Heart of the City: Remembering the area's history
Published in The Southland Tribune | 12th March 2025
This month is Southland Heritage Month where a focus is put on all things Southland heritage, from buildings, to people, to historic businesses, and much more.
The Invercargill Club’s 146-year presence…
The Invercargill Club’s origins in the heart of Invercargill dates back to 1879. Its home base was initially located at the old Albion Hotel in The Crescent.
In 1892, the club moved to a purpose-built clubhouse, designed by Charles Gilbertson, at 32 Don St.
To this day, the Invercargill Club still operates out of that 32 Don St building.
It’s been described as a fine example of 19th-century architecture and is now listed as a Category 2 historic place.
Tucked around the corner from the main entrance underneath the spiral staircase is a wooden door marked “Strangers Room”.
These days it is used as the women's toilets, but when the building was constructed such a thing did not exist at 32 Don Street.
Wives, not being permitted at the “Gentlemen's Club”, had to wait in the Strangers Room while their husbands finished their whisky and cigars.
While initially a men-only club, women were eventually allowed to join as members in 1997.
The Invercargill Club has been located at 32 Don St since 1892.
From a tussock filled piece of land to pizzas…
John Kelly, an Irishman, was the first European settler to make the area now called Invercargill home.
In fact, for a brief period the area was known as Inverkelly before later being named Invercargill after Captain William Cargill.
In 1856 Kelly built a whare in Invercargill for his family.
At best guess that hut was situated close to where Esk St Eats now is as part of the Invercargill Central development.
Sadly, Kelly died shortly after Invercargill was formally established and was the first entry in the local death register in 1857.
That location is now a long way removed from a time when Kelly made a tussock-filled piece of land home. Nearby now sits Reading Cinemas and a Sal’s Pizza outlet.
Descendants of Kelly, from throughout New Zealand, gathered in March 2023 as Invercargill Central representatives unveiled a photo display to be hung close to where Kelly’s hut once was.
That photo display is a nod to the location’s past.
Invercargill’s first church…
Invercargill's first Presbyterian service was held in 1856, and the first minister, Reverend A.H. Stobo, was inducted in 1860.
The first church building, a timber structure on Tay St, was opened on March 15, 1863, and was the town's largest building at the time.
A building fund was established in 1889 to fund a new church, and the Jubilee celebrations in 1910 provided impetus for the project.
The foundation for the new church and associated Sunday School was laid in 1908.
Architect John Mair, an Invercargill native who returned from overseas study, designed the new church in the Italo-Byzantine style, which is unique in New Zealand.
The new church was built between 1912 and 1915, with the original church closing in August 1912 and the new church opening on February 10, 1915.
The church features a 32-meter tower that is a landmark in Invercargill and is built from local bricks.
The sanctuary was re-modelled in 2016-17 following a fire in late November 2015.
The bank building that has stood the test of time…
This former Bank of New South Wales building on the corner of Tay and Dee Streets in Invercargill has lasted the test of time. It remains a prominent statement piece in Invercargill’s central city landscape.
Although over the years it had fallen into a state of disrepair and at times there were concerns if it would stay standing into the future.
It stands on the site of Invercargill’s first commercial premises, which was opened in 1856.
The building was designed by C.J Brodrick and became home to the Bank of New South Wales in 1904.
It was one of four key buildings that have stood on the corners of the intersection, though today just three remain.
C.J Brodrick was instrumental in the design of many other Invercargill buildings, including the Grand Hotel.
When the building was vacated in the 1990s, the building went through two ownerships before being purchased by the Troopers Memorial Corner Charitable Trust in a derelict state.
After substantial funding efforts, the building has been structurally strengthened and restored.
The building has since been purchased by HWCP Management Ltd, a joint partnership, that has carried out the major city block development, which includes Invercargill Central.