New Zealand's Old Government Buildings sit on the Government Buildings Historic Reserve, on Lambton Quay in central

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 ...

. The buildings were completed in 1876 on land reclaimed from Wellington Harbour to house the young

New Zealand Government The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifica ...

and its

public service A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing available to private busin ...

. The building now houses the

Law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

. It is classified as a Category 1 historic building 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 ...

. Until 1998, the building was the second-largest wooden building in the world (after

Tōdai-ji is a Buddhist temple complex that was once one of the powerful Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples, located in the city of Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan. The construction of the temple was an attempt to imitate Chinese temples from the much-admir ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, Japan).Historic Government Buildings
Department of Conservation

History

Construction and style

The building was commissioned in the early 1870s by the Fox Ministry, partially in anticipation of the abolition of the provincial governments. It was originally planned to have the building constructed in

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

, but the cost of concrete at the time led to a decision to build in timber alone. The

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

style was usually the domain of stone buildings, thus the building is designed to mimic stone. As an important symbol of nationhood, the building was constructed to resemble an Italian stone palace to help convey its strength and stability in the expanding empire. The timber is native

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

, which could not be replicated because New Zealand's remaining public kauri forests are permanently protected. If the building had been constructed out of stone as planned, it may not have survived subsequent earthquakes, as it is situated near a major fault line. The architect was William Clayton and the contractors were Scoular and Archibald. The building has 143 rooms, 64 toilets, 126 fireplaces and 22 chimneys. When it opened in 1876, after 22 months of construction, and at a cost of £39 000,Department of Conservation ''Government Buildings Historic Reserve'' 2002 it was easily the largest building in the country Wellington City Council
and is now considered to be one of New Zealand's most important historic buildings. The building was built on reclaimed land.

Expansion and restoration

The building was extended in 1897 and again in 1907, with additions to the wings. It was also surrounded by outbuildings, and the original interior obscured by partitions, linings and paint. Following the departure of the Education Department, the building underwent thorough restoration under the management of the Department of Conservation, which at the time included the Historic Places Trust. Although some early work was done in the 1980s, the bulk of the restoration took place from 1994 to 1996. Many original features were replicated, including fireplaces although these are now purely decorative. The original tōtara piles were replaced with concrete. Over 500 cubic metres of recycled

was used during the restoration project, to supplement the original timber. Verandahs, late Victorian and Edwardian water radiators, the original clock and coat of arms, a water-powered hydraulic lift, and the impressive staircases were all restored or preserved. The piles, originally totara, are now concrete. All structural framing is

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

(now augmented with

pinus radiata ''Pinus radiata'' ( syn. ''Pinus insignis''), the Monterey pine, insignis pine or radiata pine, is a species of pine native to the Central Coast of California and Mexico (on Guadalupe Island and Cedros island). It is an evergreen conifer in t ...

), while weatherboards, flooring and finishing timbers are kauri. A two-year programme of restoration of the 804 sash windows in the building was completed in 2021.

Smokefree policy

Over concerns about the threat of fire, smoking was banned within the building from its opening, making it the first building in the world to have a smoke-free policy.

Changing uses

The former Government Buildings was an important symbol of nationhood, as it was completed in the same month that provincial government in New Zealand ended and central government 'finally asserted its authority'. The building initially housed the entire Wellington-based civil service as well as the entire New Zealand Cabinet. In addition, the Executive Council met there until 1948. The civil service rapidly expanded beyond the capacity of the building, with the first department leaving shortly after it was opened. By 1975 only the Education Department remained, and by 1990 the building was empty. After housing government departments for 114 years, Government funding was made available and restoration began in 1994 under the management of the Department of Conservation, which became the building's owners. Wherever possible the building was to be restored to its 1907 appearance, when the north and south wing extensions were completed. The project spanned two years and cost $25 million. The government buildings were formally reopened in January 1996 after the Law Faculty of Victoria University signed a 50-year tenancy that year and became its new occupants. Its restoration is considered a landmark government-initiated heritage conservation project.

Public admission

The building was reopened in January 1996. The grounds are open to the public, and contain examples of rare native New Zealand flora. The public may view the displays on the ground floor and the Cabinet room on the first floor, but the rest of the building is leased to the Victoria University School of Law.

Suspected arson attack

In March 2015, the buildings suffered minimal damage in a suspected arson attack.

References

External links

Department of Conservation's ''Meet the Locals'' (TVNZ) segment

Google 3D Warehouse Model
{{Victoria University of Wellington Buildings and structures in Wellington City Government buildings completed in 1876 Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Wellington Region 1870s architecture in New Zealand Wooden buildings and structures in New Zealand Restored and conserved buildings William Clayton (architect) buildings Wellington Central, Wellington Italianate architecture in New Zealand