The derelict building still standing (just!) at 84 Richmond Road is a sad sight indeed even though it has a Category 1 listing on the Historic Places register.
The building is of a Classical-Italianate style much favoured for non-conformist places of worship and civic or public edifices. Elaborate detailing included stone quoins, arched window openings, pediments and corbelled eaves, generally associated with early commercial premises and the grand villas owned by wealthy professionals and merchants. Costley’s desire to give orphans and destitute children advantages which could not be provided from public funds resulted in an increasing number of similar structures highlighting Auckland’s transition from a colonial frontier settlement to an established urban centre. The contract was awarded to builder Thomas Colebrook who put in the lowest tender, saving the trustees an estimated £500 and employed a number of artisans in need of work.
The residential institution was completed in 1886 and stood behind a low brick wall with decorative cast iron railings similar to those fronting homes of the well to do.The two storyed building’s H-shaped plan let in light and fresh air in sharp contrast to a number of government and catholic industrial schools of bleak design or in buildings originally erected for other uses. The symmetrical facade ended in slightly projecting wings enclosing a central portico. The kitchen and storerooms were set in the rear wing on the ground floor as well as a sitting room with a library recess and manager’s quarters. Stairways were at either end of a hall that ran along the front of the building on both floors. Upstairs were six bedrooms and an infirmary.
In 1886, Mrs Rebecca Hodge left the Costley Institute £672 to be invested for the benefit of girls who were boarded out with reputable families but the Costley trustees mainly focussed on boys of good character and most likely to be of credit to the Institution. Order, discipline and habit formation were an essential part of the programme. The boys assisted with housework and gardening, attended church and corporal punishment was strictly controlled. Carpentry skills were taught, and in 1891 a large workshop was erected in brick, housing a wood turning lathe and a blacksmith forge. A gymnasium was constructed at the rear of the property and gymnastic displays were staged for visitors and dignitaries at community events.
Times change and after the Costley Institute closed at the end of 1908 the place served for two decades as the Richmond Road Children’s Home, an Anglican institution. When the Child Welfare Act of 1927 introduced more stringent controls, the home was closed and the property offered unsuccessfully for sale. Following the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, the building briefly housed Hukarere Maori Girls’ School. From 1935 to 1969 it was the headquarters and training school of the Church Army, an Anglican evangelical outreach mission undertaking social work in slums. During this time it was renamed Carlile House after its founder, William Carlile. After the Church Army moved out it became a remand home for boys.
Carlile House was purchased by the Tongan Community Development Company and a modern church built to commemorate Queen Salote. The main building became run down and vandalised as lack of funds prevented its reuse. Deterioration worsened due to broken windows and the state of the roof. Its dilapidation and uncertain future is a matter of ongoing public concern. (DEIRDRE ROELANTS)