Erskine College was a Catholic girls' boarding school in Island Bay,

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand, and the subject of a campaign to protect its historic buildings (the Chapel of the Sacred Heart and the Main Block Convent). It was largely demolished in 2018 to build housing, but the chapel was restored and later reopened.

History

The Convent of the Sacred Heart (as it was initially known) was founded by nuns from the

Society of the Sacred Heart The Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (; ), abbreviated RSCJ, is a Catholic centralized religious institute of consecrated life of pontifical right for women established in France by Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. History Madeleine Soph ...

(Sacré Coeur), who came to New Zealand at the invitation of Archbishop Redwood. The four-storey Gothic Revival brick and reinforced concrete convent building was designed by architect John Sydney Swan and built between 1904 and 1906. Teaching of pupils started in 1907. More buildings were added as the school roll increased. The interior of the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, also designed by Swan and built in 1929-30, is regarded as one of the finest examples of a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

interior in New Zealand. The school's name was changed to ''Erskine College'' in the late 1960s to avoid confusion with Sacred Heart College in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

. It was named after Mother Janet Erskine Stuart, the fifth Superior General of the

. The buildings served as a Catholic girls' boarding school until its closure in 1985. By that time, nearly 3000 girls had been educated at the college.

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's 1996 film ''

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'' used Erskine College as one of its locations. An arts school, The Learning Connexion, occupied Erskine College from 1996 to until 2009.

Historic significance and campaign

The buildings and grounds were classified as a "Category I" ("places of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value") historic place by

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; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

. The Save Erskine College Trust was formed to protect the site in 1992, the first non-government heritage protection authority in New Zealan

The college buildings, with the exception of the chapel, were controversially demolished by its owners The Wellington Company in 2018, to make way for 96 townhouses. The chapel was restored and reopened in 2023. Wellington New Zealand Erskine College demolition Oct 2018

Wellington New Zealand Erskine College demolition Oct 2018

Old Girls

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(born 1959), former radio and television presenter and politician. *

Winnie Laban Luamanuvao Dame Winifred Alexandra Laban (born 14 August 1955) is a former New Zealand politician. She served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Mana electorate, representing the Labour Party, and was the Labour Party's spokesperson fo ...

(born 1955), former politician. * Piera McArthur (born 1929), artist. *

Ginette McDonald Ginette Denise McDonald (born 18 April 1952) is a New Zealand actress, and television producer and director, best known for her comedic alter ego, "Lyn of Tawa". Early life McDonald was born in Wellington on 18 April 1952, the daughter of Joan ...

(born 1952), actress and comedian. *

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References

External links

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Erskine College's main block on Wellington City Councils Heritage ListErskine College chapel will finally be strengthenedErskine College's Chapel of the Sacred Heart on Wellington City Councils Heritage ListErskine College Chapel, plan by John Swan

video about Erskine College on YouTubeErskine College Conservation Plan 2015
Buildings and structures in Wellington City Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington Region Educational institutions established in 1906 1906 establishments in New Zealand 1900s architecture in New Zealand Former school buildings in New Zealand 1985 disestablishments in New Zealand 2018 disestablishments in New Zealand