Government House, Wellington

When Auckland was the capital of New Zealand from 1841 until 1865, the provision of an official residence for the governor was initially not a priority. It was only during the period of the fourth governor, George Grey, that an official property was provided. The first Wellington Government House was Colonel William Wakefield's villa, located where the Beehive now stands. Wakefield was the Agent for the New Zealand Company; he had built the house in 1840, but died in 1848. The residence was then used as a hospital for a short period in 1848 after the Marlborough earthquake. Wakefield's house was a very plain Regency styled building with verandahs, (Auckland Libraries, 4-1028) it stood on a hill overlooking the harbour. There is a record of the first Government House Ball being held in it, on 10 February 1849 during George Grey's first period as governor.

Grey was succeeded by Robert Wynyard, then by Thomas Gore Browne (and then Wynyard again). It is possible that neither of these men visited or resided in Wellington during their terms and thus the official status of the Wakefield Villa is uncertain. Grey became governor for a second time in 1861 and he certainly used Wakefield House as his Official Wellington Residence.

In 1865 the capital was transferred from Auckland to Wellington. The need to provide accommodation for the various branches of Government resulted in a flurry of construction and prompted the replacement of the rather plain Government House with a more appropriate building. In 1868 this was embarked upon. As the new Parliament Buildings were directly adjacent it was unsurprising that it was mooted that the new Government House should be in a similar neo-Gothic style . As it happened an Italianate style was chosen, probably because it was the cheaper option.

Despite being built of wood, the second Government House was an imposing structure distinguished by a tower; it was one of several mid-century houses influenced by Queen Victoria's Osbourne House. Designed by William Henry Clayton (1823-1877) and completed around 1871 the second Government House commanded expansive views over the city and harbour and provided a picturesque contrast with the adjacent Gothic styled Parliament Building complex. Its first occupant was Sir George Ferguson Bowen in 1873.

Exterior facade of the second Government House, 1882

All the succeeding governors resided in the new Clayton building, from Sir James Fergusson to Lord Plunket from 1904. The social climate of the late 19th century required the governor to spend part of the year in other areas of the country – predominately Auckland, although for a while a third Government House was maintained in Christchurch. This pattern doubtless lent longevity to the fabric and decoration of each of the official residences, but relatively little furniture and other items were provided by the government – each successive governor had to provide his household with furniture, linen, china etc. from his own pocket (today the pattern is quite different - with each new incumbent only being required to provide personal items). During its 34-year career as Government House the Clayton building was redecorated and added to but it entered the 20th century largely unaltered.

Following the fire in the wooden Parliament Buildings in 1907, the then Governor General Lord Plunket offered the use of Government House to house both houses of Parliament until a replacement building could be built. In the interim the Plunkets decamped to Palmerston North between 1908 and 1910 where they resided in a house now called Caccia-Birch. Plunket had been lobbying for a larger and more up-to-date residence to be provided by the Government, hopefully more distant from Parliament and with more private grounds.

The Parliament Building fire nudged the government into commissioning a new Government House to be built. John Dickson-Poynder, 1st Baron Islington was the first governor-general to occupy in Government House, residing there from 1910 to 1912.

Government House closed in October 2008 for a major NZ$44 million conservation and rebuilding project, and was reopened in March 2011.[2] During the refurbishment the Governor General lived at Vogel House in Lower Hutt while in Wellington.[3]

Entrance hall of the residence, with parquet floors and oak panellings used prominently throughout.

The current residence, in Newtown, was designed in an eclectic style in the manner of a half-timbered Tudor mansion. As it was intended to evoke a large English country house, the house's rooms were designed in a range of styles—from Elizabethan to Tudor, to Georgian and Regency. Throughout the house are examples of what was considered good taste at the time: marble fireplaces, parquet floors, oak panelling, Mahogany doors, leadlight windows, bronze electric light fixtures and neo-Georgian plasterwork ceilings. Various portraits of successive governors and other significant people are displayed along with a collection of New Zealand art, some of which has been donated by previous governors. The house covers 4,200 m² (45,000 sq ft).

Many of the rooms are set aside for official state occasions—for example, two dining rooms, a ballroom, a conservatory and drawing rooms.[5] Government House is where the governor-general confers with the leader of the New Zealand Government, hosts foreign dignitaries, and performs the functions of New Zealand's head of state, as the representative of the monarch of New Zealand. The residence is also open to the public, running free tours of the state rooms throughout the year.[6]

Conservatory

Dining room

State and official events are typically held in either the conservatory, or the dining room

As a result of renovations undertaken in the early 2000s, new carpets were provided for the public reception rooms. These are large artworks in their own right. The Carpets and rugs were designed by several New Zealand artists; Gavin Chilcott, Andrew McLeod, Tim Main and John Bevan Ford. The weaving was done by the carpet manufacturer Dilana, in association with Athfield Architects. The design of the Drawing Room carpet by Gavin Chilcott is derived from the silver fern. Of particular interest is the spectacular kowhaiwhai pattern, composed into a huge single composition 4 metres (13 ft) x without a repeat, was designed by Andrew McLeod and inspired by Theo Schoon's drawings of Māori designs. This pattern was produced in three different colour-ways and appears in several of the Reception Rooms.