The Edwardian and post-Edwardian commercial premises on the eastern side of The Parade near the Medway Street intersection were built between 1904 and 1928. This narrow commercial area was established by the building firm of J. Odlin and Co. Ltd, which initially built five shops (with dwellings) to accompany the many houses it built in the Island Bay area. It was later augmented by more buildings in the 1910s and 1920s, some also built by J. Odlin and Co. to form the streetscape that can be seen today.
For much of the second half of the 19th century, Island Bay was a remote location, a seaside resort some distance from central Wellington. There was a racecourse, some sporadically situated houses, two hotels, and a limited transport service. A Chinese market garden occupied the western side of the valley.
It was a place that people visited for holidays or excursions, particularly in the days before a regular transport brought it that much closer. By the early 1900s, subdivision of Island Bay's former farms was properly underway, with the imminent prospect of Island Bay being linked to Wellington via the proposed electric tramway a real incentive for those contemplating a move to suburbia. The tram was the key to releasing the enormous pressure on innercity residential Wellington, which was packed with people living cheek-by-jowl.
The tramway opened in June 1904. It reached Medway Street by November 1905 and Island Bay proper the following month. With many new houses being built in the immediate vicinity, particularly in Derwent Street and Clyde Street (one block either side of The Parade) J. Odlin and Co. presumably figured that commercial buildings would be required to service the burgeoning neighbourhood. Some of these housing developments were Odlin's own initiatives.
The first permit issued for the commercial premises was in January 1905 for what would become 151 The Parade, a shop and dwelling for J. Odlin and Co.
John Odlin was a joiner from Surrey, who arrived in New Zealand with his wife Harriet in the mid-1870s. He set up business in Wellington as a builder while Harriet ran a poultry farm in Tasman Street to augment the family income. In 1884 his eldest son John was killed in a fall of earth at a building site in Willis Street. In the 1890s John established a partnership with his oldest surviving sons, George and Charles, and land was bought in Brooklyn and Island Bay for subdivision and building. This partnership became J. Odlin and Co. Ltd in 1905. This family business survived for many decades, acquiring cutting rights over native forests and had substantial investments in property. It operated out of the Cable St premises built in 1906 by C & A Odlin, the hugely successful timber business established by John's sons Charles and Alfred in 1903.
The building at 151 was followed the next year by four more shops / dwellings for J. Odlin and Co. (129, 131, 135, 139a The Parade), which formed a continuous row. F.H. Chinn (1885-1962), later a registered architect, was then working as a draftsman for Odlins and it is likely that he designed the shop/dwellings that the firm was erecting. A single-storey house was built at 141 at this time but it has since been totally transformed into commercial premises.
Some houses were built to the north and south of the buildings and then, from 1922, a further series of one-off shop and dwellings was built. Two shops were built for Odlins, at 141 and 145-147, and a larger masonry building (another shop and dwelling) was constructed at 121 for S.D. Clarke. In 1927, a permit was issued for a shop and dwelling for butchers Howard and Tilyard. The following year, shops and dwelling were erected at 155-157 for Harold Hansen. The majority of the buildings were built of timber, but two later buildings (121 and 127) were built of brick and concrete.
The uses of these buildings are typical of their time. When the area was first established, the typical goods and services were offered e.g. William Potts, a fruiterer at 131, Herbert Clarke, a chemist at 139a (later a long-standing fruiterers), Harold Hanson, a draper at 135, L. Pallesen, confectioners in 151, and Howard and Tilyard, butchers at 129 (and then at 127 when it was built). It is interesting to note how often an early use was maintained for a number of decades. In the case of 127, two generations of Howard and Tilyard ran the butchery and even after they left it has remained a butchery. After its stint as a butchery, 129 became a fish shop in the late 1920s and remained so throughout the 20th century.
By the late 1920s the remainder of the buildings had been built. New occupants arrived, including Dallow and Sons, stationers in 147, who lasted until the early 1960s, Bernard Kelly, a baker in 145, and the Island Bay Post Office and Bert Orr, a hairdresser, in 121. Some of the premises were purpose-built for their occupants who then bought the buildings.
In the later 20th century changes to buildings became more regular as the pattern of suburban life changed. Some occupants remained constant and some buildings kept the same use but changed occupants, while other buildings acquired utterly different uses. One example is 145, which went from a confectioner in the 1950s to a milk bar, a dairy, and a hardware store in the late 1970s; more latterly it has been a video outlet and then a charcoal chicken eatery.
The arrival of the supermarket in the 1970s drew shoppers away from traditional, single-purpose suppliers. What were formerly shops selling foodstuffs were turned into all manner of different outlets that reflected the changing times, such as video rentals, fast food outlets, restaurants and garden centres.
History of individual properties
Note: These potted histories concentrate on the commercial premises and not on the first-storey flats. This is primarily because few occupants of the flats were listed on street directories.
121 The Parade
121 The Parade This building was constructed in 1923 for S.D. Clarke,7 whose name is in relief on the façade. The builder was Limpleton & Keeble and the estimate cost was £4,760.8 No architect is identified for the building. A Certificate of Title was issued for this property in 1930, by which time the owner was Fred Clarke, a retired butcher. He died soon after the CT was issued and the property was transferred to his wife Mary.
This building has always been an investment property. The first listed ground floor occupant was the Island Bay Post Office, which stayed in the building until World War II, while a range of individuals or couples occupied the flats upstairs. Another early tenant was Bert Orr, a hairdresser, who occupied the building for at least 10 years from the early 1930s. A series of electrical engineers occupied one shop from the 1940s to the 1960s, while the Lotus Milk Bar was a fixture from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s. Since then there has been a regular turnover of occupants, including real estate agents, a delicatessen, lunch bar and café. Permit records show no great changes to the building.
