ST. MARY’S CONVENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 614, 16 March 1929, Page 13

ST. MARY’S CONVENT

WORK ON NEW BUILDING PROCEEDS APACE ARCHITECTURAL BEAUTY YVork is proceeding apace on the new reinforced concrete building for day scholars and boarders at St. Mary’s Convent in New Street, Ponsonby, and the structure is to be completed in June. Already the charm of ItalianSpanish type of architecture is revealed in the building, and the completed block, with its white walls glistening in the sunlight, will be an attractive feature of Auckland architecture. An ideal situation, with an excellent harbour view and a foreground of gently sloping green fields, will add to the beauty of the convent. It is claimed that the building, embracing many distinctive features, will be the most up-to-date of its kind in New Zealand. The total cost will be about £28,500.

The classroom block consists of nine classrooms and a large assembly hall capable of accommodating 325 ~ persons. Two blocks, a classroom block and a dormitory block, are included. An arcaded covered way separates the blocks, which will be fitted with the latest appointments.

A wide balcony skirts the central 1 portion of the northern front, and the main rooms on the ground floor open on to a loggia, which leads to a patio below. It is the intention of the Sisters of Mercy to complete the scheme at a future date by the addition of a new convent for the sisters, a swimming bath for the pupils, and also a chapel. The arrangement of the projected scheme is that the buildings will be grouped to form a quadrangle. The architects are Messrs. Tole and Massey, and the contractors YV. J. Grevatt and Son, Ltd.