Welcome
Notice of an extraordinary general meeting of the Masonic Friendly Society. Click here
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Welcome to the Masonic Tavern tribute website. Here we celebrate the rich history of the Masonic Tavern in Devonport, Auckland.
The Soul of our Community
The Masonic Tavern was built in 1866 making it one of Auckland’s oldest commercial buildings. Sir George Grey was still the governor of New Zealand at this time.
Lots of important decisions have been made in the Masonic
The Masonic Tavern is the birth place of some of the oldest clubs and local bodies in the country, including the North Shore Rugby Football Club (1873), the North Shore Cricket Club (1860’s), the Takapuna Jockey Club (1881), the Devonport Rowing Club (1874), the Devonport Yacht Club (1905), and the Flagstaff Highway Board - which went on to become the Devonport Borough Council (1886).
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A variety of New Zealand’s most notable personalities have, in their time, crossed paths with the Masonic Tavern
Peter Blake is known to have been enjoying a beer in the Masonic Tavern with friend Martin Foster, when they developed the concept for the Two Handed Round North Island race.
The inaugural race was held in 1977. Her Majesty, the Queen, watched on as HRH Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh, officiated at the start line. The queen's yatch, the Britannia, lay moored nearby as the spectacle unfolded in front of the Devonport Yatch Club and the Masonic Tavern.
Farr, Woollacott, the Logan Brothers, et al - there is little doubt that almost all of New Zealands great boat builders and yatch designers would have enjoyed a drink at the Masonic Tavern at some time during it's long history.
Romeo Bragato, the father of the New Zealand wine industry, owned the Masonic Tavern for several years in the early 1900’s.
Since the 1970’s, the Masonic Tavern has been the launch pad for a variety of great local bands.
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to The Checks |
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The site is rich in Maori history
Before the European settled in Devonport there were the tangata whenua. The Tainui landed their waka (canoe) at Torpedo Bay in the mid 1300’s, near to where the Masonic Tavern now stands. A Maori pa called Te Kurae o Tura sat on the ridge immediately above the current Masonic site. In 1793 there were a series of battles near the site of the Masonic Tavern, between the resident Ngati Paoa and the Ngapuhi. Indeed, a Maori burial site was identified just below the footpath beside the tavern as recently as 2001 and further Maori remains (koiwi) were found in 2009. Today at least three iwi still have connections to the area.
Our identity
Today the tavern remains at the hub of an intact historic settlement, and is emblematic of the earliest occupation of Devonport.
Long ago, the Devonport Borough Council recognised the buildings in their historic register and, following local body amalgamation, the North Shore City District Plan (1994), imposed a Category A listing for the hotel and boarding house. The owner of the hotel succesfully disputed the heritage listing by the North Shore City Council, resulting in only partial protection of the facades.
Facadism is now considered to be an inadequate form of conservation and is widely rejected by heritage experts.
With each new day since 1866, the Masonic Tavern has opened its doors and remained a constant thread in the tapestry of Devonport life.
The End?
In 2008, the current owner announced that he intended to close the tavern and redevelop the site as 10 luxury apartments. This large scale development will see a dramatic change to the site and the bulk of the tavern demolished.
Community Protest
The community of Devonport were stunned with the announcement and quickly formed a pressure group to try to prevent the development. The Masonic Friendly Society Inc. (a charitable society) was formed.
Over the last three years the Masonic Friendly Society has worked with a variety of groups in an attempt to have both the North Shore City Council and the Environment Court bring an end to the development. These groups include:
• Devonport Heritage
• New Zealand Historic Places Trust
• Auckland Regional Council
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The law is an ass
In 2003 amendments to the Resource Management Act elevated historic heritage to a Matter of National Importance under Section 6 (f), which identifies the need for "the protection of historic heritage from inappropriate subdivision, use, and development."
In New Zealand, councils are legally obliged to develop policies which put the Act into practice. The North Shore City Council's District Plan made little effort to conform with the expectations of the act.
Unfortunately, the Environment Court allowed that the case for the Masonic Tavern be based on the law as it was when the scheduling was approved - in 1999.
The Environment Court approved the applicant's proposed development, and the subsequent demolition of the Masonic Tavern.
A recent review of the 2003 amendments by The Ministry for the Environment, says; "There is no direct evidence that this change in status is filtering through in case law in terms of 'raising the bar', or giving more weight to heritage matters than would otherwise be the case."
Indeed, with an unprecedented number of submissions to the council (over 300) urging the council to dismiss the application, the issue highlights a major disconnect between the actions of our politicians and the people they are supposed to represent.
The Spat
The owners’ argument
The owner argues that, after 145 years, the tavern is no longer financially viable and he has no option but to re-develop the site as luxury apartments.
Our line of reasoning
Viability of the business
The tavern is no longer financially viable because the current owner has neither the skills nor the desire to run a financially viable entertainment venue. He has neither capitalised on the wonderful location, nor adapted to the changing demographics of the local community. Look at The Patriot or Didas to see how a successful pub/wine bar operates.
A quick look at the tripadvisor website gives a good indication of what the average tourist thinks of the place
Heritage
The tavern is one of the oldest commercial buildings in New Zealand which is still used for its original purpose. It is both structurally sound and of its original form.
The tavern could quickly be returned to it's historical aesthetic with the removal of the bottle shop and the renovation of the upstairs verandah (it was boxed in in the 1960's when 'modernising' was de riguer).
Auckland has an appalling history of allowing developers to demolish unique heritage buildings. We don’t want the Masonic Tavern to go the way of: the lovely Coolangatta, His Majesties Theatre, and the 7 heritage properties in Turua St, St Heliers in 2011.
Zoning
The majority of the site is zoned commercial. If the developer wants to use the site for residential apartments he should have applied for a zone change.
According to the zoning in the district plan a Business 1 site should have at least 75% of its road frontage for commercial use. Residential use is permitted on upper levels and at the rear of the site. Instead the developer argues that the possibility of using the downstairs front bedroom of the apartment for a home office will satisfy the requirement for commercial use. Why have the council and environmental court ignored the District Plan and allowed such intensive residential development on the business land? It makes the community question the integrity of the district plan and the decision makers.
Infringements
A large number of planning rules have been infringed -the application did not comply with the planning rules. These include:
- shortfall in the car parking for residents, cafe and mobility use
- residential activity at ground level in the Business 1 zone
- traffic generation of more than 100 vehicles daily
- building height
- infringement of buffer zones and landscaped yard on the neighbouring residential boundary
- rear yard infringement
- site works which expose more than 300m2 of bare earth
- infringement of height on new freestanding house at rear
- infringement of outdoor living court provisions
- excavation
- works on the site of a Cagtegory A scheduled item
Drive access / neighbours
The neighbours in Church St own the land between the boiler house building and their house, but a legal right-of-way exists for the owners of the pub to "pass and re-pass with their horse and cart", or some such archaic wording.
In practice the pubs owner and patrons have rarely used this drive as it is very narrow between the two buildings. Nevertheless the North Shore City Council approved plans which has all the traffic from 10 homes and the cafe staff using this 3m wide drive.
The appeals to the Environment Court have changed this to a new plan to demolish the boiler house to allow for slightly better access. The access is still not the best outcome given that neither of the two better existing entries will be used.
Tourism
The Masonic Tavern is an important landmark on the tourist trail of Devonport (see table below).Whilst we have no desire to be a heritage theme park, tourism is here to stay.
Traffic problems
Intensive developments like the proposed Masonic Tavern apartments will only add to the existing traffic problems of Lake Road.
Property Values
We believe that this development will, in the long term, be bad for general property values across Devonport, as the unique heritage brand is de-valued by intensive apartments. When strengthening of heritage protections were imposed on all residents in 1994 doomsayers predicted property values would plummet. In fact the reverse has been true- values have rocketed and many more homes have been restored to their former glory. This tells us that intact heritage is highly valued and sought-after.
| 1. | According to New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, tourism is now New Zealand’s biggest export earner. |
| 2. | Auckland is an international hub and the gateway to New Zealand |
| 3. | According to the Auckland Councils official tourism website a visit to historic Devonport is one of 50 ‘must do’ activities for any tourist to New Zealand |
| 4. | According item No.7 on the “The Old Devonport Walk” heritage trail brochure which is available from the council’s official i-Site tourist office in Devonport, “The Masonic Hotel was built in 1860 by shipbuilder G Beddoes and still stands today.” A pretty little sketch of the tavern accompanies the text. |
| 5. | According to AucklandPlus, the Economic Development Agency for Auckland, the Rugby World Cup of 2011 will draw close to 66,000 visitors and $256millions to Auckland |
| Conclusion | places like the Masonic Tavern are an essential part of the tourist offering of New Zealand. Loose too many places like the Masonic Tavern, and you risk loosing the tourist economy. |
The Future
As at the start of 2011, the building still stands and the tavern is open for business. The owner has his resource consent and is now trying to sell the apartments before he sends the diggers in. Auckland real estate agent, Michael Boulgaris, has been commissioned to sell the apartments. Other consents from the Historic Places Trust are still to be obtained.
There are alternatives, however. Numerous individuals have expressed their desire to buy the tavern, in order to find a future that does not require that the building be demolished.
In the meantime, the Auckland Council could offer a short term reprieve by obtaining a heritage order on the development.
Of course, any positive outcome would require that the current owner, Mr Thwaities, engages in discussions ....
What can you do? – sign up, join us on facebook, follow us on twitter, lobby local and national politicians and support heritage protection groups.
Plan Change 33
Ironically Auckland Council are currently in the throes of approving a change to the district plan which will both recognise and protect heritage in business zones, and clarify what constitues appropriate development. In the documents which support the change the following is said:
”As it stands before the commencement the redevelopment, the fomer Masonic Tavern is considered to make a strong contribution to the historic character of this part of the Devonport waterfront and is therefore assigned to group 1. … In the event the develpment does not take place, it would be desirable to include district plan provisions which recognise and protect the contribution that the existing buildings on the Masonic Tavern site make to the historic character of the area.”
The Legacy
The one good that has resulted from the whole affair is that we now have a much clearer understanding of both the Masonic Tavern and the history of Devonport.
The Masonic Friendly Society commissioned some of New Zealand’s most experienced lawyers,planners urban designers, archaeologists, heritage architects and historians to help develop the case, as to why the site is special and deserving of heritage protection. Their research and expert testimony is now available to the public through this website.
We hope you enjoy the story of an Auckland icon, the Masonic Tavern.
If you love it, stand up for it!
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