HERITAGE ASSESSMENT REPORT
King Edward Technical College
King Edward Technical High School showing Art School and Domestic
Wing upper right of photograph, 1958, AG-763-044/014, Hocken
Collections.
Susan Irvine
30 October 2009
1
Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
SCOPE
This report concerns the heritage value of three buildings at 136 Tennyson Street. These are
the Dunedin Art School, the Marlow building and the Patrick building. Originally these
buildings were part of the King Edward Technical College. In the 1960s ownership
transferred to the Otago Polytechnic. The Art School is located on the corner of York Place
and Tennyson Street, with a wing which runs down part of the length of York Place. On
Tennyson Street, the Marlow building is an extension to the Art School. The Patrick
building is a later extension to the Marlow building. Together they run half the length of
Tennyson Street. [Refer to map in Appendix 1 for further information].
Name: King Edward Technical College
Other Names: King Edward High School
Dunedin Art School
Address
136 Tennyson Street
Dunedin
Otago
Current Legal Description
Lot 1, DP 24486 Dunedin (CT16B/1135), Otago Land District
Other heritage identification
NZHPT Registration of King Edward Technical College, 291 Stuart Street, Dunedin [Record
no. 4712]
The Dunedin District Plan identifies King Edward Technical College in its list of Townscape
and Heritage Building and Structures – Schedule 25.1 as site B578.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Documentary Evidence and Analysis
The three buildings at 136 Tennyson Street are part of the original King Edward Technical
College (KETC), the largest secondary school in New Zealand for over twenty years.1. The
Art School, on the corner of York Place and Tennyson Street, was built in 1937 and designed
by the Government Architect John Mair. The Marlow building, built in 1947 as the new
domestic wing, was similarly designed by Mair. The Patrick Building was designed by
Mandeno and Fraser, as were the earlier portions of KETC, and opened in 1968. With
internationally prominent teachers, the Art School was a training ground for the likes of
Colin McCahon and became the springboard for New Zealand modernism. When the three
buildings were taken over by the Otago Polytechnic in 1963, the Marlow and buildings
became the foundation of the Department of Hospitality and Services. Later the
1
Otago Daily Times (ODT), 18 May 1985
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
department extended into the Patrick building where it established a training restaurant
named for KETC’s most famous student, Joseph Mellor. The restaurant became a popular
public eatery. The buildings were vacated by the Polytechnic in mid-2009.
In 1888 George M. Thomson called a meeting to discuss instituting adult technical evening
classes in Dunedin.2 Second only to the Wellington School of Design, the Dunedin Technical
School was founded in 1889.3 Such was the success of these classes that in 1914 a purposebuilt technical college was opened on Stuart Street. It was built at a cost of £32,000 by
William McLellan.4 Harry Mandeno designed the school, his first large commission, and he
continued to be the architect of choice for the new King Edward Technical College (KETC).5
Mandeno and Fraser became a highly significant firm of Dunedin architects, and their
designs included the Dunedin Town Hall and the Central Fire Station.
The School ran evening classes as well as a day school. The core subjects were english,
mathematics, science, social studies and physical education. Students also had a choice of
courses in building, joinery, cabinet-making, engineering, shorthand, book-keeping, typing,
needlework, cooking and dress-making.6 The School, however, was constantly under space
pressures. The building was so crowded that pupils had to stand during assemblies as there
was not enough room to sit.7 Indeed from 1949, KETC held a twenty year record as the
biggest secondary school in New Zealand.8 In 1955 it had a school roll of 1300. Including the
evening classes, the total roll was 2,500.9
In 1918 Burt Hall was added to the site. In 1923 the Thomson Wing, named after founder
and ex-principal George M. Thomson, was also added. Mandeno was the architect of both
additions.10 In April 1935 the Board first planned to extend its site so that three of the four
boundaries (Stuart Street, York Place and Tennyson Street) would be covered with school
buildings, leaving open areas in the centre.11 In 1937 the School expanded on to the
Tennyson Street frontage for the first time. The new addition was the Dunedin Art School.
The Dunedin School of Arts was founded in 1870 when the services of David Con Hutton
were secured by the Otago Education Board. In 1921 the Art School was officially
incorporated as a department of KETC. For ten years the Art Department moved around
various areas of the main building. In 1937 the purpose-built Art School was opened on the
corner of Tennyson Street and York Place.12
This School became the springboard for a whole new generation of New Zealand’s most
influential artists. They formed the first cell of indigenous Modernism.13 Lessons included
2
Dunedin Weekender, 7 Apr 1985, p.8.
