selwyn and Grey Houses, Harvey House was built to be somewhat more spacious than its decade-old siblings. This collection of two storey buildings, side by side on a crescent shaped drive, has an I-shaped footprint, with Harvey House’s rear longitudinal wing being slightly longer than the others. In the courtyards between Harvey and Hadfield, and Grey and Selwyn, are the two single storey hipped-roofed brick ablutions blocks. The four Houses were extended and upgraded in the 1970s to increase capacity and improve conditions, which were substandard in comparison with the new buildings like Empson and Marris and Porritt Houses. Each extension consisted of a large double storey concrete block and timber building along the rear. A staggered work programme saw this work largely completed between 1972 and 1978. Headmaster’s Residence (1910-1911). This is among the group of original buildings said to be ‘a monument to the genius of Messrs Atkins and Bacon, the architects.’ Befitting the Headmaster’s important role in the school, this building is placed relatively centrally within the campus among the line of boarding and day houses. When built, this large, two storey, six bedroom house also featured four reception rooms, as well as other domestic necessities. The building faces north and backs onto The Drive. At the rear, and to the west, additional gables and lean-tos seem to have been added by the mid-twentieth century. Steward’s and Chaplain’s Residences (1921). These buildings are smaller, but stylistically similar to the earlier Headmaster’s Residence, and together these staff residences flank the early boarding houses and Marris and Porritt House, being a reminder of watchful authority for students but also allowing staff and their families a measure of privacy. Indeed, in the late twentieth century these were used by day boy Housemasters. They are located north of the Chapel on Liverpool Street, with a lane running between them. The two storey houses are staggered on their neighbouring large residential sections and tie in with the brick and stucco look of the other early buildings. Dining Hall, current H. G. Carver Memorial Library (1910-1911). Located conveniently for students on a trajectory between the main boarding houses and Big School, this is also an example of an original campus building. Now used as a library, the original Dining Hall has buttressing along its north side and the long gable of the hall has a central belfry. It sits alongside the old kitchen (formerly featuring maid’s quarters on first floor) to the south. Another feature of the current library is its large east and west tracery windows, with a circular window above that recalls the one beside Big School’s northern entrance. In 1967, a new dining hall was completed and its predecessor was converted into the H. G. Carver Memorial Library. Wilson, Belchambers, Low and Associates’ designed the interior changes which included constructing a mezzanine floor. Staffroom and administrative facilities were created in the adjoining former kitchen. Marris House and Music Room (Former), current Museum and Archive (1921). Like other early buildings, Wanganui Collegiate School’s first day boy house is located near Big School, towards the Liverpool Street frontage. Along with Harvey House and the Chaplain and Steward’s Residences, this building (named Marris House in 1926) was designed by Atkins, Bacon and Mitchell, continuing this firm’s work establishing the campus. Another thing all the early buildings, including the Chapel, have in common is that they were constructed by Nicholas Meuli. The red brick at ground level and a stuccoed second storey in the Marris House section is typical of the other early buildings. A larger adjoining day boys’ common room was opened in 1960. After the removal of music teaching to the Foundation Music School in 1991, the 70 year old building was transformed into the current Museum and Archive. Marris and Porritt House, current Technology Block (1970). Marris and Porritt House was constructed to expand the day boys’ facilities available at earlier incarnations of Marris House, but unlike its 1921 predecessor, Marris and Porritt House’s location next to Harvey House meant day boys were better integrated into House life at the school as well as having direct access to the school’s backyard. Continuing the association with the school established through the Science Block, this building was designed by Wilson, Belchambers, Low and Associates. Constructed by Pepper & Fromont Limited, Marris and Porritt House forms three sides of a central courtyard on a site lower than its neighbour, Harvey House. The concrete block and fair face concrete building won the local 1973 New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) Bronze Medal Award. This building has now been converted into a technology teaching block. Godwin House (1990). Designed by Bruce Dickson, the first girls’ boarding house at Wanganui Collegiate consists of several wings around a central courtyard at the western end of The Drive. Godwin House strongly references the stucco wall surfaces, tile gabled roofs, and round and arched topped windows of the original Atkins and Bacon buildings. Bishops House (1999). This was the second house built for female students, constructed for junior girls in preference to adapting Empson House for that purpose. It was designed by Bruce