Refurbishing a piece of Westhaven history

A look back at the Start Tower legacy

The origins of the Start Tower date back to 1956 when the construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge created challenges for yachts navigating the area. To address these risks, the Auckland Harbour Board built a walkway over the Westhaven seawall and established a shared Start Tower. This allowed clubs to efficiently run races without endangering yachts.

In those early days, the Start Tower was only accessible on foot via a 100-metre walkway. This isolated position reinforced its status as a dedicated space for starting and finishing yacht races. While the walkway was removed in 1983 during carpark extensions, the tower remained steadfast on the seawall until it was relocated eastward just a few years ago.

Tales from the Start Tower: From shotguns to hooters

The Start Tower holds many colourful anecdotes, particularly from the era when shotguns were used to signal the start and finish of races. One of the most infamous tales involves Min Harold, who – with a twitchy trigger finger – managed to blow out the tower’s window more than once. To mitigate further mishaps, a tube was installed through the north-facing wall for the shotgun to safely fire through, but even that didn’t prevent Ron Copeland from accidentally shattering the window again while loading the gun!

Another legendary figure, Jo “The Pipe” Clark, was known for casually carrying a shotgun over his shoulder back to the car park, inadvertently causing an Armed Offenders scene (see sepia image below). It’s no surprise that the transition to the hooter system eventually replaced the shotgun – a safer and more practical choice for starting races.

Refurbishment of the Start Tower

The Start Tower has had a full reclad with vitex timber to seamlessly blend into the existing design palette with precision craftsmanship to uphold the nautical looks of the tower. It has also had a full electrical and plumbing upgrade to meet modern safety standards, and feature lighting to showcase the heritage structure.

The interior is minimal but highly functional interior to meet the needs of the users. The flag mast was also refurbished along with the creation of an under storage.

A large yellow circle has been painted on the water facing side of the tower so it can be easily spotted from the water while yachts race.