Logan Bank

114 Anzac Avenue and Parliament Street, AUCKLAND

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Logan Bank is the site of an elite family residence occupied by the ‘Father of Auckland’, Sir John Logan Campbell (1817-1912). Located in the heart of the colonial city, it incorporates the visible remnants of the earliest concrete building erected in Auckland, and the earliest concrete building believed to survive in the North Island. Erected in 1870-1 to Campbell’s design, the visible remnants retain significant evidence of early concrete construction technology, including traces of formwork that was the first of its type internationally to come into general use. The wider site also has long and close associations with Campbell, who was an important figure during the colonial period as a businessman, politician, literary figure, public benefactor and city patriarch. The site lies in a landscape that was extensively occupied by Maori prior to 1840. It may be situated in, or near a pa known as Te Reuroa. In 1841, the property was purchased by Logan Campbell at the first sale of Crown land in the colonial capital. Campbell had previously co-founded Auckland’s first merchant firm - Brown and Campbell - and became one of the settlement’s pre-eminent citizens. In 1842 he erected a timber cottage at Logan Bank, which may have been enlarged in 1843. This house was occupied at an early stage by leading barrister and politician, Edward Houghton Bartley (1798-1878). From 1851, Campbell himself occupied the property, erecting a large timber addition. Located in the elite neighbourhood of Official Bay, Logan Bank was to be Campbell’s main residence for the next 30 years whenever he was in Auckland. In 1870-1, Campbell replaced the 1842-3 cottage with a two-storey concrete extension of Italianate design. Referred to as ‘the pioneer of its kind in this part of the globe’, the addition was erected using imported material and expertise from Britain, and the latest in European technology and equipment. The latter included Joseph Tall’s re-usable formwork, which had been patented in 1865 to facilitate the efficient construction of mass concrete walls. Campbell designed the extension himself. The project was overseen by notable Auckland architect, Richard Keals. Construction of the concrete extension marked a significant point in Campbell’s life. Returning from a prolonged overseas stay, he took complete control of his business affairs and reinforced his position among Auckland’s elite by serving on boards that controlled notable companies and institutions. In September-October 1872, he hosted the notable British novelist Anthony Trollope (1815-82) and his wife Rose at Logan Bank. Campbell also wrote the final draft of his pioneer reminiscences, Poenamo, at the house. After publication in 1881, his work was widely acclaimed as a colonial classic. Following Campbell’s sale of the property in 1884, Logan Bank was converted into a boarding house. In 1917-18 parts of the building were demolished during the creation of Anzac Avenue, which was itself a relatively early example of all-concrete road construction in New Zealand. Remnant parts of the 1870-1 concrete structure were used to retain the new road - named in 1916 as a memorial to men who died at Gallipoli. In 1960, the site was donated to the public by a mayor of Auckland, Sir Ernest Davis (1872-1962). Still used as a reserve (2014), surviving remains of Logan Bank include a concrete retaining wall, garden features and in-ground remnants.

Logan Bank. Concrete wall remnants retaining Anzac Avenue | Martin Jones | 16/12/2013 | Heritage New Zealand
Loagn Bank. Surviving west wall of 1870-1 concrete building forming a revetment to Anzac Aveue | Martin Jones | 16/10/2013 | Heritage New Zealand
Logan Bank. Collapsed concrete pillar beside concrete garden revetment wall | Martin Jones | 16/10/2013 | Heritage New Zealand

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 2

Access

Able to Visit

List Number

9643

Date Entered

6th June 2014

Date of Effect

6th June 2014

City/District Council

Auckland Council

Region

Auckland Council

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Lot 84 DP 14125 (RT NA35B/571), North Auckland Land District and part of the land described as Anzac Avenue road reserve; and the structures known as Logan Bank thereon. The extent encompasses all physical elements within the defined boundary, including surviving remnants of the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century building; associated garden structures; retaining walls to Anzac Avenue; and in-ground archaeological deposits (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the registration report for further information).

Legal description

Lot 84 DP 14125 (RT NA35B/571), North Auckland Land District, and Anzac Avenue road reserve

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