45 Grange Street, Dunedin, Buildings Archaeology Report (original) (raw)
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2019
In 2019 a small timber cottage in North Dunedin was demolished. This house had originally been built in the early 1870s as a typical small colonial cottage, but in the 1920s it received a considerable 'makeover' by a new owner in a more Arts and Crafts style. This report describes the fabric of the cottage and the changes that it underwent due to the increasing affluence of its owners and changes in fashion. In addition, under the floors of the cottage evidence of past occupants photographic hobby was discovered, including Kodak dry plate holders and a complete Gaumont cinematograph arc lamp and spare carbon rods.
87 Cargill Street, Dunedin. Buildings Archaeology Report.
2019
A large late nineteenth century timber villa at 87 Cargill Street, Dunedin, was demolished in 2017. As it pre-dated 1900 an Archaeological Authority was required for this work, and one of the conditions of this authority was that a record be made of the structure. This report details the history and changes through time of this house.
This report describes a small 1890s working class cottage in South Dunedin that was demolished in 2017. The house was built by a carpenter, who sourced second hand timbers for its construction, and it had a very lightly built roof structure (also using recycled timbers), but the exterior style and finish conformed to standard late Victorian standards. Subsequent modification removed many of the details such as the original windows, but the 1890s form could still be determined through examination of the structure.
Archaeology in New Zealand, 2017
The façade that a house presents to the street is only one aspect of the meaning in that building, and more detailed analysis of the structure can provide additional layers of information. In 2017 a small timber cottage at 38 Richmond in South Dunedin in Dunedin was demolished, having been damaged in extensive floods in June 2015. The cottage had been built in ca. 1892 and was recorded as site I44/728. The small cottage presented an unremarkable aspect to the road, as it has been modernised in the mid-twentieth century and all of its typical late-Victorian detailing had been removed. However, a closer analysis of the building not only revealed its original design, but also showed how it had been somewhat roughly constructed using material salvaged from earlier structures. The typical Victorian bay cottage details of the original design (such as a front door with side and fan lights, and sash windows) concealed the humble scavenged origins of much of the timber and the shortcuts that were taken in its construction. Analysis of the structure can inform us about both the builder of the house, and the fate of the previous generation of ‘settler’ houses.
13 Durham Street, Dunedin. Archaeological Assessment.
The two storey Edwardian villa at 13 Durham Street was built in 1912 as a new Vicarage for St. Mary's Church, Mornington. It was sold by the church in 1973, and was demolished in 2022 to make way for a residential apartment complex. This report described the history and exterior of the old vicarage building.
11 Hyde Street 'Hydechella' North Dunedin, Site I44/985. Final Archaeological Report.
2021
The house at 11 Hyde Street North Dunedin was a small two-bay timber cottage (latterly roughcast) that was probably built in 1879 or 1880 by John Kirk, an engine driver. It was subsequently occupied by a series of tenants and owner-occupiers, until it became used as a university student rental property in the 1990s. In about 2010 the house joined the ranks of named students flats, a trend documented by Gallagher & Chapman in their 2019 book ‘Scarfie Flats of Dunedin.’ Initially (briefly) named ‘Bananas & Pyjamas,’ the house spent most of the decade named ‘Hydechella,’ a play on the Coachella music festival in the USA. The house was demolished in mid-2020 and replaced with modern accommodation units. Prior to demolition invasive investigations were made into the original part of the house to examine its construction details, and the site excavations during the construction of new foundations were monitored. A small scattering of historic period artefacts was found, but no distinct features were identified. This was possibly due to the extensive site modifications carried out in the 1990s.
19th Century Urban Intensification: In Murison’s Back Garden. 90 Harrow Street North Dunedin
2020
In 2019 a small 1880s bay cottage at 90 Harrow Street was demolished and replaced with new apartment units. The house was recorded prior to demolition, and the site was subject to archaeological monitoring during the excavation for new foundations. Five rubbish pits were found, four dating to the late 1870s and one the mid-twentieth century. The house at 90 Harrow Street was a small bay cottage that was built in about 1880. It had been altered slightly, but still presented a largely original street frontage apart from the replacement of the front door and one window. It was built using the typical timber framing of the period, notably with wall framing that was constructed using mortise and tenon joints. The house had been built on what were the grounds of William Dick Murison’s house on Clyde Street. Murison had been a member of the General Assembly, a cricketer and the editor of the Otago Daily Times. After his death in 1877 his property was subdivided into small urban sections, one of which was 90 Harrow Street. Excavation found four rubbish pits that appear to be associated with the Murison household, which contained mostly bottle glass and table ceramics. Several matching items in the pits indicate that the household was using matched sets of tableware, not unexpected in a middle-class family. Overall the investigations illustrate some of the townscape and social changes that occurred in North Dunedin during the late nineteenth century.
'Parihaka' House, 29 Queen Street, Dunedin. Buildings Archaeology Report.
2017
In 2015 an 1880 timber villa at 29 Queen Street was demolished. The house had originally been named 'Parihaka House' after the Taranaki Village where local Maori used passive resistance to oppose the government seizure of their land. This report details the buildings archaeology of the house, and complements the published account of the interpretation and meaning of the name of the house and its design (Petchey & Brosnahan 2016).
High Street School Site, Dunedin. Final Archaeological Report.
2021
Between 2018 and 2021 Urban Cohousing Otepoti has constructed a housing development based on community living and sustainability at the site of the old High Street School on High Street, Dunedin. This was originally the location of James Paterson’s ‘Essequibo’ property established in 1860, and between 1886 and 2011 it was the location of the High Street School, and the wooden school building that stood there between 1886 and 1983 is reputed to have been the largest wooden two storey school building in New Zealand. Archaeological investigations were carried out at various times during the construction, and an Accidental Discovery Protocol was in place for bulk excavation. It was found that the site had between one and two metres of clay fill placed upon it for the 1885/86 school development, and this material needed to be excavated and a buried topsoil removed, before the clay was replaced and compacted. Evidence of the 1886 High Street School foundations was found within this clay fill. Below the clay fill, in and on the old topsoil, several rubbish concentrations and an old fenceline associated with the occupation of Essequibo were found. The artefactual material included ceramics and glass of the 1860s period. The archaeological features and artefactual material help interpret how this part of Dunedin has changed and developed over the past 160 years.
The building at 5 Willis Street in the wharf area of Dunedin was constructed in ca.1899 and demolished in 2016. It was a plain brick commercial store that was extremely functional in its design, and was built with little ornamentation. It was remodelled in the 1940s, and this added a small amount of contemporary detailing. Archaeological investigation of the site of the building showed that it had been an area of open ground from when it was first reclaimed from the head of Otago Harbour in the early 1870s until the construction of the store. The reclamation in this area appears to have been carried out using rock and clay derived from excavations nearby in Dunedin. Once reclaimed, the area was used to dump a large amount of coal ash (approximately 400m3) that was almost certainly from the neighbouring W. Gregg & Co. coffee and spice mill. Within this ash deposit were several discrete historic rubbish features, including a domestic rubbish deposit, a roofing slate deposit and an oyster shell deposit. It appears that this area of waste ground was a semi-formal dumping ground for Gregg’s coal ash, and an occasional informal dump for domestic and commercial rubbish.