The Te Hira Bach 101 at Islington Bay was partly restored as a Sustainable Habitat Challenge.

The Sustainable Habitat Challenge website explains:

The Sustainable Habitat Challenge is a national collaborative project for teams around New Zealand to design, develop, and build sustainable housing in their local community. Its aim is to make ideas and methods for low-energy, low-resource housing a reality for New Zealand. By building better homes, we hope to show that a more sustainable life is practical, achievable and desirable.

The Te Hira Bach 101 challenge was taken up by Te Hononga o Whaihanga ki Wairaka, the Kaupapa Maori Unit at the UNITEC School of Architecture. The UNITEC architecture students will design and oversee the changes under the guidance of the architectural firm designTRIBE.

Further assistance was gratefully received from Allan Godsall of the Rangitoto Island Historic Conservation Trust. His experience in restoring baches with the Trust helped guide the Te Hira family through the requirements of the Heritage and Historic Restoration regulations, and the practicalities of undertaking a project like this.

The Te Hira Bach 101

The Te Hira Bach is in the Islington Bay settlement and overlooks the Motutapu causeway in Gardiner Gap. It was built in 1919 by A. (Bill) Davidson and William B. (Bill) Dawson, and was one of the earliest baches on the island. In 1950 it was bought by the Te Hira family for £50 and a V8 car valued at £300. The current lessee is Mrs Minnie Te Hira. Mrs Te Hira is the sister of the builder Bill Dawson.

Some say that the bach is constructed around an abandoned army office dating from the First World War, although this has not been confirmed. Reminiscences record that extra timber for the building was salvaged from all around the coast and that the paths were made from Motutapu clay and shells from the beach.

Maintenance Deferred

Like most of the surviving baches on Rangitoto, maintenance had been deferred indefinitely because of the uncertain future these baches have faced for many years. In 1956 leases were renewed only for the lifetime of the current lease holder and the terms of the lease forbade additions or alterations. Furthermore, when the lease holder died the bach was to be pulled down. And that is what happened all through the 1970s and 1980s. With no long term future most baches were changed very little, in effect becoming frozen in time. They kept the look and feel of the mid twentieth century. The Te Hira Bach 101 is no exception. The interior walls, flooring and fittings are the originals while the furniture dates from many periods, salvaged from other baches when they were demolished.

Now that the leases have been extended, a new confidence has returned. The Rangitoto Island Historic Conservation Trust has undertaken a number of renovations (baches 38, 78 and 114), while individual lease holders have begun long deferred maintenance and makeovers (bach 118 among others). And not before time.

Historical Significance

These baches are unique – not only because they have kept the look and feel of an earlier era, but also because they are some of the last surviving examples of the iconic do-it-yourself baches once common around the New Zealand coast. Built between the wars, it was a period when everyman could, conceivably, afford to build his own holiday home by the sea.

Consequently, the remaining Rangitoto baches have been given Heritage classification under the proposed Auckland City District Plan for the Hauraki Gulf Islands. The three settlements are classified as historic settlements under the Historic Places Act.

The Results

The renovation work was mostly completed over six intensive days of building in the spring of 2008. Work concentrated on the three most urgent areas: the south wall, the roof and the toilet.

The goal was to weather-proof the bach reducing the need for fossil fuels, while providing for the option of installing renewable energy sources at a later date. Currently the bach uses a petrol generator, candles and kerosene lamps for lighting and a gas heater for warmth. Cooking is mostly on an open fire outside.

Recycled materials were available from a storage bunker on Motutapu that has housed joinery and furniture salvaged from the demolition of Rangitoto baches in the 1970s and 80s.

The South Wall

Badly deteriorated, the old weatherboards were removed. The framing was repaired and insulated before being covered with ply cladding. The search is now on for recycled weatherboards to match the original 1930's look. The window frames were replaced by others sourced from the island with flashings recycled from the old roof.

The Roof

The roofing iron was replaced with modern corrugated iron, that matches the original, after repairing and insulating the supporting structure.

Composting Toilet

This is the first composting toilet on the island and was installed in an existing abandoned longdrop toilet hole. The roofing iron was recycled from the main house and recycled wood used in the roof, windows and door. The roof is pitched and positioned to catch the sun should solar panels be wanted later. A battery storage shed is built into the base of the structure.