Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former)

418-420 Titirangi Road and 501 South Titirangi Road, Titirangi, AUCKLAND

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Prominently situated in Titirangi village, the place known as Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former) has special significance for its landmark and other visual design qualities. Functioning as a major hub for the arts community in West Auckland since 1986, it also has special value for the extent and depth of its community associations. Incorporating the classically-influenced Treasure House - erected as a museum in 1926 - and the Spanish Mission-style Hotel Titirangi, built in 1930, the place is historically important for reasons that include its associations with the development of tourism in early twentieth-century New Zealand, particularly Auckland’s Waitākere Ranges, and a growing appreciation of the country’s natural and cultural history. It has additional value for housing the main state complex for educating deaf children in the North Island (1942-60), and the country’s first residential centre for the in-service training of teachers (1960-1982). In 2012-14, the place’s aesthetic, architectural and social significance was enhanced by conservation of the pre-existing structures and the addition of Te Uru Gallery (more fully known as Te Uru Waitākere Contemporary Gallery), both projects being accorded National Awards by the New Zealand Institute of Architecture in 2015. Prior to European arrival, the area was occupied by peoples that included Patupaiarehe and Te Kawerau a Maki. Although forests in the Waitākere Ranges were extensively felled by colonial timber businesses in the 1800s, moves to conserve New Zealand bush subsequently emerged as part of a wider appreciation of the country’s natural and cultural past. Following the creation of numerous scenic and other reserves in the area - some donated by wealthy engineer and businessman Henry Atkinson (1838-1921) - Titirangi became a significant tourist destination on the fringes of Auckland. Directly reflecting this, one of the settlement’s first tea kiosks was erected on the current site prior to 1917. In 1926, visitor attractions increased with construction of the Treasure House - a small, single-storey museum exhibiting a major kauri gum collection, Māori taonga and other artefacts. Combining neo-classical and Arts and Crafts influences, this privately-run building was designed by R. B. Hammond, a major proponent of the garden city movement, and formed part of a wider expansion of museum facilities in early twentieth-century New Zealand. In 1930, the tea kiosk was replaced by the five-storey Hotel Titirangi, promoted as an international-quality destination by local businessman Alec Bishop and associated investors. Catering for an anticipated upsurge in motorised tourism, this landmark building was designed by W. S. R. Bloomfield, probably the first person of Māori descent to formally train and practise as a Western-style architect. Its ornate Spanish Mission design and luxurious appointment reflected the influence of North American resort hotels, and featured an electric lift, hot and cold running water in every room and piped music, as well as internal garaging, tearoom facilities and extensive views of the Manukau Harbour and surrounding bush. Both the hotel and museum ventures struggled during economic depression in the early 1930s. In 1942, the Government purchased the complex as a residential School for the Deaf, reflecting both an institutionalised approach to educating children with hearing impairments at this time, and a re-organisation of such facilities due to the Second World War (1939-45). In 1960 the site became the country’s first live-in teacher training facility, named after Frank Lopdell (1890-1960) - a nationally significant educationalist. Following local pressure for a cultural centre in the early 1980s, the place became – and has remained – a major community-run hub for the arts and related activities in West Auckland. A statue of Henry Atkinson originally erected on the summit of Mt Atkinson in 1922, was relocated to the corner of Titirangi and South Titirangi Roads in circa 1989. In 2012-14, the former Hotel Titirangi and Treasure House were extensively conserved, and a strikingly modern addition created as Te Uru Gallery. Both award-winning projects were undertaken by Mitchell and Stout Architects, a partnership at the leading edge of architectural practice in late twentieth- and early twenty-first century New Zealand.

Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former), Auckland | Martin Jones | 17/06/2020 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former), Auckland. East and south elevations, looking northwest | Martin Jones | 17/06/2020 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former), Auckland. Treasure House (Former) – east elevation with classical portico | Martin Jones | 17/06/2020 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former), Auckland. Henry Atkinson statue | Martin Jones | 17/06/2020 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former), Auckland. Te Uru Gallery – interior skylight | Martin Jones | 17/06/2020 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga
Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former), Auckland. Te Uru Gallery – interior staircase | Martin Jones | 17/06/2020 | Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 1

Access

Able to Visit

List Number

9823

Date Entered

11th November 2020

Date of Effect

12th December 2020

City/District Council

Auckland Council

Region

Auckland Council

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Allot 740 Parish of Waikomiti (RT NA70A/574) and part of the land described as Legal Road, North Auckland Land District, and the buildings and structures known as and associated with Hotel Titirangi (Former), Te Uru Gallery and the Treasure House (Former) thereon. The extent includes the Henry Atkinson statue and an English oak. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information)

Legal description

Allot 740 Parish of Waikomiti (RT NA70A/574) and Legal Road, North Auckland Land District

Location Description

NZTM Easting: 1747422.5 NZTM Northing: 5910701.0

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