Reclamation of Wellington Harbour
Encyclopedia
The reclamation
of Wellington Harbour
started in the 1850s, originally to increase the amount of usable flat land for Wellington city
. Reclamations in the 1960s and 1970s were to meet the needs of container shipping (containerisation
) and new cargo handling methods. Reclamation has added more than 155 hectares to Wellington.
's new settlement of Britannia at Pito-one (Petone
) had been prepared in England by Samuel Cobham. The key elements of his city were a large amount of flat land on the shores of a harbour, traversable by a navigable river. When surveyors arrived in 1840 on the Cuba led by Captain William Mein Smith
, it was determined that the Hutt River
was not navigable and, due to its tendency to flood, was not appropriate to support a major city. For these reasons the new settlement was relocated to the southern shores of Port Nicholson and renamed Wellington.
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
of the New Zealand Company had devised a system of 'packages' of land for colonists of one town acre each. Cobham's Brittania consited of 1100 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) town sections, which William Mein Smith struggled to fit into the new location. These sections were squeezed into the available space by sacrificing many of the planned amenities such as parks, reserves, ports, libraries and many other public areas identified in the original plan. For this reason, from Wellington's outset, there was a need for extra land.
). At that time, Windy Point was a precipice with a narrow and often impassible path connecting Willis Street to Beach Road (now Lambton Quay). Bennet commenced, to the amusement of neighbours, with pick-axe, shovel and barrow to move earth from the Point, tossing the spoil onto the path and into the harbour, thus widened the track and performing Wellington's first reclamation.
A programme of systematic reclamation began in 1852, overseen by the provincial government. Charles Rooking Carter
completed a 360' x 100' extension below Willis Street at a cost of £1,036.
In 1855, the magnitude 8.2 Wairarapa Earthquake
uplifted the northwestern side of Wellington bay (in some places up to 1.5 metres). This created a tidal swamp, and rendered many of the existing jetties in the harbour unusable. Most of this land was subsequently reclaimed, providing an excellent new rail and road route to the north. Another result of the newly-raised land in Wellington was that the shipping basin planned for the city was abandoned and the land used for a cricket ground, the Basin Reserve
.
The Wellington City Council was inaugurated in 1870, and by the end of the 1870s some 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land had been reclaimed using spoil from the hills behind Lambton Quay and from Wadestown Hill.
In 1880, the Wellington Harbour Board was established to manage and develop the harbour and its facilities. From then reclamation work was divided between the Harbour Board, the Government and the City Council. Among major developments from 1880 to the turn of the century was the reclamation north of Pipitea Point for railways land and south of Queens Wharf to Te Aro by the City Council. This removed the last vestiges of private ownership of the foreshore, putting the waterfront under the control of the Harbour Board.
By the end of the 19th century, the original 1840 shoreline was unrecognisable.
and that Wellington should be one of the two New Zealand ports. With containerisation came new roll-on/roll-off cargo handling methods that require more land adjacent to ships' berths. This resulted in the start of an extension to the Aotea Quay reclamation. Reclamation was carried out on both side of Queens Wharf and the Wellington Harbour Board Container Terminal was created by a large reclamation at Thorndon.
The first container ship berthed on 19 June 1971. The container terminal has 24.3 hectares of back-up space capable of holding 6,284 containers.
In 1976, the Historic Places Trust
placed 14 plaques along the original shoreline. These plaques run from Pipitea Point, along Lambton Quay, through Mercer Street, lower Cuba Street, Wakefield Street to Oriental Parade at the northern corner of Herd Street.
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
of Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...
started in the 1850s, originally to increase the amount of usable flat land for Wellington city
Wellington City
Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in the Wellington region of New Zealand. Wellington city extends as far north as Linden, and includes the rural areas of Makara and Ohariu. It is New Zealand's third-largest city, behind Auckland and Christchurch.Wellington attained city status in...
. Reclamations in the 1960s and 1970s were to meet the needs of container shipping (containerisation
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
) and new cargo handling methods. Reclamation has added more than 155 hectares to Wellington.
The location of Wellington
A plan for the New Zealand CompanyNew Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
's new settlement of Britannia at Pito-one (Petone
Petone
Petone is a major suburb of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the narrow triangular plain of the Hutt River, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour...
) had been prepared in England by Samuel Cobham. The key elements of his city were a large amount of flat land on the shores of a harbour, traversable by a navigable river. When surveyors arrived in 1840 on the Cuba led by Captain William Mein Smith
William Mein Smith
William Mein Smith was a key actor in the early settlement of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. As the Surveyor General for the Wakefield's New Zealand Company at Port Nicholson from 1840 to 1843, he and his team surveyed the town of Wellington, after finding the land on the Petone foreshore...
