Shed 35

• 1915 - 1915
• Shed 35 constructed
• c.1960 - c.1970
• Reclamation of the area around Aotea Quay as a shipping container port.
• 1989 - 1989
• Wellington Harbour Board dissolved, and a new port company formed. This is now called CentrePort Ltd.
• 1995 - 2002
• Maritime House and Shed 35 were deleted from the WCC Heritage Inventory / District Plan following a submission by the building owners / port authority.
• unknown
• Unknown date - Gantry crane removed – requires further research
• 2008 - 2008
• Maritime House and Shed 35 added to the Heritage Inventory as part of District Plan Change 58
• 2012 - 2012
• Proposal to develop Shed 35 as a speciality “food hall” or market

Not assessed

Not assessed

Shed 35, originally known as Pipitea Wharf Store No. 1, is a large storage building intended for around 3,000 tons of cargo and is typical of the many utilitarian buildings erected on the waterfront as the use of the harbour intensified in the early 20th century. In overall dimension, it is 86.5 m long by 24.2 m wide and 9.1 m high at the eave (283’9” x 79’3” x 30’). It is constructed with load-bearing masonry walls, resting on concrete piles on three sides and a former sea-wall on the fourth side. The walls support steel roof trusses which span across the building to in turn support the vast hipped roof and projecting clerestory. The shed was fitted for two overhead travelling gantry cranes – the rails for these are still in place, although the cranes have been removed.

The building, essentially a large rectangular box, is designed in a functional aesthetic, with some Georgian overtones, and has little in the way of overt ornament. However, it is carefully designed and proportioned and sits well on its site and in the wider area. It has a well-considered and elegant symmetrical composition of basic architectural elements which creates a simple but striking building.

The lower walls form a tall plinth in relation to the upper part of the building and are essentially planar, relieved only by the loading dock openings (the loading bay doors are recessed back from the face line of the building), a small, non-original, porch arrangement on the west side and a few small doors and windows, principally at the south elevation. A large moulded brick string course projects out to divide the lower from the upper façade. Above the string course, the structure is expressed as a simple trabeated frame with the wall panels recessed back from the column/beam line, which is flush with the wall face below. At the head of each panel, moulded brickwork forms a transition between the panel and the beam. Topping the beam, a moulded brickwork cornice runs around the perimeter of the building. 

The expressed structure creates a strong rhythm for the upper part of the building, which is enhanced by the arrangement and proportions of the joinery. The upper walls are relieved with paired window openings, of a tall and elegant rectangular proportion, set symmetrically along the elevations. 

The roof is hipped in plan and features a gabled clerestory rising above the roof along the centre of the building with entirely glazed sides. The gable ends are clad with broad bevel-back weatherboards. The roofing material appears to be Super Six or similar corrugated fibre cement or asbestos. The exterior joinery is entirely in timber and includes elegantly proportioned 9-light window sashes, white painted, and the heavy lined loading bay doors.

One of the important features of the building is the quality of the brickwork, which is first rate – sparely but carefully and elegantly detailed. In areas the brickwork is eroded and requires repair and re-pointing, but is otherwise in good condition [note the condition of the building was assessed in 2006].

The interior of the building was not inspected, but some key features are visible through gaps in the joinery. Internally the main space appears undivided; the high level clerestory and window light falling into the building imparts a grand sense of space and creates a place which is an informal cathedral to commerce.

Reinforced concrete piles; south-east wall built on concrete sea wall; masonry brick walls, steel roof trusses; timber rafters, asbestos roofing.

Shed 35 is a large four-square storage building located on the working wharf (King’s Wharf) at the northern end of the Port of Wellington. Its neighbours on the wharf include Maritime House, a later building of similar style and quality by the same designer, and a variety of sheds and workshops. Further on is the operational area of the wharf which includes more working sheds and the waterside edge of the wharf. 
Despite the somewhat haphazard arrangement of buildings in the area and not many clear sightlines, Shed 35 has a significant presence in the “wharfscape” due to its impressive scale.

Adjoining the working wharf, but separated by a chain-link fence is a nascent business park, which features the new Department of Statistics building and other commercial and office buildings, including the headquarters of the NZ Rugby Union, converted from former wharf buildings of a variety of styles and eras. Apart from the Statistics building, the general building height in the area is a tall two to three stories.
The area has an open quality created by the generous amounts of space around the buildings required for the circulation of vehicles and cargo. It is bounded to the west by Aotea Quay; a few other sheds and the distinctively-painted Seaworks House provide a buffer to the road itself.

