Shed 11

Shed 11 Waterloo Quay 41 Customhouse Quay, ‘V’ Shed (renamed in 1921)

41 Customhouse Quay, Wellington, Wellington
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  • Constructed

    1904 - 1905

  • Heritage Area

    Post Office Square

  • Builder(s)

    Hunt and MacDonald

  • Sheds 11 and 13 are a pair of industrial buildings that derive aesthetic value from the form and solidity of their brick construction. This is highlighted by decorative motifs, most particularly the Dutch-style lintels over the main doors. 

    Sheds 11 and 13, and the adjoining railings have townscape value as they define the boundary between the Wellington Waterfront and the city beyond. They contribute to a group of former Wellington Harbour Board buildings that form a cluster around Queen’s Wharf and are part of the Post Office Square Heritage Area.

    Sheds 11 & 13 were built by the Wellington Harbour Board, and were designed by William Ferguson (an important engineering figure nationally). The buildings have a historic association with transport and shipping industries, and have played an important role in the trading and commercial life of Wellington.

     

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  • close History
    • Under the 1852 NZ Constitution Act, provinces controlled harbour activities. The Wellington Harbour Board was created by an act of Parliament in 1879. It first met on 20 February, 1880. One of the prime considerations for the new board was the provision of wharves and buildings. For the first 10 years the Board built warehouses and stores, predominantly in timber, for the storage, organisation and distribution of the goods for which it was responsible.

      In 1901-03 a strip of land alongside Customhouse Quay, between Queen’s Wharf and Railway Wharf, was created for the building of two new sheds. Sheds V and W were identical and were required to replace facilities provided by F store, to be part of a left luggage store, and to provide a room for Customs examination of overseas luggage. The buildings were designed by William Ferguson, Wellington Harbour Board chief engineer and they were constructed by Hunt and MacDonald for a tendered price of £8,519. The work was completed in 1905.

      The following year a fence between the sheds and the Te Aro railway line was removed, allowing the buildings to be seen from the city. Shed V (11) hosted the Industrial Exhibition in 1911.

      When the WHB’s letter naming system reached Z, they changed to numbering the sheds and so, in 1922, V and W became 11 and 13. One of the biggest single changes to both sheds was the replacement of Marseilles roof tiles with “russet-coloured” corrugated asbestos sheets in 1938. Other work conducted at this time was the removal of offices at the south end of Shed 11 and the cutting of a door in the south wall.

      The first recognition of the sheds as important historic structures came with their listing in an unofficial historic wharf precinct by the Historic Places Trust in 1972. From this point the buildings were accorded sufficient status to be set aside as heritage buildings under the proposals formulated by Lambton Harbour Management, after its establishment in 1989.

      With the arrival of container shipping and the reduction of coastal trade in the 1970s, structures like Shed 11 became largely redundant. Shed 11 was converted into an art gallery by the National Art Gallery in 1985, to designs by the Ministry of Works and Development, and is currently home to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pukenga Whakaata. The building was declared “earthquake prone” under the Building Act in January 2012. It was closed while a programme of structural repairs was carried out, with a proposed completion date of October 2012.

    • Modifications close
      • 1860
      • Reclamation to create the land around Featherston, Brandon, and Johnston Streets and Customhouse Quay.
      • 1901 - 1903
      • Reclamation to create a strip of land to the east of Customhouse Quay.
      • 1904 - 1905
      • Sheds V & W Sheds V & W (11 & 13)constructed on this strip of land
      • 1922
      • Sheds renamed (11 & 13)
      • 1938
      • Sheds (11 & 13)Marseille tile roof removed and replaced with “russet coloured” asbestos sheet, removal of offices at the south end of Shed 11, and construction of a new door in south wall.
      • 1970
      • Sheds (11 & 13) were no longer in use
      • 1985 - 11
      • Shed 11 converted to art gallery use, building strengthening work.
      • 2002 - 2003
      • New roof, flashing and guttering
      • 2012
      • Building strengthened
    • Occupation History close

      Not assessed

  • close Architectural Information
    • Building Classification(s) close

      Not assessed

    • Architecture close

      Sheds 11 and 13 were built as a matching pair of industrial warehouse buildings. Each shed is 51.9 metres long by 10.3 metres wide and has ten large doors, one at either end and four on both harbour and city elevations. The end doors are hinged, and the sliding doors on the east and west elevations are capped with Dutch-style lintels that are shed’s key decorative elements.

      The interior was one large storage space, although originally there were timber-framed partitions for several stores and offices. Shed 11 had a Waterman’s Store, Tolls Office and Fireman’s Hose Store. These have been replaced with toilets and service rooms at either end of the building. It appears from the specifications that Shed 13 had a Scavenger’s Room.

      The main construction material is load-bearing brickwork laid with a cement mortar and reinforced with galvanised hoop iron laid between courses. The brickwork rests on a composite concrete/steel foundation beam, itself supported on totara piles with wrought-iron caps driven into the seabed.

