WELLINGTON
NGAHURU • AUTUMN 2022
A job well done – 804 sash windows restored A two-year project to restore the 804 sash windows in one of the world's largest wooden buildings has been wrapped up. WORDS: Anna Knox
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n October last year, joiner extraordinaire and legendary tour guide, Mike Deavin, shut the latch on the final window at Wellington's Old Government Buildings, which is cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. The moment drew significant media attention, with Mike's ‘moment’ captured in many places across the country, including TV3 news and the Sunday Star Times.
NGAHURU • AUTUMN 2022
For Mike, it was a satisfying end to a project that saw him restore every sash window in the historic building, which was once the administration centre of the New Zealand government. “Mike knows a thing or two about restoring windows – after working on 804 of them at Old Government Buildings, he should do too,” said OGB Property Lead, Caroline Ritson. “It's
the culmination of two years of painstaking attention to detail and hard work.” Mike's knowledge of the materials and the processes involved is extraordinary, down to the manufacturer of the pulleys and the original cast iron weights that are the core to each window's functioning. “Archibald Kendrick have been operating since 1791,” says Mike. Most of the Heritage Quarterly
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