www.poal.co.nz

Ports of Auckland’s Red FenceAn Auckland legacy

Ports of Auckland’s magnificent red-painted wrought iron fence, ornamental gates and lamps were built in several stages between 1913 and 1923.

The original work was done to enclose Queens Wharf, then known as Queen Street Wharf. The Auckland Harbour Board called for tenders in January 1912, awarding the contract to G. Wragge Ltd, of Salford, Manchester, that October.

The installation of the gates and first sections of fence coincided with one of the most turbulent periods of Auckland’s history – the waterfront strike of 1913. As the picture below shows, the installation of the fence was abandoned and the fence panels lay waiting as farmers, (dubbed ‘Massey’s Cossacks’ in reference to Prime Minister William Massey) rode into town to confront striking wharf workers trying to prevent the loading of farm produce for Britain by ‘volunteer’ labour. After a month, the strike collapsed and work on the fence and gates resumed. The contract was completed and the lamps were lit for the first time on March 12, 1914.

Ports of Auckland’s magnificent red-painted wrought iron fence, ornamental gates and lamps were built in several stages between 1913 and 1923.

Plans to continue the fence along Quay Street were delayed several times, until a report in September 1921 describing “pillaging of goods from the wharves” gave the Harbour Board the impetus to call tenders. On March 21, 1922, James Allen Sen & Son Ltd, of Elmbank Foundry, Glasgow, were awarded the contract to supply nearly 950ft (290m) of fencing to Princes Wharf (then under construction) and 113ft (35m) of fencing, gates and lanterns to Kings Wharf (formerly Railway Wharf). The contract was completed in 1923.

The Auckland Star reported on April 17, 1926, that there were 1400 applications for the twelve gatekeepers required to guard the Auckland wharves (above right). For those fortunate to be chosen, being “the keeper of the port’s

main gate” was a source of pride, as the photograph (top right) from The Sun of May 5, 1928, shows.

The fence was extended further to the east in 1994, when Quay St was re-aligned some 50 metres to the south to allow the rail exchange to be incorporated inside the Port of Auckland. While not as elaborate, the 500m of new fencing is in keeping with the original Wragge fence.

In 2002 Ports of Auckland undertook a $500,000 restoration of the original Wragge gates, fences and 25 ornamental lamps, removing rust, renewing wiring, and stripping and painting the ironwork. They are designated a Category A Heritage Object by Auckland Council.

Pho

to ©

New

Zea

land

Her

ald

Pho

to c

ourt

esy

of F

airf

ax: A

uckl

and

Sta

r C

olle

ctio

nP

hoto

cou

rtes

y of

Sp

ecia

l Col

lect

ions

Auc

klan

d C

ity

Lib

rarie

s A

1480

7

Red Fence Heritage WalkDiscovering Auckland’s history

WYNYA

RD QUARTER

HALSEY STREET

EXTENSION WHARF

WESTHAVEN MARINA

WESTHAVEN DR

MOTORWAY

NORTHERN

WESTHAVEN HARBOUR

FLOATING DOCK

FUEL JETTYTRAVEL LIFT

PORTS OF AUCKLAND BUILDING

HELIPORT

MECHANICS BAY

VIADUCT HARBOUR

WAITEMATA HARBOUR

BLEDISLOE WHARF

FERGUSSON CONTAINER TERMINAL

WYNYA

RD WHARF

MA

RSD

EN W

HA

RF

JELL

ICOE

WHA

RF (1

3)FR

EYBE

RG W

HARF

(13)