Abbott, M., ‘The Origins of Technical Education in New Zealand’, URL:
http://www.crie.org.nz/research_paper/M.Abbott_H.D_OP2.3.pdf, accessed 4 Nov 2009.
4
ODT, 18 May 1985 and King Edward Technical College jubilee booklet, Dunedin, The College, [1939], p. 8.
5
Knight, Hardwicke & Wales, Niel, Buildings of Dunedin: an illustrated architectural guide to New Zealand's
victorian city, Dunedin, John McIndoe, 1988, p. 165.
6
ODT, 18 May 1985
7
ODT, 18 May 1985
8
ODT, 18 May 1985
9
Hughes, Elma, ‘A New Site – An Old School; a written and pictorial history of King Edward Technical and
Logan Park High School’, Elma Hughes Estate. Records relating to the King Edward Technical College 75 th
Jubilee. AG-754-03, Hocken Collections, p. 9.
10
Erection of Thomson Wing, King Edward Technical College [Building specifications], King Edward
Technical College Records AG-763-48/004, Hocken Collections.
11
‘Special report upon next extension to the College Buildings’, 13 October 1936, King Edward Technical
College Records, AG-763-003/008, Hocken Collections.
12
King Edward Technical College jubilee booklet, p. 12.
13
‘History of Dunedin’, URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Dunedin, accessed 22 October 2009.
3
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
modeling, art crafts, art needlework, landscape, design and poster work.14 Among the first
pupils to enrol in 1937 was Colin McCahon15. Other students included Anne Hamblett, later
McCahon’s wife, Doris Lusk and Patrick Hayman. Prior to the erection of the new School,
Toss Wollaston and Rodney Kennedy had also attended art classes at KETC.16
These eminent artists were highly influenced by the art teachers who were well-known
artists in their own right. W.H. Allen and R.N. Field, brought to the College through the La
Trobe scheme, introduced New Zealand to British post-impressionism and heavily
influenced both McCahon and Woollaston. It was Field, in particular, whose reputation saw
artists visit from all over New Zealand in order ‘to discover the vision that was informing
Europe and contributing so much to the modern world’.17 Other influential teachers
included Gordon Tovey, Frank Staub, J. D. Charlton Edgar and Helen M. Moran.18 The
impact of the Art School, particularly during the 1930s and 1940s, was extremely significant
both in providing new ideas and in the students it influenced. Although there were a few
other art schools in New Zealand, including the prominent Elam School of Art, it has been
written that no other art school in the country was held in the same regard.19
The Art School building was partially funded by a substantial grant from the Government.20
As the Project was in the hands of the Public Works Department, the plans were designed
by the Government Architect, John Mair (1876-1959).21 The Board’s architects of choice,
Mandeno and Fraser, were apparently retained only to organise the site and design the
retaining walls necessary for the erection of the School.22
From 1923 to 1941 Mair was responsible for most of the government buildings erected in
New Zealand, many of them involving significant departures from tradition and precedent
in both style and construction methods. During his tenure, modernist architectural precepts
displaced the revivalist styles favoured for public buildings in the past. Construction
methods also began to utilise concrete and structural steel instead of brick and timber.23
These construction methods were in evidence in the plans for the Art School. The Board,
however, was in favour of brick in keeping with the original portion of KETC. In response,
14
Minutes of Joint Committee Meeting, 13 October 1936, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/008, Hocken Collections.
15
Brown, Gordon, ‘Colin McCahon’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, URL:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=4N6, accessed 22 October 2009.
16
Brown, Gordon, ‘McCahon, Colin John’, URL:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=4N6 and Barnett, Gerald,
‘Woollaston, Mountford Tosswill’, URL:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=4N6,, accessed 22 October 2009.
17
Entwisle, Rosemary, The Dunedin School of Art and the La Trobe Scheme: exhibition 20 May-5 July 1989:
an account of the school in the first decades of this century and a catalogue of works in the Hocken Library by
T.H. Jenkin, F.V. Ellis, W.H. Allen, R.N. Field, J.D.C. Edgar and G. Tovey, [Dunedin], Hocken Library,
University of Otago, 1989, p. 14.
