From Tauranga City Library’s archives
A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection
That old-timey feel the ‘Old Post Office’ carries has a name, Edwardian Baroque, a style designed to declare "empire" with all its permanence. Government Architect John Campbell gave it form in 1905–06 with stone walls and a clock tower meant to outlast us all. By 1987 however, it was empty, nearly felled by that decade’s scythe to all things unprofitable. Yet here it remains, long after many others have gone, a survivor with stories to tell.
What follows is a brief history of the ‘Old Post Office’ building.
The corner of Willow and Wharf Streets was in the 1830s, part of the Church Missionary Society reserve, where Rev. Alfred Brown established a mission school. During the New Zealand Wars the building was pressed into service as a mission hospital, caring for both Māori and Pākehā. Later it passed into Crown control and became part of Tauranga’s government reserve, already a focus of administration and defence.
In 1874 the Crown erected a vast timber Government Buildings block on the site, an Italianate design by Bennett and Kaye of Auckland that was, at the time, the second-largest wooden building in New Zealand. For nearly 30 years it housed Tauranga’s administration, post and telegraph, and the Resident Magistrate’s Court. Despite its size, maybe because of it, it was not universally admired. Then in November 1902 it was destroyed by fire, along with decades of official records, forcing departments into scattered temporary lodgings.
It was on this layered site that Government Architect John Campbell designed Tauranga’s new Government Buildings in 1904, built over 1905–06. Conceived to house multiple state departments under one roof, the structure placed the Post and Telegraph Department on the ground floor, with the court, Lands and Survey, and other offices upstairs. Its Edwardian Baroque style gave Tauranga a sense of permanence and civic pride, expressed through a prominent clock tower, ornamented façades, and its commanding position overlooking the harbour. Inside, the walls carried the government’s standard scheme: light green upper wall, a darker lower section.
The building was completed in April 1906, with government departments moving in that June. Despite years of public campaigning for such a facility, its opening passed quietly, without ceremony.
Post Office, Tauranga, with staff in front, c. 1906, Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 02-348
In 1907 the town clock was installed after a subscription fund raised by the Bay of Plenty Times, with the mechanism manufactured by Dent & Co. of London. By 1916 the building had already been extended to accommodate Tauranga’s growing administrative needs. Local rimu was used for the interiors, and with the arrival of electricity from the Ōmanawa Falls power scheme in 1915, electric lighting soon replaced the original gas fittings.
For decades the building remained Tauranga’s civic centre, housing postal services, the courts, and a range of government departments.
By the mid-20th century, Tauranga’s growth and rising expectations for modern facilities led departments to move elsewhere. The Post Office relocated to Grey Street in 1938, and a new courthouse opened in 1965. When the last government tenants, the Ministry of Works, vacated in 1987, the Old Post Office stood empty and earthquake-prone. Its future looked bleak. The Tauranga Community Arts Council convened a public meeting that revealed strong community will to save the landmark. A steering committee was formed under chair Grant Aislabie, drawing in architects, engineers, historians, and iwi representatives.
Government Property Services initially set an asking price of $1.2 million, later reduced to $530,000, but insisted on cash purchase. With professional fundraisers warning that public appeals could only follow ownership, the project fell into a catch-22. Structural reports confirmed the risks, but also pointed to possible solutions such as base isolation techniques.
Ideas for new uses reflected both community and tangata whenua aspirations. Proposals included a community resource centre, a bi-cultural gallery for local and touring exhibitions, and space for the Ngāti Ranginui Iwi Authority. Discussions were shaped by the concurrent Ngāi Tamarāwaho claim (WAI 42) over the land, which added weight to the iwi’s call for cultural facilities.
The Historic Places Trust recognised the building’s significance, upgrading its classification from Category C to Category B. Even so, by 1990 the Arts Council concluded that only a community-based solution was realistic, since commercial development was unlikely to succeed. Without the resources to purchase, the campaign faltered. But the effort ensured that the building’s value was now firmly stamped on the public consciousness.
In 1998 Grasshopper Properties acquired the property from Tauranga District Council for $200,000 and undertook a $1.5 million restoration. Historic Places Trust guidelines required the 1905 exterior to be precisely replicated, while the interior was adapted to modern use. New foundations, steel-mesh linings, and a ductile frame system provided earthquake strength, and original features such as the staircase and courtroom fittings were retained.
The restored building reopened in 1999 as modern office space, with Grasshopper Properties among its tenants. A History Room, gardens, and the restored clock reaffirmed its civic role. Mayor Noel Pope praised the project as a “marvellous” legacy for Tauranga.
Opening of the refurbished building 1999, Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries Photo 04-670
In 2001 the Smythe Family Trust purchased the building and used it for office space, including leases to iwi organisations. By 2018, new seismic requirements and commercial pressures prompted another transformation. Tauranga City Council approved a $4.9 million conversion into a boutique hotel and restaurant, with careful strengthening and refurbishment. Later that year the building reopened as Clarence Hotel, offering ten suites upstairs and hospitality venues below.
Today the old stone heavyweight that once stamped empire onto this landscape is dwarfed by modern buildings that seem largely agnostic to the history of our city, while down the hill two new structures emerge that, one hopes, will tell a better story.
Sources:
Newspaper Articles in a 1999 Special Edition
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Tricky task, but it was worth it.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Clear guidelines helped restoration project.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “If these walls could speak, they’d say...thank you.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “First Government architect.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Original building much more than a post office.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Proud to be part of a project.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Top example of baroque style.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Marvellous says mayor.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Final postmaster started job in 1942.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Outside looks deceptive.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Last gasp of the Empire.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “A passion for old buildings.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Newspaper fund helped pay for new town clock.”
- BOP Times. (1999, October 27). “Building extended after just 10 years.”
Other Sources
- Rorke, J. (1988). Draft and notes to article in the Historical Review – Bay of Plenty Journal of History, 36(2), 104–110.
- Tauranga Community Arts Council. (1990). Report.
Written by Harley Couper, Heritage Specialist at Te Ao Mārama - Tauranga City Libraries
