1ZB Broadcasting House Durham St Auckland by Alva Bartley

Broadcasting House, this and all promotional images shown here 1941 probably by Doree & Sache
 SGGSC 915 Album  148.0003

Today we explore a building designed by Alva Bartley, son of Clement Bartley. This is not one we can visit today. We do have some wonderful images though. Auckland Public Libraries Special Collections has digitised images from the agency Doree & Sache.

Alva Bartley and Norman Wade were in partnership from 1920 until 1935.  More information on Alva's early career is available here.
When Norman Wade set up on his own he retained the Auckland Harbour Board as a client. Alva Bartley retained the broadcasting business. This was now under the National Broadcasting Service, established in 1936. Both men continued to explore the potential of the Modern Style which was such a feature of their work together.

In 1939 Alva designed Auckland's second purpose built broadcasting building. In partnership with Norman Wade he had already completed the 1YA building in Shortland St. This brief was for a much grander affair.

The Government purchased land in Durham St, behind His Majesty's Theatre. The site was being used as a car park. It offered a street frontage of about 42 metres ( 139 ft) and a depth of 18.6 m (61 ft).

The site of Broadcasting House crner Durham St West and Durham lane AWN 1 Sep 1939

 The contract price of £70, 000 was confirmed just two months into the Second World War, in November 1939.1 N Cole Ltd of Auckland secured the building contract.
Construction began in 1940. By October 1941 the building was open and operational.2

Front Entrance SGGSC 915 Album  148.0002

Two views of the central stairwell, from above and below 

Alva had some interesting talent working with him on this project.
Imi Porsolt, a talented European emigree, was one. His contribution to New Zealand art and architecture was later profoundly influential, both as a teacher and as a practitioner. 3
Raymond Thorpe, later of Cutter Thorpe, was another. He had worked with Lippencott previously.
These men, with their associates such as Ralph Pickmere, would take a lead role in shaping art, design and architecture in post-war New Zealand.

The staircase from the entrance way.

The same staircase from the first floor foyer

This design has been described as New Zealand's first truly modernist building. That may be so. It must have look extremely luxurious to war-time Auckland. The style was glamorous and confident- both qualities associated with broadcasting technology. The new broadcasting theatre it contained was highly praised. Big bands played here before live audiences. It remained an important contributor to New Zealand music in many genres.
The building was removed in 1990 about the same time as its neighbour His Majesty's Theatre.

The Theo Walter Band performing in the live broadcasting theatre. 1941 SGGSC 915 Album  148.0019

A close up of the Art Deco styling details on the theatre stage SGGSC 915 Album  148.0021

Enjoy the rest of the images - our thanks to APL

Inside one of the recording studios. SGGSC 915 Album  148.0035

An interior and exterior view of a studio SGGSC 915 Album  148.0029 & 31

Control room, recording studio SGGSC 915 Album  148.0033

Studio reception area SGGSC 915 Album  148.0025

Executive offices SGGSC 915 Album  148.0038

Office area SGGSC 915 Album  148.0026

First Floor Foyer SGGSC 915 Album  148.0012

1. Ref NZH 3 Nov 1939
2. Ref AS 7 Oct 1941
3. See University of Auckland Architecture Archive Porsolt entries

Alva Martin Bartley- Architect of Landmark House Auckland

Alva consults the plans for Broadcasting House 

Today we introduce Alva Bartley, an Auckland architect influential during the interwar period.

The purpose of this post is to provide some biographical information and to clear up the question I get asked most often - was Alva a son of Edward Bartley?
The short answer is No. One of the implications of that fact I see as this- researchers may wish to reassess any assumptions concerning the influences on the architecture of Alva Bartley and Norman Wade. Just a thought.

Alva was born in Auckland in 1891, a son of Clement Bartley and grandson of Robert Bartley. As a 16 year old he passed the preliminary trades examination in technical drawing1 and three years later attained a first class pass in the South Kensington examinations. 2 At the end of 1910 he passed the Auckland Technical College programme in Architectural Design.3 Alva went on to study at Elam School of Art. 4 In 1917 he qualified 5 and married Alice Creamer.6He then embarked with the 30th Reinforements on 30 May of that year.7

There is much confusion in printed sources about Alva's pre-war study, which is why I am labouring the details in this early part of his story. Some commentators assert that Alva worked in the office of Bartley & Son before the war- the architectural practice of his great-uncle Edward Bartley in partnership with Alfred Bartley. If that is so no evidence has yet come to light. It is more likely a confusion around the identity of the A M Bartley working there - which was certainly Alfred Martin Bartley not Alva Martin Bartley. Alfred was indeed Edward's son and an architectural draftsman, but he was also an older man better known for his exceptional musical career than for design.

