The former Government Life Insurance Building

• c.1949
• Rooftop addition
• c.1959
• Rooftp addition
• c.1965
• Rooftop addition
• 1980
• Alterations to roof boiler house 00058:1256:C53360
• 1986
• New canopy 00059:49:D4943
• 2000
• New entrance and substation 00078:547:70128 & 70279
• 2004
• Ground floor access to tenancy SR105967
• c.2005 - 2011
• Major internal fit-out, various SR numbers
• c.2006
• Proposal for 4 No. additional floors at roof level and a new mezzanine parking floor
• 2013
• Proposal to remove verandah/canopy SR286581

Not assessed

Not assessed

Built during the Depression, this massive building has three street frontages and rises to a total height of 41 metres. Ernst Plischke described it as ‘distinctly functional and modern, but does not ignore tradition entirely, and shows that a building can be modern without being in the least bit bizarre…’ The plain design of the building reflects the economic conditions of the time although it remains something of a mixture of parts. The Sullivan-esque device of designing a building as base, shaft and cap is evident here in an understated way, with divisions being marked out with simplified cornices. In fact, this is a Stripped Classical building in which the vertical divisions of the façade - the pattern of windows and piers - mark out a kind of visual tempo that is classical in origin.

The main entrance is more traditional, taking the form of a recessed portico, with attached, fluted columns framing the door jambs and set into a polished granite surround. Inside, the peculiar geometry of Art Deco has been adopted as a decorative motif. Also of interest are the copper spandrels and oriel windows on the corner of the lighthouse tower on the roof. This departmental symbol had projecting wings of plate glass around the lantern to reflect the sun.

Steel frame structure

The Post Office Square heritage area is a significant and popular urban open space of over 100 years standing surrounded by a group of important former harbour board and commercial buildings. The area is named for the former General Post Office (GPO), which occupied the site of the present-day Hotel Intercontinental and IBM Tower on Customhouse Quay from 1863 to 1974.

With the exception of the latter two, these are all buildings of high heritage significance.

There are a number of other features within the square and on its margins that can be considered part of the heritage area, many of which contribute to its values, including the Queens Wharf gates (1899), a heritage telephone box (c.1938) and a heritage postal box (dating from between 1879 and 1910).

The heritage area is not really a square in the conventional sense but it is an open, definable space at the confluence of a number of important streets, and is closely related to the establishment and use of the waterfront by the former Wellington Harbour Board (WHB). In particular, the square was, and is, the key point of access to Queens Wharf, Wellington’s most historically important wharf.

The square was created partly by 19th century additions to the original 1857-63 reclamation which gave room to construct buildings on the eastern side of the square and accommodate traffic and even, for a period, a railway. A statue of Queen Victoria was placed there in 1906 (and later removed in 1911), while the island was formed in 1912 to accommodate the tram shelter that later became Clarrie Gibbons. The island has grown considerably in extent since then. With a couple of notable exceptions, the square has undergone only incremental change since the early 20th century and, as a result, it has maintained its basic configuration and essential characteristics. It is, despite the presence of modern buildings on the edges, still recognisably the same place it was 100 years ago.

Post Office Square is a place of high heritage value and importance to Wellington and contains a number of significant heritage buildings. It is a place very familiar to many Wellingtonians and is passed daily by thousands of people, in cars or on foot.

The Post Office Square heritage area is principally an open space defined by a number of significant heritage buildings. The area includes all the buildings bounding the square – on Grey Street and Customhouse and Jervois Quays, as well as Sheds 11 and 13 to the immediate north and the nearby Wharf Offices and Bond Store buildings. The boundary follows the property lines of the key buildings surrounding the square and extends across Jervois Quay to pick up the four former WHB buildings. With one exception, all the buildings within the area boundary contribute to the formation and qualities of the square.

