Living Streets Aotearoa - Wellington Region

Tuesday Lunchtime Civic Walkers

Walk 12: Walk to the Home of Katherine Mansfield

Category: Easy walk along the flat

Leave Plimmer statue at 12.30 pm.

Walk north to James Cook Arcade. Take lift up to The Terrace. Cross the Terrace and walk down to Aurora Tce. By PSA House take the path that goes alongside the motorway.

Take this path as far as Hobson Street. At Hobson St turn left and walk across the bridge and then right when you get to Tinakori Road. Stop at No 25 Tinakori Road and view the birthplace of Katherine Mansfield Beauchamp New Zealand’s most famous writer. The house was also the home of Sir Truby King founder of the Plunket Society.

Now head back to Hobson St. At 32 Tinakori Road is Beere House which is a house designed by Chapman Taylor.

On the corner is 100 Hobson St, a house built by Walter Nathan. The family feature in Mansfield story “Prelude”.

There are many interesting houses in Hobson St.

• Queen Margaret College – colonial architect William Clayton (designed wooden Govt Buildings on Lambton Quay) built a concrete house on this site. He sold property to TC Williams the son of Henry Williams who was the pioneering missionary to NZ.
• 52 Hobson St- section was bought by Bishop Charles Abraham, who built Old St. Pauls.
• 50 Hobson St—house was designed and built by architect James Hislop on land subdivided by John Harcourt Harcourt fame)
• 48 Hobson St—“Cranbrook” built in 1906- an example of Arts & Crafts design
• 39 Hobson St-
• 33 Hobson St- built for Arthur Pearce a Director of Levin & Co
• 20 Hobson St—home of artist Evelyn Page and her husband Frederick who was first Professor of Music at Victoria.

Now turn right into Moturoa St. At no 18 is Lady Freyberg House.

On the bend walk into the carpark and have a look at the Pipitea Pa which is an urban marae. Ropiha Moturoa was a chief at the Pa.

On the right is Wellington Girls’ College which is the school Katherine Mansfield attended.

At the corner turn left into Mulgrave St. On the left is Old St Paul’s and next door is Bishopcourt. Old St Paul’s was designed by Frederick Thatcher and built by Bishop Abraham. Bishopcourt was built for Bishop Hadfield and is built almost entirely of totara. The uniform quoins are designed to resemble stone.

Further down the road is Thistle Inn one of the oldest hotels in NZ dating from 1840. Before reclamation the hotel was just metre from the sea.

Turn right into Kate Sheppard Place. This street was renamed Kate Sheppard Place in 1993, the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

Cross Molesworth St and go back to Lambton Quay.

On the corner of Molesworth and Lambton Quay, the triangle of land was the site of whaler Dicky Barrett’s first tavern built in 1840. This was formerly the edge of the beach and was a regular landing spot for sea vessels.

Across the road is the Government Building designed by William Clayton and completed in 1876 for use by Govt ministers and their departments.
 

To walk 13

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