Overnight Trip To New Waterfront Home

17 September 2003

The first section of an ex-Union Steam Ship Building (formerly the Greta Point Tavern) was transported overnight by truck to its new location north of Queens Wharf.

A further four sections of the building’s upper level are to be relocated during the next two weeks.  Site work has been underway since late July, with construction due for completion early next year. On its new site the building is to be known as ‘Steamship Wharf’.

Wellington Waterfront Ltd Chair Fran Wilde says: “The heart of the city’s waterfront is the perfect home for this piece of Wellington’s maritime past. The building will not only add to the historical character of the waterfront, it will be of great practical value connecting the North Queens Wharf and Queens Wharf areas; a place to enjoy the waterfront in any weather.” 

Developers, Steamship Wharf Ltd, plan to house a combination of restaurants, bars and function facilities in the building, which will be timber-clad and colonnaded on all sides. 

“Steamship Wharf’s traditional look is ideally suited to the family-oriented dining establishments we will have,” says Simon Meikle of Steamship Wharf Ltd.

The move has saved the historic building from demolition due to further residential development at Greta Point, where it was erected in the late 1800s by the Union Steam Ship Company. 

The building was originally one of a number of marine warehouses located next to the Greta Point slipway.  In the early 1980s it was converted into a restaurant and tavern.  

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