Buildings



Wharf Offices (Shed 7 / Wharf Office Apartments, 1896)

Head Office and Bond Store (Museum of Wellington - City and Sea, 1891-92)

Shed 11 (1904-05)

Shed 13 (1904-05)

Clarrie Gibbons Store (and traffic island, 1912)

Huddart Parker Building, 2-6 Jervois Quay (1924)

Tower Building, 50 – 64 Customhouse Quay (1936)

Intercontinental Hotel, 2 Grey Street (1988)

Todd Corporation Building, 95 Customhouse Quay, (1987)

Chapman Tripp Building, 1-13 Grey Street (1976)

With the exception of the latter two, these are all buildings of high heritage significance. 

There are a number of other features within the square and on its margins that can be considered part of the heritage area, many of which contribute to its values, including the Queens Wharf gates (1899), a heritage telephone box (c.1938) and a heritage postal box (dating from between 1879 and 1910). [1]

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  The former Government Life Building is a product of the 1930s transitional period in architectural styles from Classicism to Modernism. It is a very good example of the work of the Government Architect’s office and is notable for its well-proportioned facades, for the quality of its design, materials and workmanship, and for its restrained palette of details and ornamentation. The interior retains some significant interior features, including stairwells, foyers and halls.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  The former Government Life Building is one of a group of heritage buildings that together form the Post Office Square Heritage Area.

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  The building has townscape value as a dominant presence on Customhouse Quay and is highly visible in views from Oriental Bay.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  The building has historic value for its association with Government Life, an insurance provider that was created as a state-run alternative to private insurance providers, and the site was occupied by the insurer from the 1870s. The present building has an historic association with Government Life from 1938 and was the national headquarters for its successor, the Tower Corporation, until c.2005.

• Archaeological

  Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?

  Pre 1900 reclaimed land; Central City NZAA R27/270

• Identity Sense Of Place Continuity

  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

  The building has had few intrusive external alterations and additions over the past 70 years and contributes to the identity and sense of place of the Post Office Square Heritage Area

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  The building exterior retains much of its original built fabric.

• Representative

  Is the item a good example of the class it represents?

  The building is a particularly good example of the work of the Government Architect’s office in the 1930s.

• Importance

  Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

  The building is important on a regional level for its contribution to the Post Office Square Heritage Area streetscape.

Not assessed

• City Engineer, memo for the Town Clerk 3 October 1963 re: proposed rooftop addition to the Government Life Building
• Customhouse Quay, Wellington. Deste, Eileen, 1908-1986 :Collection of prints and negatives. Ref: 1/2-004264-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
• Evening Post, 20 May 1931, Page 7
• Evening Post, 22 June 1934, Page 7
• Evening Post, 5 October 1936, Page 7
• Gardyne, Stuart, 1981. Wellington Between the Wars. VUW Thesis. 141
• Kelly et al, ‘WCC Post Office Square Heritage Area’ unpublished WCC heritage area report for DPC 48 (2006)
• Government Life Insurance, Government Departments in Wellington. Negatives of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP-0391-1/2-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
• IMPRESSIVE BLOCK Evening Post, 10 February 1938, Page 11
• Kelly et al, ‘WCC Post Office Square Heritage Area’ unpublished WCC heritage area report for DPC 48 (2006)
• McLintock A.H. An Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Vol.1. Government Printer, Wellington, 1966
• McLean G., ‘Historic Wellington Walking Tour’. Reed Books: Auckland, 1998
• NEW BUILDING Evening Post, 2 December 1938, Page 12
• New Zealand Cyclopedia Co., The Cyclopedia of New Zealand, Vol.1 Pt.1. 1897
• Schouton, Hank. ‘An eye for the potential of old buildings.’ Dominion Post 23/02/2013
• Schrader, Ben. 'Public buildings - State-sector buildings', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 29-May-12 URL:
• Shaw, Peter. 'Mair, John Thomas - Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10 URL:
• ‘Tower to seek expressions of interest …’ (12 May 2005) Tower website accessed July 2013
• WCC Heritage Building Inventory 2001 ref CUST1

• Inventory Report
• 1934 plans

Not available