About Us

History of Centre

The Music Centre is comprised of four Heritage buildings, which were formerly the Convent, the Chapel and the Portery of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, and the Sacred Heart College Girls’ Hostel. The buildings were opened at different times from 1882 through to 1930.

The four distinct buildings were saved from demolition in the early 1990’s by the founding Trustees, as well as a group of dedicated musicians, choristers, residents and the Christchurch City Council. Restoration was funded by the NZ Lotteries Grants Board, the Trust Bank Community Trust and the Christchurch City Council, along with various benefactors and some generous companies.

The buildings were transformed to become the creative foundation for the
‘Music Centre of Christchurch’.

2003

The restored Girls Hostel along with the Portery was reopened in 2003. The rooms in these buildings are now utilised for a wide range of uses.

1994

The first of the Music Centre’s tenants, the Christchurch School of Music, moved into the restored Convent and commenced using the buildings in September 1994. The Chapel was immediately put to use as a concert venue. The refurbishment cost approximately $1 million.

1993

Action was taken to start the restoration and refurbishment of the buildings. The work included strengthening the buildings, installing a lift and converting existing rooms into studios, recital and lecture rooms and an administrative office.

1992

The Chapel and the Convent were saved from demolition thanks to an urgent heritage order to preserve the buildings.

1980

By the late 1980s the Chapel and the Convent were no longer being used and in the early 1990s the nuns declared the buildings were to be demolished as they could not afford to pay for the buildings’ upkeep. The nuns felt the convent was in a state of disrepair and was an eyesore as well as an earthquake and fire risk.

1930

The Girls’ Hostel for Sacred Heart College was built in 1930. It was called ‘Sacred Heart Boarders’ Side” adjoining the Convent along Ferry Road. The beautiful stained glass window of the Annunciation found its way home into this building. The hostel cost £7,000 to build.

1927

Sacred Heart Girls’ College was built in 1927. The school moved out of the Convent into a separate building (since demolished) behind the Convent.

1907

The jewel in the crown of the Music Centre is the Heritage Chapel, built in 1907, by Joseph Munnings, Hurst Seager and Cecil Woods. It is the only example of Byzantine revival architecture in the Southern Hemisphere. It was restored in 1993-94. It was situated between the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament and the Convent.

1902

The Portery, where the nuns lived, was added to the Convent in 1902, due to overcrowding in the convent.

1882

The magnificent three storeyed Convent of the Sisters of ‘Our Lady of the Missions’ occupied the current Music Centre site. It was an early design by architect Francis Petre in a simple Gothic style with angular window heads. Originally the convent was known as the “Monastery”. It was built of brick and the front was later covered in cement stucco with Oamaru stone detailing.
The second floor of the convent provided sleeping accommodation for the schoolgirl boarders, while the bottom floor was devoted to school rooms, living rooms and the kitchen. The third floor was mainly used for storage and the nuns’ dormitory.

1881

The first Girls’ High School was established in the large room on the ground floor of the convent, a year before the convent was officially opened. It is now called the Don Whelan Room.