Alva may have had opportunity for further study while in Britain with our armed forces. His discharge documents are dated 29 July 1919 and he returned as associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects 8 We can estimate that date of return to New Zealand at late September 1919. The first tender advertisement for Alva Bartley and Norman Wade is dated October 1919, 9 from their presmises at the Brunswick Buildings in Queen St Auckland.10

Alva's business partner Norman Wade NZG 15 July1905

The Bartley-Wade partnership was a successful collaboration. Apart from the Power Board building, known as Landmark House, their designs include those for Radio NZ - the 1YA building and De Brett's Hotel. We take a closer look at some of those in later posts.

Landmark House 1929 Category 1 Historic Places Trust SGGSC 1104-8

1. ref NZH 23 Dec 1907
2. ref AES 7 Jan 1910
3. Ibid 23 Dec 1910 - note Malcolm Draffin also a classmate.
4. Ibid 2 July 1915
5 NZ Govt Gazette 1917
6. NZRBDM 1917/5858
7. ref AES 30 May 1917
8. WWI Attestation Sheets RB 56090
9. AES 22 Oct 1919
10. 174 Queen St. Both the Brunswick buildings and the Warwick Building next door were designed by Wade and Wade Architects and comprise two of the buildings making up the Canterbury Arcade.

Aickin's Pharmacy Queen St - Edward Bartley

Retailers provided a good proportion of Edward Bartley’s early work.
One early trend setting example was a design in 1879 for Graves Aickin, the pharmacist and entrepreneur.

Aickin came to Auckland via San Francisco. He arrived in 1863 already a qualified pharmacist. Within a couple of years he set up business in Karangahape Road.

Like many others Graves Aickin joined in the gold rush to Thames in 1870. He may have met with more success than the majority because he moved bigger premises in Queen St shortly after his return.
It is about this time that he began discussions with Edward Bartley about a possible expansion.

Edward’s cousin Julia was related to James Ferneyhough who owned a property on Queen St, near Vulcan Lane. Part of the site was leased to a hairdressers. Aickin negotiated to take the remainder for his pharmaceutical business.

Auckland Evening Star 19 April 1879

Edward Bartley trained as a cabinetmaker. He loved fine work in beautiful timber. After twenty years of no frills construction he now had the chance to share his passion for good cabinet work.
Here was his opportunity to design a spectacular retail experience.
Money was no object for Mr Aickin – he wanted the best.

Auckland Weekly News 4 June 1881

This two storey building, constructed on a site opposite the Bank of New Zealand in Queen St, had a highly ornamental front elevation. That alone was impressive for the times. Lower Queen St was not a sophisticated area in the 1870’s.
What sent the commentators into raptures was the interior. This was retail such as Auckland had never seen.
We can imagine the conversation at Mungo’s Café next door, discussing the sensory experience of visiting for Aickin’s new premises for the first time.

Edward had, in his brother in law John Harvey, a talented craftsman. Harvey was employed to fit out the interior in cedar and mahogany. Bespoke cabinets were designed for the vast miscellany of requisites and drugs stocked by a manufacturing pharmacist. These were finished with hand carving and mouldings on their upper portion.
Other cabinets were sourced and imported from England.
Showcases for retail items were ranged along the whole of the south wall of the shop space.

A self- acting fountain on a marble- topped case threw out jets of perfumed water. This luxurious ambience was completed by an ornate dispensing counter to the rear of the premises. Imagine coming in off poorly drained, unsealed Queen St to that environment.

Edward specified some state of the art technology to streamline the daily transactions.
Speaking tubes were installed in a similar way to modern intercom systems. Some connected the dispensary to the surgeons consulting rooms on the level above. Others allowed communication with the bottlers and storerooms on the lower level.
There was no change from £1000 for the interior fittings alone. Together Mr Aickin and Edward had set the standard for other retailers to match.

It is our loss that Aickin’s pharmacy was faced over many years ago. There is, however, a continuation of high end retailing in that part of Queen St. We have Mr Aickin to thank for pioneering smart shopping in what was once a rather ‘down market’ part of central Auckland.

Colonial Architect - The Career of Edward Bartley 1839-1919

Thank you to everyone who has been asking for a re-issue of Edward Bartley's biography.

The book is now available as an e-book at: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VFETOMA

Auckland Savings Bank in Devonport - Edward Bartley

Front Elevation ASB Devonport

I hope readers will enjoy this set of plans for an ASB branch building, now demolished. 

The original site was on Victoria Road, Devonport, Auckland almost opposite the council chambers.

Edward Bartley had to wait until the end of his career to design a bank building for his home suburb of Devonport, on the North Shore of Auckland. 

Local residents were forced to petition and lobby in order to get a branch at all, coming in well behind Onehunga, Newmarket and Surrey Hills. Building began in Devonport in 1901.

