PumpHouse Theatre | |
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General information | |
Location | 2a Manurere Avenue, Takapuna, Auckland New Zealand |
Coordinates | 36°47′07″S174°46′04″E / 36.7853192°S 174.767757°E |
Completed | 1906 |
Owner | North Shore Theatre and Arts Trust (The Pumphouse Theatre) |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | H Metcalfe [1] |
Main contractor | Mays and Gordon [1] |
Designated | 4-April-1983 |
Reference no. | 694 |
The PumpHouse Theatre is an artist-led arts centre that presents theatre and other events in the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand.
The pumphouse was originally built on the shore of Lake Pupuke as a pumping stations to provide freshwater for the local community. The building was opened in 1906. [2] The pumping machinery was removed in 1931 when a new water supply was sourced from the Waitakere Ranges, and the building was used for water treatment until it was closed in 1941. [1] The building then began to fall into disrepair. In 1968 two hundred people attended a public meeting in support of preserving the building and turning it into an arts venue. Things got heated as local residents clashed with council and North Shore Horticultural Society who also wanted the land. The casting vote of Mayor Fred Thomas saved the building and local residents began work to renovate and convert the derelict building into a community theatre and arts centre. [3]
In 1983, the pumphouse was classified as a Category II Historic Building by The New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now Heritage New Zealand). [4]
The North Shore Theatre and Arts Trust (The Pumphouse Theatre) was established as a Registered Charitable Trust in 1971. [5] Major fundraising began with the establishment of the annual "PumpHouse Picnics". [6]
The PumpHouse was converted to a theatre and arts centre, and opened in 1977 by Takapuna City Council Mayor Fred Thomas. [7] [8] Margaret Escott was a founding member of the trust board and was a writer and director. She wrote the play Saved that opened the theatre, a melodrama set in colonial Auckland. She died in the same year and it is said her ghost haunts the greenroom. [9] [10]
The updated trust deed of the North Shore Theatre and Arts Trust, as filed in December 2018, states that the objectives of the trust include: [5]
(a) to promote the preservation, protection and development of The PumpHouse on Lake Pupuke
(b) to use The PumpHouse as a centre to encourage and promote the arts for the interest and participation of the North Shore general public
(c) to promote and encourage the arts including all forms of theatre arts, music, drama, poetry and the visual arts, applied arts, crafts, the art of film and ballet and the study of the arts with the assistance of the Friends of the PumpHouse ...
The PumpHouse has three main areas available for events: [11]
In 2017, the main auditorium was renamed the Genevieve Becroft Auditorium. This was to recognise the contribution of Genevieve Becroft towards saving the historic pumphouse building, and her role as patron of the arts. [12]
Devonport is a harbourside suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the North Shore, at the southern end of the Devonport Peninsula that runs southeast from near Lake Pupuke in Takapuna, forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. East of Devonport lies North Head, the northern promontory guarding the mouth of the harbour.
The North Shore is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is defined as the northern shores of the Waitematā Harbour as far north as the Ōkura River.
Lake Pupuke is a heart-shaped freshwater lake occupying a volcanic crater between the suburbs of Takapuna and Milford on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The heart shape is a result of its formation by the linking of two circular craters – a larger one forming most of the lake and a smaller one forming the arm in the northeast. Separated from the sea by less than 200 m at one point, it has a circumference of about 4.5 km and reaches 57 m in depth. It is popular for recreational activities and the lakefront property around it.
Northcote is a suburb of Auckland in northern New Zealand. It is situated on the North Shore, on the northern shores of Waitematā Harbour, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) northwest of the Auckland City Centre. The suburb includes the peninsula of Northcote Point where the northern approaches to the Auckland Harbour Bridge are located, and Northcote Central, the commercial centre of Northcote. Northcote features two volcanic maars.
East Coast Bays is a string of small suburbs that form the northernmost part of the North Shore, part of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. The suburbs line the north-east coast of the city along the shore of the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto Channel. They include, from north to south, Long Bay, Torbay, Waiake Bay, Browns Bay, Rothesay Bay, Murrays Bay, Mairangi Bay, Campbells Bay and Castor Bay. Most of the East Coast Bays are covered under the East Coast Bays subdivision of the Hibiscus and Bays local board area.
Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is an isthmus between Shoal Bay, arm of the Waitematā Harbour, and the Hauraki Gulf. Lake Pupuke, a volcanic maar and one of the oldest features of the Auckland volcanic field, is a freshwater lake located in the suburb.
Milford is a suburb located on the North Shore, Auckland. It is located on northern side of Lake Pupuke. It also has a popular swimming beach, which runs some two kilometres from Black Rock in the south to Castor Bay in the north. The Wairau Creek reaches the sea at the Hauraki Gulf at the northern end of Milford Beach, and its lower tidal reaches host the Milford Marina.
Hillcrest is a suburb of the contiguous Auckland metropolitan area located in New Zealand. Since 2010, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Auckland Council, and is located in the North Shore, surrounded by Glenfield, Wairau Valley, Northcote and Birkenhead. The Auckland Northern Motorway passes to the east.
Belmont is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located on the North Shore. The suburb is in the North Shore ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council.
Carmel College is a Catholic secondary school for girls located in Milford on Auckland's North Shore. It was established by the Sisters of Mercy in 1957 starting with a student roll of only 15 girls. The College's brother school is nearby Rosmini College.
Castor Bay is a bay and suburb of the North Shore, located in Auckland which is in the North Island of New Zealand. Located between Milford and Campbells Bay, it is part of the East Coast Bays. To the east lies the islands of Rangitoto and Motutapu, which are easily visible from land. The suburb is in the North Shore ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council.
The Regent on Broadway is a large theatre in Palmerston North, New Zealand, named so because it is the Regent Theatre on Broadway Avenue.
Campbells Bay is a suburb of the North Shore located in Auckland, New Zealand.
The St James Theatre is a heritage stage theatre and cinema located near Queen Street in Auckland, New Zealand. Built in 1928, it was a replacement for the older Fuller's Opera House and was originally designed for vaudeville acts. Its architect Henry Eli White also designed many other famous theatres in Australia and New Zealand including the St James Theatre in Wellington and the State Theatre in Sydney.
Cicely Margaret Escott was a New Zealand novelist, playwright, poet and drama teacher. She was best known for her novel Show Down, published in 1936. The United States edition was titled I Told My Love. A second edition was published in New Zealand in 1973. In later life she worked in theatre, and wrote a final volume of poems shortly before her death.
Pumphouse may refer to:
Ralph Hamilton Roberts was a New Zealand sailor and sports administrator.
Devonport-Takapuna is a local government area in Auckland, in New Zealand's Auckland Region, governed by the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board and Auckland Council. It currently aligns with the council's North Shore Ward.
New Zealand performing arts venues are places in New Zealand that are set up to host performing arts and music events such as theatre, dance and concerts.
The Pupuke Rugby League Club were a rugby league club which existed briefly in 1917 and competed in the Auckland Rugby League competitions. They were based in Takapuna on Auckland's North Shore in New Zealand.
Media related to Lake Pupuke pumphouse at Wikimedia Commons