Unlocking historic Waipū building’s secrets
When author and journalist Lindy Davis came to Waipū 12 years ago, the historic National Bank of New Zealand on the corner of Nova Scotia Drive and Cove Rd struck her immediately.
‘‘The building’s elegance and timelessness was something that initially drew me. Whenever I drove past it, I’d always imagine what it might look like if it had some love,’’ she says.
‘‘It was a beautiful building with essentially good bones, but I could see it slowly disintegrating.’’
Lindy was finally able to do something about the building, which is listed Category 2 with Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga, when she and the family took ownership just under a year ago.
What followed for Davis was a hands-on apprenticeship in the rudiments of heritage conservation and building project management.
‘‘Ensuring that we sourced materials that were sympathetic to the era of the building was a challenge, as was finding certain timber profiles to match the nearly 100-year-old building,’’ she says.
‘‘The process was made more complex by the fact that we had two lockdowns and were unable to get certain materials out of Auckland. Fortunately, I had selected European feature tiles early this year and had the heritage door furniture manufactured in Dunedin, which meant we weren’t at the mercy of retail stores being closed.’’
Davis also engaged an all-local crew of tradies and builders, who have taken pride in the Nova
Scotia Junction project.
‘‘Two months into the renovation, the Auckland-based project manager we had engaged to oversee the project was unable to return to Northland after the border closures,’’ she recalls.
‘‘I took on the role of project manager, liaising with the tradies in addition to managing all design and planning aspects of the job. It was an accelerated apprenticeship into building, and vastly different from my usual job as a writer!’’
Unlocking the secrets of the building, including the areas that needed the most work, wasn’t always straightforward Davis says.
‘‘The bank was initially lit using kerosene lamps, and the bank manager’s home was heated by open fires. There were three chimneys, which logically should equate to three freplaces. Two were difficult to locate, however, and turned out to be in terrible condition behind gibbed walls.’’
Hours spent restoring timber joinery and doors that had had multiple layers of paint and putty proved to be a protracted and painful exercise – but gave Davis a fresh appreciation of the quality of craftsmanship that had been invested in the building by the original builders.
‘‘Generally speaking, the quality and workmanship of timber joinery from last century is far superior to anything I’ve seen mass-produced now,’’ she says.
Being so closely involved in the restoration work as it unfolded resulted in a couple of amazing finds – including a wedding album that belonged to a doctor and his wife who had lived in the house 20 years earlier. The album turned up behind one of the original brick fireplaces.
‘‘My son managed to track down the doctor’s wife and we returned their wedding album.’’
They also discovered a cheeky signature in the ceiling of the vault dome in the bank building dating back to the original 1934 pour.
Davis has always been drawn to heritage architecture and whenever she visits regional towns in New Zealand, its usually the heritage buildings that catch her attention. The prospect of taking one on and restoring it, however, would not have occurred to her in the past.
‘‘It was only because I had admired the building for a decade and hoped someone might do something special with it, that I did. Apart from that, I would never have imagined myself involved in a restoration project of this magnitude.’’
Feedback from the community about the renovation has been overwhelmingly positive and complimentary, and Heritage Northland Inc has agreed to fund an Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga listing plaque in appreciation of the restoration work Davis has done on the Waipu landmark.
‘‘The old National Bank of New Zealand building is an iconic landmark in the Waipu township. Various groups in the community recall visitng the bank when they were young, and some of them worked there until it finally closed in the 1990s,’’ she says.
There is a sense of pride in the community that this heritage building is back on its feet and that Nova Scotia Junction will be a fabulous hub for creative, innovative business.
Thanks to Davis and her team, the Nova Scotia Junction building will continue to be an iconic feature of Waipu for many years to come, says Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga Northland manager Bill Edwards.