Editorial: Finally, a plan we can live with for wharf

Queens Wharf

It has been a long and tortuous road but, finally, an acceptable plan for the use of Queens Wharf during next year's Rugby World Cup has been arrived at. "Party central" will be in a temporary structure on the site of one of the wharf's two cargo sheds. This has two compelling pluses: the sprucing up of Queens Wharf for the Cup festivities for as low a cost as possible, and the demolition of both the unsightly sheds, an essential precursor to the wharf later being developed to its full potential.

All that is required for the World Cup celebrations is a gathering point. Little needs to be done. A temporary structure housing television screens and places for eating, drinking and dancing will suffice. Solidly constructed, it will easily withstand the buffeting of a wet and windy spring. The swept-up development advocated until recently by the Government was always unnecessary, as well as becoming constrained by time. It could also have resulted in the wharf's final development being compromised for the benefit of a one-off event.

The chairman of the Auckland Regional Council, Mike Lee, who will not elaborate on what is planned, deserves plaudits for providing the push towards this outcome. Architectural firm Jasmax has been hired to design the structure, and Mr Lee says it has come up with an attractive design. This has yet to be approved by the ARC or the Government, which are expected to share the cost, but good sense should see the green light given as soon as practicable.

Mr Lee is also to be congratulated for recognising that the two 98-year-old cargo sheds must go. "They were cheap and nasty when they were built and now they are old and cheap and nasty and totally out of sympathy with the type of cruise-ship terminal we would like to see there," he says. That is a realistic assessment, albeit one not shared by the Historic Places Trust.

Astonishingly, its northern registrar, Martin Jones, says the sheds' place in the maritime landscape makes them every bit as important as the ferry building. "The sheds of Queens Wharf are the last remaining structures associated with the huge machinery of exports and, as such, are an extremely important part of the country's economic, as well as social, heritage."

Do aesthetics not play some part in the reckoning on any structure? The sheds are an embarrassment and an eyesore, especially to those arriving in Auckland by sea. If the city has been guilty of sometimes not paying due care to its heritage, this is one example where the wrecking ball can go to work without any reason for guilt.

Perhaps the sheds' only redeeming feature is said to be the kauri in their structure. Some of this could be saved and used creatively, perhaps in an entrance-way to Queens Wharf. Done well, this could be an attraction to tourists, as well as locals, who will surely flock there once it has benefited from a design with high appeal.

Successive governments have had big ideas for using the waterfront to showcase the city and the country during the World Cup, starting with a $500 million stadium and culminating in the rushed $100 million plan for a hybrid cruise-ship terminals and "party central". For much of the time, local-body politicians have got in the way. In the end, however, harsh financial reality - not least the $40 million liability for the upgrading of Eden Park belatedly assumed by ratepayers - has led to a reining in of vision. That is only sensible.

The World Cup festivities will largely look after themselves, at "party central" and other venues. After the event is over and the temporary structure is dismantled, Auckland can look afresh for an inspired design for Queens Wharf. It will certainly help if this is done with the equivalent of a clean slate.