Rew's Stores, Victoria Street West
Early 1890s (unknown photographer) - 2026
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1890s image: Rew's Stores, Victoria Street West | Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 4-RIC120
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Thanks to the wealth of detail captured in this plate it's possible to date the picture to the early years of the 1890s: there is a tattered poster stuck to a pole with some fragments of readable text (see detail below). The words '...ECITAL' and '...RIVER' are just discernible. A search of the National Library's Papers Past site turned up advertisements for a series of Auckland recitals by visiting pianist Leon Driver between 5 June 1891 and 30 August 1892. As there were no search results like this for any other dates, it seems safe to assume that this photograph must have been made during these years (or perhaps a little later, depending on the longevity of a poster stuck to a timber pole).
Below: A newspaper advertisement for one of Driver's recitals.
Observer 27 August 1892 Page 7
The topography of this area seems to have changed a great deal over the years, with the most recent upheaval being the construction of the nearby City Rail Link station Te Waihorotiu. The gradients, road camber, and footpath positions, widths, and cross-falls seem to be much (and confusingly) altered since the 1890s.
Note that at some point in this plate's history someone thought it would be a good idea to paint clouds in the sky area.
Below: A couple of details from the 1890s photograph. Many of the people (and the delivery cart horse) have moved during the exposure, which, judging by the considerable amount of blurring, looks as if it must have been several seconds-long. Click on the images for fullscreen versions.
Below: The block in the 1860s, looking up Victoria Street from the vicinity of Elliott Street. The site of the future Rew's store is at far right, also a grocery store, Thompson's. (Click here for a then-and-now treatment of this image.)
Below: The scene in 1969. The buildings seen here on Victoria Street between Albert Street (foreground) and Elliott Street (at left, just above Queen Street) were demolished in the late 1980s. The site has remained undeveloped and is at the time of writing a carpark.
Royal International Hotel in Victoria Street | photographer G. Reithmaier | Archives New Zealand - Communicate New Zealand Collection R24748134
