Built to champion temperance, a Moray Pl building moved with the times, writes David Murray.
Old sash windows on the remodelled facade of the Oxford Buildings hint at a Victorian past, and indeed, the story of this structure dates back to the 1870s.
The Dunedin Temperance Hall Company built it for the use of temperance groups in their fight against what one clergyman described as ''great evils arising from intoxicating drinks''. The building was also to generate revenue from general hire. The mayor at the time, Andrew Mercer, laid the foundation stone on December 26, 1873, following a procession in which 1200 people took part, and the hall officially opened with a soiree, concert and dance on August 14, 1874.
The Temperance Hall was described in the Otago Daily Times as having a ''plain but substantial character''. The facade was designed in a simple Renaissance revival style, with rustication and round-headed windows at street level, curved and triangular pediments above the upper-level windows, and finely detailed cornices.
On the ground floor were offices and a ''lower hall'', or meeting room, and on the first floor a larger ''upper hall'' measured 72 feet (22m) x 43 feet (13m) and seated 750 people. It had a stage and gallery, and an elliptical cove ceiling of varnished kauri with skylights of stained glass. Robert Forrest was the architect and James Gore the building contractor.
Balls were held, dancing lessons given, and concerts and other entertainments performed. A few examples give some idea of the variety of activity: the Kennedy family sang popular Scottish ballads in 1874; world billiards champion John Roberts played a series of matches in 1876; tightrope walker Henry Morris (''The New Zealand Blondin'') appeared in 1878; and a waxwork exhibition in 1881 showed likenesses of the Kelly gang and other famous people.
Concerts included a chamber music series in 1890 organised by Raphael Squarise and Arthur Barmeyer through their Otago Conservatorio of Music. A four-day Maori Carnival in 1902 featured music, dance and craft stalls.
The Salvation Army held its first New Zealand meetings on April 1, 1883, with a service in the Temperance Hall preceding an outdoor gathering next to Cargill's Monument.
They continued to use the building for another three years before, in 1886, the Open Brethren became the principal tenants, and it was around this time that the name of the building was changed to the Choral Hall.
The Brethren were led by Alfred Brunton, whose choir of 100 was known throughout Otago for singing the new and emotionally fulsome ''Moody and Sankey'' style of evangelical songs. The Brethren continued to hold their meetings in the hall until 1920.
Many clubs and societies held meetings in the hall, including the Dunedin Burns Club. The Otago Art Society's annual exhibitions were shown on the premises from 1891 to 1906, and a young Frances Hodgkins was among those who exhibited there. The University of Otago's capping ceremonies took place there for a few years, and numerous political meetings and lectures were given. The latter included such topics as ''Reincarnation as a Factor in Evolution'' (by a theosophist) and ''Eighteen Months in the Canadian Far North'' (for the Otago Institute).
On July 11, 1889, New Zealand's first women's union, the Tailoresses' Union, held its inaugural meeting in the Choral Hall. On this occasion, the Rev Rutherford Waddell gave his celebrated speech denouncing working conditions and sweated labour in factories, breaking the scandal that led to the Sweating Commission that, in turn, influenced the passing of new legislation. The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) met in the hall and the Women's Franchise League of New Zealand grew out of it, holding its first meeting on April 28, 1892. The league played a pivotal role in the successful campaign for women's suffrage, widely circulating the petition that gained more than 30,000 signatures.
The Temperance Hall Company sold the building in 1882 due to debt and competition from other venues. It was then managed by D.C. Cameron, and in the early 20th century ownership passed to the Taylor Trustees. In the early 1920s, the main hall was converted to a clothing factory for Butterworth Bros. It employed about 40 staff, mostly machinists.
A fire broke out on March 16, 1927 - the same day that thousands gathered in the streets for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of York - and the blaze extensively damaged the upper level and roof. After rebuilding, the space was used by Sharland and Co (wholesale druggists), and later by the Dunedin Frock Manufacturing Co.
In 1932, architects Miller and White designed extensive alterations that involved the removal of the lower hall, relocation of the entrance and staircase, and construction of three new shops. The work was carried out by the Glue Construction Co and cost 2500. A new veranda used Wunderlich pressed metal, while shop fronts featured Australian rose mahogany woodwork, decorative leadlights, and orange and black terrazzo slabs. The work was described in the Evening Star as being in ''ultra-modern style''. The original decoration on the first-floor facade was retained for a few more years, but in 1944 was stripped away to give the building a plainer and more fashionable appearance. A new name, ''Oxford Buildings'', was added to the parapet in relief lettering.
Tenants of the shops included the auctioneers Spedding's (succeeded by Scandrett's), and milliner and seamstress Eliza Squire.
Modern Books occupied the shop at 25 Moray Pl from 1943 to 1954. It was run by the Dunedin Co-Operative Book Society, which had socialist ideals and aimed ''to foster the reading and writing and production of books, pamphlets, circulars and other publications of a nature that will promote an active and intelligent interest in progressive ideas and activities''. The shop specialised in New Zealand books, history, music and philosophy, as well as general literature. Landfall editor Charles Brasch was involved with the management and day-to-day running of the shop, which became popular with local literati. Janet Frame sometimes browsed in it during its last year or so, hoping to ''glimpse one of the literary figures of Dunedin or one visiting from up north''. From approximately 1956 to 1976 the same shop was occupied by Catholic Supplies.
The old upper hall became the Manhattan Lounge in 1960, with the gallery used as a bar (originally a coffee bar) and the floor below as a dance area. It was a favourite nightspot and was used for school dances. The lounge became the Manhattan Theatre in the 1980s and has changed little since.
The history of the Oxford Buildings is not widely known or much celebrated, but few examples of Dunedin's built heritage are associated with so many diversely significant events and activities in the city's social history.
Oxford Buildings
Built: 1873-1874
Address: 21-27 Moray Pl
Architect: Robert Forrest
Builder: James Gore
- Read more from David Murray at builtindunedin.com.
