A recent change in the Auckland Unitary Plan has ensured that the Colonial Ammunition Company Bulk Store in Mt. Eden will remain standing as a symbol of bygone era for years to come.
This is welcome news for Albert-Eden Local Board. Protecting heritage places is an important aspect of preserving our shared heritage and they show us how our city came to be, says Albert-Eden Local Board Chair Margi Watson.
“Heritage spaces are a wonderful and important aspect of our unique identity. The story of the heritage Colonial Ammunition Company Bulk Store is fascinating, and I’m pleased that we will be able to protect this place for our future generations,” says Chair Watson.
The Colonial Ammunition Company, the earliest ammunitions company in Australasia, was founded by Major John Whitney in 1885. This was largely in response to a perceived threat of war with Russia following Anglo–Russian rivalry in Afghanistan in 1885.
The company produced ammunition for both World War I and II. The business closed in 1982, and the former bulk store, which is one of only three remaining structures associated with the Colonial Ammunition Company, has had a number of different owners since then. The Shot Tower behind the Bulk Store is already protected as a Historic Place Category 1 site with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, and is where the ammunition was made.
Read more on the Unitary Plan change here [PDF].
