Heritage: Old BNZ, Dunedin —restored

Work on the historic bank included strengthening the structure from 67% of building code requirements to 100% and installing a full fire sprinkler system.

205 Princes St – Old BNZ c.1888 (photo by FA Coxhead re-imaged)

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With Silver Fern [Farms] also moving into the old chief post office, it will give the Exchange momentum. The shops will do better and it will give the whole area more impetus. –Michael van Aart

### ODT Online Sat, 27 Jul 2013
Refurbished bank building ready for law firm
By Nigel Benson
Dunedin’s former commercial heart – the Exchange – will pulsate with new life next week. With scaffolding removed and tradesmen gone, the 130-year-old Bank of New Zealand building in Princes St will become the new home to commercial law firm Van Aart Sycamore Lawyers on Wednesday. The occupation of the building, which is considered architect William Barnett Armson’s (1834-1883) masterpiece, follows an 18-month restoration project.
“We’re really looking forward to moving in,” firm director Michael van Aart said yesterday. “The building is dramatic and one of a kind. We have to celebrate the unique features we have here in Dunedin and heritage is certainly one of them. The Exchange was the heart of New Zealand’s economy when it was built.”
The building had been untenanted for the past 13 years. Van Aart Sycamore Lawyers had been based in Radio House for the past six years and the move would be good for the Exchange, Mr van Aart believed.
Read more

Armson drawing no. 10, Princes St facade with secondary doorway

Readings:
New Zealand Historic Places Trust – Category 1 Historic Place
(No. 7299) Registration Report – the history and significance

[wikipedia] Princes Street, Dunedin
[wikipedia] Bank of New Zealand

Book: John Barsby, The BNZ Building, Princes Street Dunedin (Southern Heritage Trust, 2011)

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Related Post and Comments:
26.2.13 Bank of New Zealand Building, 205 Princes St (cnr Rattray)
[more images]

The banking desk designed by architect Robert A Lawson is held by Otago Settlers Museum; and an original ornamental fire surround from the bank is installed at Antrim House (NZHPT National Office) in Wellington (photographs in Barsby). It is thought one more fire surround went to another Wellington residence.

RA Lawson, Drawing for write-up desk, Old BNZ

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

ORFU board announced

Does this cancel the defamation suit against the mayor of Dunedin, since everyone on the board is feeling competent now and the stars will shine as if from heaven?

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### ODT Online Thu, 24 May 2012
New ORFU board unveiled
By Hayden Meikle
It has taken a lot longer than expected but a new-look Otago Rugby Football Union board has been unveiled. As revealed in the Otago Daily Times earlier this week, the board members are Doug Harvie, Keith Cooper, Simon Spark, Kelvin Collins, Andrew Rooney and John Faulks. Harvie will be chairman and Cooper will be deputy chairman. Rooney and Faulks survive from the previous board.

█ The recovery package involved the NZRU providing a long term loan for working capital of $500,000 and Dunedin City Council writing off debt of $480,000. In addition, costs have been cut and additional sponsorship arranged.

█ Almost $500,000 has been raised to allow the union to settle with creditors. A total of 156 non-profit organisations and other creditors who are all owed less than $5,000 will be paid in full. The remaining 24 creditors will be repaid the first $5,000 and half of what they are owed above that. The repayments are due to be made by the end of the month.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

New board for ORFU not formed, deadline shifts for bailout

### ODT Online Wed, 23 May 2012
Rugby: Wait for new ORFU board continues
By Steve Hepburn
The wait continues. The new board of the Otago Rugby Football Union was not named yesterday as expected as negotiations drag on over an agreement between parties involved in the bail-out of the union. The union came to an agreement with its major creditors in March to stave off liquidation and that agreement was to be finalised by the middle of this month. But contracts were still being worked on by parties and had not been signed off by yesterday.
Read more

QUESTION In light of revelations about the ORFU’s unauthorised use of funds received from charitable trusts to solve its liquidity problems, and if the ORFU has been trading while insolvent, is the Dunedin City Council reconsidering its position in regards to the ORFU bailout package? It should, the Council owes ORFU nothing.

