Discover Lower Hutt

Lower Hutt Railway Station The Lower Hutt Railway Station was designed by Railways Architect George Troup in Queen Anne style as part of a programme to make stations more attractive to the travelling public. The Minister of Railways, Sir Joseph Ward, opened it in May 1905. The Station is of major importance architecturally as very few Troup stations remain. Now a commercial development as 'Station Village'.	Location Map
Norbury The home of Professor George von Zedlitz and Alice Fitzherbert Norbury was built in 1904. The property was purchased by Lower Hutt City Council in 1945 as part of the Jubilee Park reserve. It is now the official Japanese Hutt Minoh Friendship House.	Location Map
Wesleyan Cemetery This is the Hutt Valley's oldest existing cemetery. It occupies less than half its original size, which included the first Methodist chapel constructed in 1845. Many familiar local names are to be found here. Later Methodist churches were located on the eastern side of the river.	Location Map
Hutt Bridge This is the seventh bridge to occupy this area of the river. The first was built in 1844. It was only a footbridge of willow pattern design. That bridge and the next three bridges all fell victim to the frequent and devastating floods over the next sixty years. The sixth bridge - the first called 'Ewen Bridge' survived for sixty years before being replaced by this more modern one. Laing-Meason Memorial At the eastern end of Ewen Bridge is a small grassy area. Here is the memorial to Gilbert Laing-Meason, engineer for the Hutt River Board 1898-1924. It was Mr. Laing-Meason who planned, designed and supervised construction of the stopbanks from the estuary up to Melling that effectively tamed the river.	Location Map
War Memorial Library Building Built as part of the redevelopment of the Civic Centre in the 1950s this purpose built War Memorial Library Building was opened by the then Governor General Sir Willoughby Norrie in 1956. It was designed by the same architect, Ron Muston of the Structon group, that designed the nearby St. James Church. The Cenotaph was relocated here in 1999. In 2004, the building was earthquake-strengthened and upgraded for modern library use.	Location Map
St James Church and Cemetery St James' Church, designed by R.C.Muston of the Structon Group, was dedicated in December 1953. It was built to replace an 1880 church destroyed by fire in 1946. The style was regarded as ultramodern at the time. Stark lines and bare concrete were a reaction to the ornamentation of the past. In fact, some minimal ornamentation in the form of symbolic roses and rectangular striation was applied to the bell tower.	Location Map
Lower Hutt Town Hall and Administration Building The Town Hall complex was opened on 4 April 1957. The architect was Keith Cook of King, Cook and Dawson. The style was post-war modern, although there are some slight art deco touches on the clock tower. The clock, with chimes, came from the old post office and dates from 1906. The adjoining Horticultural Hall was opened in 1959, as its predecessor had burnt down within a week of the opening of the rest of the complex	Location Map
Vogel House and Gate House Almost beside the church driveway is the entrance to Vogel house. With its extensive gardens it is proving to be an elegant and stately reminder of its origins. It was a wedding gift for Jocelyn Riddiford from her parents when she married James Vogel in 1932. Her gifting of the property as a Prime Ministerial residence some thirty-three years later was equally generous. The small cottage at the entrance to the driveway may well be one of the oldest dwellings in Lower Hutt. Most of the available evidence points to the construction of the cottage being in the1870s.	Location Map
Hutt Recreation Ground In 1904 the first section of six acres was purchased for the development of Hutt Recreation Ground. In 1914 another five and a half acres completed the process. The original grandstand was built in 1934, but was destroyed by fire in 1998. The Mayor and all ex-mayors or their representatives on the occasion of the coronation of King George VI planted commemorative oak trees, which surround the ground, in 1937.	Location Map
Te Omanga/Bellevue The area in which these two buildings are now located was once part of the famous Ludlam Garden. Later they were to became the Bellevue Gardens in 1900.	Location Map
Andrews Ave Post Office Building This building opened for business on 3 February 1943. The previous Post Office which dated from 1906 was damaged in the 1942 earthquake. John Mair designed the new concrete building in the modern style.	Location Map
Robert Orr House At 132 Kings Crecent, at the end of a long drive, stands a white two-storey Italianate villa style house which is the homestead of the Orr family who settled on their 17 acre property in 1875. In 1885 Robert Orr commissioned this substantial home, moving in with his wife Ellen on its completion in 1887. It was a landmark in the surrounding open country for the next 80 years, much of that land belonging to his own market gardens. The land was subdivided in the 1960s.	Location Map
Boulcott Memorial Erected in 1923 on the corner of High Street and Military Road is a large Memorial Stone to those British soldiers who died at the nearby Boulcott Farm skirmish on 16th May 1846. The hostilities occurred as a result of land disputes between European settlers and the various Maori residing and/or active in the area. No Maori are listed on the Monument.	Location Map
Christ Church Taita Built in 1853 this colonial Gothic style church is the oldest in the Wellington region and one of the oldest in New Zealand. It was built by Sidney Hirst of locally milled heart totara, the first service was held on 1 January 1854. A fire in 1989 badly damaged the interior, however the authentically restored church was rededicated in October 1991. For more on Christ Church visit www.christ-church.org.nz	Location Map
Balgownie House This large late-Victorian residence was built for John Duthie, one time Mayor of Wellington(1888-1899) in 1900. He lived there till his death in 1915. From 1917 to 1970 the property was owned by the Sisters of Mercy, and then till 1982 by the Marist brothers. Despite numerous alterations and additions the house still maintains a grandeur consistent with its original character.	Location Map
Waiwhetu Marae On Puketapu Grove overlooking the Waiwhetu Stream and Te Whiti park sits this impressive marae. Begun as an idea back in 1904 it took many hears of hard dedicated work before it was opened in September 1960 by the then Prime Minister and local MP Walter Nash and local Maori MP and Maori Minister Sir Eruera Tirakatene. It sought to signify the triumph of love and peace over hate and war.	Location Map
Ford Motor Company Workshop Building The first part of this building was completed in 1937. Car production commenced immediately. Additions were later built to form a huge complex. The frontage was designed in simplified art deco style to match other Ford workshops around the world. The garden setting was also a recognised feature. Local production ceased 1988.	Location Map