AT – Keep the 1930’s Bus Shelter it’s a loved shed
Spokesperson McRae
The Devonport/Takapuna Local Board wants to retain the heritage bus shelters on the peninsula. Here is the Board’s submission to Auckland Transport.
Proposed removal of bus shelter at 2A Wesley Avenue
There are 15 wooden 1093’s bus shelters remaining within the Devonport-Takapuna local area. They are located at:
Albert Rd
Turnbull Road
Allenby Road
Wesley Road
Narrow Neck Beach
corner Seaview Road
Wicklow Road
2 are located on Old Lake Rd
opposite Ngataringa Road
opposite Takapuna Grammar School
Clifton Road, and
Brett Ave.
The Devonport-Takapuna area is fortunate that these wooden bus shelters remain as most across the Auckland region have been demolished. These shelters are historic and are notable features of our community. They have been carefully maintained over the years by both the Devonport Borough Council and North Shore City Council, and they remain in very good condition.
North Shore Thematic Review Vol 2 (pg 139)
This review publication was a result of the North Shore Council’s initiative to record and document the history of the North Shore. Auckland Council’s Principal Specialist of Built Heritage, Leslie Vythuis, and Manager of Heritage, Noel Reardon, undertook this project and many historians acted as consultants. The volume was published in June, 2011, and the work formed the basis of North Shore Council’s Plan Change 38. This thematic review was adopted by the AUP in 2016, and as a result Devonport retained its heritage rules. (You can google this document).
This volume describes the history of the wooden bus shelters that were erected by the Devonport Borough Council. This can be found on page 139 in Volume 2:
‘In the mid-1930s Devonport Borough Council built a number of timber bus shelters with clay-tiled roofs costing £40 each, to which the bus company contributed £5. Places that represent this theme include: Bus shelters: (9 in total) Lake Road near Clifton Road intersection (1) and between Hanlon and Seabreeze Road (1) Old Lake Road, near Lake Road intersection (2), by Hamana Street (1), by the Wakatere Yacht Club (1) Wicklow Road (1) Vauxhall Road (footpath by Fort Takapuna) (1) By 67 Vauxhall Road (by Albert Street corner) (1)’
This reference gives a date that can be used to classify these structures as pre 1944 and this gives some protection for those shelters in the Devonport area, as they become part of the fabric of pre 1944 buildings or items that cannot be demolished.
The Devonport-Takapuna Local Board acknowledges that the North Shore Thematic Review does not refer to the wooden bus shelter at 2A Wesley Avenue. The Board also acknowledges that the bus shelter at 2A Wesley Avenue is not located in the Devonport Special Character zone. Yet it is clear that the construction of 2A Wesley Avenue resembles and replicates the same construction techniques and features of those listed in the Thematic Review. I am currently working with North Shore Archives to trace possible references to this site. I am hoping that the Devonport Borough Council Minutes Books which meticulously record costs of repairs and other points of interest can assist in providing further information about the bus stop at 2A Wesley Ave.
However, it is the belief of the Local Board that the protection of the collective of 15 wooden bus shelters is important and we do not support the removal of anyone of the bus shelters. The Local Board does not want the history of our local area to be slowly dismantled.