18
Beaven, Lisa, ‘Lusk, Doris More’, http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=5L22 ;
Brown, Gordon, ‘McCahon, Colin John’, and ODT, 18 May 1985
19
Entwistle, p. 14.
20
Letter from Principal to the Minister of Education, 26 Sept 1935, King Edward Technical College Records,
AG-763-008/011, Hocken Collections.
21
Minutes of Board of Managers Meeting, 24 Sept 1935, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/008, Hocken Collections.
22
Minutes of Board of Managers Meeting, 24 Sept 1935, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/008, Hocken Collections.
23
Shaw, Peter, ‘Mair, John Thomas’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, URL:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=4M31, accessed 22 October 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Mair convinced the Principal of the justification for a building framed in wood with wellconcreted foundations, steeltex and plaster walls with a tiled roof.24
Sketch plans were ready by August 1935.25 The design was of an impressive entrance and
two-story building on the corner of Tennyson Street and York Place, and a one story wing
running down York Place. Tenders for the Art School were called for in May 1936.26 The
successful contractor was D.A. O’Connell & Co.27 The Head of the School, Tovey, was
responsible for internal fittings.28
The School included nine classrooms, mostly with dimensions of c. 30 x 26”, and several
offices.29 The interiors were lined with tentest wallboard. 30 The entrance was impressive
and lined in black tiles.31 One of the classrooms remains largely unaltered. It contains five
steps running the length of the room, each 120 cm wide, descending to a teaching area. A
manhole in the steps allows access to the basement below. It reveals, along with artists’
crayons littered in the dust, poured concrete piers, and walls of no fines concrete. The
boards are diagonal and the floors are tongue and groove.
On 5 March 1937 the first three classrooms of the new building were used.32 The School was
officially opened on 22 March by the Minister of Education, Peter Fraser.33 It was said that
there were ‘nine beautiful, sunny rooms. Well equipped and exhibiting the most modern of
lighting…[The School] will fill a long-felt need in the life of the community, and should
inspire fresh interest in artistic creation’.34
During the war years, school building activities were delayed. This, combined with an
increasing school population, resulted in a sizeable programme of post-war school
building.35 Numbers of pupils were also increasing. In 1900 only a small minority of
students went on to secondary schooling. By 1943, three quarters of children went on to
further education. As a result, most city secondary schools were overcrowded.36 KETC
represented national schooling which was ‘no longer to be the privilege of the well-to-do or
the academically able’.37 A 1952 report noted most KETC classrooms were full and that there
was an obvious need for more classrooms and specialist rooms, particularly for motor
engineering, plumbing and welding. It also noted that cloak room space had been a problem
24
Letter from Principal to Director of Education, 30 Jul 1935, King Edward Technical College Records, AG763-008/011, Hocken Collections.
25
Order paper for Joint Committee Meeting, 20 Aug 1935, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/008, Hocken Collections.
26
Principal’s Report for the Month of May, May 1936, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/008, Hocken Collections.
27
ODT, 23 Mar 1937, p. 4.
28
Minutes of Board of Managers Meeting, 24 Sept 1935, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763001/006, Hocken Collections.
29
Correspondence file, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763-008/011, Hocken Collections.
30
Minutes of Joint Committee Meeting, 13 Oct 1936, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/008, Hocken Collection.
31
See Figure 32. Part of the entrance way, which has a black tiled ceiling, has been enclosed to create further
office space.
32
ODT, 17 Mar 1937, p. 3.
33
ODT, 22 Mar 1937, p. 5.
34
ODT, 22 Mar 1937, p. 5.
35
Ding, G.D. ‘A New Technical College for Dunedin: a thesis’, 1952, King Edward Technical College
Records, AG-763-055/015, Hocken Collections.
36
Ding.
37
Taylor, Nancy M. The Home Front II, Wellington, Historical Publications Branch, 1986, p. 1117, URL:
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-2Hom-c22.html, accessed 22 October 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
for years. 38 ‘Viewing through present day educational lights, there is a deplorable – yes,
deplorable – lack of such facilities…’39
In 1948 an extension to the Art School was opened. The Marlow building was KETC’s new
domestic wing. It was named after J.J. Marlow who had served on the Board of Managers
and was a former chairman.40 The push for this new wing came as early as 1936 as numbers
of domestic students were taxing the already over-stretched space available.41 Domestic
education required not only classrooms but kitchens, laundries and sewing rooms; all of
which were space-intensive. In October 1936 an understanding was reached between the
Board and the Ministry that a new Home Science building would be erected. By August 1937
plans for the building had been drawn up, probably by John Mair again. Yet tenders were
not called for until May 1945.42
Work on the building was slow. Site excavations began early in 1945 but stalled in March.
