The Evans Bay Patent Slip is the site of Wellington's first patent slip, and the first in New Zealand, on Evans Bay Parade in Hataitai. Ships were hauled up two slipways here so they could be repaired and maintained on land, and the place is listed for its engineering history.
The first slipway opened on 2 May 1873, after a first contract failed and the British firm Kennard Bros' work stalled for five years. A 154-metre jetty was built to help ships reach the slip, and a second, steeper slipway was completed in December 1922. The site had a winch house, boiler rooms, workshops and cottages, and a 61-metre wharf was built in 1912.
The first slipway closed in 1969 and was scrapped, and the second closed in 1985. The winch from the second slip was bought and removed by a Dunedin slip company in 1982, and it is still in use. The cradle was dismantled, and some of its parts were used in the City to Sea bridge.
Visitors come to see the bay and the remains of a working harbour past. The site is a short walk from Evans Bay's waterfront.
Our pick in Hataitai for a history stop on a waterfront walk around the bay.