This is a recording of a talk called Building Better Britain: Victorian Architecture in New Zealand, 1840 – 1901 by Ian Lochhead which was recorded on 6th March 2024.
Building Better Britain: Victorian Architecture in New Zealand, 1840 – 1901
The nineteenth-century colonisation of New Zealand was seen as an opportunity to establish a new society on the far side of the world that would perpetuate British culture while avoiding the poverty, overcrowding and industrial pollution that afflicted contemporary Britain. While settler architecture in New Zealand inevitably drew inspiration from British prototypes it also reflected the environment of the new land. A range of factors, including the threat of earthquakes, the abundance of timber as a building material and the boon-and–bust cycles of the colonial economy shaped an architecture that was recognisably British yet distinctively of its place in the South Pacific.
Ian Lochhead taught Art History at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 1981 to 2014. He has written extensively on the history of New Zealand architecture. His publications include, A Dream of Spires: Benjamin Mountfort and the Gothic Revival (1999), a study of one of New Zealand’s leading Victorian architects, ‘Experiments in Ecclesiology: Anglican Church Building in Colonial New Zealand’ in Ecclesiology Abroad: Studies in Victorian Architecture & Design, (2012) and an account of New Zealand colonial architecture in Architecture and Urbanism in the British Empire, edited by G.A. Bremner, (2016).
After booking a ticket, you will be given access to the recording of the event. Please ignore the event date in the listings.
This event helps raise funds for The Victorian Society - the only charity dedicated to fighting for our Victorian and Edwardian heritage. Join us today and safeguard our unique cultural heritage for future generations! For further information, click here.
The Victorian Society is an IHBC recognised CPD provider.
I mage: Government House, Auckland
