Old Public Trust Building

Tonga Bay Granite

Tonga Bay granite is used on the exterior façade. The granite was quarried in Tonga Bay near Nelson by the Tonga Bay Granite Company and was shipped to Wellington for preparation in a stonecutter's shed on Stout Street next to the construction site. It is an easily worked, soft granite that unfortunately crumbles as it weathers - the Old Public Trust Building is the only remaining building in New Zealand still clad in this type of stone.

Read more about Tonga Bay granite

Brick

The pressed bricks used on the façade were supplied by the Prisons Department. The first wing of an intended seven-wing prison was built in Mount Cook in Wellington and the inmates manufactured bricks from the local Mount Cook clay. This continued for 46 years and supplied bricks to many buildings around the country.

Copper Dome

Domes were designed into many buildings of this period to emphasise their importance. By 1930 this was the only remaining dome in the city after the others were removed because of earthquake risk. The dome and dormer windows are clad in copper, which develops a coating of green verdigris as it is weathered by both air and sea spray. The copper is purely decorative and on this dome conceals a reinforced concrete structure.

Public Trust

The Public Trust was established in 1873 by Sir Julius Vogel to stop exploitation of the estates of the deceased. It was the first state-backed institution of its type in the world and became the model for similar systems in England, Canada, Australia and Fiji. The large number of deaths during the First and Second World Wars placed increased pressure on the Public Trust and it grew dramatically. In 1982 it moved into a new building next door on Lambton Quay.

Vault

The building required secure vaults to safeguard the important legal documents it possessed. The original vaults were organised by Chubbs Australia and had armour plated folding doors with gates, a vestibule and a grille inside the strong room. They were locked by 3 patent gunpowder proof locks each with three keys. The folding doors were manufactured and shipped from London and the keys were sent separately on another boat for security. A new vault was installed in 1926 that would remain undamaged even if the entire building collapsed, however it sprang a foundation leak causing flooding until its repair in 1945.

Motifs

Historian Chris Cochran describes the highly ornamental exterior of the building as "a vigorous blend of Renaissance and Baroque motifs, with some completely new ones of architect Sir John Campbell's invention worked in". The motifs are in celebratory Edwardian Classical style. They reference several architectural styles and include floral patterns, classical columns and festoons (or garlands) of fruit. Above the door, a motif depicts a set of scales weighing fruit. This symbolises the measurement of good and evil or truth and falsehood, and of justice and the law. It reminds us of the important role the Public Trust plays in New Zealand's justice system. The motifs are carved from Tonga Bay Granite.

Interior Tiles

The mosaic tile floor was supplied by a London company, Minton Hollins. It is an intricate arrangement of ceramic tiles. The tiles form a fan type pattern bordered by a decorative vine, a leaf floral pattern and cursive 'PTO' lettering. The entire floor is made from around 128,000 tesserae (ceramic tiles). During a refurbishment these tiles were covered in plastic laminate. In 1983, they were uncovered during work on the building. The tiles were badly in need of repair. Mosaic tile specialists Andrew and Barry Bulmar (from Sydney) restored them in 1996. Further repair work is being undertaken in 2009.