Whangārei railway station renovation receives NZ Railway Heritage Trust Restoration Award

Jack Freeman, project manager, and Whangārei Men's Shed committee member Duncan Sutherland with the NZ Railway Heritage Trust Restoration Award. Photo / Tania Whyte

Whangārei Railway Station received the prestigious New Zealand Railway Heritage Trust Restoration Award this year all thanks to the volunteer group Whangārei Men's Shed.

It took seven years of restoration work for the station to reach its near-finished state.

Purchased for $1, the heritage building's restoration was undertaken by the Whangārei Men's Shed after the New Zealand Historic Places Trust grade two listed building was taken off Whangārei District Council's hands in 2013.

The business management, building officer and project manager were all members of the men's shed. Whangārei heritage architect Geoff King drew up the renovation plans, along with a heritage architect based in Auckland who overlooked the necessary permits.

Whangārei Men's Shed committee member Duncan Sutherland said when they decided to take on this job, the building had developed mould, a leaky roof, windows were cracked and the main entrance did not exist. The whole building was rewired, repumped and completely rebuilt.

"Back in 2013, Whangārei Men's Shed had nowhere to go. We were offered to put our gear here. We decided to fix the place and because it was a heritage site, we had to be compliant with all the extra rules and regulations.

"This restoration is a gift to the future generation."

Whangārei wins the NZ Railway Heritage Trust Restoration Award this year. Photo / Tania Whyte

The volunteer group raised more than $1 million through community fundraising. Up until the end of April, they had spent just over that amount ($1,059,200) and it will be $1.1 million by the time they finish the work. More than $500,000 was spent just on labour.

A lot of its members were former builders, tradies, designers, artists, and so they had all kinds of skills needed. They had skills that many new builders did not, said Sutherland.

Whangārei Railway Station is one of the biggest in New Zealand and NZ Railway Heritage Trust executive officer Barry O'Donnell said the restoration work deserved the award as Whangārei Men's Shed had done such exceptional work.

"It had been suggested as a candidate for a number of years but the men's shed wanted to wait till the project was finished."

The emphasis was on the integrity of the restoration, especially in terms of following original design and construction methods.

The volunteer group was also approached by the trust earlier in 2019. Back then, it had a couple of other candidates, said O'Donnell.

"This was possibly the largest railway restoration undertaken by any volunteer group in New Zealand and they deserved an award for it."

Also the former secretary and treasurer of Whangārei Men's Shed, Sutherland said there was a tourism potential after the restoration was complete.

"We are thinking to put up a storyboard outside about this station with its history. The rail station could be an attraction for a town heritage walk."

The station building was Whangārei's third. The NZ Rail Heritage Trust noted the most impressive feature was the size of the main building and veranda: the decorative railway iron supporting the latter was also noteworthy, as is the external joinery.