The Wellington Town Hall ( mi, Te Whare Whakarauika) is a concert hall and part of the

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

complex in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, New Zealand, which opened in December 1904. It has been closed to the public since the

2013 Seddon earthquake The 2013 Seddon earthquake measured 6.5 on the scale and was centred in New Zealand's Cook Strait, around east of the town of Seddon in Marlborough. The earthquake struck at 5:09:30 pm on Sunday 21 July 2013 (05:09 UTC) at a depth of , ...

, and it is currently undergoing extensive strengthening work.

History

The foundation stone for the building was laid in 1901 by the

Duke of Cornwall and York George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

(later George V). The organist and choirmaster Maughan Barnett composed an ''Ode'' for the occasion. Construction began the following year. It was officially opened on 7 December 1904. The Town Hall was originally fronted (on the Cuba Street side) with a Roman styled

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

and a 150-foot clock tower. A clock was not installed in the tower until 1922, when John Blundell, owner of '' The Evening Post'' newspaper, donated one. In 1934 the tower was removed as a precaution following the

1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Si ...

, and the main portico,

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

and bold

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

were also removed. The building was earthquake strengthened in 1943 following an earthquake the previous year. During the strengthening the

Corinthian capital The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

s on the exterior were replaced with Tuscan detailing. The Town Hall may have been a low maintenance priority of councils over the years. By 1973 during a concert (

Kenny Rogers and The First Edition Kenny Rogers and the First Edition, until 1970 billed as The First Edition, were an American rock band. The band's style was difficult to singularly classify, as it incorporated elements of country, rock and psychedelic pop. Its stalwart member ...

) their sound levels caused dust to begin to drift down over the stage. When their music hit a crescendo during the chorus of one piece (may have been '' Something's Burning''), the stage ceiling collapsed on them, dropping pigeon bodies, empty and dead eggs, nesting material and plaster rubble and dust all over the stage and the band's equipment. The concert did continue, with black-dressed stage hands creeping around the stage sweeping up detritus, removing carcasses, and dusting the amplifiers, speaker cases, keyboards, and anything else covered with plaster dust. In 1980 the

Michael Fowler Centre The Michael Fowler Centre is a concert hall and convention centre in Wellington, New Zealand. It was constructed on reclaimed land next to Civic Square, and is the pre-eminent concert site in central Wellington. Commissioned in 1975, building be ...

was built immediately in front of the Town Hall's main entrance in anticipation of the older building's demolition. However the

New Zealand Historic Places Trust 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 ...

(since renamed to Heritage New Zealand) persuaded the City Council to retain the Town Hall. In 1989 plans were unveiled to create Civic Square between the town hall and the old city library. As part of this, the Town Hall underwent full refurbishment in 1991–1992. During this process the concert chamber was demolished and replaced with reception rooms. Although the council offices have spread beyond the Town Hall since 1904, the building still housed the offices of the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

and Wellington City Council members until it was closed for earthquake strengthening. The main auditorium has been rated one of the best in the world for acoustic quality. It has hosted numerous live performances (including

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

) as well as fashion shows, debutante balls, political rallies, degree conferrals and at least one

episcopal ordination Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

, that of Cardinal John Dew in 1995. The Town Hall has one of the world's few remaining Edwardian

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

s. It was manufactured in England by

Norman and Beard Norman and Beard were a pipe organ manufacturer based in Norwich from 1887 to 1916. History The origins of the company are from a business founded in Diss in 1870 by Ernest William Norman (1851–1927). In 1876 he moved to Norwich where he wen ...

and shipped in pieces to Wellington in October and November 1905. After months spent installing the organ in the main auditorium, it was opened on 6 March 1906. The organ has 4000 pipes and four keyboards. The pipes are made variously of pure tin, a mix of lead, tin and aluminium, or zinc. The organ is known for its beautiful sound and was played regularly until being dismantled in 2013 in preparation for earthquake-strengthening work on the Town Hall. The organ was sent to the

South Island Organ Company The South Island Organ Company is a manufacturer of pipe organs in Timaru, New Zealand. The company, in business since 1968, has manufactured and restored over 300 pipe organs throughout New Zealand, Australia and Oceania. Founders South Island O ...

for restoration, and will be reinstalled when the earthquake strengthening work is complete.

Earthquake strengthening

In 2014, quake strengthening was put on hold by Wellington City Council after cost projections increased from $43 million to $60 million due to unforeseen technical issues. In March 2017 Wellington City Council announced its intention to bring the Town Hall up to 100% of the New Zealand building regulations at a cost of $85 million, with construction to begin in 2018 and an aim to re-open in 2021. As restoration work began further complexities were uncovered, and increasing costs meant that in February 2019 the council extended the budget to $112 million, with an undisclosed amount of additional contingency. The extra work required will include

seismic base isolation Seismic base isolation, also known as base isolation, or base isolation system, is one of the most popular means of protecting a structure against earthquake forces. It is a collection of structural elements which should substantially decoup ...

to better secure the long term future of the building, while delaying the opening by a further two years to 2023.

References

Sources

*
Venueweb – CAD files of theatrical and performance venues – Wellington Town Hall

Town Hall Strengthening
Retrieved June 2017
About the Project
Retrieved June 2017
Town Hall Architectural History
Retrieved June 2017
Town Hall Fact Sheet
Retrieved June 2017

External links

*
Wellington Town Hall site
Positively Wellington Venues
Wellington City Council Town Hall Organ
Youtube video about organ with example of its sound. {{Authority control Government buildings completed in 1904

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

NZHPT Category I listings in the Wellington Region City and town halls in New Zealand Concert halls in New Zealand Tourist attractions in Wellington City 1900s architecture in New Zealand Wellington Central, Wellington