WCC, Building Inspector and Building Superintendent's letter books of outwards correspondence

Descriptive Data

Archives Identifier00309Date Range1895-1926DescriptionThis series consists of copies of outwards letters and reports from the Building Inspector, who from 18 November 1908 was titled the Building Superintendent. The items are signed by W D Murdoch from 1895- Nov 1910, then Drummond from Nov 1910. There are 13 volumes of varying sizes.

The letters, memos and reports relate to the work of the Building Inspector who operated under municipal acts and bylaws that gave local authorities powers regulate buildings in their areas. Under these the Council could examine and approve plans for buildings and other structures, issue permits, inspect the work done for compliance with the regulations and to take action in cases in breach of the acts and bylaws. The bylaws set out the powers of the Building Inspector and the procedures and processes to follow regarding applications, inspection and enforcement.

Some letters are memos and reports to the Chief Engineer and occasionally other Council officials such as the Town Clerk, but most are to external agencies and ratepayers: contractors, builders, architects, business and property owners. The series may have been started in response to the building expansion that happened about this time and the large amount of correspondence it generated. The series ends in April 1926 with the start of the City Engineer's subject filing system in 1926, Series 00009.

The letters relate to compliance with or breaches of municipals acts and bylaws concerning buildings and other structures. They cover permits for, the construction of, and repairs to houses and business premises, shed and outhouses, churches and schools, garages, verandas, chimneys, fire escapes, scaffolding, retaining walls, signboards and hoardings. The notices (and repeat notices) often refer to lack of permits and threaten the removal or destruction of buildings if the contractors do not comply with the codes. Some also involve land subdivision and streets or private ways if the buildings proposed required special access, and to plumbing and drainage matters. Some letters concerning significant issues or buildings are referred to the Town Clerk (such as the License for St Mary of the Angels Church in Boulcott Street, v. 2, p. 516) and are signed by both the Building Inspector, and the Municipal Fire Board Superintendent.

Copies of fortnightly or monthly reports to the City Engineer give brief details of permits, such as ward, name of street, the nature of the structure and name of the owner. The monthly and annual reports contain statistics on types of buildings and later of the 'value of work for which permits issued', and a selection of those buildings 'worthy of note', such as schools, churches, and businesses, for example, Kirkcaldie and Stains in 1908-09.

After 1899 entries have the pencil markings as usual for City Engineer letter books of this period relating to delivery or postage ('D', 'P'), indexing (ticks) and references to previous or later letters. There are occasional references to other letter books of the City Engineer. After January 1907 the copies contain the letter head details of the City Engineer's office at the Town Hall.

Index: contains personal/ business names and some street names, but does not refer to names or streets in the lists of permits mentioned in the reports to the City Engineer. Subsequent series: 00009Quantity (Linear Metres)0.66MediumBound VolumeSystem of ArrangementChronological by date of outwards letterCollection TypeWellington City Council

Letter Book No.9, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.1, Building Inspector

Letter Book No.7, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.8, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.2, Building Inspector

Letter Book No.10, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.6, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.4, Building Inspector

Letter Book No.12, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.5, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.13, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.11, Building Superintendent

Letter Book No.3, Building Inspector

Series

WCC, City Engineer's Department files

WCC, Town Clerk's Department early correspondence

Access Information

Restriction StatusOpen

Related Agencies

Controlling or Creating AgencyCity Engineer's DepartmentRelationship Date Range1923-1972

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WCC, Building Inspector and Building Superintendent's letter books of outwards correspondence