Archaelogical Updates

Demolition work started, and archaeologists investigate heritage sites

Demolition of buildings in Oak Park Avenue started in January 2005, while work was undertaken to prepare buildings for removal in Tonks Avenue and Arthur Street.

The New Zealand Historic Places Trust began a month-long archaeological investigation at heritage sites in Tonks Avenue and Arthur Street on 17 January 2005.

Around 30 archaeologists from around the country assembled to investigate the heritage houses, the ground beneath after their removal, along with gardens, old wells, back-yard ‘privies’ and rubbish pits. Archaeologists aim to piece together a picture of the social history of the area, including the status of landowners such as the Tonks family and their workers who lived in closed proximity.

Open days on 5 and 12 February 2005 drew more than 500 visitors.  Tour guides provided commentary on the history of the area and explained the work of the archaeologists. The public also viewed a display of historic photographs from the collections in the Alexander Turnbull Library, and maps showing the new locations of the 19 heritage buildings to be shifted over the next few months.

The investigations, and open days for the public, were among conditions set by the Historic Places Trust in the authority allowing modification of the archaeological sites.

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Update on archaeological heritage research and findings

Glass and stoneware bottles, colourful ceramics, a brick well, and mid 19th century house foundations are among finds from the New Zealand Historic Places Trust’s archaeological investigation of sites on the bypass route.

Archaeologists have pieced together a picture of the history of the area, matching historical records with evidence from the ground. The Tonks family built several houses in Tonks Avenue and rented them out, so there was a mix of family members and tenants living in a well-defined area. Early members of the Tonks family owned a brickworks on Webb Street adjoining Tonks Avenue from the 1860s, and at various times also had a drapers, a shipping company, and bread factory, and were responsible for reclamation of part of Wellington harbour.

An 1878 survey map showed the presence of a well between 5 and 9 Tonks Avenue. Archaeologists scraped away soil in the vicinity and lifted the concrete cap. The well is over seven metres deep, lined with bricks and still full of clear water. The well provided water to the two households prior to the early 1880s when water was ‘laid-on’ in Wellington city. As the well is not within the route of the road it will be protected and made available for viewing as a park feature.

A buildings’ archaeologist has examined the Edwardian homes and pre-1900s workers’ cottages built side-by-side in Tonks Avenue, to learn the patterns of construction, phases of additions, and materials used. Several of the dwellings that are being relocated metres away in a new Tonks Precinct, to the north of the bypass route, date back to the late 1860s.

Meanwhile domestic and industrial debris from the 1860s onward has been found during excavation of ground under demolished or resited buildings. The artefacts provide a sequence of changing styles and patterns of domestic ware throughout time, and the development of local businesses, particularly soft drink manufacturers.

Excavations in Arthur Street have also proved interesting. The foundations of a late 1860s house were found under one metre of fill that was deposited when the house was demolished in the late 1800s. Several sites in this street have shown a succession of buildings over time. Bricks from the Tonks brickworks were used extensively on all houses – both as chimneys and as paving in the yards of the houses.

Rubbish pits in the backyards of the houses have been uncovered and excavated. The contents of these pits give clues to what people were eating (bones), drinking (bottles) and the types and shapes of domestic cups, plates and dishes popular at the time. A pit behind one house contained several broken chamber pots.

After the houses in Tonks Avenue are relocated, the archaeologists will return to look under the buildings for evidence of prior landuse, and to record the patterns of the foundation posts.

A report on the investigations will be written and will include an analysis of the buildings and their interior decoration (where that information has been made available), and a description of the archaeology and the artefacts found. This has been a substantial project, producing a large amount of data, and the report will take over a year to write.