The former Government Building is so interesting. Built in 1875-1876, it housed the first independent government of New Zealand. It was supposed to be built of wood and concrete, but due to the high cost of concrete at the time it was constructed only from native kauri wood. It was the second largest wooden structure in the world until 1998. Only the Todai-ji in Nara, Japan was larger. The kauri wood (which is now a protected wood) was positioned to mimic a Italianate, neo-Renaissance stone building to convey the strength of the young country. Since the building was built out of wood and not stone, it survived earthquakes as it is situated near a fault line. The wooden structure also had another potential risk. Fire. Due to the concerns for a fire, the building always banned smoking making it the first building worldwide to have a smoke free policy. Especially loved the hanging staircases which posed inherent risks until the building was restored and the stairs were reinforced with steel hidden to support the stairs. Read the information and look at the photos to see how they were propped up over the years. Today, the Old Government Buildings house the law school. Good for a quick visit before or after exploring the Parliament Buildings in Wellington. read more

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