The wider setting is the northern city which includes the stadium, railway yards and the government precinct. And Shed 35 and Maritime House are part of a group of ‘maritime’ and industrial buildings on Wellington waterfront that includes: -
• The Eastbourne Ferry Terminal Building (former) c 1910s WCC17/337
• Odlin’s Building (1907) WCC 17/49
• Queens Wharf Harbour Board Gates 1899 WCC 17/50
• Queens Wharf Dog Drinking Fountain WCC 17/56
• Wellington Harbour Board Head Office (former) 1892
• Shed 3 (1887) see also Wellington Regional Council (WCC 17/256)
• Shed 5 (1886) see also Wellington Regional Council (WCC 17/257)
• Wharf Offices - Shed 7 (1895-96) WCC 17 /161 
• Shed 11 (1904) WCC 17/332
• Shed 13 (1904) WCC 17/333
• Shed 21 (1909) 17/334
• Shed 22 WCC 17/50
• Shed 27 (1922)


Shed 35 was once sited at the waterfront edge of the harbour where the land had been reclaimed to form a berthage between Kings Wharf and Pipitea Wharf. The land between the two wharfs was reclaimed in the 1960s and 1970s to form a container storage area and Shed 35 is now located at some distance from the water front. The siting of Shed 35 is significant as a reminder of the previous (reclaimed) edge of the shoreline.

• 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?

  Shed 35 is a carefully designed and proportioned wharf-side interwar warehouse. It is a well-considered and elegant symmetrical composition of basic architectural elements that creates a simple but striking building. 
  

• 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?

  The building is one of two early 20^th century brick buildings in the Centreport (active port) area of the Wellington waterfront.

  The Centreport area is a constantly changing landscape influenced by reclamation, containerisation of cargo and the use of waterfront land for modern high-rise office buildings. The brick buildings (Shed 35, and nearby Maritime House) contribute to the sense of place, provide visual interest and have become landmarks that help orientate visitors to the Centreport Harbour Quays commercial and industrial precinct. 

• 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 35 and Maritime house are part of a significant group of maritime and industrial buildings on the Wellington waterfront. 

• Association

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

  Shed 35 has a historic and continuing association with the Port of Wellington, and with the commercial development of Wellington city.

• Association

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

  The building has an association with maritime history and the development of Wellington city. 

• Educational

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

  The building has education value for its contribution to maritime/transport history.

• Technological

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

  The building has technological significance as a now rare intact example of an early 20^th century waterfront building and for the techniques evident in its design and construction. It is also of interest for the founding of the south-east wall on a former wharf-side sea-wall.

• 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?

  The building has remained (relatively) unchanged on the site for nearly 100 years and contributes to the sense of place and continuity of the changing landscape of the Wellington waterfront
  

• Public Esteem

  Is the item held in high public esteem?

  The building has social and cultural value as a physical reminder of port and shipping operations, which continue to perform important economic and transport functions in Wellington.
  

• Rare

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

  The building is one of two surviving fine early 20th century brick maritime buildings in the Centreport area of Wellington waterfront.

  Shed 35 is one of the few intact examples of the once numerous brick sheds on Wellington’s waterfront and has rarity value.
  

• Representative

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

  The building is a good representative example of an interwar industrial building on Wellington’s waterfront.

• 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 35 remains in largely authentic condition.

• Importance

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

  The collection of historic maritime buildings on Wellington waterfront could be considered to be of national significance – further research is required. 

Not assessed

• Note: this document has been adapted from the 2006 Recommendation for listing on the District Plan prepared by Russell Murray (WCC reference “Shed 35.doc”)
• ACO16:3:42, Wellington City Archives (WCA), Wellington Harbour Board Contract No.172, 18/8/1913
• Commercial Port, Wellington. Shed 35 and Maritime House’. New Zealand Historic Places Trust 2003.
• McLean, Robert. ‘History of Reclamation’, New Zealand Historic Places Trust 2004.
• Mendus, Alys, ‘Report on the Historic Values of the two remaining Wharf Buildings on the Commercial Port, Wellington’, New Zealand Historic Historic Places Trust, 2003
• NZHPT, Report for Shed 35 and Kings Wharf Office, circa 2006
• Schouten, Hank. Bustling Market to Bring Shed 35 Alive, DomPost 15 June 2012
• Wellington Harbour Board, Annual Report of Engineer, October 1915
• Wellington Waterfront Ltd webpage, accessed 2012

• Inventory Report
• 1913 drawings

Not available