The building and adjacent land is one of the largest freehold development sites left in the Auckland CBD.

It was given to the Church, in 1947, by the Buxton family for religious charitable and educational purposes.

Newman Hall was officially opened as a social, cultural and educational instruction centre for Catholic tertiary students in 1962.

In recent years it has been the home for the Auckland Catholic Tertiary Centre (ACTC). It also housed of the Catholic Institute of Theology which closed in 2012.

The 1860s' building has a Category A historic place listing. It retains many of its original heritage features, including sash windows on the ground floor, timber skirting boards, timber wall panelling, decorative cornices and pressed metal rose ceilings.

The Auckland Diocese had proposed a conservation plan for Newman Hall and had developed concept plans for a 10,000 square metre high-rise office building and car-parking on the land behind the hall.

Last year the plans were put on hold because of heritage issues surrounding the site of a fresh water spring located on the land.

Called Wai Ariki, or Chiefly Waters, the spring had been listed as a Site of Significance to Mana Whenua under the unitary plan.

At the time the diocese said, if it was not possible to go ahead with the proposed development of the land behind the Hall, it would not be able to complete the restoration of Newman Hall.

Once the sale of Newman Hall has taken place, the diocese is offering to take a one-year leaseback over the property, to allow a new owner some time to get a development scheme in place for the freehold site.

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The property is also home to a freshwater spring that was essential to life at two local pa and their surrounding gardens.

Called Wai Ariki, or chiefly waters, the spring has been listed as a Site of Significance to Mana Whenua under the incoming unitary plan.

Mana whenua scheduling requires property owners to seek iwi approval for work on their land.

In a deal with the Auckland City Council, the diocese of Auckland had received approval to develop land.

In return the diocese was committed to restore Newman Hall, a 150-year-old category A listed historic building in Waterloo Quadrant near the High Court.

The church says it now does not know what it can do with the site.

The Auckland Diocese has opposed the Newman Hall listing in a submission to the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan (PAUP).

It has been heavily critical of the mana whenua process.

Newman Hall was built around 1863 by Jewish businessman David Nathan, the founder of LD Nathan and Company.

The Catholic church has owned Newman Hall since the 1950s and uses it as the chaplaincy for Auckland University.

One of the two iwi which nominated the site for scheduling is Ngati Whatua o Orakei.

Trustee Ngarimu Blair said as far as he was aware the church had never spoken to the iwi about it.

Just because the site was scheduled didn't mean it couldn't be developed, he said.

"I thought sacred water would be something of value and interest to the church.

"The first thing is, they should come and talk to us - let's have a talk about how the significance of the spring can be preserved in any future development."

In the early days of European settlement local Maori used to trade the water with colonial ships, rolling it in barrels down to the waterfront, he said.

Later when iwi lost control of the land a bottling factory was built around the spring and the bottled water sold on Queen St.

Today the spring still bubbles through the ruins of the old factory, and some Ngati Whatua people collect it for use in ceremonies, he said.

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
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