At this time it was still traditional for the manager to live on the premises. It may seem strange to us now, but a practical set of apartments was an important aspect of the design of bank buildings.
At Devonport the ground floor of this brick building was divided into banking room, dining room and kitchen, with a connecting hall and side door. On the first floor four bedrooms supplied the sleeping accommodation.

Back Elevation ASB Devonport

First Floor Plan showing Manager's Accommodation

Cross Section ASB Devonport

Cross Section ASB Devonport

Fortunately a good number of the heritage buildings along Victoria Road are still used and maintained today. There is a special ambience to Devonport which greets the ferry traveller from central Auckland. Everything seems to slow down to the more leisurely pace of a gentler time. No bad thing is it?

Street frontages of heritage buildings on Victoria Rd Devonport. Image BFA

St Mary's Pokeno - Harriet Johnston makes her mark

St Mary's Pokeno Front Entrance. Image BFA

It is great to be back. Apologies to you all for the long break. 

Today’s post is about a Gothic Revival treasure in the Waikato. There is a lovely story with it too. I hope you enjoy sharing our research on St Mary’s.

Let us first travel back to the Waikato of the 1860’s. War scarred both the landscape and the communities of the region during that decade. This was followed by punitive confiscations of land. The Pokeno block was taken in this process.

The site of St Mary’s Church, near the junction of the route to Thames and the Great South Road, was originally part of that Pokeno block. It passed through several settler’s hands during the next thirty years until Mr Francis William PYNE bought it as part of a 700 acre parcel in 1890.[i]

Mr Pyne, son of the Rector at Oxted, Surrey, arrived in New Zealand the year before. He was a well educated man, unmarried at that time. In 1892 he welcomed 63 year old Harriet JOHNSTON to his home. Miss Johnston was a well to do lady from Devonshire. She may well have been a family connection of the Pynes.

Miss Johnston was to prove an asset to the Pokeno district. After Francis Pyne married in 1894[ii] she threw her considerable energy into improving amenities in the area. Amongst other projects she donated the cost of a community hall, oversaw the construction and donated the interior fittings, including a piano.

In similar style, Miss Johnston turned her attention to the spiritual welfare of the community. At this time services were conducted by an itinerant clergyman on a monthly rotation. She envisioned a new church and a resident clergyman for Pokeno.

Using her resources and her connections, the project was instigated and completed in short order. Mr Pyne was called upon to donate the land for a church complex, intended to include vicarage and school. Diocesan heads were advised of her intention.

Edward Bartley, as Diocesan Architect, was consulted and requested to draw up plans for the new St Mary’s. The result was a miniature masterpiece of Gothic Revival. This church, along with All Saint’s in Kamo, Whangarei, was one of the last in a long association with the Anglican Church. They are also generally the most admired, as work of a mature and confident hand. It is certain that Edward was required to work closely with Miss Johnston and her chosen Deacon/Curate Rev H WINGFIELD.

The foundation stone was laid on November 4, 1899[iii] and the church was consecrated on 25 March the following year.[iv] Under a deed of gift the church and grounds were vested in the Diocese. The Primate of New Zealand was officiating and present to accept the gift.

The footprint of the building is 60 x 20 feet. The transept, 27 feet wide and 9 foot square porch were completed with a tower offset to the north containing the vestry and belfry. There was, of course, a dainty spire. The gabled roof was shingled and supported on massive beams. These were left exposed and treated to enhance the beauty of the native kauri timbers.[v]

St Mary's Pokeno rear view. Image BFA

Miss Johnston was equally attentive to the interior fittings. At the time of the consecration the some of the windows were plain and some coloured. This was because the stained glass windows she had commissioned from England had not yet arrived. A further window was commissioned for the west wall in 1910.

 Draperies were worked by the St Mary’s Guild of Parnell, the chancel and pulpit steps were carpeted and an Oamaru stone font installed. Seating was provided for 150 worshippers, being beautifully proportioned kauri pews. The following year Miss Johnston accepted delivery of three bells for the tower. They were the product of Warner and Sons of Cripplegate, London’s foremost bell casters.

Harriet Johnston died in 1916, leaving all of her estate to Francis Pyne. St Mary’s was her most lasting legacy, though it is unlikely she envisaged how brief its active role in the community would be. 

Soon after her death Francis Pyne disagreed with the vicar over the matter of stipend. In 1920 the church closed as a result of this dispute. The vicarage was also repossessed about this time and the property was put up for sale. From the early 1920’s the parish was accommodated by clergy from Bombay.

Fortunately for us the people of Pokeno loved their Category II[vi] historic church and have resisted all proposals to move the building. Thanks to them, the building was also kept in good repair and is still serving a vibrant community.

Link to  St Mary’s Homepage at  http://bombay-pokeno.org.nz/

---

[i] Cyclopaedia of NZ  1902 p 696 Pokeno

[ii] 24 January 1894 to Bertha PICKIN N Z Herald 23 Feb 1894 page 4, by his uncle Rev. KIRKBRIDE.

