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Old Bank Arcade in Wellington
Wellington and surrounding
Architecture
Architecture

The Old Bank Arcade in Wellington, New Zealand is neither an arcade nor a bank. This is a shopping center located, as the name suggests, in the old bank. Inside there is a unique animated mechanical musical clock. It opens every hour like a magic box, showing visitors scenes of the past and present of Wellington Harbor.

The Bank of New Zealand, the architectural gem of the city, opened its headquarters in 1901. But eventually, it fell into disrepair. It was decided to start restoring the building in the 1990s. Something quite unusual, a three-masted sailing vessel Plimmer's Ark, was discovered during the repair. It was removed from under the first floor.

This ship ran aground during an earthquake in 1851. Since then, its wreckage has been lying under the building. It was used as a pier, auction house, and ship equipment store in the second half of the 19th century. At the beginning of the last century, it became the "foundation" for the bank building.

The remains of Plimmer's Ark are now displaying next to the music clock in the Old Bank Arcade. Together, they "enliven" the history of the port city.

The mechanism of the clock opens every hour to reveal tiny vignettes. These vignettes depict important moments of the past and present. In one of them, small soldiers are raising the British flag. In another, a cooper with barrels is swinging back and forth along with the ship. The third show Edwardian citizens strolling in front of a bank. In the fourth, construction workers are digging in front of the same building. This show is accompanied by a description of each event and French horn music.

The clock recalls the history of the building, of the ship, and the surrounding land. It encourages customers to stop for a moment and think about everything that happened at this place.

Address: 233-237 Lambton Quay

Published by

Praskovia Ko

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