The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 12, Issue 4 (July 1, 1937)
Largest in Dominion
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Largest in Dominion.
“The building itself is the largest building ever erected in the Dominion, and I venture to say no structure has ever received greater care in design to meet the present and future needs of the centre of New Zealand's railway system, or in its completion has given greater satisfaction to all concerned in it, that is the whole of the public of New Zealand, including the large staff of approximately 700 railway employees who will be accommodated here.
“Work on the building began on November 7th, 1933, its foundation stone was laid by his Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester on December 17th, 1934, so it will be seen that the whole work has been accomplished in three and a half years. The building itself is seven storeys in height, and covers an area of over one and a half acres. The platforms have an area of almost two acres, and supply a total frontage of one mile. The building has 250 rooms, a floor space of 185,000 square feet, and three-quarters of a mile of passages. The total floor area of the building amounts to nearly five acres.
“Some further idea of the magnitude of the building may be gathered from the fact that nearly 10 miles of reinforced concrete piles were driven under the foundation, and 150 tons of coal used in keeping the steam hammer going to drive them. Ten thousand yards of excavation were necessary. The concrete-mixers dealt with 15,000 yards of shingle and 12,000 yards of sand. Five thousand tons of cement went into the concrete and plaster-work, the latter including 6½ acres of wall surface and 12 acres of floors. One and three-quarter million
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(Rly. Publcity photo.)
Arrival of His Excellency, Viscount Galway (centre right) to perform the opening oeremony. With him are the Hon. D. G. Sullivan (left), Mr. G. H. Mackley, General Manager (right), and (in uniform) the Stationmaster, Mr. E. J. Guthrie.
bricks are incorporated in the walls, together with 1,500 tons of New Zealand granite and marble. The steel skeleton contains 2,200 tons of steel joined up with 100,000 rivets. Five miles of iron water pipes are embedded in the walls. An area of 21 acres has been painted, and there are two acres of glass in the building. The sum of £120,000 has been paid in wages to workers on the job and an equal amount in outside workshops and quarries.
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