NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Brian Rudman: Queens Head horror too awful to destroy

Brian Rudman
By Brian Rudman
Columnist·NZ Herald·
13 Oct, 2011 04:30 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Queens Head. File photo / Richard Robinson

The Queens Head. File photo / Richard Robinson

Brian Rudman
Opinion by Brian Rudman
Brian Rudman is a NZ Herald feature writer and columnist.
Learn more

Lest we forget! As a reminder to future generations of the awful destruction that occurred during World War II, the occasional landmark ruin was left unrestored, as a place of reflection. The Hiroshima Dome and a tower of old Coventry Cathedral spring to mind.

In Auckland, it hasn't been the night-flying bombers that obliterated the historic fabric of the city, but the local property developers.

Now, a quarter of a century after all but the facade of the century-old Queens Head Tavern opposite the Town Hall was bowled to make way for a glass tower, there are plans to remove these last vestiges of the old pub.

The new developers, led by former shareholders advocate Bruce Sheppard and Greg Rathbun, want to destroy the remaining facade and convert the ground level of the tower block into an "international-quality arcade" of 42 individually owned "freehold" shops.

Bayleys Real Estate says the "ugly duckling of Auckland's 80s facadism ... will make way for a revitalised retail frontage".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Ugly duckling", is putting it lightly. Stuck to a slab with no relationship to the new building behind, the Queens Head facade was the worst/best example of the depths Auckland's architects and developers were - and still are - willing to plumb to make a buck.

The Bayleys' statement tries to make out facadism was a 1980s aberration.

If only that were true. But a stroll down Queen St to Shortland St - where the outer skin of of the old Jean Batten State Building is oddly transplanted onto the backside of a new glass tower - shows facadism is still alive and kicking and even winning prizes. Last year, the local Institute of Architects awarded this Frankenstein of a building its heritage award. Only in Auckland.

Which is why the Queens Head abomination should be made to stay, as a mute and permanent reminder to the city authorities across the road, and to the rest of us, of how low our property developers and their handmaidens are willing to go.

In 1986, the Mayfair Corporation and Angus Group applied to bowl the Queens Head Tavern building and replace it with a 20-storey tower. The pub had a Historic Places Trust heritage listing, but no listing on Auckland City's register.

Discover more

New Zealand

Motat 'loses' rare trophy

04 Nov 04:30 PM

The developers, all heart, offered to retain the facade if the city let the new building rise two storeys higher than planning regulations permitted.

Faced with more than 700 objections and threats by protesters to pursue the issue through the courts, the developers withdrew their request for bonus floors and began the demolition.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As a peace offering, they offered to retain the facade anyway.

No doubt it could be argued that 25 is a bit young to qualify anything for heritage listing.

But there's surely a case for arguing this ruin is such a stand-out exemplar of facadism that it deserves to be preserved, not just as a warning to younger generations but also as a lasting embarrassment to those responsible.

Historic Places Trust architectural heritage adviser Robin Byron met Andrew Krukzeiner and other representatives of the redevelopment team three weeks ago, in an attempt to persuade them to retain the facade and better integrate it with the remodelled interior.

The ball is now in the trust's hands. As the facade is registered by the trust, it can, under the Resource Management Act, insist on a notified hearing before the Auckland Council.

That could lead to delays the developers might not welcome.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Ms Byron says the trust believes the Queens Head remnant does carry "some historic memory of the Queens Head and its contribution to Auckland social history".

To me, it also stands as a stark reminder of what dreadful things Aucklanders can do to their heritage.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Auckland

Death on a Remuera street: The tall, ‘harmless’ man with a tragic background

05 Jul 09:16 PM
New Zealand

Noel Edmonds to marry again: British TV star proposes in hot tub in NZ

05 Jul 09:00 PM
New ZealandUpdated

French fare leaves sour taste after bakers vanish leaving unpaid bills

05 Jul 08:41 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Premium
Death on a Remuera street: The tall, ‘harmless’ man with a tragic background

Death on a Remuera street: The tall, ‘harmless’ man with a tragic background

05 Jul 09:16 PM

Jules Turk, 74, was a common sight on Shore Rd in Remuera, with his spiky, coloured hair.

Noel Edmonds to marry again: British TV star proposes in hot tub in NZ

Noel Edmonds to marry again: British TV star proposes in hot tub in NZ

05 Jul 09:00 PM
French fare leaves sour taste after bakers vanish leaving unpaid bills

French fare leaves sour taste after bakers vanish leaving unpaid bills

05 Jul 08:41 PM
Premium
Businessman loses $11.5k in bank transfer error, wages 5yr legal battle to ID recipient

Businessman loses $11.5k in bank transfer error, wages 5yr legal battle to ID recipient

05 Jul 08:00 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP