The Clock Tower Chambers, also known as the Westport Municipal Chambers, are the former municipal offices in

Westport, New Zealand Westport ( mi, Kawatiri) is a town in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. Established in 1861, it is the oldest European settlement on the West Coast. Originally named Buller, it is on the right bank and at the mouth of the ...

. Built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the building has been described as "possibly the jewel in the crown of

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

historic buildings". It has a Category I registration with

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

Background

Westport was the first town on the West Coast to be settled by Europeans. It became an important centre after the discovery of coal, and Westport was both the administrative center for Westport Borough (from 1873) and Buller County (from 1877). The chief post office was an imposing structure, with a clock tower added in 1913 as a memorial to the former prime minister and West Coast personality

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...

. The tower collapsed in the

1929 Murchison earthquake The 1929 Murchison earthquake occurred at 10:17 am on 17 June. It struck the Murchison region of the South Island, with an estimated magnitude of 7.3, and was felt throughout New Zealand. There were 17 deaths, mostly as a result of landsli ...

and the building was demolished soon after. Jack Kilkenny (1888–1972), mayor of Westport from 1933 until his resignation in 1939, proposed in 1936 that Westport Borough Council build municipal chambers including a clock tower to replace the tower that was lost in the 1929 earthquake. The borough council approved an

NZ£ The pound (symbol £, £NZ. for distinction) was the currency of New Zealand from 1840 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Like the pound sterling, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (abbreviation s or /) each of 12 pen ...

8,000 loan towards the construction, professional fees, and the purchase of an adjacent section.

Construction

Archibald Macdonald, a local architect in Westport, was engaged for the design of the municipal chambers. Macdonald chose the

Moderne architecture Moderne architecture, also sometimes referred to as Style Moderne or simply Moderne, Jazz Age, Moderne, jazz modern or jazz style, describes certain styles of architecture popular from 1925 through the 1940s. closely allied to Art Deco. Origina ...

style for his design. The construction contract was tendered in August 1938 but as the tender prices were considered too high, the building was constructed using

day labour Day labor (or day labour in Commonwealth spelling) is work done where the worker is hired and paid one day at a time, with no promise that more work will be available in the future. It is a form of contingent work. Types Day laborers (also kn ...

instead. By December 1938, the previous council offices on the corner of Palmerston and Lyndhurst streets had been demolished and the site cleared for foundation work. The new council chambers were built in

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

, with interior work in

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

and

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bindi ...

floors. Rising construction costs caused by the outbreak of World War II caused delays and financial problems. The building was complete, apart from the upper part of the clock tower, by April 1940. The finishing touches were done during 1941. The former proprietor of the local cinema, Harry Morgan, donated the clock. The building is coated in

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding dis ...

sand, which gives it a distinctive mustard colour. There were plans to add a town hall behind the building and for that reason there was never an official opening party held. The building cost NZ£18,423 and the donated clock was worth NZ£1,250. The economic depression during the war prevented the town hall plan from going ahead. There was a fundraising attempt during the 1960s, with a "hall-o-meter" displaying progress, but this did not reach its goal.

Heritage registration

On 30 August 1990, the building was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (since renamed

) as a Category I structure, with registration number 5000. Reasons for this registration were the historical significance of the building (demonstrating the status of the town), the architectural quality (it is described as a "striking building with a dramatic appearance"), and its townscape / landmark value (it is the most prominent landmark in Westport).

Current use

Westport Borough was merged into

Buller District Buller District is one of 53 districts of New Zealand, and is within the West Coast Region. It covers Westport, Karamea, Reefton and Inangahua Junction. Buller District's overall land area is . The district is administered by the Buller Distri ...

in the

1989 local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, made up of regional and territorial levels. Backg ...

. Buller District Council vacated the Clock Tower Chambers soon after the building had been registered by the Historic Places Trust. Commercial tenants now occupy the building.

References

{{Reflist Westport, New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the West Coast, New Zealand 1940s architecture in New Zealand Westport Westport Art Deco architecture in New Zealand Late Moderne architecture Tourist attractions in the West Coast, New Zealand

Background

Construction

Heritage registration

Current use

See also

References