28-494: The Old Bank Arcade is a retail and office complex on a corner site at Lambton Quay , Wellington , New Zealand. The property consists of four buildings built between 1883 and 1904. The most prominent is the Bank of New Zealand building (no. 1) on the wedge-shaped corner of Lambton Quay and Customhouse Quay. It was designed by Thomas Turnbull for the Bank of New Zealand and is located on
56-592: A brick chimney) occurred, though several other buildings were damaged. Reports identify at least another four people (possibly as many as eight) as having died in the Wairarapa during the earthquake and a bridge over the Hutt River was wrecked. Numerous landslides were associated with the earthquake, including the harbour-side cliffs near Newlands and numerous events along the slopes of the Rimutaka Range. Minor damage
84-533: A large-scale die off of Durvillaea was observed following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake . The removal of D. antarctica along the Wellington coastline in 1855 (or earlier) would have created an ecological opportunity, which may have facilitated a northward range expansion for Durvillaea poha from the South Island. The earthquake generated New Zealand's largest historical locally generated tsunami , with
112-480: A major commercial thoroughfare. In 2020 it was estimated that about 70,000 people travel on Lambton Quay and Willis Street each day, mostly on foot or by bus. It is also of administrative significance, with the New Zealand Parliament Buildings towards the northern end. The Wellington Cenotaph is also located at this end, next to Parliament. The Wellington Cable Car runs from Lambton Quay to
140-489: A recurrence interval of about 2200 years. At least ten large earthquakes were identified along the fault during the Holocene. Three of the most recent, including the 1855 earthquake, produced average slips of 16.5 m (54 ft) ± 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in). The unusually large slip to rupture length ratio meant the earthquake would have been a high stress drop, hence, energetic event. This may be possibly attributed to
168-432: Is the heart of the central business district of Wellington , the capital city of New Zealand. Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll across the road and enter the shops on the opposite side. It was the site of the original European settlement in 1840 (following initial settlement on flood-prone land at Petone ), which grew into Wellington. In
196-426: Is unusually large for an earthquake associated with movement on a mainly strike-slip fault, and the coseismic offset would have been the largest known for such an event. It has been suggested that this was caused by the rupture propagating down to where the fault links through to the top of the subducting Pacific plate. That such megathrust coupling with overlying surface faults is possible was subsequently observed with
224-418: The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake , and a new model for a subset of shallow megathrust earthquakes, including this earthquake, was developed. Other evidence for this hypothesis is geomorphological evidence, particularly the uplifted beach ridges observed at Turakirae Head , that appear to record three previous coseismic uplifts of the Rimutaka Range caused by earthquakes similar in magnitude to the 1855 event, with
252-578: The Bank of New Zealand Building (no. 4) (formerly the New Zealand Accident & Insurance Company building) at 29 Hunter Street. The Bank of New Zealand Building (no. 2) was built for the Wellington Building and Investment Company in 1904. It was designed by Thomas Turnbull to be a sympathetic neighbour to his Bank of New Zealand building next door. It was bought by the Bank of New Zealand in 1917. The National Mutual Life Association building
280-675: The Cook Strait area of New Zealand , including Marlborough in the South Island and Wellington and the Wairarapa in the North Island . In Wellington, close to the epicentre , shaking lasted for at least 50 seconds. The moment magnitude of the earthquake has been estimated as 8.2, the most powerful recorded in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840. This earthquake
308-456: The 19th century Pipitea Pa was situated at the extreme northern end of Lambton Quay – the section of road in this area is now known as Thorndon Quay. Land uplift caused by the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake and further reclamation have left Lambton Quay some 250 metres from the current shoreline. Kumototo Stream used to flow from the Terrace, down what is now Woodward Street and across Lambton Quay to
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#1733085552844336-831: The Arcade to the BNZ Centre opened in February 1999, and shops began opening for business in the complex in March 1999. A $ 150,000 musical clock was installed as a centrepiece in the refurbished building. Each hour, four petals open to reveal animated scenes relating to the life and times of the former Bank of New Zealand site. The clock was made by Timetech Systems Ltd of Lower Hutt, with robotic work contracted to Miramar-based firm Robotechnology Ltd. [REDACTED] Media related to BNZ Building, Lambton Quay, Wellington at Wikimedia Commons Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach )
364-472: The Bank of New Zealand acquiring land at the corner of Willis Street for their new BNZ Centre . After 1984 the buildings fell into disrepair until renovation as the Old Bank Arcade in 1997. The Australian company Ipoh bought the four buildings from Wellington City Council for $ 1 in 1994, on the understanding that they would refurbish the site. In 1997, plans were announced for a $ 26 million redevelopment of
392-620: The boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates . In the South Island most of the relative displacement between these plates is taken up along a single dextral (right lateral) strike-slip fault with a major reverse component, the Alpine Fault . In the North Island the displacement is mainly taken up along the Kermadec subduction zone , although the remaining dextral strike-slip component of
