Red Shed at Whanganui Port demolished as part of revitalisation project

Jurgens Demolition undertook the delicate task of removing the former Red Shed. Photo / Bevan Conley

The Red Shed at Whanganui Port has been demolished as preparations begin for redevelopment of No 2 Wharf.

Demolition of the large shed had to be done from the landward side because the wharf sea wall underneath it was too unstable.

What became known as the Red Shed was built in 1917 by the Wanganui Meat Freezing Company. It was intended for cool storage, at a time when more storage was needed. Its heyday lasted from the early 1920s into the 1940s.

A big building of about 90m by 13m, the shed could house 8000 bales of wool.

Sometime in the 1970s its floor was removed, and after that its walls started to sag, Whanganui District Council projects manager Rosemary Fletcher said.

Before the port project began it was crammed with all kinds of stored items, including machinery, mechanical stencils and port equipment - some worthy of preservation in a museum.

The shed's roof trusses, and any other sound building material, will be kept for reuse.

The interior of the Red Shed, with a former Whanganui tram in the corner. Photo / Bevan Conley

"Any materials able to be recovered will be stored at the port, with the intention of incorporating them into future elements of the port revitalisation," Fletcher said.

"This [demolition] work process is to be undertaken with great care. There will be documentation of the [shed] structure in situ."

The building was removed to make way for new development on No 2 Wharf, which will become a centre of Q-West Boat Builders' operations.

The business will need a large clear area, where a 300 tonne vessel hoist will be used to manoeuvre and move vessels in and out of the water.