Designed by British architect Sir Giles Gilbert in 1924, and manufactured between 1926 and 1936, these cast iron structures date from a time when private ownership of telephones was not high, and the Telephone Box situated in Post Office Square Wellington is a rare surviving example of the public telephone that was once a widespread and well-used amenity.
Public call box history begins in the 1880s in the United Kingdom. Initially these were of a wooden sentry box type but there was little uniformity. In 1912 the General Post Office took over control of almost the entire National telephone network and a year later began looking into standardising the telephone boxes. This was not to occur until after WWI, when in 1921 the K1 (Kiosk 1) was designed. These were essentially a reinforced concrete version of the preceding wooden boxes. In 1924 a competition was held to design a new phone box that was to be judged by the Royal Fine Art Commission. Architect Sir Giles Scott won the competition with the design of what would become the K2 design. The first of these were produced in 1926 and most were erected in London, however, some were imported into New Zealand. The K2 was extremely expensive to manufacture, and by 1934 only 1700 had been produced.
The Post Office Square telephone box is of the K2 variety, although it was originally installed on Karori Road, and relocated to its present location in 1991. Telephone boxes only became commonplace in New Zealand around 1914, and compared to United Kingdom, New Zealand had a relatively high rate of private telephone ownership by the 1920s. The Post and Telegraph department had decided to adopt permanent telephone boxes in the late 1920s and by 193o 679 permanent ‘Public Call Offices’ were in operation. These were a mixture of types, some of concrete construction, and others the K2 steel framed design. The steel call boxes were imported from England and were viewed with more favour than the concrete boxes and the wooden ones that they had replaced.
The Post Office Square Telephone Box is a K2 design, although the wooden door is not of a K2 design. It is of cast iron construction and was shipped to New Zealand in pieces, and originally located near the corner of Chaytor Street and Karori Road (near the Karori Cemetery). The Telephone Box was relocated to Post Office Square and renovated in June 1991. The Box is 2.74 metres in height and sits on a base that is just under a metre square. It is constructed entirely of cast iron sections, with the exception of the door which is timber. One side, which contained the telephone, was solid iron, while the other three had 18 panes of glass. The pierced crown in the pediment was intended for ventilation as well as decoration. The panel below the glass panes was also pierced in the form of four diamonds for ventilation. The Box is currently painted red with a green dome. It has all the characteristics of the standard K2 design, although the glass ‘public telephone’ signs above the walls and the current door are probably not original.
This Telephone Box is an excellent example of industrial design that was conceived of by a well known British architect. It has rarity value as a functioning telephone booth and is one of few authentic red telephone boxes still fulfilling their original purposes.