127 The Parade
This building was constructed for butchers Lindon Howard and William Tilyard by builder E.S. Knight in 1927.They established their butchery business as early as 1909 and were occupying 129 The Parade for some years before building their own establishment, which also had flats upstairs. The business they established remained associated with 127 for a great many years, although Howard sold out to Tilyard in 1946. Howard and Tilyard's name did not disappear from the butchery until 1986 when Mack Daly Meats took over the lease.13 It is currently occupied by the Island Bay Butchery. A verandah was built in 1998.
129 The Parade
This building was erected by and for John Odlin and Co. in 1906, as part of a group of five shop and / or dwellings.The first occupants were butchers Howard and Tilyard who went on to build their own premises at 127 in 1928. Odlins sold the building to Peter Isbister in 1938, by which time the commercial space was occupied by Cook Strait Fisheries. There was a flurry of additions and alterations to the building during that period, including the construction of outbuildings and a toilet. Cook Strait Fisheries bought the property in 1950 and remained the occupant until the late 1970s, making alterations to the shop along the way. The shop remained a fish shop until relatively recently. It is now a pizzeria.
131 The Parade
This sub-divided building was erected by and for John Odlin and Co. in 1906, as part of a group of five shops and / or dwellings. The property, like 135, 139a and 141, was retained as an investment by Odlins until the mid-1960s. The first occupant was William Potts, a fruiterer. (Despite the fact that it is semi-detached building, generally only single occupants are listed in Wises). By the early 1930s Robert Todd had taken over the shop but he was soon replaced by James Irving, a grocer. It remained a grocery until the early 1970s. The building has been occupied by a fast food outlet since the mid-1980s.
135 The Parade
This building was erected by and for John Odlin and Co. in 1906, as part of a group of five shops and / or dwellings. The property, like 131, 139a and 141, was retained as an investment property by Odlins until the mid-1960s.
The building has had many and varied occupiers. For the first half of its history the building was a draper's (Harold Hanson and then Alex Geddes). In the 1940s the building also became a New Zealand Railways Booking Agency, a function it kept until the early 1960s. It was briefly a children's wear specialists before becoming a dairy, which it remains. Changes were made to the shop in 1991.
139a The Parade
This building was erected by and for John Odlin and Co. in 1906, as part of a group of four shops / dwellings. The property, like 131, 135 and 141, was retained as an investment by Odlins for a lengthy period. Apart from the first 20 years after it was built, when it was used as a pharmacy, and a very recent conversion into a gallery, it has always been used as a fruiterers.
41 The Parade
This single-storey building was erected by and for John Odlin and Co. in 1906, as part of a group of five shops and / or dwellings. The property, like 131, 135 and 139a, was retained as an investment by Odlins until the mid-1960s, but unlike the others it began life as a house. In 1915 a shopfront was added to it. In 1961 it was converted into two flats. In 1984 the building was rather dramatically altered, with a considerable amount of demolition and a second shop added to the building. As a result, its current exterior appearance bears no resemblance to its Edwardian origins.
This building has had a great many occupants in its time, with few lasting any great period. One of the longest occupants was Fred Jones, a bootmaker, who occupied the building for some 20 years from 1920. It has been a bookstore and in the 1950s and 60s it was a home cookery shop. Since 1985 it has been the home of the Island Bay Pharmacy.
145 / 147 The Parade
45
This semi-detached building was erected in 1922 for J. Odlin and Co. and built by Herbert Pillar, a long-time Odlin associate who built a number of buildings for the company. The estimated cost was £2,500. It appears to have been purpose-built for baker Bernard Kelly, who bought the property that same year and had a bakehouse constructed at the rear. Kelly was the first occupant. It has been used as a confectioners (1944) and later, became a dairy, hardware store, video shop and charcoal chicken eatery. Today it is occupied by a restaurant.
147
This semi-detached building was erected in 1922 for J. Odlin and Co. and built by Herbert Pillar, a long-time Odlin associate who built a number of buildings for the company. The same year, the building was bought by Aloysius Dallow, who then opened a bookstore. He died in 1931, but the business continued while the building was managed by the executors. In the meantime the building had remained a stationers, but in the late 1970s it became a clothes shop. By 1998, it was in use as a Police Station. It is now occupied by an arts and crafts store.
151 The Parade
This was the first of the commercial buildings built by J. Odlin and Co. in this part of The Parade. Completed in 1905, this building was owned by Odlins as an investment property until the mid-1960s, during which time it was used, among other things, as a confectionery store, land agents and beauty salon. In 1966, Odlins sold the building to a private owner who made changes to the shop the following year. It has been a stationer's since at least the late 1970s.
155 The Parade
This building was constructed for Harold Hanson, a draper, in 1928. Hanson bought the land in 1923 from contractor Charles Johnston41 and street directories suggest that this was the first building on the site. Hanson, who had a drapery store in 135 The Parade, died in 1968 and the property was managed by New Zealand Insurance, as executors, until 1981. During this period, the building was occupied, firstly, by William Crane's confectionery business, then the intriguing Citizens Service Stress Ltd., before it spent a decade or more from the late 1940s as the Island Bay Post Office.Then it was occupied, from 1953 onwards, by the medical practice of Lester Suckling, who converted the shop to a consulting room. By 2002 the rear of the property was subdivided off and a new building constructed behind. Since the 1970s occupants of the building have included a garden centre and more latterly a restaurant.
