Our City, more formally Our City O-Tautahi, also known as the Old Municipal Chambers, is a Queen Anne style building on the corner of Worcester Street and Oxford Terrace in the

Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue ...

. It is a Category I heritage building registered 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 ...

. From 1887 to 1924 it was used by

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who ...

as their civic offices, providing room for meetings of the council and for housing staff, before they moved to the

Civic Civic is something related to a city or municipality. It also can refer to multiple other things: General *Civics, the science of comparative government *Civic engagement, the connection one feels with their larger community *Civic center, a comm ...

. It was then used for many decades by the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

and served as the main tourist information. It was last used as an exhibition and events centre before being damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes.

History

Civic offices

The Christchurch Municipal Council first met in 1862. Later that year, it became the Christchurch City Council. The council used Christchurch's first public building, the Christchurch Land Office, as their meeting venue and for housing council employees. The Land Office was built in 1851 on Oxford Terrace on the banks of the Avon River, just north of where the Worcester Street bridge crossed the river. The building had various public uses. It was built on Reserve 10, which was a section of land reserved for public buildings. In 1879, the council administration had run out of room in the Land Office, and a competition for new civic offices and a town hall (i.e. a venue for large gatherings) for what is later known as Victoria Square was announced. After all the competition entries proved too expensive, the project was abandoned. Our City, 1890

Another competition was called for in 1885, this time for just civic offices (i.e. for a council meeting venue and for staff), and on the same site as the Land Office. Controversy erupted when the competition was won by

Samuel Hurst Seager Samuel Hurst Seager (26 June 1855 – 5 October 1933) was a notable New Zealand builder, draftsman, architect and town planner. He was born in London, England, in 1855, and as a boy emigrated to Christchurch, New Zealand, with his parents i ...

; he was young and relatively inexperienced, and his design in Queen Anne style was an architectural type unfamiliar to New Zealand. Construction began in 1886, but the controversy continued when councillor Samuel Paull Andrews claimed the building was structurally unsound.

Benjamin Mountfort Benjamin Woolfield Mountfort (13 March 1825 – 15 March 1898) was an English emigrant to New Zealand, where he became one of the country's most prominent 19th-century architects. He was instrumental in shaping the city of Christchurch's unique ...

and John Whitelaw, both architects, and

Edward Dobson Edward Dobson (1816/17? – 19 September 1908) was Provincial Engineer for Canterbury Province, New Zealand from 1854 to 1868. Early life Edward Dobson was born in London, probably in 1816 or 1817. His parents were John Dobson, a merchant, and E ...

, an engineer, reviewed the design and the building and found everything to be safe. The only suggestion they made was to strengthen the roof in a different, more costly way than designed by Seager. The building was completed on 24 March 1887 and council met for the first time in their new premises on 4 April 1887. The south façade of the building has two terracotta sculptures by

George Frampton Sir George James Frampton, (18 June 1860 – 21 May 1928) was a British sculptor. He was a leading member of the New Sculpture movement in his early career when he created sculptures with elements of Art Nouveau and Symbolism, often combining ...

that represent 'Industry' and 'Concord'. In 1919, Council concluded that their premises were once again too cramped and started looking for an alternative. A bill was put to Parliament, seeking permission to extend the building to the north of Reserve 10 on land designated for public gardens or promenades, but public opposition was too strong and the proposal was dropped. Instead, Council purchased the burned out shell of the northern half of the Agricultural and Industrial Hall in 1920. Construction started in 1922, and the new offices, now known as the

, opened on 1 September 1924. In 2010, council moved into their fifth civic office; to date, the Queen Anne design is the only purpose built civic offices in Christchurch.

Other uses

Parliament passed a Christchurch Municipal Offices Leasing Act in 1922, which allowed council to lease the building that was situated on Reserve 10. The Canterbury

took the lease and held it until 1987. Part of the building was subleased to the Canterbury Promotion Council, later known as Christchurch and Canterbury Marketing, and they were in the building until October 2000. Part of their function was to provide the main tourist information centre for Christchurch. The building was taken over again by the council and opened as an exhibition, event and meeting space for the community in July 2002, branded as Our City O-Tautahi. It is one of Christchurch's major tourist attractions. Our City, March 2011

Earthquake damage

Our City was damaged in the

2010 Canterbury earthquake The 2010 Canterbury earthquake (also known as the Darfield earthquake) struck the South Island of New Zealand with a moment magnitude of 7.1 at on , and had a maximum perceived intensity of X (''Extreme'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. Som ...

and was closed, with heavy bracing installed around the building. The building is insured for NZ$5.8m, but repair options are in excess of that. One of the options has been estimated at NZ$10.5m.

Heritage listing

On 2 April 1985, the building was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now called Heritage New Zealand) as a Category I historic place, with the registration number being 1844. It is a rare example of the Queen Anne style, and at the time was a notable departure from the prevailing Gothic architecture. It was the first major commission for Seager and started his career. The building is a feature in its part of the city.

References

{{Christchurch earthquakes 2011 Christchurch earthquake Christchurch Central City Buildings and structures in Christchurch City and town halls in New Zealand NZHPT Category I listings in Canterbury, New Zealand Tourist attractions in Christchurch 1880s architecture in New Zealand