Workmen were withdrawn until an agreement was reached between the City Corporation
and Public Works over the building permit.43 Work was still delayed when the Minister of
Education visited the site eight months later.44 Eventually a redesign of the building solved
the problem45. Work ceased again in November 1946 because of a delay in supplying joinery
from Auckland.46 The walls, like those of the Art School, were concrete with external
plastering. By May 1947 the roof was on.47 The windows, supplied by Crittall Windows, were
installed soon after.48 A series of external arches, creating an outside veranda, were also
part of the original design. These were covered up at a later unknown date to create more
rooms and corridor space49.
It was not until 10 September 1948 that the Public Works Department formally handed over
the building.50 The new wing was constructed at a cost of £24,000, a sum considerably in
excess of the original estimate.51 The building was officially opened by the Minister of
Education on 7 September 1948.52
38
Ding.
Ding.
40
ODT, 18 May 1985.
41
Special report upon next extension to the College Buildings, 13 Oct 1936, King Edward Technical College
Records, AG-763-003/008, Hocken Collections.
42
Principal’s report on staffing and accommodation for 1945, c. May 1945, King Edward Technical College
Records, AG-763-003/012, Hocken Collections.
43
Principal’s report for the month of March, Mar 1945, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/012, Hocken Collections.
44
Minutes of Board of Managers Meeting, 27 Nov 1945, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/012, Hocken Collections.
45
ODT, 8 Sept 1948, p. 4.
46
Minutes of Joint Committee Meeting, 19 Nov 1946, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/012, Hocken Collections.
47
Minutes of Joint Committee Meeting, 27 May 1947, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/012, Hocken Collections.
48
Minutes of the Joint Committee Meeting, 26 Sept 1947, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/012, Hocken Collections.
49
See Figure 15.
50
Order paper for Works Committee Meeting, 13 Sept 1948, King Edward Technical College Records, AG763-003/012, Hocken Collections.
51
ODT, 8 Sept 1948, p. 4.
52
ODT, 8 Sept 1948, p. 4.
39
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
The main entrance to the new Home Science Department was from the girls’ playground
area.53 It included cooking and dressmaking rooms, with an area for washing and drying
linen. Domestic classes also included a three hour laundry class, both theoretical and
practical. The girls learned how to launder delicate fabrics and how to iron a man’s stifffronted evening shirt to perfection. There were also classes in plain sewing, embroidery and
household accounts.54 Even with this recent addition, it was noted in 1952 that in so far as
‘the college is a functional whole, the present conglomeration of buildings leaves much to be
desired…All the alterations and additions that have been carried out, are but short-term
improvements which are essential to the continuous functioning of the school…’.55
In November 1959 the specifications for an extension to the Domestic Wing were released.
The newest addition was to contain engineering workshops and classrooms. The architects
were, once again, the firm of Mandeno and Fraser.56 J.M. G. Hanlon was the consulting
structural engineer. A.J Price & Sons were the contractors. It was named after James
Malcolm Patrick (1899-1966), who was a long time member and chairman of the KETC
Board. Resembling the other extensions, it was made of concrete with external plastering,
although three-storied rather than two. The timber roof was flat and covered in bitumen.
Windows were steel. Doors, frames and the stair handrail were heart Red Pine. The main
door opening to Tennyson Street was Oregon with beaded glazed panels.57 Attached as it
was to the Marlow building, it required a door to be removed from the side of the Domestic
Wing and a new door fronting on to Tennyson Street to be added.58
In 1956 B.I. Fulton became the College’s new Principal. He sought a distinction between the
evening classes and the high school. In 1963 the change was made. King Edward Technical
College became King Edward High School. The evening technical classes were taken over by
a new educational institution, the Otago Polytechnic. The three buildings on Tennyson
Street became the property of this new Polytechnic.
Over time, the Otago Polytechnic utilised the 1937 Art School as a Library and classrooms,
the 1948 Marlow building as a classroom block, including a student lounge, and the 1960
Patrick building as the site of the Department of Hospitality and Services.59
The Patrick Building was also the site of the training restaurant named after Joseph Mellor.
