The Northern Club of Auckland

The Northern Club

Some of you have commented on this ivy cladded building. It is situated just off the Auckland University, and thirty years ago, I see it often as I go to my prefered location, the Albert park. The clock has turned around and my second daughter G is now a law student in the university. Law school is located nearer to this building. Sometimes I drop her off and I see this building which fascinates me. It is like a seasonal calender.

In Spring you see less dark green leaves, in Summer you see dark leaves, in Fall/Autumn, you see brown leaves and in Winter, you see the veins. The building becomes naked without the leaves.

I have dug out a bit of info for you.

The Northern Club, 19 Princes Street, Auckland, New Zealand
Telephone : +64-9-379-4755

The Northern Club provides companionship and a sense of belonging in a dignified atmosphere where old traditions have meaning and value because they have been tested and retained. The members are drawn from Auckland's well-respected professional and business community and it is on those criteria - not wealth or ancestry - that they are admitted.

Although members are businessmen and women, they know that they are a part of a social club where briefcases are left closed and business talk is confined to private rooms.

From its inception, The Northern Club has laid down certain rules of dress and behaviour for members and their guests, and these codes continue into the 21st century.

Our History

The Northern Club was founded by a group of prominent professional and business men in 1869 when the popularity of a gentleman's club was at its peak throughout the British Empire.

The club's founders, with remarkable daring and foresight, agreed to purchase a handsome quarrystone building overlooking Albert Barracks in Princes Street.

The four storey building, a high-rise in its own time, was originally designed as a hotel and built on the first section sold at Auckland's inaugural land sale in 1841. Following the purchase, architect Edward Ramsey was commissioned to rearrange the hotel's internal rooms for use by the 120 founding members.

In 1991 the Club voted to admit women and today has a thriving membership of men and women. Membership of the Northern Club attracted many leaders of the Auckland community, and the Club has played an active and sometimes pivotal role in the history of New Zealand's largest city.