Blue Plaque for Whanganui’s old fire station

Brian Hawker (left), with Heritage Trust members and Tracy Hawker, Richard Bourne and Helen Craig (right).

Another Blue Plaque was unveiled recently at the former fire station on the corner of Guyton and Wilson streets.

This is the seventh heritage Blue Plaque in Whanganui.

Blue Plaques is a local project of the Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust and a National Project of Historic Places Aotearoa, of which Whanganui deputy mayor Helen Craig is on the executive. The goal is to see Blue Plaques on significant heritage buildings and sites around New Zealand. In time they will form part of a national trail.

Blue Plaques allows New Zealanders and visitors to easily gain an insight into our history, to recognise heritage and hopefully gain a greater appreciation of the importance of heritage.

Thank you to trustee Ann McNamara for her support on this project.

The first volunteer firefighters in Whanganui were British soldiers stationed at the Rutland and York Stockades from the mid 1840s. A volunteer fire brigade was formed in 1866 and the first purpose-built fire station was built in St Hill St in 1882. A watchtower was built in 1883 on Rutland Hill and it was replaced in 1891 by a new watchtower on Cook’s Gardens above the fire station. This tower was used until 1922 and is still standing today.

The catalyst for the decision to set up a permanent fire brigade in Whanganui was a destructive fire at Foster’s Hotel on Taupo Quay.

Designed by Charles Reginald Ford, a new two-storey brick building was built on the corner of Wilson and Guyton streets and the official opening took place on September 14, 1921. The service was run by the city council until 1976, when a national fire service was set up by the New Zealand Fire Service.

The Central Fire Station was used until 1981 when the Fire Service moved to Maria Place.

The present owners, Brian and Tracy Hawker, purchased the building in recent years and converted the lower floor into a home décor store La Station. They completed an exterior repainting and lighting to highlight its features