BACH 52

BACH 52 at Rangitoto Wharf end

The restoration and use of Bach 52 will ensure that the social, cultural and architectural history of the Rangitoto Island bach communities can continue to be preserved and interpreted for all New Zealanders. Bach 52, UID 1090, is scheduled as a building and place of special interest in the Hauraki Gulf Inner Islands plan.

RIHCT have agreed to fund and manage the conservation of Bach 52 on Rangitoto Island. The physical restoration works outlined in the specification will also be funded by RIHCT and carried out where possible by volunteer labour.

Building description:
Bach 52 is a large simple gabled building with the gable facing the bay. There is no entry porch or veranda at the front and the extensive glazing on this wall is fixed. The Bach has a shallow pitch roof with minimal eves. There are lean-to to the west and north, all is clad with fibro-lite and batten but, rough boards are also used. The door and window joinery is varied in style, age, mechanism and the construction technique is improvised in places. The Bach is unusually oriented with its narrow face towards the coast. Although extensively glazed in this direction, the joinery is fixed. The building is awkwardly tall & bulky relative to the other baches has an entirely unmediated relationship with its site. The building is representative of the island baches in materials & use of salvaged joinery and improvised techniques but lacks the grace and contextual relationship with the site that is evident in other baches.