Old Government House, Auckland

Old Government House is the former residence of the Governor of New Zealand in Auckland, New Zealand.The present building is the second Government House on this site. The first one was a prefabricated wooden structure manufactured by Mannings of London, a firm which specialised in such structures. Apparently the Auckland house supplied to the first Governor of New Zealand was similar to the one sent to Saint Helena to house Napoleon (although he refused to move into it). Built for William Hobson, the first Governor, the Auckland House caught fire in 1848 during the Governorship of Sir George Grey and he and successive Governors occupied rented houses until the current structure was built; these included Scoria House on Karangahape Road (later called St Kevins) and Hulme court in Parnell.The current building was designed by William Mason, and was completed in 1856 as one of the measures taken by Auckland to retain its status as New Zealand's capital. However, the house was used only sporadically after the seat of government was moved to Wellington in 1865. The wooden Italianate mansion endured criticism from architects and lay people alike, many disliked the flat, pasteboard effect of the façade and the dishonest imitation of stone masonry in wood.In the 1860s Governor Gore Browne lobbied for a new residence to be built in the nearby Auckland Domain. The intended building (possibly by Rumsey) was a stone Gothic castellated residence strongly resembling the one in Sydney. This sparked criticism partly because of what was perceived as extravagance but also because it would allow part of the Auckland Domain to be alienated from public use. There was also the possibility of the capital being relocated to Wellington which would make an Auckland Government House unnecessary. For these reasons the Weld administration refused funds for such a structure.