, it was determined that the Hutt River
Hutt River, New Zealand
thumb|300px|The Hutt River looking downstream.The Hutt River flows through the southern North Island of New Zealand...
was not navigable and, due to its tendency to flood, was not appropriate to support a major city. For these reasons the new settlement was relocated to the southern shores of Port Nicholson and renamed Wellington.
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a British politician, the driving force behind much of the early colonisation of South Australia, and later New Zealand....
of the New Zealand Company had devised a system of 'packages' of land for colonists of one town acre each. Cobham's Brittania consited of 1100 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) town sections, which William Mein Smith struggled to fit into the new location. These sections were squeezed into the available space by sacrificing many of the planned amenities such as parks, reserves, ports, libraries and many other public areas identified in the original plan. For this reason, from Wellington's outset, there was a need for extra land.
19th Century reclamations and the establishment of the Wellington Harbour Board
While large scale reclamation began in the 1850s, the earliest reclamations in Wellington were conducted by private citizens. A popular story of the first reclamation conducted in Wellington was that done by George Bennet. Bennet had arrived in 1848 on the Berenicia and purchased a hilly section at Windy, or Clay Point (what is now the corner of Lambton Quay and Willis StreetWillis Street
Willis Street is located at the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand.Willis Street is one of the four 'quarters' of downtown Wellington, .The two tallest buildings in Wellington, the BNZ Tower and the Majestic Centre, are both located on Willis Street....
). At that time, Windy Point was a precipice with a narrow and often impassible path connecting Willis Street to Beach Road (now Lambton Quay). Bennet commenced, to the amusement of neighbours, with pick-axe, shovel and barrow to move earth from the Point, tossing the spoil onto the path and into the harbour, thus widened the track and performing Wellington's first reclamation.
A programme of systematic reclamation began in 1852, overseen by the provincial government. Charles Rooking Carter
Charles Rooking Carter
Charles Rooking Carter was an New Zealand contractor, politician, and philanthropist from England.-Biography:Carter was born in Kendal, Westmorland, the son of a builder, John Carter. Carter lived in London from the age of 21 and through adult education classes at the Westminster Institution,...
completed a 360' x 100' extension below Willis Street at a cost of £1,036.
In 1855, the magnitude 8.2 Wairarapa Earthquake
1855 Wairarapa earthquake
The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9 p.m. In Wellington, close to the epicenter, shaking lasted for at least 50 seconds. The magnitude of the earthquake is estimated to have been in the range 8.1-8.3, the most powerful recorded in New Zealand since systematic European...
uplifted the northwestern side of Wellington bay (in some places up to 1.5 metres). This created a tidal swamp, and rendered many of the existing jetties in the harbour unusable. Most of this land was subsequently reclaimed, providing an excellent new rail and road route to the north. Another result of the newly-raised land in Wellington was that the shipping basin planned for the city was abandoned and the land used for a cricket ground, the Basin Reserve
Basin Reserve
The Basin Reserve , is a cricket ground in Wellington, New Zealand, used for Test, first-class and one-day cricket. Some argue that its proximity to the city, its Historic Place status and its age make it the most famous cricket ground in New Zealand...
.
The Wellington City Council was inaugurated in 1870, and by the end of the 1870s some 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) of land had been reclaimed using spoil from the hills behind Lambton Quay and from Wadestown Hill.
In 1880, the Wellington Harbour Board was established to manage and develop the harbour and its facilities. From then reclamation work was divided between the Harbour Board, the Government and the City Council. Among major developments from 1880 to the turn of the century was the reclamation north of Pipitea Point for railways land and south of Queens Wharf to Te Aro by the City Council. This removed the last vestiges of private ownership of the foreshore, putting the waterfront under the control of the Harbour Board.
By the end of the 19th century, the original 1840 shoreline was unrecognisable.
Twentieth century reclamations
From 1900 to 1930 further reclamations were made for railways and Harbour Board purposes. Additional wharves and the seawall at Oriental Bay were built, and the boat harbour at Clyde Quay was constructed.1960s and container shipping
The final phase of reclamation took place in the 1960s and 1970s. A government report in 1967 recommended the adoption of containerisationContainerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
and that Wellington should be one of the two New Zealand ports. With containerisation came new roll-on/roll-off cargo handling methods that require more land adjacent to ships' berths. This resulted in the start of an extension to the Aotea Quay reclamation. Reclamation was carried out on both side of Queens Wharf and the Wellington Harbour Board Container Terminal was created by a large reclamation at Thorndon.
