Days Bay Wharf Repair and Refurbishment

Saving an iconic Wellington wharf

PROJECT: Days Bay Wharf Repair and Refurbishment CONTRACTOR: Brian Perry Civil (BPC) CLIENT: Hutt City Council VALUE: $4m

BPC saved a Wellington icon by rebuilding the 125-year-old Days Bay wharf, using a methodology that ensured not a single sailing of the regular passenger ferries was disrupted. That approach minimised disruption during the two-year long project, which began in April 2019.

BPC’s environmentally friendly and heritage focused approach appealed to the client, Hutt City Council. BPC used a composite decking product to alleviate the need for concrete on the deck. Precast concrete edges were replaced with recycled timber edge beams to regain the wharf’s heritage value. All the concrete removed from the deck was taken to Wellington’s Centre Port to be crushed and re-used. All the old timber was either reused on the wharf or in local projects, including a little blue penguin enclosure at Wellington’s zoo. Key to the project’s success was BPC’s ability to maintain ferry operations throughout the project. The site team built and maintained an excellent relationship with the East by West ferry team, consulting with them about moving the ferry berthing location as required.

As well as the usual challenges of working safely over water, the project team had to contend with Wellington’s renowned rough weather and the Covid-19 lockdown.