Where did Rongotai Terrace go?

With the launch of the newly digitised Wellington Airport Development Collection we take a look back at a version of Rongotai that no longer exists.

Local resident Ron Cameron extensively documented the development of Wellington Airport and the effect it had on the shape of Rongotai, Evans Bay and Lyall Bay in the 1950s. A selection of his photographs are available to view in person at the Kilbirnie Library throughout the month of June.

Rongotai Aerodrome in 1940

The original Rongotai Aerodrome opened in Lyall Bay in 1928, but as aircraft technology advanced, it was quickly noted that Wellington needed a bigger and more reliable airport. Proposals for a new site carried on for many years until the area that forms the airport today was formally selected in 1950. In order to achieve optimal runway length, the new runway would need to be extended into the sea on both sides of Rongotai. This would require extensive reclamation of both Evans and Lyall Bays, as well as the relocation of over 160 buildings.

Construction couldn’t begin until the affected residents were relocated. Land for new homes in Wellington was already at a premium, so it was decided that the soil that had to be removed from nearby hills would be placed in Evans Bay, creating valuable reclaimed land for new residential zones. As earth from above Aberdeen Quay (now part of Cobham Drive) filled up more of the bay, houses in Rongotai were precariously relocated to their new sites in Kilbirnie. Continue reading “Where did Rongotai Terrace go?”

Ans Westra, 1936 – 2023

Self Portrait by Ans Westra, [c.1963], ATL Ref AWM-0705-F
We are greatly saddened to hear of the passing of one of New Zealand’s best-known and loved photographers, Ans Westra. Born in Leiden, Netherlands, Ans migrated to New Zealand in 1957 aged 21 and briefly lived in Auckland before moving to Wellington the following year. She quickly settled into her adopted city and set about capturing local communities, street fashion and generational shifts as the baby boomers came of age. Wielding a medium-format Rolleiflex camera held at her waist, for many years she was a regular sight at parades, concerts and school fairs; her lens always focused on the people who were attending rather than the event itself. She also travelled across the country and paid special attention to photographing Māori communities who until then had been largely ignored by contemporary photographers.

Ans Westra was a regular visitor to the former Wellington Central Library and became friendly with a number of staff in the old New Zealand Room. When tasked with establishing a photograph collection in the 1970s, the Local History Librarian Hilda McDonnell recognised the quality and breadth of Westra’s photographs and acquired several hundred images.  Hand-printed by Ans in her own darkroom, these photographs capture the people and streets of Wellington with a rare degree of intimacy.


Photograph by Ans Westra, 1976. Wellington City Recollect Ref AW-992-8

With permission from her family and agent {Suite} Gallery, we digitised our collection of her photographs and these are now available to view on our heritage platform, Wellington City Recollect. Browse them online via the button below:

Ans Westra Collection – Wellington City Recollect

Our thoughts are with Ans’ family during this difficult time.

The Octavius Hadfield Collection

Wellington City Libraries is proud to launch an online, digitised collection of correspondence from one of New Zealand’s most significant missionaries and supporters of Māori rights, Octavius Hadfield.

Octavius Hadfield Papers on Recollect

These original letters and diary extracts were gifted to Wellington City Libraries by his daughter, Amelia Caroline Hadfield, in 1951 and are now easily available to read for the first time as part of our heritage database, Wellington City Recollect.

Hadfield arrived in New Zealand shortly before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and soon made his way to Kāpiti. There he befriended Te Rauparaha and was able to prevent the great warrior making a retalitory attack on Wellington following the Wairau ‘Affray’ of 1843. Te Rauparaha and his son Tāmihana later encouraged Hadfield to establish the Rangiātea church in Otaki. He worked closely with Māori communities, introducing them to farming to allow them to engage with the settler economy and became a fierce critic of the NZ Government because of their actions in causing the NZ Wars. Despite many Europeans turning against him and even accusing him of treason, in 1870 Hadfield became the second Bishop of Wellington and then in 1890 he was elected to head the Anglican Church as Primate of New Zealand.

These letters are amoung our most valuable taonga and offer a fascinating insight into the mind and thinking of one of the greatest New Zealanders of the colonial period. Each document includes a full transcription.

Discover these taonga and more on Recollect .