125 Grey Street materials available to purchase

Published on 02 April 2026

Whanganui District Council is running a number of open days where a range of materials from 125 Grey Street will be available to the community to inspect for pre-order or purchase.

From 9 April to 30 May, 125 Grey Street will be open to the community for viewing and purchasing opportunities on Thursdays (2-4pm) and Saturdays (12-2pm).

Proceeds from the sale of materials will flow back to the council.

Samples of bricks and timber will be on display and available for purchase or pre-order. External windows can be pre-ordered and picked up once they have been removed from the building. Other items, such as internal doors and internal windows, metal lockers, fireplace surrounds, desks, chairs, benches, sinks and fittings will be available for purchase on the open days. Prices will be marked on the items or staff will be available to help.

The council’s chief strategy officer, Sarah O’Hagan, says around 90-95 percent of the building’s materials, currently estimated at 658 tonnes, will be repurposed as part of the deconstruction.

“This means these materials will be reused in council projects and in homes and organisations across Whanganui, rather than going to waste,” she says.

The first stage was offering materials with heritage or commemorative value to organisations connected to the building, including St George’s School, which once operated out of the original building, and Te Oranganui, which will be leasing the site going forward. St George’s has received items to build a commemorative walkway and pavilion, while Te Oranganui will incorporate timber into onsite projects.

“We’ve also repurposed a number of items in public spaces around Whanganui to benefit the community such as water fountains at Kowhai Park and Te Mana Park, benches from the auditorium at multiple park locations, adventure playground equipment at Te Mana Park, and restored gates at the Davis Library,” Ms O’Hagan says.

“The next step is making the remaining materials available to the whole community for purchase.”

Items from the 1926 building include roof tiles believed to have arrived in New Zealand as ships’ ballast before being installed on the building, and around 500,000 bricks produced locally at Bastia Hill Brickworks – almost an entire year’s production at the time.

Heritage management firm Geometria has been documenting the history of the site and a record of the destination of reused material will be maintained for posterity.

Payment can be made via EFTPOS onsite at 125 Grey Street during viewing and purchasing times, by invoice or via EFTPOS at council customer services at 101 Guyton Street. All items are sold “as is,” and quantities are limited.

From July the 125 Grey Street site will be leased by Te Oranganui, with plans for a future hauora or wellbeing hub.