Auckland city’s newest arts centre is nearly complete and art work is on the way.

The TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre, an exciting new arts venue located in Monte Cecilia Park in Hillsborough, will open to the public on Sunday, 15 August.

The new arts centre is located in Pah Homestead, a heritage building of great historic importance to New Zealand.

Over the past year, Auckland City Council has restored the homestead with support from TSB Bank to prepare it to become the permanent home of the James Wallace Arts Trust collection.

The trust is currently hanging art work for the opening exhibition.

The arts centre will feature a changing programme of exhibitions curated from the James Wallace Arts Trust collection. It will also host occasional touring shows and house an artist in residence in partnership with the University of Otago.

The free public opening will be celebrated on Sunday, 15 August from noon until 4pm, including artists and heritage talks, guided tours of the park and great activities for children. Keep an eye on City Scene for more details closer to the time.

Pah Homestead – a long history

Pah Homestead was built between 1877 and 1879 as Auckland businessman James Williamson’s “gentleman’s residence”. Designed by architect Edward Mahoney using the popular Italianate style, it was the largest home in the Auckland province at the time.

The house remains largely as it was built, with almost all of its original door and window joinery, elaborate ceiling roses, parquet floors and marble fireplaces intact.

When Williamson died in 1888, the lavish establishment was taken over by the Bank of New Zealand and, after being subdivided and sold, it was leased to the Anglican Church. The homestead subsequently housed St John’s Collegiate School from 1902 until 1912.

In 1913, the Sisters of Mercy and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland purchased the homestead. While it was owned by the Sisters of Mercy and later the Catholic Diocese, the house served many purposes, including as an orphanage and a boarding school.

The council purchased the homestead in 2002. Attention to heritage detail has ensured the building has been faithfully restored, while benefiting from hidden modern services, security systems and structural strengthening.