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Related Posts:
23.5.12 Latest: Oh, Mr Curragh… [emails]
22.5.12 Join ORFU board, without forensic audit to show how millions…
20.5.12 Update: Oh, Mr Curragh… [emails]
18.5.12 Oh, Mr Curragh… [emails]

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Guarantee and Indemnity of ORFU

Lee Vandervis has obtained three documents from Dunedin City Council via an official information request (LGOIMA). These documents are now in public domain.

[Email]
—— Forwarded Message
From: Sandy Graham
Date: Mon, 2 Apr 2012 14:39:40 +1200
To: Lee Vandervis
Cc: Paul Orders
Subject: FW: Guarantee and Indemnity

Lee

Anderson Lloyd have located the signed versions which are attached. I have also attached a copy of the coverslip for sealing documents. The Mayor and Cr Brown are the signatories to the documents.

Sandy [Graham]
[DCC Governance Manager]

—— End of Forwarded Message

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[via email attachment(s) to the above message]

Sealing Documents Coversheet (11/8/09)
1440_022 (PDF, 595 KB)

Guarantee and Indemnity : BNZ (11/8/09) 
SBZ751 B75112040214180 (PDF, 439 KB)

Schedule – Terms and Conditions of Guarantee and Indemnity
(not dated)
SBZ751 B75112040214170 (PDF, 601 KB)

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Layers of Gold – Dunedin Heritage Festival 18-21 March 2011

Celebrating Gold – the Foundation of Dunedin’s Rich Heritage

150 years ago when Gabriel Read made the first major discovery of gold in Otago, at Gabriel’s Gully, he well and truly put Dunedin on the world map. Dunedin became the gateway to the goldfields, and the Otago Goldrush became the catalyst that laid the foundations of Dunedin’s rich heritage.

‘Layers of Gold’ celebrates not just the discovery of gold in 1861, but the rich layers of the city’s past that have been woven into the fabric that is our vibrant city today.

In 2011 the Bank of New Zealand, Allied Press, Cerebos Greggs, the Otago Chamber of Commerce, Galloway Cook Allan and the Dunedin Fire Brigade will all celebrate their 150th anniversaries.

Dunedin is a proud city of outstanding achievements and outstanding people. The ‘Layers of Gold’ celebrations, set against the backdrop of the city’s fine Victorian and Edwardian architecture, will be an opportunity to reflect on the past, enjoy and celebrate the present and look forward to the next ‘layer of gold’ the city’s future will undoubtedly unfold.

When: Otago Anniversary Weekend | 18-21 March 2011
Where: Dunedin, New Zealand
UPDATED* Event Information: www.celebrategold.co.nz

Contact: Dunedin Heritage Festival
138 Lower Stuart Street
Dunedin
New Zealand

Ph (03) 474 9256
Email Enquiry Form

Celebrating Our Living Heritage | Proudly presented by Dunedin City Council

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BNZ – Festival HQ
The historic Bank of New Zealand building is the fitting focal point for the ‘Layers of Gold’ celebrations serving as both Festival HQ and Exhibition Hall. The BNZ, which will also be celebrating its 150th birthday, opened its doors in Dunedin in 1861, on the corner of Princes St & Rattray St in the heart of what was to become the Exchange. Its opening was just three months shy of the establishment of the Bank’s first branch in Auckland. The BNZ building that stands on the site today was built in 1884.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Investing in Dunedin’s historic heritage: former Bank of New Zealand

Ted Daniels is best known for his ownership of 108-year-old Bracken Court in Moray Pl, which was spectacularly gutted by fire in July 2005 and was rebuilt for about $3 million, while Mr Marsh owns other Dunedin buildings.

### ODT Online Mon, 14 Jun 2010
Historic BNZ building work ongoing
By Simon Hartley
Work on Dunedin’s 126-year-old historic former BNZ building in the Exchange is continuing as its owners for the past year look for tenants before considering outfitting options. Dunedin building owners Ted Daniels and Wayne Marsh purchased the former bank – a major institution in Otago’s gold rush days – in a joint venture a year ago for an undisclosed sum.
Read more

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr