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CentrePort Wellington

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Wellington Harbour Board

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TypeAgencyDate Range1880-1989MandateHarbours Act 1878Wellington Harbour Board Act 1879DescriptionIn the 1840s Wellington Harbour was nominally under the control of the General Government, but there was very little in the way of development carried out. In 1853 the Wellington Provincial Council was established and the management of the Harbour was passed to them. The Provincial Council was responsible for the construction of Queens Wharf in 1862 and the additions carried out in 1865 and 1866. The Council also carried out a number of reclamations. In 1876 all Provincial Councils were disbanded and the management of the Harbour reverted back to the General Government.

In 1871 the Wellington City Council had bought the Queens Wharf and bonded store from the Provincial Council. Until 1876 the City Council leased the wharf out, but at this date started to manage the wharf directly.

The Wellington Harbour Board was constituted under the Harbours Act 1878, and the Wellington Harbour Board Act 1879 and commenced commercial operations in January 1880. The first election of the Board was held in February 1880 and its first meeting was held on the 20th February 1880. It took over the ownership of the Railway wharf from the government, and the adjacent breastwork of Waterloo Quay. Also that year the Board took over responsibility for the Pilot Stations, Signal Stations and role of Harbour Master from the General Government. From 1st October 1881 the Board acquired Queens Wharf and the Bond Store situated there from the City Council.

The Harbour Board also carried out the role of wharfinger. This involved the receipt of goods from the ships slings, and upon delivery of orders from the ship the delivery of such goods to the consignee or transhipping vessel. This cargo handling involved the Board in the employment of a special staff of permanent discharging foremen, shed foremen, storemen, toll clerks and labourers, supplemented with varying numbers of casual wharf labourers. The shipping companies employed the services of stevedoring companies for labour on the ships themselves.

The Board operated a signal station at Beacon Hill on the western side of the harbour entrance and a pilot station at Worser bay. A signal tower was situated on Pipitea Wharf to indicate to vessels their allocated berth. Specialised port facilities included the country’s largest floating dock (from 1931 and known as the Jubilee Dock), a Patent Slip in Evans Bay for smaller vessels (directly run by the Board from 1966), the Overseas Passenger Terminal for large passenger vessels, a ‘roll-on roll off’ ferry berth provided a rail link between the islands and a number of marinas for yachts and motor boats.

In 1986 the Labour Government commenced reviewing the activities of harbour boards throughout New Zealand and the Harbours Act Revision Committee decided to review the future of the Wellington Harbour Board. On the 17th June 1986 they recommended that the board be abolished and its commercial activities be undertaken by a company, and its regulatory and planning activities taken over by other local authorities.

In 1987 a port company was set up by the Harbour Board named Port of Wellington Ltd. All plant, equipment and fixed assets of the port were transferred to the company. The Operations Department continued to run the port on behalf of the company.

In 1987 and 1988 a restructuring of the Board was carried out. This saw the transfer of most of the functions of the Engineer’s Department to the Operations Department. The idea was that all staff whose jobs related to the running of the port would be in a departmental structure that could be easily transferred to Port of Wellington Ltd. The remains of the Engineer’s Department were consolidated into a new Department called the Engineering, Property and Planning Department which was under the control of the Deputy Manager.

From the 1st of October 1987 the Personnel Division of the Administration Department had been transferred to the Operations Department. This was further altered in March 1988 when a separate Personnel Department was created.

Port of Wellington Ltd took over the running of the port from the 1st of October 1988 and most of the staff and functions of the Operations Department, Marketing Department, Personnel Department and the Finance Department were transferred to the company and creased to exist as part of the Board. As the running of the port was now being carried out by Port of Wellington Ltd, the Engineering, Property and Planning Department was disestablished.

The Harbour Board would continue on for one more year. The Harbour Master, Signal Services and Recreation Services (which included Boat Harbours/Marinas) had remained with the Harbour Board, as they were not functions that the Port Company was intended to run. Following the disestablishment of the Board on 31 October 1989, the Harbour Master and Signal Services were transferred to the Wellington Regional Council and Recreation Services was split up between the various City Councils.Internal StructuresThe Harbour Board had a number of principal officers, each with their own department and each with their own responsibilities in connection with the running of the port. They were as follows:

- The Chief Accountant – in charge of the Accounts Department, position established 1885
- The Chief Engineer - in charge of the Engineer’s Department (aka the Engineering Department), position established 1881
- The Harbour Master – in charge of the Harbour Department, position established 1880
- The Secretary to the Board – in charge of the Head Office Department, position established 1880
- The Wharfinger – in charge of the Wharves and Quays Department, position established 1881

In 1916, to better reflect the work carried out, and to give the Wharfinger greater authority, a new role of Traffic Manager and Chief Wharfinger was created. The Wharves and Quays Department was renamed to the Traffic Department.

In 1923 the role of General Manager was created. The General Manager was responsible to the Board for the co-ordination and efficient management of all the Board’s officers, activities and properties.

In 1977 the Town and Country Planning Act was passed by Parliament. This was the first Planning Act to have provisions for maritime planning. Following this, in 1979 a maritime planning area was established for Wellington Harbour and the Harbour Board was appointed the Maritime Planning Authority for it. As part of this role the Harbour Board was required to produce a Maritime Planning Scheme. A draft scheme was published in 1985 and the final operative scheme was published in November 1988.

In 1984 the existing General Manager, Harbour Master, Secretary and Treasurer all retired. A new General Manager was appointed and he recommended a restructuring of the Board’s departmental structure and senior management positions. This saw the following departments created:
- The Administration Department – from the Head Office Department
- The Finance Department – from the Accounts Department
- The Marketing Department – a new department created from the Head Office Department
- The Operations Department – a new department created from amalgamating the Traffic and Harbour Departments
- The Engineer’s Department was largely unaltered.

New management positions were created for the Finance, Marketing and Operations Departments. The Chief Engineer continued to be in charge of the Engineer’s Department and the Secretary continued to be in charge of the new Administration Department.

Series

Wellington Harbour Board LT (Little Tracings) plans

Wellington Harbour Board Bond Store plans

Wellington Harbour Board Photograph Albums

Wellington Harbour Board Miscellaneous Workers Wage Books

Wellington Harbour Board Berthage and Harbour Improvement Rates Ledgers

Wellington Harbour Board Berthage and Harbour Improvement Rates Journals

Wellington Harbour Board General Manager's files

Wellington Harbour Board Suburban Wharves Record Books

Wellington Harbour Board Traffic Manager's Letters

Wellington Harbour Board Board and Committee Meeting Papers

Wellington Harbour Board Harbour Department unregistered files

Wellington Harbour Board Harbour Department files

Wellington Harbour Board Operations Department files

Wellington Harbour Board Rough Minutes

Wellington Harbour Board Newspaper Reports, Sundry NZ Harbour Board Meetings

Wellington Harbour Board Index to Circulars

Wellington Harbour Board Finding Aids, Indexes and Registers

Wellington Harbour Board Examples of Administrative Records

Wellington Harbour Board Photographic Negatives

Wellington Harbour Board Photographic Glass Plate Negatives, 1895-1955

Wellington Harbour Board Photographic Negatives, Circa 1880-1948

Wellington Harbour Board Bylaws and regulations - printed

Wellington Harbour Board Publication

Agency or Organisation

CentrePort Wellington

WHB, Traffic Department

WHB, Operations Department

WHB, Head Office Department

WHB, Harbour Department

WHB, Chief Engineer's Department

WHB, Administration Department

WHB, Accounts Department

Place

Evans Bay Patent Slip

Wellington Harbour Board Floating Dock

Related Agencies

Successor Agency or OrganisationCentrePort Wellington

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Wellington Harbour Board