420-611: The colonies". This building is classified as a "Category I" ("places of 'special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value'") historic place by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust . Other buildings on the site are the Bank of New Zealand Building (no. 2) , at 233-237 Lambton Quay, the Bank of New Zealand Building (no. 3) (formerly the National Mutual Life Association of Australasia building) at 98-102 Customhouse Quay and
448-454: The event, as shown by the series of "Shoreline 1840" plaques. At Turakirae Head the newest raised beach was formed by an uplift of 6.4 m (21 ft) in the 1855 quake. Along with other historic earthquakes in the Wellington region, the severe uplift and landslides along the coastline caused by the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake would have likely extirpated local populations of Durvillaea antarctica southern bull kelp. For comparison,
476-462: The four Bank of New Zealand buildings into a retail and office complex. Downer Construction was the chosen contractor. At the time, a manager from Downer said that one of the challenges would be "to lift the buildings, and hold them up while pouring several thousand cubic metres of concrete in the basement without dropping it". Downer put the foundations on rubber and lead bearings as part of earthquake strengthening measures. An underground walkway linking
504-501: The geologically young nature of the fault, being about 1 to 3 million years old, making it an immature structure. Faults in their early developmental stage have been observed to generate earthquakes with the most greatest stress drop and strong ground motion . Wellington experienced severe shaking but the resulting damage was reduced as the city had been extensively rebuilt following the 1848 Marlborough earthquake using mainly wooden structures; only one recorded fatality (by collapse of
532-955: The hotel fell on him, after which it became the Criterion Hotel, a name it kept until at least 1887. By 1900 buildings on the Quay included the Royal Hotel, government printer, Old Government Buildings , Central Police Station, Club Hotel, Occidental Hotel, Commercial Union and New Zealand Insurance companies, Trust & Loan Co, Star Hotel, Baker Bros, Union Bank of Australia , Bank of New South Wales , South British Insurance , Colonial Bank , Exchange Building , Barrett's Hotel and Equitable Building Investment Co. 41°16′54″S 174°46′34″E / 41.281615°S 174.776043°E / -41.281615; 174.776043 1855 Wairarapa earthquake The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9.17 p.m., affecting much of
560-638: The relative plate motion is accommodated by the North Island Fault System (NIFS). A group of dextral strike-slip structures, known as the Marlborough fault system , transfer displacement between the mainly transform and convergent type plate boundaries in a complex zone at the northern end of the South Island. The earthquake occurred on the Wairarapa Fault which is part of the NIFS. The earthquake
588-457: The site of Plimmer's Ark . Built by T. Carmichael, it is a brickwork shell with timber flooring, pressed metal ceilings and plaster decoration. The Bank of New Zealand operated a branch on the ground floor of this building from its opening in 1901 until 1984. The banking hall was described by the New Zealand Mail of 1901 as "a handsome, lofty room, said to be one of the largest of its kind in
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#1733085552844616-530: The top of the Botanic Garden . James Henry Marriott , who arrived from London in 1843, had a bookshop here. The length of Lambton Quay is punctuated by several notable sculptures. Dense bush, down to the harbour's edge, covered much of the area until 1840 and, at the site of the Old Bank Arcade , it could be hard to get round the rocks at high tide at what was then Windy Point, or Clay Point. The Point
644-537: The waterfront. This stream was culverted in the late 19th century. Lambton Quay is named after John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham , the first chairman of directors of the New Zealand Company . Lambton Quay, Willis Street , Manners Street and Courtenay Place form what is known locally as the Golden Mile . The city's retail trade has spread further south to also include Cuba Street , but Lambton Quay remains
672-534: Was also designed by Thomas Turnbull. It was erected in 1883–1884, and at that time was the tallest building in Wellington. It is the oldest of the four buildings making up the Old Bank Arcade site. The Bank of New Zealand bought this building in 1963. The fourth building on the site is the New Zealand Accident & Insurance Building, designed by Hislop and Walden and erected in 1903. The Bank of New Zealand bought this building in 1938. Wellington City Council took possession of all four buildings in 1975, in exchange for
700-450: Was associated with the largest directly observed movement on a strike-slip fault, maximum 18 metres (59 ft). This was later revised upward to about 20 m (66 ft) slip, with a local peak of 8 m (26 ft) vertical displacement on lidar studies. It has been suggested that the surface rupture formed by this event helped influence Charles Lyell to link earthquakes with rapid movement on faults . New Zealand lies along
728-603: Was associated with the rupturing of approximately 150 km (93 mi) of the Wairarapa Fault. A horizontal displacement of up to 18 metres (59 ft) was accompanied by uplift and tilting of the Rimutaka Range on the northwestern side of the fault with vertical offsets of about 6 metres near the fault reducing to almost nothing on the western coast of the Wellington Peninsula. The estimated magnitude of about 8.2
756-401: Was dug away between 1857 and 1863 to reclaim 7 acres 3 roods 34 perches (almost 8 acres (3.2 ha)). The name Lambton Quay was in use by the end of 1840. On 22 October 1840 Barrett's Hotel, a 2-storey pub, opened at the north end of the Quay. The Wellington Hotel opened by 1843. Its owner, Baron Alzdorf, was the only Wellington person killed in the 1855 earthquake, when a chimney of
784-401: Was recorded in places as far away as New Plymouth , Lyttelton and Christchurch . The uplift of the northwestern side of Wellington Harbour rendered many of the jetties in the harbour unusable, although this new area of land provided a new rail and road route to the north. Much of modern Wellington's central business district is formed by reclamations on land raised from the harbour by
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