Sign of the Kiwi and the Sign of the Takahe

In 1909 the Summit Road Scenic Reserves Board was formed to promote Harry Ell's vision of a road to provide public access to all parts of the Port Hills. Ell also advocated the provision of rest houses along the Summit Road. The two most substantial structures were the Sign of the Kiwi (1916) and the Sign of the Takahe (1918-48).

The Sign of the Kiwi was designed by architect Samuel Hurst Seager who also designed two other rest houses, the Sign of the Packhorse and the Sign of the Bellbird. Seager was a major proponent of the arts and crafts style and the Sign of the Kiwi reflects this stylistic convention. An important landmark on the crest of the Port Hills, the design of the Kiwi strives to blend into the setting of the natural environment, a design philosophy in keeping with the principles of the arts and crafts movement.

The Kiwi has recently undergone a restoration programme that has seen the interior returned to Seager's original architectural and aesthetic intent and its original function as a teahouse.

The building of the Takahe was not completed until 1948 - more than a decade after Harry Ell's death in 1934. Begun in 1918, the Sign of the Takahe opened for business in 1920 and was known as the Tram Terminus Rest house. Taken over by the City Council in 1942, the completed building was officially opened in 1949 as the Sign of the Takahe. The Sign of the Takahe was refurbished in 2004 to plans approved by the City Council’s heritage officers.

Though the design involved the work of architect J G Collins, it is not known whether Collins was involved in this project prior to 1934 when the first plans for the Takahe appear in the Armson and Collins collection of architectural plans. However the Gothic style of the building was very much part of Harry Ell's vision.

Related pages

• Henry George Ell

Sources

This was originally derived from the Christchurch City Council handbook of 1998.