Mellor was one of the first pupils of the Dunedin Technical Association’s adult education
classes established in 1889. He went on to become the foremost inorganic chemist of his
generation. Indeed his reputation is on par with that of Ernest Rutherford’s in physics.60
For several decades, the Joseph Mellor Restaurant was a popular and inexpensive
restaurant frequented by members of the public. In later years part of the 1937 Art School,
which ran down York Place towards the main block, was utilised also by the Hospitality
Department. It established Café Brie, where barristers and chefs gained practical
experience.
53
Principal’s Report for August, Aug 1947, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763-003/012,
Hocken Collections.
54
ODT, 18 May 1985
55
Ding.
56
Erection of New Engineering Workshops and Classrooms [Building spceifiactions], 1959, King Edward
Technical College Records AG-763-048/002, Hocken Collections.
57
Ibid.
58
Ibid.
59
See Figure 6.
60
‘Joseph Mellor’, URL:
http://www.kvc.school.nz/Kaikor’aistream/Intro_Folder/Notable_Personalitites_Part_Two.htm, accessed 22
October 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Condition, integrity and risk assessment
The buildings appear to be in good condition, structurally sound, weather tight and with no
obvious repairs needed. Internally walls, floor and joinery have been well maintained. There
has been much alteration of classroom and offices spaces to accommodate changes in
requirements.
The building has medium integrity. It has lost some important elements through
alterations, although the original layout and fabric may still be read and in some cases may
simply be obscured by later décor. The building still retains sufficient signs of its original
fabric and layout for its value to be understood and interpreted.
There are some potential risks that may threaten the buildings and so impact on historic
heritage of value to present and future generations. The buildings were vacated mid-2009.
Deterioration, neglect and damage due to vacancy are possible risk factors. Change of
ownership incorporates further risk factors. Demolition or destruction is an obvious threat
which would result in a grievous loss of heritage value. Uncontrolled development would
represent almost as serious a loss of heritage. Alterations, additions, subdivision, new
buildings and earthworks would similarly have to be assessed for their risk to heritage
values, balanced with the need to ensure adaptive reuse.
Key Physical Dates
1937
1948
1960
Dunedin Art School built on corner of York Place and
Tennyson Street
Marlow Building (Domestic wing) extension
Patrick Building (Motor engineering and plumbing
workshops)
Former and Current Uses
Education – Adult education/training
Education – Polytechnic
Education – School
Education – School of Arts
Education – Special education school/centre
Education – Technical Institute
Retail and Commercial – Restaurant/café/tearoom
Construction Professionals
Henry Thomas (Harry) Mandeno (1879-1973)
William McLellan (1878-1965)
John Thomas Mair (1876-1959)
D.A. O’Connell & Co
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Discussion of Sources
Analysis of Material Available
Secondary sources were available in the form of jubilee histories, although there appears to
be no official published histories of the school. The archives of the King Edward Technical
College are held by the Hocken Collections. Although they are extensive there are no plans
and few details of the extensions. Newspaper articles were most useful as was the
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography in providing information concerning New Zealand
artists.
Analysis of Material Accessed
The archives of KETC provided two documents of particular help. Specifications relating to
the Patrick building provided valuable details, while G. Ding’s architectural theses provided
information concerning the School’s space issues and the post-war context. Newspaper
articles gathered useful oral history and provided a wealth of detail concerning the use of
the buildings.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Dunedin Weekender
Otago Daily Times
Board of Managers’ Minutes, 1934-1937, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763-001/006,
Hocken Collections.
Board and Committee Papers, 1934-1936, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763003/008, Hocken Collections.
Board and Committee Papers, 1943-1947, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763-003/012,
Hocken Collections.
King Edward Technical College jubilee booklet, Dunedin, The College, [1939], King Edward
Technical College Records, AG-763-045/004, Hocken Collections.
Correspondence file, King Edward Technical College Records, AG-763-008/011, Hocken Collections.
Erection of New Engineering Workshops and Classrooms [Building specifications], 1959, King
Edward Technical College Records AG-763-048/002, Hocken Collections.
G.D. Ding, ‘A New Technical College for Dunedin: a thesis’, 1952, King Edward Technical College
Records, AG-763-055/015, Hocken Collections.
