Living Streets Aotearoa Lunchtime Walks -- Walk 3: Walk to Te Aro School via Flagstaff Hill
Category: Parts of the walk are uphill.
Meet at Plimmer statue at 12.30 pm; walk up Plimmer Steps to the seat and tiles commemorating the Brig Gertrudes arrival. Turn left along Boulcott Street through the subway and cross the street near St Marys. Turn right up OReily Tce and left along Terrace Gardens to Flagstaff Hill. Continue along to the steps that go up to Percival St, noting the Plischke designed Dixon St flats to your left and the steps leading down to the left. Turn right into Dixon and cross The Terrace, taking a path to the left just before the traffic lights. This path leads to the Student Union building at Victoria University, Kelburn Campus. Turning left just before the building, following the City-to-Sea arrows, leads to one of the best views in the city in Mount St Roman Catholic cemetery.
Follow the City to Sea orange arrows through the romantically overgrown cemetery to Waiteata Rd and follow it uphill until it reaches the Hugh Boyd playing field, which is the site of Terrace Gaol). A mound shows the site of the Governors house. Turn left before the Te Aro school and head down steps to The Terrace, crossing and turning left. Enjoy the new mural by Ellen Coup at the corner of The Terrace and Vivian St. Turn right into Vivian St and cross the road to join a path that rises over the motorway which dives into the tunnel. This path emerges in MacDonald Cres, at the foot of Dixon St steps. Turn right down Dixon St then turn left at the lights and stroll along Willis St to the city centre.
History of Flagstaff Hill: there were 3 Flagstaff Hills in Wellington. The Flagstaff Hill above Massey University was the site of a gun emplacement. In 1843 there was considerable alarm when news reached Wellington that there was trouble between Marlborough settlers and the natives. A volunteer Corps was formed and a gun battery was built mounted with two 18 pounder guns.
History of the Terrace Gaol: was established in the early 1850s to replace the Te Aro goal which was damaged in the 1848 earthquake. By the turn of the century the goal and grounds covered 12 acres and held 120 prisoners. The goal was known as the Hotel De Garvey, named after the prison governor of 20 years. Prisoners were used to excavate Woodward St and the cable car tunnels. Less capable prisoners were used to make bricks at Mt Cook (every brick had an arrow). These bricks were used to build Mt Cook Goal on corner of Buckle and Tasman Sts. The large mound by the school was the site of the Governors residence and was created when it was demolished and the site bulldozed.
Ernst Plischke
Ernst Plischke was an Austrian architect who came to NZ in 1939 to escape the Nazi regime. The Dixon St flats that you view on this walk were designed by Plischke and built between 1940 and 1942.
Other important designs in Wellington by Plischke are the Sutch House in Brooklyn and Massey House along Lambton Quay, which was Wellingtons first modern high-rise with its glass curtain walls.
www.livingstreets.org.nz - a 1.8 mi walking route in Wellington, New Zealand
Route Location
Start Lat/Lng: (-41.285764096072306, 174.775882959366)
City: Wellington
Country Name: New Zealand
Country Code: NZ
State Code:
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Route Stats
Activity: Walking
Distance: 1.8 mi
Max Elevation: 80.36999999999999 meters
Elevation Gain / Total Ascent: 11.6 meters
Data Source: MapMyWalk
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