The first container ship berthed on 19 June 1971. The container terminal has 24.3 hectares of back-up space capable of holding 6,284 containers.
Recent history and present day
After the advent of the Port Reform Act in 1988, the Wellington Harbour Board, along with all other harbour boards, ceased to exist after October 1989. Its commercial, property management and recreational functions were split between the Port of Wellington, Lambton Harbour Management and Wellington City Council respectively.In 1976, the Historic Places Trust
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust is a non-profit trust that advocates for the protection of ancestral sites and heritage buildings in New Zealand...
placed 14 plaques along the original shoreline. These plaques run from Pipitea Point, along Lambton Quay, through Mercer Street, lower Cuba Street, Wakefield Street to Oriental Parade at the northern corner of Herd Street.
Reclamation by year, location, and area
From the New Zealand Electronic Text CentreNew Zealand Electronic Text Centre
The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre is a unit of the library at the Victoria University of Wellington which provides a free online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials. The NZETC has an ongoing programme of digitisation and feature additions to the current...
| Year/s | Location | Area |
|---|---|---|
| 1852 | Willis Street, Mercer Street, Chew's Lane, Bonds | |
| 1857-63 | Bank of N.Z., corner Willis Street and Lambton Quay (Noah's Ark site), Harris Street to Grey Street | 7 acres (28,328 m²) |
| 1859 | Oddfellows' Hall site | |
| 1864 | Foresters' Lodge site | |
| 1865 | Messrs. Jacob Joseph, between Waring Taylor and Stout Streets and Lambton Quay | total of last three, 2 rods |
| 1866–67 | Panama, Brandon, Johnston and Waring Taylor Streets, pts. Featherston Street and Customhouse Quay | 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) |
| 1875 | Government Building site | 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) |
| 1876 | Government (Lambton) railway station and lines, Featherston Street extension, Ballance, Stout, Bunny and Whitmore Streets, Govt. Printing Office and “Shacks” (this was extended to Pipitea Point) | 46 acres (186,155.6 m²) |
| 1882 | Manawatu (Thorndon) railway station and lines | 29 acres (117,358.9 m²) |
| 1882 | Railway Wharf | 1 rod |
| 1884 | Davis Street Extension | |
| 1886 | Hunter Street endowment, Customhouse Quay and Hunter Street | 3 rods |
| 1886 | Victoria and Wakefield Streets | 22 acres (89,030.9 m²) |
| 1889 | Jervois Quay | 17 acres (68,796.6 m²) |
| 1893 | Harbour Board store, and track for Te Aro railway, Customhouse Quay and Jervois Quay | 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) |
| 1893–1901 | Waterloo Quay and Glasgow wharves | 3 acres (12,140.6 m²) |
| 1895 | Council's yards, near Oriental Parade | 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) |
| 1901–03 | From near Queen's Wharf to the Lyttelton Ferry Wharf, and site of Customhouse | 2.5 acres (10,117.2 m²) |
| 1901–1914 | Barnet, Cable and Chaffers Street | 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) |
| 1902–1925 | Clyde Quay widening | 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) |
| 1904 | Hutt Road locality | |
| 1904–1916 | Waterloo and near Fryatt Quays, Hinemoa and Cornwall Streets | 34 acres (137,593.2 m²) |
| 1906 | Waterloo Quay completion | 34.5 acres (139,616.7 m²) |
| 1906 | Oriental Parade and boat shed sites | 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) |
| 1910–1913 | Davis Street extension, near Cornwall Street | 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) |
| 1924–1927 | Thorndon Esplanade and Hutt railway lines areas, vested in the Harbour Board and Railway Department | |
External links
- http://www.wellingtonwaterfront.co.nz/history/waterfront_reclamation/
- http://www.nzetc.org/etexts/Gov06_07Rail/Gov06_07Rail011a.jpg
- http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WarEarl-t1-body-d21-d24.html#WarEarl-fig-WarEarl453a
- Wellington City Council's Old Shoreline Trail
- http://www.nzshipmarine.com/history/companies.aspx?id=11
- Wellington Harbour Board Land and Reclamation Act 1883: New Zealand Legislation
- The Original One-acre Sections in the — Town of Wellington, and their Purchasers. New Zealand Electronic Text Centre