Dickson to also reference architectural elements of the other campus buildings and was named for all of the bishops who had contributed to the school. Science Block (1967). Originally all classrooms and administrative activities were in Big School, but additional facilities were developed to meet the needs of the growing school roll. Throughout its history, buildings constructed subsequent to Wanganui Collegiate School’s initial development took place away from the main public face on Liverpool Street. However, in 1967, the Science Block was built on Liverpool Street south of the Big School, a visible signal that the school was expanding and modernising. Strongly rectangular, the building’s red brick and cream painted concrete references the cladding materials common to the campus’ early buildings. The interplay between large solid sections of brick wall and recessed glazing is stylistically typical of its era, and the work of Eddie Belchambers, and his boss Don Wilson, who Belchambers soon joined as a practice partner. Wilson was a Wanganui Collegiate Old Boy and these architects were able to introduce a Modernist direction to the campus’ architecture because of strong support from the school’s Chairman, Bryan Silk. Cricket Pavilion and Scorer’s Box (1917). On the northwest edge of the cricket field, the raked-floored swimming pool was dug out by the students when the campus was initially developed, with new walls and changing sheds constructed in 1966. While the playing fields were also levelled when the campus was established, it was not until 1917 that the Cricket Pavilion was constructed. This area is a formal semi-public leisure space much like a residential front yard, which draws people to the school for organised sporting events. The Pavilion is another of the school’s First World War memorial features, designed by Charles Reginald Ford and built by William Knuckey; it was commissioned by master and subsequent WCS headmaster John Allen in memory of his brother Charles Bramwell Allen and his cricketing friend and WCS master Hugh Montagu Butterworth, who died in France in 1915. Ford was based in Whanganui at this time, but in 1923 he went on to form influential New Zealand architectural practice Gummer and Ford in Auckland. The central section of the building has concrete terracing and the north side is heavily glazed creating a sheltered spectator area. The small Scorer’s Box, now several metres northeast of the Pavilion but formerly to its southwest, is in a similar style to its neighbour. Both continue the visual language of the early Atkins and Bacon buildings. Prince Edward Auditorium (1983-1984) and Foundation Music School (1991). Constructed by Fletcher Building, Warren and Mahoney’s Auditorium is another semi-public school space for assemblies and indoor school cultural events, located across the playing field from the Cricket Pavilion and next to the swimming pool. This Post-modern building’s exterior cladding echoes the brick, stucco, and tile of the Atkins and Bacon buildings, and its roof pitches harmoniously too. Sir Miles Warren cites the Auditorium as a successful example of the company’s 1980s contextualist direction, noting that this approach ‘worked only when there was a worthwhile context.’ Each corner of the roof has a distinctive arch-topped vent. The music suite has internal access to the Auditorium. This addition was designed by Belchambers with two main sections, which ascend in size eastwards from the Auditorium. This creates an interesting stepped form when viewed from The Drive. Izard Sports Centre (1994). The architectural principles employed in the Prince Edward Auditorium influenced Bruce Dickson’s design for its neighbouring building, the Izard Sport Centre. Opened in October 1994, this building upgraded and expanded the school’s existing gymnasium facility. The project garnered considerable support from the wider school community, which is acknowledged in the building’s west wall featuring hundreds of fundraising bricks engraved with donor names. As well as a sports hall, the building has a classroom, squash courts, a spectator gallery which also provides views of the adjacent sports field and changing rooms accessible from the swimming pool. The Izard Sports Centre received an NZIA Design Award in 1995. Comparisons Wanganui Collegiate School is comparable to other New Zealand schools whose campus buildings have been recognised by Heritage New Zealand for their architectural merits, like Christ’s College, Christchurch, and Auckland Grammar School. Each of these schools is a collection of buildings built at different times but presenting a cohesive architectural theme. Like Christ’s College’s complement of buildings, which are predominantly Gothic Revival style or reference it, architectural consideration has gone into Wanganui Collegiate School’s buildings. They generally draw on Atkins and Bacon’s English Domestic style characteristics in order to create a cohesive campus, even though later buildings were completed in different styles by a variety of architects. The current Auckland Grammar School campus is a close contemporary to that of Wanganui Collegiate. These both departed from the Gothic Revival tradition for educational buildings, but unlike Wanganui Collegiate School, Auckland Grammar’s original architects opted for buildings strongly influenced by the Spanish Mission style.