Grand opening, heritage status for renovated Nova Scotia Junction

WORDS/PHOTOS/JULIA WADE

Standing majestic and proud on a Waipu town corner, a grand old building officially opened its refurbished golden doors recently, welcoming in a brand-new chapter as a business hub following a six-month revamp of love and passion.

Just two years shy of a century, the beautifully renovated ‘Nova Scotia Junction’ – Waipu’s former National Bank on the corner of Cove Road and Nova Scotia Drive – was launched on February 27, by new owner Lindy Davis, her family, Whangarei district mayor Sheryl Mai and councillors, as well as locals and representatives from Northland’s Heritage NZ.

After welcoming guests, Davis expressed how the event was a much-anticipated occasion which she was thrilled to share with the whole Waipu community, especially given the long love affair the freelance journalist and author has had with the 1920s building since driving through Waipu 12 years ago.

“I felt it was very elegant, unpretentious and timeless… it caught my eye the very first time I saw it and I slowed down to look,” she says. “Over the years I’d often remarked to my family how beautiful it was but it badly needed some love. For the past decade the building has been out of commission, waiting patiently for someone to recognise its potential and dive in deep. 2021 was that year.”

Extensive renovations ensued, involving Davis’ family and a band of talented local tradies ‘who kept a poker face when I changed all of my minds multiple times’.

With two lockdowns and Auckland’s goods and tradespeople inaccessible due to border restrictions, ‘the job wasn’t easy’ she says.

“We had to think outside the square, but the upside was we got to engage a team of wonderful hands-on locals who took real pride in their work,” she says. “My heartfelt appreciation to all the great tradies who mastered some difficult issues like sourcing materials, as well as my family, people from Waipu Muesum and everyone else, who have contributed in many ways to make sure this building sits proudly in the heart of Waipu.”

Over the six month renovation, old lino, carpet and tiles have been stripped to reveal the original rimu floor, multiple layers of paint were diligently removed from timber joinery, and the interior and exterior walls repainted ‘in careful consideration to heritage’. The bank’s original vault was also restored revealing a tradies’s signature, dated 23/12/1936.

The renovations sparked many rumours in the community about what the buildling will eventually become, with speculation ranging from a hotel, library, daycare center and even a brothel Davis says – ‘there seemed to be a lot of favour for that idea’.

“The conclusion was always the same though, that it must be a place that the community could visit, to feel part of, and enjoy. I think hertiage buildings are places that people

need to be in and around, they ooze history, evoke memories and remind us of a place in time now gone,” she says. “And despite being nearly a hundred, I feel this beautiful building will still be in-fashion in another hundred years.”

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With a swish of scissors, ‘Nova Scotia Junction’ was offically declared open for business by Whangarei District mayor Sheryl Mai and new owner Lindy Davis, joined by daughter-in-law Kristy Wilson. Northland Heritage NZ’s Bill Edwards and chair Ann Lupton presented Lindy Davis with a special plaque which identified Nova as a category 2 historic building.

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Whangarei mayor Sheryl Mai says she felt ‘incredibly honoured’ to open ‘this special building’. “Thank you to Lindy for the real heart that you and your whanau have put into this building. We are truly blessed to have somebody with passion, the drive, love and the money, to restore this building that we all know and love, to its former glory.”

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Fitting with the towns strong Scottish identity, mayor Sheryl Mai says ‘it was an honour to be piped down the main street of Waipu with local piper Blaine McGregor, ‘an acknowledgement of the special Celtic history of this place’.

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Guests wander the exquisite revamped rooms, where several upstairs offices are already home to a fashion boutique, architect and mortgage broker. “It’s good to get people who all share a similar vision for this building,” Lindy Davis says. “Personally, I like to enjoy a craft gin on the deck on a sunny afternoon so hopefully we can find someone who shares a similar passion.”