Pilot’s Cottage (Former)

229 Marine Parade, Worser Bay, Wellington
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Image: Charles Collins, 2015
Image: WCC - Charles Collins, 2015
Cityview GIS 2013
Cityview GIS 2013
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  • Constructed

    1866

  • Architect(s)

    Unknown

  • Builder(s)

    Unknown

  • This cottage is one of the oldest in Wellington and represents the earliest phase of European settlement in the isolated Seatoun area. The cottage is a basic design and is typical of the simple and adaptable dwellings built during this period.

    This cottage has significant historic values due to its associations with the pilots of the Pilot Service, who were housed there between 1866 and 1894. The service was an important development in Wellington and the establishment of Wellington’s maritime services.   

    The pilot’s cottage is one of the few remaining public works that were constructed by the Wellington Provincial Council and is now the sole remaining structure associated with the former Pilot Station that operated from Worser Bay.   

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  • close History

    • This Pilot Station was constructed in 1866 to replace the Tarakena Bay Pilot Station, which had been operating since 1842. The establishment of the Tarakena Bay station had been a response to the increases in shipping that occurred in the 1840s, and the New Zealand Company became aware that there was a need to get a skilled pilot on board foreign vessels that were entering the harbour. The turbulent Cook Strait weather made launching the pilot’s boat from the exposed Tarakena Bay station extremely hazardous, but it was not until 1865 that the suitability of the spot was questioned. Correspondence between the Harbour Master Captain James Holliday and the Harbour Office in 1865 indicates that plans to relocate the station were prompted by the risk surrounding the launching of the pilot’s boat from the exposed coastline at the entrance of Port Nicholson. The cottage at Tarakena bay had also by this time fallen into disrepair. The combination of these led to the decision to move the pilot station. Conditions for the relocation of the station to Worser Bay included a clause to construct a signal station at Beacon Hill and a repeater station on Mount Victoria, so that signals could be seen from all parts of town and give notice on vessels arriving to port. The recommendations were accepted and the Pilot Station Removal Act was passed by the Wellington Provincial Council on the 16th August 1865.

      In early 1866 a Worser Bay landowner, James Crawford, was approached about acquiring his land for the Pilot Station, to which he proposed an exchange; the seven acres required for the station, for 28 acres surrounding the old Tarakena Bay Pilot Station. Nothing came of this, and it was discovered that as Crawford had the land under a mortgage, it could be leased until it could be purchased. W. Carter & Co., began constructing the Pilot’s cottage and other associated buildings in 1866. Carter & Co’s tender of £1136 was accepted for the building of the Pilot Cottage, coxswains cottage, boat’s crew cottage, cottages at the signal station, and a boatshed. The transfer of land from James Crawford to the Provincial Council was not concluded until 1874.

      Although the relocation of the Pilot’s Station to Worser Bay from Tarakena Bay was an improvement, the site was still a bleak and isolated spot, with only the pilot, the crew, and a few Maori families living on the peninsula. It was the responsibility of the local pilot, with the permission of the Captain, to board ships arriving at the mouth of the harbour and guide them safely through the Heads and into Port Nicholson. By the 1880s, technology had come to the aid of the pilots, and steam powered vessels had become more common. The need for an outer pilot station subsequently waned as steam ships could navigate the perilous waters of Port Nicholson without great difficulty and small steam tugs could reliably bring a pilot out from town in answer to the signals of vessels waiting in Cook Strait. In 1889, a fatal accident occurred in which a pilot and some of his crew were drowned, which prompted a review of the need for the station. J.H. Williams, owner of the tugs Mana and Duco, approached the Harbour Board with a view to arranging terms by which the pilot station could be merged with the tug service. An agreement was entered into on 1 July 1894 and the Pilots were withdrawn from the station, leaving the pilot service to operate solely from town under William’s tugs. On 1 July 1894 a caretaker was placed in charge of the pilot station.

      The station cottage housed the men of the pilot service from 1866 to 1894, and in 1915 the Wellington Harbour Board subdivided the Station land and leased the separate blocks. Since 1917 the pilot’s cottage has been used as a private residence. The cottage remained largely unchanged until the late 1970s. Since 1980 the cottage has undergone a number of modifications, both internal and external. Renovations include the addition of roof skylights, remodelling the interior, and an extension of the roof level on the upper floor. Although the cottage has lost much of its former layout, the exterior remains close to its original form. The cottage is typical of the simple and adaptable dwellings built during this period. The basic design of the cottage consisted of a ground floor of three rooms and kitchen, with a lean to at the rear, and a second storey with two further bedrooms. The cottage retains a number of original features, including the verandah; the central front doorway, corrugated iron cladding, and the double hung twelve paned windows.

