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Erskine College, Wellington facts for kids

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Erskine College
2011-Jan-05--11-37-22.jpg
Erskine College building, Wellington
General information
Architectural style French Gothic and Edwardian collegiate architecture
Location Corner Avon Street and Melbourne Road, Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand
Completed 1906
Design and construction
Architect John Sydney Swan
Designated: 13-Aug-2009
Reference #: 7795

Erskine College is a collection of historic buildings and landscapes (including the Chapel of the Sacred Heart and Main Block Convent) in Wellington, New Zealand.

Built in 1905 by the Society of the Sacred Heart (Sacré Coeur), the buildings served as a Catholic girls' boarding school (Convent of the Sacred Heart at Island Bay) until its closure in 1985.

The name was changed to Erskine College in the late 1960s to avoid confusion with Sacred Heart College, Lower Hutt; being named after Mother Janet Erskine Stuart, the fifth Superior General of the Society of the Sacred Heart.

The buildings and grounds are now classified as a "Category I" ("places of special or outstanding historical or cultural heritage significance or value") historic place by Heritage New Zealand.

The college buildings, with the exception of the chapel, were controversially demolished by its owners The Wellington Company in 2018, to make way for 96 townhouses.

Wellington New Zealand Erskine College demolition Oct 2018
The Erskine College building being demolished in October 2018

Old Girls

  • Margaret Mary Barry
  • Dame Luamanuvao Winifred "Winnie" Alexandra Laban
  • Belinda Cordwell
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