Queens Wharf is a concrete wharf in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand, that continues off Queen Street (the main street in central Auckland). It was previously owned and used by

Ports of Auckland Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL), the successor to the Auckland Harbour Board, is the Auckland Council-owned company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities. As the company operates all of the associated fa ...

. In 2010 it was sold to the Auckland Regional Council and the New Zealand Government, and it was transformed to act as "Party Central" for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Location and description

The wharf is located at the intersection of

Quay Street Quay Street is a street in the city centre of Manchester, England. The street, designated the A34, continues Peter Street westwards towards the River Irwell and Salford. It is the northern boundary of Spinningfields, the city's business dist ...

and Queen Street on Auckland's waterfront, and it runs north-northeast into

Waitemata Harbour Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā (local board area), a local government area in Auckland, New Zealand ** Waitematā Local Board, a local board of Auckland Council, ...

. It is located near Auckland's historic Ferry Building, and lies parallel to the nearby

Princes Wharf Prince's Wharf, or Princes Wharf, may refer to: * Princes Wharf, Auckland Princes Wharf is a former commercial wharf on the Auckland waterfront, in Auckland, New Zealand, which has been redeveloped into a multi-story high-class mixed-use devel ...

(to the west) and Captain Cook Wharf (east). The wharf is constructed of concrete, and covers an area of 2.9 hectares. It is 350 metres long by 85 metres wide, and is 3 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. Up until 2010, two sheds (built in 1911 and 1914) stood on the wharf. Shed 11 at the far end of the wharf was dismantled in late 2010. This shed was replaced by '' The Cloud'' which was used as a place of congregation for the

Rugby World Cup 2011 The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. Shed 10 remains but was heavily refurbished for the World Cup.

History

Construction began on the first Queen Street Wharf in 1852. It was the second public pier for the city of Auckland, after the Wynyard Pier in

Mechanics Bay Mechanics Bay ( mi, Te Tōangaroa) is a reclaimed bay on the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It is also the name of the area of the former bay that is now mainly occupied by commercial and port facilities. Sometimes the bay form ...

to the east. The wooden wharf had been extended to a length of 470m by 1864, however by 1871 the wharf was dilapidated and the surrounding harbour was too shallow, so a newer, longer and wider timber wharf was constructed. The Queen Street Wharf was replaced in 1913 by the ferro-concrete Queens Wharf, which soon became the main overseas passenger wharf for Auckland. Soon after construction, the

1913 Great Strike The Great Strike refers to a near general strike that took place in New Zealand from October 1913 to mid-January 1914. It was the largest and most disruptive strike in New Zealand's history. At its height, it brought the economy of New Zealand a ...

began. While the wharf labourers were on strike, young farmers from outside of the city, known as

Massey Massey may refer to: Places Canada * Massey, Ontario * Massey Island, Nunavut New Zealand * Massey, New Zealand, an Auckland suburb United States * Massey, Alabama * Massey, Iowa * Massey, Maryland People * Massey (surname) Educati ...

's Cossacks, worked and protected the docks. In 1960, passenger services were transferred to the neighbouring

. Up until 2010 the wharf and its sheds were used as a cargo wharf by

(POAL). The deck of the wharf was often used for parking import vehicles. The northwestern shed was used as a

cool store A cool store or cold store is a large refrigerated room or building designed for storage of goods in an environment below the outdoor temperature. Products needing refrigeration include fruit, vegetables, seafood and meat. Cold stores are often l ...

, and the southeastern was used by POAL and MAF for storage and customs processing.

Current use of the wharf

The wharf was sold to the Auckland Regional Council and the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

who each paid $20 million to

2009 design competition

A competition to outline a plan for renewing of the wharf for the

and beyond began on 24 August 2009. After strong criticism of the quality of the designs from many sources (including Auckland Mayor John Banks), the competition took a back foot and the winner never announced.

The Cloud

After the failure of the design competition, a temporary multifunction building was created. At a cost of about $10 million, The Cloud was built, which is a long waving-shaped structure.

Port Future

The area is currently managed by

Panuku Development Auckland Panuku Development Auckland is one of the five council-controlled organisations (CCOs) of Auckland Council in Auckland, New Zealand. Panuku buys, manages and sells property on behalf of the council and its CCOs. It does not develop the sites d ...

and further changes depend upon the results of a "Port Future" report expected to take until mid 2016."Study on Auckland's port future could take a year"
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References

{{Reflist

External links

Te Ara
- painting of the wharf by Edward Gifford in 1887.
Queens Wharf - 'Opening the Red Gates' Design Competition
- official website of the 2009 wharf design competition.

held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. Buildings and structures in Auckland Wharves Auckland CBD Auckland waterfront Waitematā Harbour