Tiles

These tiles once lined the corridors of the Railway Department Head Office building located at 75 Featherston Street, Wellington. They were part of a tessellated tile border.

The railway offices were designed by George Troup, a draughtsman and architect for New Zealand Railways. The foundation stone was laid in 1901 and the building was completed in 1903. It was an ornate Queen Anne-baroque style building with gables, balustrades and other architectural adornments. The interior decoration was equally elaborate.

The building was demolished in the early 1980s. Before it came down members of the public were invited to salvage materials, and Walter Cook grabbed these tiles. They are part of the Walter C Cook Collection of Decorative Arts which was donated to the National Museum in 1992. 

References

• Cook, Walter. 2020. Unpublished research notes provided to curator.
• Veitch, James. 1993. 'Troup, George Alexander'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2t49/troup-george-alexander
• Wellington City Libraries. 2020. ‘New Zealand Railways Head Office’. Wellington City Libraries website. https://wellington.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/104
• --- New Zealand Railway Offices, Wellington. Black and White photographic print, ca 1905-1908. Alexander Turnbull Library. https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.547371