Mason & Wales is New Zealand's oldest surviving architectural design company. The company was founded in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1863 by

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

, who — as well as being an architect — had served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and as the first

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

.History
" Mason & Wales official website. Retrieved 31 May 2020. He was joined in partnership by Nathaniel Wales in 1871. Mason & Wales was responsible for many of the grand buildings which were built in Dunedin as a result of prosperity brought about by the

Otago Gold Rush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

, among them Dunedin's Bank of New Zealand building (1863), Exchange Building (1864–68), Bank of New South Wales (1868), St. Matthew's Church (1973), Wains Hotel (1878), and Garrison Hall (1879).Knight, H., and Wales, N. (1988) ''Buildings of Dunedin''. Dunedin: John McIndoe. pp. 167–191. Early twentieth-century Mason & Wales structures include the Scott Building at the

University of Otago Dunedin School of Medicine The Dunedin School of Medicine is the name of the School of Medicine that is based on the Dunedin campus of the University of Otago. All University of Otago medical students who gain entry after the competitive Health Sciences First Year prog ...

(1916). They were also the supervising architects for the building of the Ernest George-designed Jacobean house

Olveston Olveston is a small village and larger parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The parish comprises the villages of Olveston and Tockington, and the hamlets of Old Down, Ingst and Awkley. The civil parish population at the 2011 census was 2, ...

(1907). In more recent times, Mason & Wales have been the architectural firm behind buildings such as blocks F and H of

Otago Polytechnic Otago Polytechnic was a public New Zealand tertiary education institute, centred in Dunedin with additional campuses in Cromwell and Auckland. Otago Polytechnic provided career-focused education and training, offering a range of New Zealand accr ...

, the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

Clubs and Societies building,

Invermay Agricultural Centre Invermay Agricultural Centre is located close to Mosgiel, on the Taieri Plains in Otago, New Zealand. Part of AgResearch AgResearch Ltd (formerly known as New Zealand Pastoral Agriculture Research Institute Limited) is one of New Zealand's ...

, and

Queenstown Police Station Queenstown Police Station is the largest police station in the Otago Lakes Central Area which is one of three policing areas in the Southern District of the New Zealand Police. The Otago Lakes Central Area headquarters has returned to Queenstown P ...

(1996). Since the inception of the New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards for Architecture in the 1970s, Mason & Wales has won numerous local and branch awards, as well as national awards in 1981 and 1983 for Otago Harbour Board buildings in

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The origi ...

and Dunedin respectively, and in 2002 for the Fisher & Paykel Healthcare office building and plant in Auckland.Awards
" Mason & Wales official website. Retrieved 31 May 2020. The firm remains Dunedin-based, although their designs are now found throughout New Zealand. It maintained a family connection to its founders until the death of Wales's great-grandson, architect Niel Wales, in 2011. CORP_campus_CampusBuildings_009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason And Wales Companies based in Dunedin Architecture firms of New Zealand 1863 establishments in New Zealand