Parliament - The Land and Buildings from 1840 - A Brief History of the Buildings on Parliament Grounds using Illustrations from the Alexander Turnbull Library

Parliamentary Service and Ministry of Works and Development, 1988 edition, good condition
Little of significance is recorded about any part of Parliament Grounds before the arrival of the New Zealand Company Settlers. The land where the Beehive now stands was described as a swampy clay mound; Te Puni, who had tried to grow a crop of potatoes on it, declared it was good for nothing. We know that an elderly Maori man was living near what is now Bowen Street and that he continued to live there after Wakefield had established himself. Before the settlers departed from England they had purchased land based on an imaginary town plan which included sites for the President's Palace and the Houses of Legislature. After the settlers arrived and after it was decided to establish the town in Wellington rather than the Hutt Valley, Mein Smith, the Company's surveyor, set about adapting the ideal plan to the peculiarities of the hills and the harbour. The President's Palace disappeared from the plan but land for a government reserve remained. Colonel Wakefield by building his house on this reserve gave emphasis to his position as leader of the Colony...