Originally built as a boat-house for the Wellington Naval Artillery Volunteers (WNAV) in 1894, today the Wellington Rowing Club building is a prominent feature of Wellington's waterfront.
WNAV formed in March 1879. It was one of a number of Naval Artillery Volunteer Corps throughout New Zealand at the time. These groups consisted of men who provided their own uniforms and weapons and carried out military training of their own free will. The WNAV Corps were present at the 1880 Parihaka occupation. Levels of volunteer activity fluctuated throughout the 1880s; the 'Russian Scare' of the early 1880s boosted numbers while the depression conditions of the late 1880s led to a decrease in volunteer activity.
A report on defence issued in 1894 recommended the strengthening of harbour defences to help prevent a possible invasion. This led to the construction of the building which was designed to house two naval cutters on the ground floor, while the first floor was used as a social hall by the volunteers. The crenellated tower was built to provide a lookout. The building was originally sited on reclaimed land on the waterfront. At the time of construction the building was located on Jervois Quay and was situated between the Municipal Fish Market, also erected in 1894, and the then recently relocated Star Boating Club Building.
By 1921 the 15th Coastal Battery absorbed the WNAV into their base at Fort Dorset. From 1927 the building became the Wellington Free Ambulance's first ambulance station. During this time extensive changes were made to the interior of the building: the ground floor was adapted to house four cars, a casualty room was built and the upper floor was converted into accommodation for the superintendent and his family. In 1931 the ambulance organisation moved into its new depot on Cable St.
The Wellington Rowing Club, which had formed in 1871 and was reorganised in 1885, then moved into the former WNAV Hall, and on the 28th of November 1931 the building was officially opened by Mayor Hislop as the clubrooms of the Wellington Rowing Club. The club continues to occupy this building today.
Aside from the building's long association with the Wellington Rowing Club, it has also been used by numerous sporting and cultural clubs such as the Irish National Club, the Wellington Operatic Society, the Mazda Club and the Wellington Winemakers Society. During the early 1970s a joiner operated a factory from the upper floor of the building, making women's wooden shoes and joinery. Dances held in the building during the 1950s, by groups including Bill Crowe and his orchestra, attracted the attention of the Wellington City Council who were concerned that the building was a fire risk and that it might collapse. By the 1970s discussions were underway between the Wellington Rowing Club, the neighbouring Star Boating Club (Record Number 1431) and the Council, who advised that buildings should be demolished and the Clubs re-sited. The two clubhouses, which had been joined by an infill addition since 1931, were deemed to be in poor repair and were referred to as 'an eyesore in the centre of the Capital city'. The Wellington Rowing Club was issued with an eviction notice in 1972 which was later cancelled. Instead, the Wellington Rowing Club building was extensively renovated during 1974-5, including replacing weatherboards, a new roof and the restoration of the balcony.
In 1989, as part of the redevelopment of the harbour, both the Wellington Rowing Club building and the Star Boating Club building were relocated 100 metres north and rotated 180 degrees so that they faced the city rather than the harbour, providing access to the harbour through a more sheltered lagoon. At this time both buildings were also extensively restored and a shared single-storey structure, for housing additional boats, was built connecting the two buildings and continuing the longstanding relationship between the two clubs. The Wellington Rowing Club building was also restored in 1998.
The building continues to be used as club premises and is used as a reception/ conference venue as well.
