Ethan Manera interviews the owners of Wellington's new music venue, Meow Nui. Video / Mark Mitchell
Damian Jones and Rahine O’Rielly have transformed a derelict church in Vivian St into the capital’s newest music venue.
The project faced last-minute delays that caused shows to be postponed and cost the couple more than a million dollars in renovation costs.
Despite setbacks, Meow Nui will officially open on Friday, with Jones and O‘Rielly saying it’s good for Wellington’s economy and vibrancy.
The couple behind Wellington’s “most ambitious live music venue” say they’re excited to finally have their vision come to life, bringing with it economic benefits and adding to the capital’s vibrancy.
But converting the derelict inner-city church into a flash new venue hasn’t been without its challenges. The project experienced consenting delays, a leaking roof, and a budget that’s nearly tripled to bring the site to life.
Damian Jones opened the original – and smaller – Meow music venue in Edward St in 2008, with his wife Rahine O‘Rielly coming on board not long after. The pair are highly regarded in Wellington’s music scene and said for too long there hadn’t been an adequate 1000-person venue in the city, so they decided to do something about it.
“We have been talking about it for about 10 years ... there’s a need for it and we’ve actually decided to take the plunge and do it,” Jones said.
Husband and wife Damian Jones and Rahine O’Rielly are the brains behind Wellington's newest music venue, Meow Nui. Photo / Mark Mitchell
‘Terrifying’ reno
Situated in Vivian St in the central city, the former Salvation Army Citadel building was built in 1990 to act as a church hall and office building for the organisation. Its unique Warren and Mahoney design even won the 2019 Wellington Architecture Awards.
But after the Salvation Army vacated the site, the once-acclaimed building sank into neglect. It was overcome by rats, had plants growing out of its leaking roof, and was occupied by squatters.
It went on the market last year and was subsequently purchased privately, with Jones and O’Rielly securing a 30-year lease and soon beginning the “terrifying” renovation job.
The building was built for the Salvation Army, operating as a church hall and office. Photo / NZ Institute of Architects
How it looks now as the new music venue, Meow Nui. Photo / Mark Mitchell
‘Epic transformation’
Jones said it cost “a small fortune” to convert the building’s acoustics from that of an echoey church hall, to be suitable for a music venue.
They describe it as an epic transformation, going well over budget (the couple initially planned to spend only a third of their $1 million budget), refurbishing the building’s interior to “take the church out of it and make it something a bit more fun”.
“The new balcony upstairs is all made from the old stage, as is the bar and the vanities in the bathroom.”
The colourful carpet was made for the ballroom at the Amora Hotel before it closed in 2017 due to damage from the Kaikōura earthquake.
Meow Nui's bar is stocked with locally made beer and wine. Photo/ Mark Mitchell
Jones is planning to use his collection of old radios to create an upstairs bar. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“Everyone was local,” Jones said, from the lighting companies and audio engineers to even the lampshades and the booze in the bar.
Jones and O‘Rielly said there were still a couple of consenting sign-offs required before it was fully operational at capacity.
“Nothing is ever fully finished,” O’Rielly said.
A medium-size venue had long been touted for the capital, with Wellington City Council even noting the lack of suitable venues in a report. Operators like San Fran, Valhalla and the pre-existing Meow all fit a few hundred people each, but Jones says there’s long been a hunger for a larger venue more like Auckland’s Powerstation.
He said it wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for independent operators like themselves taking the plunge.
Damian Jones started the original Meow in Edward St in 2008, and says he had long wanted to open a medium-size venue. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The wood from the church's old stage has been recycled to create the bar, upstairs balcony and the bench in the women’s toilets. Photo / Mark Mitchell
It’s been an arduous process getting to this point. The venue was set to open in August and tickets had already been sold for the first gig by Wellington’s own Drax Project. But only days out from the show, the band announced that because of circumstances outside of their or Meow Nui’s control, they would have to postpone.
Wellington City Council said at the time there was a hold-up getting the building up to scratch.
Jones said they were on track to open in time, but blames a last-minute consenting hurdle and “excessive government red tape” for the delay.
After five months of hard work, Meow Nui managed to hold its first event this month, hosting Paddy Gower’s national book tour. Several jazz gigs have followed, but its official opening will be on Friday.
There have been a handful of gigs in the new venue so far, with more coming up. Photo / Instagram @maeve.oconnelll
Despite the “hiccups”, the couple say Meow Nui is a good-news story for a city that’s had more than its fair share of bad headlines this year.
“It’s good for the economy of Wellington, it’s good for the vibrancy of the city, it’s quite a no-brainer in that way“, Jones said.
“Wellington is a city that is based around people being brave and having a dream and doing something about it”, O’Rielly said.
Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.
