Built for our early needs

Press, 9 April 1977, Page 17

Built for our early needs

Colonial Architecture In New Zealand: By John Stacpoole. A. H. and A. W. Reed. 224 pp. $11.50. (Reviewed by David Brokenshire) Many New Zealanders could readily tell that the earliest buildings in this country would have progressed from tents and shelters to huts, then to simple timber-framed and timbersheathed houses. But all must be amazed by the evidence here presented that such elegant buildings were constructed so soon after the start of colonisation; This new book by John Stacpoole is surprising in that it ranges over the length and breadth of the country in considerable detail. Houses, churches and public buildings together with their architects are clearly the major subjects. yet the writing is enriched with delightful anecdotes and quotations from journals. It is intriguing to dip into those section dealing with places where one has lived to see if one’s own favourites are mentioned. The research to form this book must have been very considerable yet an evident enthusiasm is displayed in the writing. Today there are so many building by-laws and codes of construction, etc., that must be complied with. Yet, right from the early days they spring from collapses of some masonry buildings, experiences of earthquakes and the prevalence of disasterous fires. In Auckland, for example, in 1858 there was a by-law passed forbidding timber construction in the inner area of the town.

Buildings in Canterbury are well covered, but small errors (photograph 143 on page 168 is of Trinity Church

in Worcester Street, not Cashel Street) should be corrected in future editions. The device of placing the numbers of the photographs in the margin of the text is excellent and saves much frustrating searching. The glossary of building terms will certainly be a help for readers, and the bibliography, index of people, and general index are admirable for easy reference. Over-all there is a strangely calm tone to both photographs and text. These early days must surely have been teeming with red-blooded life. Even though the book would have been extended, the inclusion of more industrial buildings and utilitarian structures would have given a better balance. Two examples are: Price’s foundry in Thames, covering a complete block, powered by water and sheathed in corrugated iron on the walls and roof; or the mines building of Granity on the West Coast, and the exciting coal conveyance system — early bridges and some of the rail viaducts. Certainly such examples do not fit into the concept of “palaces and churches” architecture, but they do show something of the strengths of the "do it yourself” Kiwi.

In general, this book will be of absorbing interest to all architects and students of building, and to everyone who cares for the visual health of our cities, towns and countryside.

[David Brokenshire, who was born in Thames, has a degree in architecture from the University of Auckland. He is now an associate architect with a Christchurch firm. In 1962 he started pottery as a hobby, and since then has exhibited his work in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, the United States, Britain, and Italy.]