When we arrived 30 odd years ago Wellington’s waterfront was a working port. It was an industrial area and not accessible to the general public. The container port was built on reclaimed land in the 70s and this, together with the replacement of sea travel by planes, led to a large part of the wharf area being surplus to Harbour Board requirements. In a far sighted move a local body organisation was set up to manage a significant chunk of land for the public good. Wellingtonians are proud of the waterfront and the access they have to it.
This is one of the old Bond Stores. They have been converted into art galleries, museums, restaurants and apartments (not sure what this one is).
Today was a glorious summer’s day and the pohutakawa trees are coming into blossom. It’s quite early so this indicates a long, hot summer (yippee!!)
There are several modern office buildings on the fringe of the CBD that back onto the waterfront. This is Maritime House and the older building behind the Dominion Farmers Building.
In days gone by there were several ferries serving outlying areas of the harbour. This is the building that they departed from. Today the ferry service to Eastbourne is popular and every so often attempts are made to establish routes to Petone or Seatoun but these haven’t been as successful.
Looking across the harbour you can see the planes landing (into a southerly) or taking off (if the wind is from the north. Here is a Qantas plane looking as though it is trying to land on Mount Victoria but it made it to the runway.
There are several memorials dotted around Frank Kitts Park. This is the mast from the Wahine which foundered in Wellington Harbour in 1967 with the loss of over 50 lives.
The building in the centre (Guardian Trust) contains my office. It’s roughly half way up on the left and I get a good view over the waterfront and harbour. 
Te Papa sits with a great brooding presence.
Lastly, some portraits. Jenny has just about got a job but it’s proving a bit difficult to get a starting date organised. Here she is looking very corporate and efficient.
It’s the time of year for parties and work functions. Noreen and I dressed up to go to the gathering of midwives which was a surprisingly debauched affair (no, I won’t go into details).
