WELLINGTON

The Wellington Trades Hall – a working building

The entry of Wellington Trades Hall on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero as a Category 1 historic place was marked by a celebratory event on 26 March.

Its launch by Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson was testament to the building’s deep connections with the trade union movement in Aotearoa New Zealand and to the early history of the Labour Party.

Members of the movement and heritage enthusiasts were treated to an illustrated talk by Senior Heritage Assessment Advisor, Kerryn Pollock, and a rousing speech by Wellington Trades Hall Incorporated President, Graeme Clarke, who has spearheaded the building’s ongoing restoration. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Chief Executive, Andrew Coleman, also revealed his own connection with the building during his time as a police officer in the 1980s.

As the oldest purpose-built trades hall in the country still used for its original purpose, Wellington Trades Hall’s connection with the union movement is a living one. The building was designed by noted local architect, William Fielding (1875-1946), and opened in 1929. It has outstanding historical significance for its connections with the union movement in Aotearoa New Zealand, with the lives of both ordinary working people and well-known union figures, with organisations like the Labour Party and Federation of Labour, and to major events such as the 1951 waterfront dispute.

The Trade Hall’s identification with unionism was tragically demonstrated in 1984 when it became the site of the country’s first fatal terrorist attack after caretaker, Ernie Abbott, was killed by a home-made bomb. This crime, which was a calculated strike at the trade union movement in a period when relations with the Government were fraught, remains unsolved. Wellington Trades Hall has special social significance as a place of great importance to the union community, both past and present, and considerable efforts have been made to ensure its preservation.

The building is open to the public, and a museum display in the ground floor lobby records some of the important events and union campaigns that the building is associated with. Visitors can watch footage of the 1981 Springbok Tour protests, which unions were heavily involved with. Ephemera from the 'Equal pay, pay equity' and automotive industry campaigns of the 20th century are displayed alongside the memorabilia of key unions figures such as Toby Hill (1915-77).

Wellington Trades Hall is open from Monday to Friday and visitors are welcome to check out the museum display. n

Wellington Trades Hall.

CREDIT: HERITAGE NEW ZEALAND POUHERE TAONGA