Wynyard Quarter

The Wynyard Quarter (historically also known as the Western Reclamation, Wynyard Point, Wynyard Wharf or Tank Farm) is a reclaimed piece of land on the Waitematā Harbour at the western edge of the Auckland waterfront, New Zealand.

It is located to the north of Freemans Bay and to the west of the Viaduct Basin. As of 2012, a good part of the area is still covered by petrol and liquid chemical storage facilities of Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL) and various other companies, that gave the area its now slowly disappearing "Tank Farm" moniker. However, major changes are underway, with the area intended to be redeveloped into a mixed-use residential-commercial area, with a major park to run along the northern headland and up to the point. As one of the first changes, the eastern section of the Quarter, as well as one of the main west-east roads running across it, were revitalised with new office and entertainment/restaurant areas, with several major projects finishing in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011 tournament.

The Western Reclamation was progressively constructed by the Auckland Harbour Board, of which Ports of Auckland is the successor. The last components of the reclamation (Wynyard Wharf) were being completed in 1930 and provided the growing harbour with additional berthage capacity and increased land for port activities. Initially used mainly by the timber trade, it gradually changed to the current bulk petro-chemical storage.

As of the late 2000s, the area was still used by the bulk liquid industry, with 500,000 tonnes of liquids and cement being transported via Wynyard Wharf each year. This provides NZ$1.2 billion of yearly turnover, and 4000 jobs in the Auckland economy. There are also more than 100 marine companies around the area, with a NZ$400 million yearly turnover, exporting items worth NZ$120 million per year. Three fishing fleets, Moana Pacific, Sanford and Simunovich, are based in the area.

SeaLink runs a car and passenger ferry service to Great Barrier Island from a terminal at the base of Wynyard Wharf. The company was seeking clarification of its future facilities in the area in 2007, as their lease was running out in 2010, and it was unlikely to invest a planned NZ$19 million in a new terminal or start using a new, faster ferry vessel before legal concerns were sorted out. An ARC planning committee noted that it supported the further provision of the ferry service in the area, though there had previously been concerns about the island freight shipping not fitting into the redevelopment vision of the area (see below). The Waterfront Plan completed 2012 does include the island ferry terminal, to be in the same general area as before.

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