Commercial building and cottage

• c.1870
• Original construction of cottage
• c.1920
• Addition of shop front and lean to at rear (possible 1923, renovation following fire)
• 2012 - 282
• 282 Cuba Street, Quick Consent - Construction of a new toilet in an existing building (00078:4352:272389)

• unknown
• Not assessed

Not assessed

282 Cuba Street is a c.1870 cottage with a later, c.1920s, shop addition to the street elevation.

The cottage, in its original state, was a two-storey Carpenter Gothic Victorian cottage, clad in shiplap weatherboards, ornate fretted bargeboards, and a very sharply pitched roof. The original front door carries the Italianate influence through in the arched widows and well proportioned size. The original cottage appears to have been planned as a ‘two up and two down’ dwelling. There is a lean-to to the rear.

The front of the cottage is somewhat obscured by the addition of a small shop. The addition has no aesthetic pretensions and has an emphasis on functionality rather than style. This pragmatic addition is typical of upper Cuba Street - for example the neighbouring 1880s cottage at 280 Cuba Street with its much altered 1924 shop-front (WCC ref 92.4).

Original Cottage

Shiplap weatherboards

Timber detailing

Iron roofing

1920s addition

Concrete Structure

Cement render

Brick infill

Block 7 Cuba Street Conservation Area.

The block is comprised of mostly two storied buildings with the exception of a three storied property on the Webb Street corner. The new motorway extension cuts through Cuba Street at Karo Drive. Block 7 comprises a mix of buildings in residential and commercial use that include: -

280 Cuba Street

Masonry buildings with elaborate decorative elements

Thistle Hall (1907)

1935 ‘Moderne’ Lampard Flats

Two storied timber buildings with original or early shop fronts

• 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 cottage at 282 Cuba Street is one of the oldest buildings in the Cuba Street Heritage Area and is typical of the Carpenter Gothic style. Any aesthetic / architectural value is somewhat diminished by the addition of a c.1920s shop-front, that was designed in a functional style, and which obscures the older building.

• 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?

  This cottage is one of many buildings with a Tonks family association in upper Cuba Street. This set of cottages, houses and business premises form a coherent precinct and have high group value.

• 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?

  This building has modest townscape due to the functional c.1920s shop addition that obscures the attractive Carpenter Gothic Cottage behind.

• Association

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

  As this cottage occupies part of Section 99, it is likely that it is associated with the Tonks family. It has an uneventful history that is typical of many similar buildings the Cuba Street Heritage Area. 

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The original cottage is one the oldest remaining buildings in the Cuba Street Heritage Area, and is associated with the earliest period of sustained European settlement in Wellington. 

• Archaeological

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

  This is a pre 1900 building, is included in the NZAA Central City Archaeological Area R27/270, and is in an area known to be associated with pre 1900 human activity (European and Maori).

• Educational

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

  Although the original cottage is obscured by the 1920s addition, this building does possess some educational value as one of the oldest remaining buildings in the Cuba Street Heritage Area.

• Technological

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

  There is technical value in the construction materials of the original cottage.

• 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 building is an important part of the local community and contributes to the sense of place and continuity of the Cuba Street 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?

  This house has had few listed modifications made but it is apparent that there have been alterations and additions made. The 1920s shop front impacts negatively upon the authenticity of the original cottage, but the retention of significant amounts of the original cottage’s material make up for this. It has authenticity of style, craftsmanship, materials, and setting.

• Local Regional National International

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

  This house is locally significant for its architectural, townscape, and group values, its historic associations, its archaeological, educational, and technical values, and its authenticity.  

  
  
  

• Rare

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

  As one of the oldest remaining building in the Cuba Street Heritage Area, the original elements of this cottage have some rarity value due to their age.

• Representative

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

  This house is a good representative of a simple early dwelling built in materials and using techniques common to the period. It has had a modest and representative history for a residential/commercial building.

Not assessed

• Wilson, Kayla with NZHPT. ‘Workers Cottage - 5 Tonks Grove.’ Historic Places Trust, unpublished registration report. 8 October 2011. Accessed 12 September 2013,
• ‘Workers Cottage - 7 Tonks Grove.’ Historic Places Trust, unpublished registration report. 8 October 2011. Accessed 12 September 2013,
• ‘Outbreaks in the City’, Evening Post, 12 November 1923, Page 8, accessed 30 October 2013,
• ‘Magistrates Court’, Evening Post, 25 October 1927, Page 14, accessed 30 October 2013,
• 2012 282 Cuba Street, Quick Consent - Construction of a new toilet in an existing building (00078:4352:272389)

• Inventory Report

Not available