Elma Hughes, ‘A New Site – An Old School; a written and pictorial history of King Edward Technical
and Logan Park High School’, Elma Hughes Estate. Records relating to the King Edward Technical
College 75th Jubilee. AG-754-03, Hocken Collections.
Secondary Sources
M. Abbott, ‘The Origins of Technical Education in New Zealand’, URL:
http://www.crie.org.nz/research_paper/M.Abbott_H.D_OP2.3.pdf, accessed 4 Nov 2009.
9
Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Gerald Barnett, ‘Woollaston, Toss Mountford’, URL:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=4N6, accessed 22
October 2009.
Beaven, Lisa, ‘Lusk, Doris More’,
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=5L22, accessed 22 October 2009.
Gordon Brown, ‘McCahon, Colin John’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, URL:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=4N6, accessed 22
October 2009.
Rosemary Entwisle, The Dunedin School of Art and the La Trobe Scheme: exhibition 20 May-5 July
1989 : an account of the school in the first decades of this century and a catalogue of works in the
Hocken Library by T.H. Jenkin, F.V. Ellis, W.H. Allen, R.N. Field, J.D.C. Edgar and G. Tovey,
[Dunedin], Hocken Library, University of Otago, 1989.
Hardwicke Knight & Niel Wales, Buildings of Dunedin: an illustrated architectural guide to New
Zealand's Victorian city, Dunedin, John McIndoe, 1988.
‘History of Dunedin, URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Dunedin, accessed 22 October
2009.
‘Joseph Mellor’, URL:
http://www.kvc.school.nz/Kaikoraistream/Intro_Folder/Notable_Personalitites_Part_Two.htm,
accessed 22 October 2009.
Nancy M. Taylor, The Home Front II, Wellington, Historical Publications Branch, 1986, p. 1117, URL:
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2-2Hom-c22.html, accessed 22 October 2009.
Shaw, Peter, Mair, John Thomas’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, URL:
http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=4M31, accessed 22 October 2009.
STATEMENT OF WIDER NATIONAL INTEREST61
Historic heritage values
The KETC site, which includes the three buildings at 136 Tennyson Street, is of significant
national interest. It is a significant example of the themes and patterns which represent
technical education throughout New Zealand. It was the second earliest technical school in
the country, first advocated in 1889. For over twenty years following World War II , it was
also the largest. Finally, it represents the evolution of technical education into Polytechnics.
All this is represented on one site.
The 1937 extension to KETC provided the prestigious Art School with its first purpose-built
facility. The School had a long historical continuity of art education, established as it was by
the Otago Education Board in 1870. It now had a prominent and identifiable setting and
was designed by the important Government architect John Mair. Its design and corner site
gives the building aesthetic appeal. The Art School became associated with the life and
works of a wealth of uniquely talented artists and art teachers. While the likes of Toss
Woollaston and Rodney Kennedy had attended the Art School within the main KETC
building, now budding artists such as Colin McCahon, and Doris Lusk undertook study in
the new Art School building. There they found visionary art teachers such as R.N. Field,
61
For the relevant sections of values-framework see Appendix 4: Significance Assessment Information.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
who helped inspire a unique and exceptional contribution to New Zealand’s cultural and
educational landscape. The School was held in high esteem by the art community and came
to be associated with the theme of indigenous modernism. The School was also associated
with a wider group of national art schools, although in terms of its rare and unique
contributions only Elam School of Art came close in comparison. The Art School has the
potential to contribute through public education to people’s awareness and appreciation of
New Zealand’s history and culture. It also facilitates social dialogue and communication
about the development of New Zealand art and key figures such as McCahon.
The Marlow building served as KETC’s domestic wing. Designed again by John Mair, the
exterior wrapping of the staircase as well as the exterior arches (now covered in) showed his
architectural merit. It is associated with the theme of domestic education and exemplifies
the increase in students requiring more classrooms and training facilities. Indeed it
represents the national pattern of increased numbers undertaking secondary education and
symbolises the Government’s school building programme designed to accommodate
increased student rolls. From its establishment in 1948 until the Polytechnic’s vacated the
building mid-2009, it provides evidence of historical continuity in the teaching of domestic
education.
Connected with this historical continuity in domestic education is the Patrick building.
Although, originally built for motoring workshops, by the 1960s it had become the
Department of Hospitality and Services. It was home to the Joseph Mellor Restaurant. The
name of this restaurant is significant in its association with KETC’s most famous pupil,
inorganic chemist Joseph Mellor. It is also significant for the public esteem with which this
restaurant was held. For decades, it not only provided a valuable training ground for chefs
who went on to work nationally and internationally, but also provided a popular ‘night-out’.
