NZMA Building

• 1895
• Wellington Terrace [26 The Terrace], addition to manse (00053:19:1101)
• unknown
• Wellington Terrace [26 The Terrace], addition of kitchen and wash-house to manse (00053:44:2814)
• 1927
• 26 The Terrace, add to premises (00056:37:B3624)
• 1938
• Present NZMA Building constructed (00056:202:B17612)
• 1949
• 26 The Terrace, alterations (00056:362:B27857)
• 1968
• 26-28 The Terrace, partitions (00058:560:C26696)
• 1978
• 26-28 The Terrace [26 The Terrace], business ads & alterations (00058:1131:C48836)
• 1989
• 26 The Terrace, office alterations – partitions (00059:321:E18287)
• 2015
• Alterations to existing structure, three additional floors added (SR 253476)

• 1938
• Offices let to various tenants
• 1938
• New Zealand Medical Association

Not assessed

The NZMA Building is a modest three storey concrete-framed building. The main elevation of the building is stripped Classical in style, although Classical features are so slight that it has a style-less quality. The ground floor has a door at each side, the left hand door giving access to the ground floor spaces, while the right hand door gives access via the stairs and lift to the upper levels. There are four steel framed windows between the doors and a cornice above. The first and second floors have a recessed central element, four bays wide, and pilasters with bronze capitals supporting a plain entablature with an inscription of the owner’s name. Discreet frames and bands that show a slight art deco influence give interest to the parapet at roof level.

There appears to be no alteration to the main facade, while the interior retains original decorative finishes, particularly art deco style cornices and timber panelling. The building is therefore authentic, and a good representative example of a small office building of the late 1930s.

NB: a further assessment of authenticity will need to be made after the alterations and additional floors have been complete, as this will impact the authenticity of the building.

The original building is a three storey concrete-framed building, with bronze and steel windows.

The existing NZMA building is an important contributor to the history and streetscape of The Terrace. It stands on the street boundary of The Terrace, which gives it some prominence as its immediate neighbours, St Andrew’s Church (1922) to the south and 22 The Terrace (1866) to the north, are both set back from the street. With Franconia further to the south and Kelvin Chambers to the north, the NZMA Building is the central one in a group of five significant period buildings at the north end of The Terrace. They provide a vivid contrast to the prevailing high-rise, curtain wall nature of the buildings that have dramatically altered the character of The Terrace in the last 30 years.

• 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?

  While the NZMA Building is modest in scale and in architectural treatment, it is nevertheless a competent example of stripped Classical design, fit for its purpose. 

• 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?

  The main aesthetic value of the building derives from its place as one of a group of five period buildings at the north end of The Terrace. Together these buildings form a coherent townscape within an area now dominated by modern high rise buildings.

• Association

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

  This building has strong historic value for its association with the New Zealand Medical Association, which has continually occupied the building since it was built in 1938 to the present day.

  The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) has been the major representative of the interests of New Zealand doctors since its inception in 1886. It has worked to maintain professional standards and the status of the medical profession in New Zealand and, it has, therefore, influenced the health and the lives of all New Zealanders.

• Archaeological

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

  The building is located in the Central City archaeological site reference NZAA R27/270.

• 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 part of a cluster of low rise heritage buildings among large modern office buildings, which together contribute to the sense of place and continuity of The Terrace.

• Representative

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

  The building is a good representative example of a small office building of the late 1930s.

• 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?

  The building appears to be in authentic condition, with no apparent alterations to the front façade (authenticity will need to be reassessed once the 2013 development is complete).

• Local/Regional/National/International

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

  The building is of local importance for its aesthetic value, and of national importance as the purpose built head office of the NZMA who continue to occupy the building.

Not assessed

• 26 The Terrace, Wellington: NZMA House. Accessed 4 April 2013
• Births, Deaths and Marriages Online, registration number 1888/3453
• “THE B.M.A.”, Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 142, 13 December 1938, Page 14
• “SPIRITUAL VALUES,” Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 20, 24 July 1939, Page 6
• “HUTT HIGH SCHOOL,” Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 61, 9 September 1937, Page 17
• “DEATH OF MR. J. P. KELLY,” Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 29, 2 August 1918, Page 7
• Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 117, 14 November 1932, Page 16 (Advertisements Column 4)
• “NEW CONVENT,” Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 28, 2 August 1937, Page 5
• Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 29, 3 February 1945, Page 2 (Advertisements Column 6)
• Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 75, 29 March 1941, Page 18 (Advertisements Column 8)
• Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 20, 25 January 1944, Page 2 (Advertisements Column 5)
• Evening Post, 8 January 1962, pg 1 col. B
• “NEW QUARTERS,” Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 15, 17 July 1940, Page 13
• Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 32, 7 February 1940, Page 14 (Advertisements Column 4)
• “NEW COLLEGE,” Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 47, 24 February 1940, Page 13
• “MORE ACCOMMODATION,” Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 71, 25 March 1940, Page 3
• “MAYORAL INSTALLATIONS,” Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 105, 5 May 1915, Page 8
• “ST. PATRICK'S COLLEGE,” Evening Post, Volume LXVI, Issue 146, 17 December 1903, Page 2
• “WOMEN IN PRINT,” Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 63, 11 September 1912, Page 9
• “St Patrick’s College,” Free Lance, Volume V, Issue 242, 18 February 1905, Page 9
• Historic Places Trust. Erskine College. 17 July 2009. Accessed 20 July 2012.
• Historic Places Trust, “Kelly, Albert – Architect”, Professional Biographies, accessed April 4 2013
• Mt Victoria Historical Society, 7 Patterson Street: [Supporting information for Mt Victoria Historical Society’s Nomination for Registration of 7 Paterson Street with New Zealand Historic Places Trust] (Mt Victoria Historical Society, 2010).
• “ST. PATRICK'S COLLEGE, WELLINGTON,” New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXIII, Issue 1, 5 January 1905, Page 29
• Newman, Joanna. Art Deco Mount Victoria: A Walking Guide (Mt Victoria Historical Society, 2008)
• “BIRTHS,” Press, Volume XLV, Issue 6970, 25 January 1888, Page 3
• Wellington City Council, “26 The Terrace,” Wellington Heritage Building Inventory 2001: Non-Residential Buildings. (Wellington City Council, 2001), TERR 2.
• Permit B17612, WCC Archives
• SR 253476 (resource consent)
• Walden, Russell. Voices of Silence: New Zealand’s Chapel of Futuna (Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1987)
• Wright-St Clair R. E. 1987, A History of the New Zealand Medical Association, Butterworths p.93

• Inventory Report
• 1937 drawings

Not available