      The roof is supported on 14 timber scissor trusses spanning the width of the building. The skylight extends almost the full length of each building, stopping short of the main walls to allow for the hips of the main roof. A broad coved eave to the main roof is tinted stucco plaster on steel mesh. Timbers used in the building include totara, Baltic pine, matai, rimu and Oregon. Decorative finishes to the exterior take the form of lintels over doors, window surrounds and column capitals and are in ochre-tinted plaster. Medallions of the WHB crest are in tinted “pressed cement” and have been painted.

    • Materials close

      Composite concrete and steel ring beam foundations constructed on totara piles with wrought iron caps.

      Load-bearing brick masonry walls

      Timber roof trusses

    • Setting close

      Sheds 11 and 13 are an integral part of the line of wharf buildings that define the harbour/city interface. To the east of the buildings is Customhouse Quay, a six lane arterial transport route that runs around the perimeter of the Wellington Waterfront “public recreation area”. And Sheds 11 & 13, and the railings and gates to the north and south of both buildings form the boundary between harbour and city.

      Although the sheds were originally located at the water’s edge the land to the east has since been reclaimed and developed into a restaurant / leisure precinct. The development includes many modern buildings including the new Meridian office building to the north and the Queen’s Wharf events centre and commercial zone. The Sheds are located in the Post Office Square Heritage Area that includes the following heritage buildings and items.

      Wharf Offices (Shed 7 / Wharf Office Apartments, 1896)

      Head Office and Bond Store (Museum of Wellington - City and Sea, 1891-92)

      Shed 11 (1904-05)

      Shed 13 (1904-05)

      Clarrie Gibbons Store (and traffic island, 1912)

      Huddart Parker Building, 2-6 Jervois Quay (1924)

      Tower Building, 50 – 64 Customhouse Quay (1936)

      Intercontinental Hotel, 2 Grey Street (1988)

      Todd Corporation Building, 95 Customhouse Quay, (1987)

      Chapman Tripp Building, 1-13 Grey Street (1976)Queens Wharf gates (1899), 

      Telephone box (c.1938) 

      Postal box (dating from between 1879 and 1910). 

       



  • close Cultural Value

    Sheds 11 and 13 are a pair of industrial buildings that derive aesthetic value from the form and solidity of their brick construction. This is highlighted by decorative motifs, most particularly the Dutch-style lintels over the main doors.

    Sheds 11 and 13, and the adjoining railings have townscape value as they define the boundary between the Wellington Waterfront and the city beyond. They contribute to a group of former Wellington Harbour Board buildings that form a cluster around Queen’s Wharf and are part of the Post Office Square Heritage Area.

    Sheds 11 & 13 were built by the Wellington Harbour Board, and were designed by William Ferguson (an important engineering figure nationally). The buildings have a historic association with transport and shipping industries, and have played an important role in the trading and commercial life of Wellington.

    • Aesthetic Value close
      • 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?

        Sheds 11 and 13 are a pair of robust industrial buildings that derive aesthetic value from the form and solidity of their brick construction. This is highlighted by decorative motifs, most particularly the Dutch-style lintels over the main doors.

      • 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?

        Shed 11 is part of a group of former Wellington Harbour Board buildings that form a cluster around Queen’s Wharf and are part of the Post Office Square Heritage Area. It has strong group value for its similarity and proximity to Shed 13.

      • 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?

        Sheds 11 and 13, and the adjoining railings have townscape value as they define the boundary between the Wellington Waterfront and the city beyond.

    • Historic Value close
      • Association

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

        Sheds 11 & 13 were built by the Wellington Harbour Board, and were designed by William Ferguson (an important engineering figure nationally).

      • Association

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

        The buildings have a historic association with transport and shipping industries, and have played an important role in the trading and commercial life of Wellington.

    • Scientific Value close
      • Archaeological

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

        Pre 1900 building; Pre 1900 reclaimed land; Central City NZAA R27/270

    • Social Value close
      • 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?

        Sheds 11 & 13 saw over 70 years of active use and have been an integral part of the Wellington waterfront for over 100 years. They make a strong positive contribution to the sense of place and continuity of the Post Office Square Heritage Area.

    • Level of Cultural Heritage Significance close
      • 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?

        Shed 11 has been adapted to form an art gallery and storage space and has had some alterations to the interior. The exterior has had few significant alterations with the exception of the roof that was replaced in the 1930s and again in the early 200os.

    • Local / Regional / National / International Importance close

      Not assessed

  • close Site Detail
    • District Plan Number

      17/ 332

    • Legal Description

      Lots 201, 202 DP 67374

    • Heritage New Zealand Listed

      1/Historic Place 235

    • Archaeological Site

      Pre 1900 building; Pre 1900 reclaimed land; Central City NZAA R27/270

    • Current Uses

      unknown

    • Former Uses

      unknown

    • Has building been funded

      No

    • Funding Amount

      Not applicable

    • Earthquake Prone Status

      Not Earthquake Prone

  • close Additional Information

Last updated: 11/28/2017 3:33:31 AM