Saturday 26 August 2023

Hokitika Heritage


This is quite a massive building for a small town like Hokitika, which is about 30 minutes from Greymouth. To me it looks a bit foreboding but being a former government building named "Seddon House" it's classed as a category 1 and was completed in the Edwardian Baroque style in 1913. Designed by architect John Campbell it covered the need at the time of a new courthouse and other government departments.

Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward laid the foundation stone in 1908. Construction of the first half of the building was finished in 1909 and plans for the second half were not drawn up until November 1911. The original plans had both a Magistrates Court on the ground floor with a Supreme Court above. However in 1911 the Supreme Court was transferred to Greymouth so the plans were redrawn to contain a boardroom instead. The courtroom was closed in the 1970s due to the restructuring by the then Ministry of Justice. In 2015 it was sold to three Auckland investors and then put back on the market in 2017. In 2020 it was purchased by Heritage New Zealand and is apparently going through some earthquake strengthening to be used the Department of Conservation.

Linking up with Weekend Reflections and the Weekend Roundup.

11 comments:

local alien said...

It's an impressive building with quite a history. Good that's it will be used again

Tigger's Mum said...

Have you been to a Hokitika wild foods festival? Or their driftwood sculpture festival? They seem to think up the positively weird and wonderful down there.

Lydia C. Lee said...

How lovely. Very European. #WeekendReflection

Jim said...

I think that Hokitika would be a nice, pretty place to live in.
Christchurch is 153 miles away, it seems to be the closest large city.
I wouldn't want to have to go there very often. Hospital?
..

roentare said...

It is a great architecture style !

Bill said...

What a grand looking building, very impressive.

Jim said...

Great architecture.

s.c said...

And looking at the photo, I think it lacks some in height with such a design. Maybe a floor or a roof is missing. Or maybe the money just ran out.

Tom said...

...and it is HUGE and HANDSOME!

Sharon said...

It does have that "government" building look to it but in a nice way. I like the style.

William Kendall said...

It looks distinctive

Steptoe's Coffee Emporium

  Been a while since we've been in Reefton but each time we visit it seems this shop is usually very popular. According to the Reefton w...