House moves on
There aren’t many residences left in the CBD still being used for their original intended purpose, and another has just been trucked out of Wilson St.
Number 40, a two storey, five-bedroom home from the late 19th century, has been lived in until recently and has now been moved off its section on the corner of Wilson St and Maria Pl Extension.
Raj Patel and Janine Chalk, owners of Midtown Motors own the property and need the land to expand their business.
“Raj and I bought the business on 1st of April, 2016,” says Janine. “We bought it off Don [Martin] and Garth [Dean] and Don still works here parttime. The land and buildings came up for sale in November so we snapped them up quickly.”
The business plans to extend their operation into the section formerly occupied by number 40 Wilson St.
Midtown Motors is doing well enough to employ Janine, who was an early childhood teacher, and a young apprentice, John, with plans to employ yet another person when the extension is built, making a total of five staff members.
“We had this big old house with a lot of history, so we talked to Brittons [Housemovers] and said, ‘would you like a house?’, and they said, ‘Sure’. So we gave it to them.” The tenants found another place to live and Brittons took the building in one piece, minus the brick chimney.
“They’ve moved it around the corner to Bullock’s yard and their plan is to restore it to its former glory, to onsell it and deliver it to wherever the new owners want it to go.”
The house dates to about 1891 and was built as the residence for the Governor of the Prison, situated nearby where the Resource Recovery Centre is now.
“Since then other prison staff have lived there. We didn’t want to have it demolished because if someone spends some time and money on it, it will be a beautiful home. It would be a shame to let it go,” says Janine.
Don Martin, long-time partner in the business, was given a letter written by a former resident of the old house. Arthur Bergen’s father was a prison warder and his family lived in the house from 1928 to 1932, before they moved to a home in the prison grounds.
Arthur left Wanganui in 1937 for Australia, his father’s birthplace. In 1995, he was still there. Arthur says his father was offered the house for £800 but did not take it.
The neighbouring house was owned by the Murray family who had a foundry in Taupo Quay. The house opposite was owned by Mr Swan, an elocutionist, who used to be an actor.
The letter refers to other Wilson St residents and businesses, like the Boston Ice Cream factory, Duncan’s Confectionary and the fire station on the corner of Wilson and Guyton streets. They’ve all gone now, with number 40 the last to leave — intact.