The old Little Queen St - soon after cars came to dominate the roads. Photo / Auckland City Libraries
The old Little Queen St - soon after cars came to dominate the roads. Photo / Auckland City Libraries
A step back in time is painting a colourful picture of downtown Auckland: horse-drawn carriage jams, bulls transported by row boat and a coffee-cart vendor plagued by racism and a run-in with an unruly oyster bar owner.
The team behind Commercial Bay - a $1 billion retail, hotel and office tower development opposite the Ferry Building, referencing the area's previous name - have partnered with Auckland company Art of Fact to provide a glimpse of the area's history as they reinstate Little Queen St, which previously sat between Quay St and Customs St.
The photos and stories used in the design process have been revealed to the Weekend Herald in time for the Auckland Heritage Festival, which kicks off today and ends on Sunday, October 14.
Dozens of events, including a guided walk and talk of colonial architecture in the CBD, will offer Aucklanders an insight into the heritage of nooks and crannies around the city.
Director David Hebblethwaite dug out a handful of grainy old photos of the area from the mid 1900s, with horse-drawn carriages and trams carting 20th-century Aucklanders from A to B.
A rendered image of what Little Queen Street should look like upon opening in 2019. Image / Precinct
The history junkie said the developers were keen to connect to the past. "Very quickly these guys were really excited. They were like 'okay, yes, yes, this is cool'."
The images were paired with stories of the characters who ran the original businesses in the Bay area - fruit and veg store owners and a Pacific Island coffee stall owner "Black Bob", who ran his business from the late 1880s until his early death in 1907.
According to old reports, the area had a reputation for attracting "larrikins".
Black Bob, otherwise known as Robert Hunt, was one character who copped abuse from troublemakers - according to old news reports this was largely due to his race.
A Herald article from 1890 read: "Samuel Cox and Robert Hunt, both islanders, were charged with having created a disturbance in Queen-street on the 28th October".
Downtown Auckland in the 1980s, with the old Downtown shopping centre and ferry building perched on the waterfront. Photo / Whites Aviation Ltd, Alexander Turnbull Library
"Joseph Johnston, cab proprietor, deposed that he heard Cox challenging Hunt to fight, and shortly after the latter rushed from his stall with a tomahawk, but he was seized by the constable."
Archive news reports about Cox showed this was not the first, and likely not the last time the oyster saloon owner caused chaos in downtown Auckland.
In 1881 he was fined 20 pounds for selling beer without a licence. Several years later he was charged with assaulting his cook George Abdul with a block of wood - but this case was dismissed.
"A dispute occurred between them as to wages," read a Herald article dated March 1884.
"On the following morning Cox finding Abdul in bed, committed the assault complained of."
Trams and horse-drawn carriages lined the streets of Commercial Bay in the place of cars throughout the 1900s. Photo / Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries
Hebblethwaite said Precinct's venture fit in with the history of the area - where the only constant had been change.
"It's probably changed more times more radically, more continuously, than I think any other part of the country," he said.
There was a sense of taking the area full-circle - Hebblethwaite said there was a shift back to prioritising pedestrians, with reduced speed limits and the development of car-free spaces.
A car-free city centre might appeal to some, but before our current gridlock woes there were an array of other issues.
Old news reports had told of traffic jams when horses lined the streets, Hebblethwaite said, and problems with an excess of horse manure.
Precinct's Commercial Bay development will have a mix of retail and hospitality offerings. Image / Precinct
"Before all of our roads were dominated by cars, there were hundreds and hundreds of horses. To the extent that, the amount of horse poo in and around that area was a real problem," Hebblethwaite said.
"They couldn't get rid of it."
The nature of trade in the area would, in part, be a blast from the past - coffee stores and ferry buildings. But other aspects of what historically went on in this area were wildly different.
Hebblethwaite said one constant in the mid-1900s was an "old guy with a boat", who would row people with their cargo out to bigger ships in the harbour.
"This included taking bulls, on his tiny little rowing boat, to take out to larger ships."
"People would see these bulls being rowed across the centre of the city - which I think would make a pretty remarkable sight."
Heritage New Zealand's Auckland regional archaeologist Bev Parslow was pleased to see the development pay homage to its past.
Information boards, or "viewing portals" would be incorporated into the development with information and displays of archaeological finds made during the works.
"[Precinct] went the extra mile to profile the history and importance of the site to the public at the start of the project works and beyond," Parslow said.
The company had also been in discussions with local iwi, in an effort to reflect some Māori history and language into the design and names of the sites.
Chief executive Scott Pritchard said the partnership with Art of Fact was initiated in a bid to better understand the background of the area, and celebrate its past.
"It was really important for us to understand the history and in a sense, tell the story about what has happened before us," he said.
Pritchard hoped the development would help maintain the area's historical reputation as a portal to the city.
"I absolutely think it is still a gateway to the city."
Auckland Heritage Festival • Kicks off today, and will wrap up on October 14. • Incorporates events in suburbs around the city, from Takapuna to Onehunga. • Events range from cultural workshops, to foodie tours. • A full rundown of events being held as part of the festival can be found here.
