Scott Homestead Open Day 

For the second time CTA entered this event into the Auckland Heritage Festival and again there was a good number of people visiting throughout the day, taking the opportunity to explore the historic Scott Homestead and grounds, as well as nearby Casnell Island. 

2013 AGM 

Civic Trust Auckland held its 2013 Annual General Meeting on Saturday 2 November in the recently restored Logan Campbell Kindergarten in Victoria Park. The guest speaker for the occasion was Hamish Keith CNZM OBE, arts luminary and CTA’s new patron. Attendees gathered after the meeting across the road at the Birdcage. 

Winter Series: CTA with the Kinder House Society, at Kinder House, 2 Ayr St, Parnell Sundays

See brochure for more details 

9 June Saving our Masonry Buildings – Bryan Bartley 

Bryan gave an interesting talk about measures to strengthen un-reinforced masonry heritage buildings to avert threat of demolition by non-compliance 

14 July Strength in Numbers: Joining Forces to Protect Character and Heritage – Sally Hughes  

This is the story of the Character Coalition, an umbrella group representing 60 heritage & historical, special interest groups and resident associations. 

 11 August From Scalpel to Chisel – Peter Charlesworthy 

Peter explains about his transition from surgeon to antique furniture restorer including his training in England. 

22 September Samplers: their Role in New Zealand Social History – Vivien Caughley 

Vivien is the author of a soon to be published book on samplers to be found in New Zealand. You will be taken on a journey of New Zealand social history. 

Garden Party – 24 March 2013.

We held another successful garden party, this time at the lovely home of CTA members John and Katherine Strevens.

Scott Homestead Trip 13 October : Auckland Heritage Festival Event 

Civic Trust Auckland’s event in this year’s Auckland Heritage Festival was a guided tour of the Scott Homestead and surrounding heritage area at Scott’s Landing, Mahurangi East. CTA members spent many years restoring this beautiful property. 

Nearly 70 people visited the homestead, many of them locals who had looked forward for a long time for their chance to see inside the building.     Scott Homestead notes 

The 150 year anniversary of Drury tramway 

Civic Trust Board Member Munroe Graham instigated an informal BYO picnic gathering on Sunday May 6th at Drury Domain, near the library. This enjoyable gathering on a sunny afternoon of around 20 train and heritage enthusiasts, commemorated the opening of this tramway, the story of which is set out in brief below. 

On 1 May 1862 the first of three tramways opened in Drury. This was a horse drawn tramway and ran about 4.5 km from a coal mine in the hills east of Drury to the port. The rails were timber (Rimu) rather than steel and built to standard 1435mm gauge. There was never any intention of carrying passengers. 

The mine was operated by the Waihoihoi Coal Company, which had been producing on a small-scale using horse transport to get the coal from the mine in the Hunua foothills east of Drury to the port, thence to Onehunga. The purpose of the tramway was to reduce the cost of transport. 

Plans were made, even as the tramway was being constructed, for the possibility of a full rail connection from Auckland to Drury and this line actually got under way a few years later. The decision to connect Auckland with Drury was probably a political one, which would have had more to do with opening up the Waikato than the provision of second-grade coal to a smallish market, already well served with first grade coal from Newcastle NSW and elsewhere. 

Ultimately, the importance of this tramway was that it acted as a trigger for the commencement of a conventional Auckland-Drury railway a few years later and this, although later delayed, represented the commencement of the North Island main trunk line. 

The mine and its tramway did not last long in full production, possibly less than a year, interrupted by war, with sporadic subsequent operation to 1866, by which time it appears to have finally closed down. 

Later tramways of 1878 and 1905 commenced from the then railway station immediately north of Waihoihoi Road, south-east towards present day Drury Hills Road.

A Toast to Heritage

Our event in the 2011 Auckland Heritage Festival was ‘A Toast to Heritage’ on Sunday 18 September. Allan Matson, our president, presented a 45-minute talk on the general history of pubs in central Auckland, illustrated with a selection of historical photos. He discussed the evolution of pub architecture, some of the sad losses and recent development casualties. He also profiled heritage buildings which have been adapted for reuse as pubs. The presentation, appropriately held in the Queen’s Ferry Hotel, Vulcan Lane, was well attended and enthusiastically received. 

A brochure for the self-guided pub crawl was available and can be viewed here. 

Further information about central Auckland pubs can be read in this PDF document.

We held a garden party on the afternoon of Sunday 20 March 2011 at Kinder House in Parnell, to which Civic Trust Auckland members were invited as well as other like-minded groups. Around 90 people attended, the weather was kind, and the music, company, food and wine were appreciated by all. A Garden Party