[iii] NZH 3 Nov 1899 page 3 col. 5

[iv] Anglican Church Gazette April 1900.

[v] Ibid May 1900; NZH 27 March 1900 page 3 col.7

[vi] Historic Places Trust List #695, Category 2

St Luke's Anglican Church, Mt Albert, Auckland- additions by Edward Bartley

Images Bartley Family Archive 2006

Auckland has some lovely examples of colonial period church architecture.

St Luke's was once in farmland, some distance from the centre of Auckland. It is now all but crowded out by retail precinct and highway, but still serving as a spiritual and community hub.

The nave and chancel of St Luke's was dedicated in 1872. The architect at that time was P. F. M Burrows. Later growth in the congregation required extensions to the existing church. The opportunity was taken to refit the interior and construct a vicarage. These additions were designed by Edward Bartley as Architect to the Anglican Diocese of Auckland.

Interior St Luke's about 2003 Image BFA

The remodelled building and the adjacent cemetery were re-consecrated in 1883. The church itself was doubled in size.
Increased capacity was achieved by extending the nave. Transepts were added. The chancel was altered to be formed by five sides with one centre window and two side windows. A communion rail was especially designed of polished rimu on burnished brass standards.
A porch on the north side of the nave at the west end was joined by a smaller porch at the corner of the south transept and the nave. A belfry and small spire were added to the west end.

Note the communion rail was removed in 20th century alterations.
Images Bartley Family Archive

This beautiful church was lined throughout with 4" V jointed matched and dressed kauri board, giving the interior that lovely honey glow characteristic of our native timber.

The interior is further enhanced by beautiful stained glass. 

A vote of thanks to the St Luke's community for their care for the building, cemetery and grounds.

Refer Anglican Church Gazette May 1883 p 43,44; NZH 9 May 1883 p6

Supreme Court Building, Auckland

One of my favourite Auckland structures is the Supreme Court Building. It is redolent with reference and symbolism belonging to another time and place. It amuses me too. The story behind its construction is page after page of misunderstandings, acrimony, dispute, botch-up and patch up. Yet it still stands intact on the original site. Married to a 20th century sibling it still provides a venue for the legal system which, like the building, was planted here.

These images are part of a photo essay completed for BFA by D Crozier 2003

The designer was Edward Rumsey. He chose English Gothic design for this public building, intended for the high point of Barrack Hill. Government House was nearby, as was the army barracks and commissariat. Visually he was calling up a romanticised heritage of might and magisterial power, of the glorious past associated with medieval english social structures - crown, church and state.

I include the full news coverage of the plans here. Enjoy this optimistic exploration of the design:

NZH 28 Feb 1865

Rumsey's design still 'stands forth bravely' as a beautiful addition to our city, but the road to completion and healthy usefulness was a long one. 

Amos and Taylor began work on the building under the Clerk of Works Angus Mckay. The foundation stone was laid on 5 November 1865. By January 1867 the roof trusses were being put in place.  Business relationships were deteriorating between government staff and McKay, as well as between government staff and the contractors. Accusations of dishonesty, overt or implied, soured working conditions even further. There were issues around payments, materials and supply. The architect was involved in some acrimonious exchanges as well.

Fresh tenders were called at this stage of the project. McKay's resignation was accepted.

NZH 23 Feb 1867

Matthews & Bartley Builders took over the construction from April 1867 to January 1868. Edmund Matthews had the experience and skill for these large, public projects. Young Edward Bartley had the energy and enthusiasm to see the construction finished. 

Completion took some time to achieve.

Here is the report made early in 1871

NZH 11 April 1871

The engraver Anton Teutenberg was responsible for the vibrant sculptural detail of the Supreme Court. He arrived in 1866 and began work almost immediately. He was a gifted and versatile artist who is highly revered in numismatic circles for his beautiful commemorative medals of the early 1880s

Plasterers were still working on the site in the winter of 1875. (Daily Southern Cross 2 July 1865) The acoustics and the leaks continued to be worked on for many years.

We have on file a letter describing a first hand experience of approaching this building in 1876. 

'...The Supreme Court Building was a prominent feature of the high ground to the seaward side of the Barracks. The tower of the building could be seen some distance away and the contrast of white plaster detailing against red brick marked it as an unusually substantive structure in a town of predominantly weatherboard and single storey dwellings. In closer proximity realistically wrought heads of both worthies and demons peered down from the crenellated roof line....The dim entrance made a forbidding contrast after the bright February sun and heat outside .' BFA LL A.S

Yes. This listed building is one of our architectural treasures. It may be anachronistic. It may have a chequered history, but the sculptures Anton Teutenberg created, the window tracery the plasterers laboured over and the features Rumsey held as ideals in his mind are there for us all to enjoy.