It connected the Polytechnic with the community, and garnered public esteem.
The three buildings at 136 Tennyson Street contribute to our understanding of technical
education in New Zealand. The Art School in particular, extends its national significance
into the core of New Zealand’s artistic and cultural development.
Summary of significance
The Art School has a significant wider national interest worthy of preservation for future
generations. The building retains a degree of integrity, revealing significant features from its
time of construction. More original features are most likely hidden underneath décor added
at a later date. It is also rare in its contribution to art education in New Zealand. Almost no
other Art School held the same influential reputation. Combined with the Marlow and
Patrick buildings, it contributes to a wider educational heritage landscape. It represents the
ongoing development of technical education in New Zealand from its earliest inception to
its contemporary reincarnation as a Polytechnic. Its wider national significance cannot be
underestimated.
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Visual Identification Aids
Location Maps
Dunedin
T
Figure 1: South Island location map.
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Figure 2: Regional location map showing parcel and street address. 136 Tennyson Street
is outlined in red (QuickMap Mortgage View V7.0.121).
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Map of place identified as having heritage value
1918
Burt Hall
1923 Thomson
Wing
Main
KETC
block
1937
Art School
1948 Marlow
building
1960 Patrick
building
Figure 3: Location map showing 136 Tennyson Street (outlined in blue) with the relevant
buildings marked (Google Sat Map)
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Current Identifier
Figure 4: Search copy of current certificate of title OT14B/29 (Land Information New Zealand,
Landonline).
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Appendix 2: Visual Aids to Historical Information
Original survey plans and historical photographs
Figure 5: Survey Plan ST 14, 1919 (Landonline). The approximate position of 136
Tennyson Street is outlined in blue.
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Marlow
Building
Site of Patrick
Building
Art
School
Burt Hall
Main block
Thomson
wing
Figure 5: King Edward Technical College, 1958, AG-763-044/014, Hocken Collections.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Appendix 3: Visual Aids to Physical Information
Current Plans
Figure 6: Otago Polytechnic Tennyson Street campus map URL:
http://www.otagopolytechnic.ac.nz/fileadmin/Corporate/PDFs/StudyHere/Tennyson
MAP-25Jan07.pdf, accessed 29 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Current Photographs of Place
Figure 7: Exterior of Dunedin Art School building, showing entrance way and date of
construction, taken from York Place. Susan Irvine, 29 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 8: Exterior of Dunedin Art School building, 1937, from York Place. Susan Irvine,
29 September 2009.
Figure 9: Exterior of Dunedin Art School building, showing building as it extends down
York Place. Susan Irvine, 29 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 10: Exterior of Marlow building from Tennyson Street, where it joins onto the Art
School. Susan Irvine, 29 September 2009.
Figure 11: Exterior of Marlow and Patrick buildings from Tennyson Street. Susan Irvine,
29 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 12: Exterior of Patrick building facing Tennyson Street, showing signage of the
building and the Joseph Mellor Restaurant. Susan Irvine, 29 September 2009.
Figure 13: Exterior of entrance to Patrick building, looking up from Tennyson Street to
York Place. Susan Irvine, 29 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 14: Exterior of entrances to Marlow building and the central staircase windows
from the playground. Susan Irvine, 29 September 2009.
Figure 15: Exterior of entrance to Marlow building from playground. Note original arches
which have been covered in to create extra interior space. Susan Irvine, 29 September
2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 16: Exterior of the Marlow (to the left) and the Art School (right) buildings. The
tunnel links through to Tennyson Street. Susan Irvine, 29 September 2009.
Figure 17: Interior of Patrick building, looking towards entrance doors from playground.
Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 18: Interior of cloak room in Patrick building, showing original tiling. Jonathan
Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 19: Looking up the stairwell of the Patrick building from the ground floor.
Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 20: Interior of Joseph Mellor Restaurant in Patrick building. Jonathan Howard,
30 September 2009.
Figure 21: Interior of Marlow Building, looking towards entrance doors from
playground. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 22: Looking up the concrete stairwell of the Marlow Building to the feature
windows looking out on the playground. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 23: Window in Marlow Building. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 24: Interior of Marlow Building showing the original external archways, now
filled in. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 25: Corridor in Marlow Building looking towards the Art School. Jonathan
Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 26: Unstained floor boards in Marlow Building, indicating there was always a
floor covering. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 27: Window in Marlow Building indicating unusual opening mechanism.
Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 28: Feature window in the Art School. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 29: Upstairs bay window in the Art School looking out on the corner of Tennyson
Street and York Place. This room was used as a Library by the Otago Polytechnic.
Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure30 : An interesting addition outside a downstairs office in the Art School.
Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 31: Downstairs bay window in the Art School looking out on the corner of
Tennyson Street and York Place. This room was used as an office. Jonathan Howard, 30
September 2009.
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Figure 32: Interior of door into the Art School. Note the black ceiling tiles. Jonathan
Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 33: Original door to a cupboard in the Art School. Note original ceiling. Jonathan
Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Figure 34: Original door and cupboard in the Art School, apparently unaltered. Jonathan
Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Figure 35: Cloak room in the Art School. Note original rear walls, ceiling and curtain.
Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 36: Original Art School staircase. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Figure 37: Two original Art School classrooms. The dividing wall was removed and he
space was used as Café Brie for hospitality training. Jonathan Howard, 30 September
2009.
Figure 38: Window and catch in the Art School looking out on York Place. Jonathan
Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 39: Window and opening mechanisms in the Art School looking out on York
Place. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
Figure 40: Interior of classroom in the Art School. The steps appear to be an original
feature of the classroom. Jonathan Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Figure 41: View of Art School basement looking through manhole cover. Jonathan
Howard, 30 September 2009.
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Appendix 4: Significance Assessment Information
Historic Heritage Values
Values
Historical
Value qualities
Historical
Guidance
Association with history (people, use, production, living, activities, health,
recreation, enjoyment)
Association with life or works of individual, group, iwi, organisation and
community
Association with an event
Association with aspects, processes, themes or patterns
Association with a wider group of heritage places, landscape, townscape or
setting
Physical
Cultural
Archaeological
Potential to contribute information about the human history of a community
or to current archaeological research questions, through investigation using
archaeological methods
Architectural
Design, form, scale, materials, ornamentation, style, period, craftsmanship
or other architectural element
Technological
Innovative or methods of construction or design, contains unusual
construction materials, early example of the use of a particular construction
technique, potential to contribute information about technological history
Scientific
Potential to provide scientific information about the history of a community
and New Zealand
Social
Importance to tangata whenua and wider Maori society
Importance to the development of New Zealand as a diverse, bi-cultural and
multi-cultural society
Importance to history of a cultural or ethic group
Focus of community or regional, national identity or sense of place
Evidence of cultural or historical continuity
Public esteem or cultural sentiment
Symbolic or commemorative sentiment
Potential to contribute through public education to people’s awareness and
appreciation of New Zealand’s history and culture
Potential to contribute to facilitate social dialogue and communication
Traditional
Focus of traditional events, stories, rituals, festivals or other intangible
heritage activities
Spiritual
Focus of religious or other public ceremonies relating to a system of beliefs
or traditions
Considered sacred, holy or tapu by individuals or communities in
association with a system of beliefs or traditions
Special interest, character, landmark, amenity or visual appeal relating to
historical or physical characteristics (including views to and from the place)
Aesthetic
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage
Threshold criteria to assist in assessing significance
Integrity: Does the place have integrity, retaining significant features from its time of
construction or creation, or later periods when important modifications or additions
were carried out?
Rarity: Is the place, or are features within it, few in original number, few in surviving
number, or were the result of rare historical processes or events at a geographical level or
in relation to particular historical themes?
Uniqueness: Is the place, or are features within it, or unique examples of its type?
Unusual: Is the place, or are features within it, atypical and abnormal?
Representativeness: Is the place a good example of a class, for example, in terms of
design, type, features, use, technology or time period?
Exceptional: Does the place have features that serve as primary exemplar of those
features?
Vulnerability: Is the place vulnerable to deterioration or destruction or is threatened
by land use activities.
Statutory recognition: Does the place or area have recognition in New Zealand
legislation or international law including: World Heritage Listing under the World
Heritage Convention 1972; registration under the Historic Places Act 1993; is it an
archaeological site as defined by the Historic Places Act 1993; is it a statutory
acknowledgement under claim settlement legislation; or is it recognised by special
legislation?
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Heritage Assessment Report for Historic Heritage