CA

PTA

IN C

OO

K W

HA

RF

QU

EEN

S W

HA

RF

PR

INC

ES W

HA

RF

ST MARY’S BAY

HARBOURBRIDGEPARK

POINT ERIN PARK

VICTORIA PARK

BRITOMARTPOINT

COMMERCIALBAY

MECHANICSBAY

JELLICOE ST

PAKENHAM ST WEST

PAKENHAM ST EAST

CUSTOMS ST WEST

CUSTOMS ST EAST

FORT ST

FORT ST AN

ZAC

AVE

BEACH

RDQUAY ST

QUAY ST

TOOLEY ST

TIN

LEY

ST

PLU

MER

ST

TAMAKI DR

SO

LEN

T S

T

MADDEN ST

MARIN

E EVENTS

CENTRE

VO

YAG

ER

NZ

M

AR

ITIM

E M

US

EU

M

GAUNT ST

FANSHAWE STFANSHAWE ST

FANSHAWE ST

STURDEE ST

DA

LDY

ST

HAMER

ST

BRIGHAM

ST

DA

LDY

ST

MAR

KET

PL

NEL

SON

ST

HO

BSO

N S

T

ALB

ERT

ST

QU

EEN

ST

CO

MM

ERC

E S

T

BEA

UM

ON

T S

T

PO

OR

E S

T

HA

LSEY

ST

Area owned or managed by Ports of Auckland

Ports of Auckland land or buildings leased by others

Non Ports of Auckland properties

The dotted line shows the original 1841 shoreline. Quay Street and the flat areas back to Fort Street (originally Fore Street) were once under water. The mudflats were transformed through a series of reclamation projects by the AHB from 1872 to the 1920s.

Voyager New Zealand Maritime Museum: Home to many of New Zealand’s maritime treasures. Archives include the extensive records of Ports of Auckland’s predecessor, the Auckland Harbour Board (1871-1988).

War Memorial Beacon: Erected in 1915 by AHB to record names of staff who served in World War 1. Restored and re-erected in 2000 by ‘a grateful refugee from Nazi Germany’.

Princes Wharf (built 1921-1924): Named for Edward, Prince of Wales (later, the Duke of Windsor) who visited Auckland in 1920. Ornate cast iron lamp stands (with gates and fences) were erected in 1923.

Ferry Building (built 1912, restored in 1988): The Ferry Building has long stood at the foot of Queen Street as the city’s hub for harbour and gulf passenger transport.

This walk takes approximately one hour, allowing for pauses at points of historic interest. The Rainbow Warrior Memorial is the half-way point.

Red Fence Heritage Walk

Queens Wharf Gates and Red Fence: The ‘Red Fence’ was erected between 1913 and 1923. Installation was interrupted by the waterfront confrontation of 1913.

Queens Wharf (built 1906-1913): The present concrete wharf was built to replace the original wooden Queen Street Wharf, which, as the hub of the early port, extended 474m from the foot of Queen Street out into Commercial Bay.

Queens Wharf Sheds: Shed 10, the only remaining shed –was known as the ‘Liberty Shed’ as it was used to process soldiers on their way for leave during World War 2.

Admiralty Steps (between Captain Cook and Queens Wharves where the tugs now berth): These steps were used by royal visitors arriving on British naval ships.

Captain Cook Wharf (1922): Named for Captain James Cook, who made the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand in 1769-70.

Marsden Wharf (1909-1911): Named for The Reverend Samuel Marsden an avid explorer of early New Zealand.

Te Kawau’s Rock and Britomart Point: After signing the Treaty of Waitangi, Nga-ti Wha-tua, under Apihai Te Kawau, made land available for British settlement on the Waitemata-. This rock sits near the former tip of Rerengaoraiti (Britomart Point) where, on September 18, 1840, agreement was reached between Nga-ti Wha-tua and the Government party.

Rerengaoraiti was subsequently demolished for use in the reclamations which have extended Auckland City out into the Harbour.

Bledisloe Multi-purpose Terminal: Designed for frozen export cargo, was built between 1937 and 1948. In 1985 it was expanded and upgraded, to become Bledisloe Terminal, the port’s second container terminal. In 2012 most container operations moved to Fergusson Terminal to the east. Bledisloe is now a multi-purpose terminal, used to handle cars and other vehicles, ‘break-bulk’ (non-containerised) cargo and a small number of containers.

Rainbow Warrior memorial: Commemorates the sinking of the anti-nuclear protest ship Rainbow Warrior at Marsden Wharf by French Government agents on July 10, 1985.

Jellicoe Wharf (1952): Named for Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe, Governor-General 1920–1924.

Freyberg Wharf (1961): Named after Sir Bernard Freyberg, Commander in Chief of NZ forces in WWII and later Governor-General.

Fergusson Container Terminal (1971): Named after members of the Fergusson family who served as Governors of NZ from 1873 to 1967. The first container ship to visit Fergusson arrived June 23, 1971, heralding a new era of containerised cargo.

Ports of Auckland Building: Previously an engineering building for the ‘flying boats’ of Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), later Air New Zealand. Converted to offices in 1974. Street names Solent and Sunderland commemorate the flying boat era, which lasted until 1960.

1 5 11

12

13

14

15

6

7

8

9

10

2

3

4

1 2 34 5 6 8

7

9 10 1112

1314 15