New hone for B.H.S. building

Press, 26 November 1982, Page 1

New hone for B.H.S. building

After 10 years, under threat of demolition, the Christchurch Boys’ High School main block is likely to be retained. In a letter to the school’s board, the Minister of Education, Mr .Wellington, has said he supports the building’s retention. / . - •••■ He has asked his department to prepare a case for retention which he can present to the Cabinet. ; Attached to the', Minister’s . support is the proviso that strengthening and refurbishing can be done “at reasonable; cost”..,

“We , are thrilled that at last something concrete has' happened”, said the chairman of the school’s board of governors, Mr B. T. Lee. The board had been waiting since March for the Minister’s response to a feasibility study by a group of old boys who wanted the building retained. •' \ 'V ’ < Mr Lee said that. final approval would hinge on a more detailed study the department would conduct ..in preparing 1 the ? Minister’s “case.” • • -• ; •: “It sounds as though if that study looks okay,

the building will be re- ' tained,” he said. . : . • The Education Department decided in 1972 to demolish the 56-year-old building after Ministry of Works engineers said it would be uneconomic to make it structurally . sound. The decision drew protest from old boys and admirers of the building jwho said it was a unique piece of Christchurch architecture. It was given' a stay of execution while further studies were made. Two reappraisals followed. The first confirmed the find-

ings of the-Ministry’s engineers, but the second, done by the old boys, estimated that restoring the building would cost about the same as rebuilding. The chairman of the old boys’ group, Mr Douglas Reid, said he was confident a further study would vindicate their findings. “The strengthening and refurbishing plan we submitted was approved by Ministry of Works engineers,” Mr Reid said. A further study was necessary to confirm some of the assumptions the old boys had made.

“We actually recommended it,” he said. “This is what we hoped we could achieve.” The campaign to save the building gathered momentum last year during the school’s centennial celebrations. It was endorsed by the chairman of the Canterbury regional committee of the Historic Places Trust, Mr D. E. Donnithorne. He. said that the buildings were an important' link in the Christchurch architectural tradition and contained some of the best brickwork in Canterbury.