Gisborne's derelict and unwanted former Inner Harbour Wharf Shed, which dates back to the 1890s, was demolished last month. Photo / Wynsley Wrigley
Gisborne's derelict and unwanted former Inner Harbour Wharf Shed, which dates back to the 1890s, was demolished last month. Photo / Wynsley Wrigley
Gisborne’s derelict former inner harbour wharf shed, at over 100 years old but wanted by nearly no one, has been demolished.
Plans are being developed to give the rimu timber that made up its bones a new life to be “admired by all”.
Gisborne District Council, owners of the buildingsince 2016, made unsuccessful attempts to seek expressions of interest for it before agreeing to Ngāti Oneone taking ownership of the building for $1.
That was after a council report recommended the shed be demolished for “adaptive reuse of its parts” to strike a balance between costs and retaining some of the building’s heritage value.
The shed, also known as the Bond Store, began its life as a crane structure at Gisborne’s port in 1887 and contained high-quality rimu timber.
Ngāti Oneone chairwoman Charlotte Gibson said as much rimu as possible would be recycled in various projects “hopefully in places that can be admired by all”.
“We are extremely grateful for the timber given its history,” Gibson said.
The shed had been moved to multiple locations over more than 100 years.
The council took over ownership of the building after work at the port required its removal.
The building was relocated to its final site on Hirini St in May 2018 as a temporary measure while the council decided on its future.
Before its removal from the wharf, the building was assessed as having considerable historical heritage significance and was to be given Category B status (a grading system used by the council) and protection under the council’s district plan.
However, that did not eventuate because removing it from the wharf diminished its historical significance.
The Inner Harbour Wharf Shed before it was demolished. Photo / Liam Clayton.
At a 2023 council operations committee meeting, chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said Ngāti Oneone would not be left out of pocket by taking on responsibility for the building.
Councillor Josh Wharehinga said at the time he was heartened that the council would bear the cost of either removal or demolition because Māori had “a legacy of organisations wanting to give them their second-hand stuff”.
“They [Ngāti Oneone] are doing the region and this council a service by repurposing something that’s been sitting there derelict - that we’ve had no plan for - for a very long time.”
