Historic wall coming down
The historic bluestone wall gracing Albert St is now coming down brick by brick.
The 139-year-old wall in Auckland's CBD is being painstakingly dismantled to make room for the country's largest infrastructure project, the City Rail Link.
It will take about three months to deconstruct the wall which will eventually be moved one metre east towards Queen St.
Stonemasons are cutting it into 1800 blocks, numbering each block and storing them safely off-site until the wall is rebuilt in 2023.
“It’s going to be a bit like fitting a jigsaw together except all our pieces will be rocks, not bits of cardboard or wood, there will be no missing pieces and we’ll know where every piece fits,” said Aotea Station manager for the Linke Alliance, Matt Sinclair.
The bluestone wall was built from local material by contractor Daniel Fallon in 1881 during a time of major infrastructure expansion in Auckland.
The wall's underground public toilet was one of the city's first.
The wrought iron railings, piers and the ornamental arch over the stairs on the side of the wall are some of Auckland's last remaining examples of street furniture dating back to the Victorian age.
The public toilet, which has been closed for some time, will not reopen because of space constraints.
But the toilet's cast iron screens will be restored and reinstated on site.
The toilet's entrance will be used as a maintenance access for the City Rail Link.
The new 150-metre long section of tunnel being built by the Link Alliance will connect the new Aotea underground station with the tunnel already built from Britomart Station.
Shakespeare Tavern owner Sunny Kaushal said the iconic pub will remain open during the wall deconstruction nearby.
"We have to otherwise we can't survive at all because we're struggling with mounting debts and also keeping the staff who we've been trying to support for the last three and a half years," he said.
"We've been affected by the City Rail Link really seriously, then Covid happened," he said.
"This has been a double whammy for us."
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Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Poll: Should all neighbours have to contribute to improvements?
An Auckland court has ruled a woman doesn’t have to contribute towards the cost of fixing a driveway she shares with 10 neighbours.
When thinking about fences, driveways or tree felling, for example, do you think all neighbours should have to pay if the improvements directly benefit them?
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82.5% Yes
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14.9% No
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2.6% Other - I'll share below
Auckland Saxophone Ensemble Christmas concert!
Kia ora koutou,
I'd like to invite everyone to the Auckland Saxophone Ensemble's Christmas concert this Saturday at 7.30pm, where I've been invited to join the group on soprano and alto saxophones.
Join us for a festive evening of enchanting music as the Auckland Saxophone Ensemble celebrates the holiday season with a special Christmas concert!
We'll be playing music by Sergei Prokofiev, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Tomaso Albinoni and more.
Calling all saxophonists! We invite all saxophone players in Auckland, from beginners to experienced musicians, to join our "Saxophone Orchestra" during the second half of the concert. To join, select the "Join the Saxophone Orchestra" ticket and let us know your level and which saxophone you'll be bringing. We'll send you the sheet music a few weeks before the concert - no rehearsal necessary!
See link below for more information!
events.humanitix.com...
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