Takapuna BC - Restoration of the Bayswater club

by Janet Watkins on 29 Mar 2006 One of new Zealand's sailing landmarks the Takapuna Boating Club's Bayswater Club house is set for restoration. It is classified on the Coastal Plan and with the North Shore City Council as Historic. The building is owned by the Takapuna Boating Club who has title to the land and sea bed by Order in Council.

As the property overlaps the shore line consents are required from both the ARC acting on behalf of DOC & the North Shore City Council.

Because the building is classified as Historic a Conservation Plan was required before any works could be done.

The property is designated in the Order in Council as a club house for the use of the Takapuna Boating Club and cannot be sold by the club.

To date the club has spent about $25,000 on the Conservation Plan and Resource Consent Applications, $15,000 of which was sponsored by LOTTO.

The Club now has the necessary Resource Consents to restore the Foundations but before this can commence a full engineering report and quotes are required to enable the Club to apply for the necessary funding to complete the works.

Stage 1 involves the removal of the mud which has accumulated since the establishment of the Bayswater Marina, from around the foundations to facilitate the investigations. This work is now being undertaken with the very welcome assistance of the Probation Service. The mud will be held, in the interim, in the Old Swimming Pool adjacent to the Club house and on completion of the restoration of the foundations the mud will be removed from the pool. (The pool is also historic and its future is yet to be determined.)

As soon as the engineering reports have been completed and we have the necessary quotes funding will be sought and the restoration work on the building will commence as soon as the funding has been set in place. The club will apply to various Heritage Funds to assist with this work.

On completion of the foundation works, work will commence on the replacement of the roof and restoration and refurbishment of the exterior all of which are dependent on the funding available.

The $100,000.00 promised by BML Ltd in 1990 in lieu of the relinquishing the rights to the Northern Reclamation is now held in trust for the use of the restoration processes.

The Takapuna Boating Club is committed to the restoration of this historic building which is an icon of the Bayswater environment. It is an amazing building, built by club volunteers in 1920. The top deck is a full dance hall with stage, once a very popular venue for dances and now used by a sail maker and a parachute maker.

The middle deck is a smaller hall with a kitchen, toilets and showers and various offices and is now used by the Boating Club, the Vintage Jazz group and a wind surfing school. The lower deck is lockers and boat storage where the club’s fleet of mirror sailing dinghies is stored.

For clubwebsite see: www.takapunaboating.org.nz