    • Modifications close
      • 1981
      • 229 Marine Parade, alter and upgrade dwelling (00058:1315:C55451)
      • 1981
      • 229 Marine Parade, dwelling additions and alterations (00058:1284:C544 )
      • 1984
      • 229 Marine Parade, dwelling additions and alterations (00058:0:C66702)
      • 1989
      • 229 Marine Parade, dwelling additions and alterations (00059:640:D11777)
      • 2000
      • 229 Marine Parade, additions and alterations (00078:478:60836)
    • Occupation History close
      • unknown
      • Not assessed
  • close Architectural Information
    • Building Classification(s) close

      Not assessed

    • Architecture close

      This cottage is one of the oldest in Wellington and represents the earliest phase of European settlement in the isolated Seatoun area. The cottage is a basic design and is typical of the simple and adaptable dwellings built during this period. The basic design of the cottage consisted of a ground floor of three rooms and kitchen, with a lean to at the rear, and a second storey with two further bedrooms.

    • Materials close

      Vertical corrugated iron wall cladding

      Corrugated iron roofing

      Painted timber joinery

      Timber weatherboards

    • Setting close

      The cottage is located on Marine Parade, a winding coastal road flanked with domestic dwellings, in Worser Bay Seatoun. The cottage is located at the rear of a large, sloping, section that faces seaward toward the Heads and beyond to Cook Strait.

  • close Cultural Value

    This cottage is one of the oldest in Wellington and represents the earliest phase of European settlement in the isolated Seatoun area. The cottage is a basic design and is typical of the simple and adaptable dwellings built during this period.

    This cottage has significant historic values due to its associations with the pilots of the Pilot Service, who were housed there between 1866 and 1894. The service was an important development in Wellington and the establishment of Wellington’s maritime services.

    The pilot’s cottage is one of the few remaining public works that were constructed by the Wellington Provincial Council and is now the sole remaining structure associated with the former Pilot Station that operated from Worser Bay.

    • Aesthetic Value close

      • 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?

        This cottage is one of the oldest in Wellington and represents the earliest phase of European settlement in the isolated Seatoun area. The cottage is a basic design and is typical of the simple and adaptable dwellings built during this period.

      • 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 former Pilot’s Cottage is now obscured by new developments and has only modest townscape values.

    • Historic Value close

      • Association

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

        This cottage has significant historic values due to its associations with the pilots of the Pilot Service, who were housed there between 1866 and 1894. The service was an important development in Wellington and the establishment of Wellington’s maritime services.

    • Scientific Value close

      • Archaeological

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

        This is a pre 1900 building, in an area known to have been associated with both Maori and European settlement. The site was part of the Ngati Ira pa site so it is possible that evidence of Maori settlement will remain.

      • Educational

        Does the item have educational value for what it can demonstrate about aspects of the past?

        This cottage is a physical reminder of the Pilot Service, an important element of Wellington’s early maritime development, and the response to the difficult entrance to Port Nicholson.

      • Technological

        Does the item have technological value for its innovative or important construction methods or use of materials?

        The Pilot’s Cottage is of technological significance as one of the oldest dwellings in Wellington and represents part of the earliest phase of European settlement in Wellington.

    • Social Value close

      • 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?

        This cottage is a focus of community identity as it is one of the earliest buildings in the Seatoun area and an important part of the public works that were established during the early development of Wellington.

    • Level of Cultural Heritage Significance close

      • 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?

        This house has had a number of modifications made that have some impact upon the authenticity of the building. The interior has undergone a number of changes and renovations that have changed the original layout of the interior. The exterior remains in almost original form but has had several skylights added into the roof on the front façade that have a somewhat negative impact upon this elevation.

      • Local Regional National International

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

        This cottage is locally and regionally important through its associations with the early development of the maritime industry in Wellington, its association with the Pilots Service, its archaeological, educational, and technical values, for the contribution it makes to the sense of place and character of Seatoun, its rarity and representative values, and its authenticity.

      • Rare

        Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?

        The pilot’s cottage is one of the few remaining public works that were constructed by the Wellington Provincial Council and is now the sole remaining structure associated with the former Pilot Station that operated from Worser Bay.

      • Representative

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

        This house is a good representative of the simple and adaptable dwellings built during this period. Since becoming a private dwelling it has had a typical and representative history.

    • Local / Regional / National / International Importance close

      Not assessed

  • close Site Detail

    • District Plan Number

      7/ 203

    • Legal Description

      Heritage Area:

    • Heritage New Zealand Listed

      2/ 1416

    • Archaeological Site

      Pre 1900 Building, known pre 1900 occupation (Maori and European)

    • Current Uses

      unknown

    • Former Uses

      unknown

    • Has building been funded

      No

    • Funding Amount

      Not applicable

    • Earthquake Prone Status

      Not Earthquake Prone

  • close Additional Information
    • Sources close
      • Sarich, Jonathan with Paulette Wallace. ‘Pilot’s Cottage – 229 Marine Parade, Seatoun’. Historic Places Trust, unpublished registration report. 17 July 2006.
      • 1981 229 Marine Parade, alter and upgrade dwelling (00058:1315:C55451)
      • 1981 229 Marine Parade, dwelling additions and alterations (00058:1284:C54431)
      • 1984 229 Marine Parade, dwelling additions and alterations (00058:0:C66702)
      • 1989 229 Marine Parade, dwelling additions and alterations (00059:640:D11777)
      • 2000 229 Marine Parade, additions and alterations (00078:478:60836)
    • Technical Documentation close

      Not available

    • Footnotes close

      Not available

Last updated: 11/3/2017 1:29:03 AM