Completed in 1975, Avalon Tower was built to house the administrative and operational departments of the then New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC)'s television arm. Formally referred to as the Administration Block of the NZBC Television Centre in old documents, the tower is 13 storeys high in total, making it the tallest building in Lower Hutt (near Wellington).
Somewhat bizarrely, the NZBC was dissolved upon opening of the NZBC Television Centre, which was then renamed the Avalon Television Centre and became home to the brand new Television One (TV1, informally) channel. The tower eventually became known as the TVNZ Tower following a 1980 merger of Television One and TV2. At this point, the national news service moved to Auckland, and, less than a decade later in 1989, TVNZ migrated its headquarters and much of the remaining Avalon operations with it.
The 1990s also saw a mass exodus up north, with the bulk of productions still left at Avalon uprooted- first, Fair Go (think Watchdog) in 1997, then What Now (Saturday morning kids' TV) in 2003. With not much left at the studio site, the tower had metaphorically fallen and was eventually sold off as a standalone asset in 2004. Productions continued at the adjacent studio block until Good Morning moved to Auckland in 2011, followed by the gambling scene (Lotto and Trackside) shortly after. The studio block was then sold in 2013 and is now a privately-owned film and TV production complex known as Avalon Studios.
Following its sale, the tower became the Avalon Business Centre and housed Kordia's Network Operations Centre (NOC) until recently. In a way, this brought TV back home to Avalon as the NOC served as New Zealand's transmission control room for all major television and radio services - as well as other critical broadcasts for the likes of the police, air traffic control and the National Grid. Also housed there was the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) and Rescue Coordination Centre - essentially a control room for the entire southwestern Pacific Ocean! The tower also served as a filming location for Wellington Paranormal.
Between 2020 and 2021, the tower was vacated but still houses some critical communications equipment for the NOC and MOC (now located in the adjacent TV studios), along with mobile network infrastructure and a satellite earth station. These areas are, as you would expect, securely locked down, but other parts of the tower were explorable at the time of access. As of this month, most of the tower's interior has been stripped.
A final word on Avalon Tower: It was home to the Television Centre's in-house bar, known as the TV1 Club. Because Wellington's a small place, I was able to get a couple of first-hand accounts from a retired ballet dancer and former TVNZ secretary who both told me that this was the place to be in its heyday. So, without further ado, on with the pics!
From the bottom up:
Basement (storage & plant)
Ground (lobby & link block)
Level 1 (TV1 Club etc. & link block)
Looking towards bar (original link block to studios on left; now sealed).
Original funky wall (note the TV1 Club plaque on the bottom right of the marble).
Looking towards link block from behind bar.
'Tower Bistro' servery.
Love the view - more dish p0rn later.
Former restaurant. The room in the corner once formed part of a VIP dining area.
Former lounge. This area later became the children's programmes production offices.
Filming equipment - possibly left over from the Whitireia film programme - which was based on this floor - and/or used by Wellington Paranormal crews.
Probable Wellington Paranormal set in former Bistro kitchen.
Random ordnance.
Levels 1R to 2 are reserved for plant.
Level 3 (Kordia NOC/MOC)
Network Operations Centre equipment room (Maritime Operations Centre can be seen on other end of corridor).
Network Operations Centre equipment room (Avalon Studios can be seen outside window).
Network Operations Centre.
Network Operations Centre notice wall.
Maritime Operations Centre lobby.
Maritime Operations Centre.
Fun light.
Levels 4-9 (general offices)
The upper floors all basically look like this.
Typical Wellington weather over Avalon Studios.
There's also a 3-storey rooftop service block consisting of a tank and vent room on level 10 (rooftop), a lift motor room on the floor above, and telecommunications equipment (including an iconic parapet) on the remaining levels. These upper levels would have once contained TVNZ broadcast equipment.
Meanwhile, outside, I went a bit arty... enjoy:
See you in another life, beloved tower.
Somewhat bizarrely, the NZBC was dissolved upon opening of the NZBC Television Centre, which was then renamed the Avalon Television Centre and became home to the brand new Television One (TV1, informally) channel. The tower eventually became known as the TVNZ Tower following a 1980 merger of Television One and TV2. At this point, the national news service moved to Auckland, and, less than a decade later in 1989, TVNZ migrated its headquarters and much of the remaining Avalon operations with it.
The 1990s also saw a mass exodus up north, with the bulk of productions still left at Avalon uprooted- first, Fair Go (think Watchdog) in 1997, then What Now (Saturday morning kids' TV) in 2003. With not much left at the studio site, the tower had metaphorically fallen and was eventually sold off as a standalone asset in 2004. Productions continued at the adjacent studio block until Good Morning moved to Auckland in 2011, followed by the gambling scene (Lotto and Trackside) shortly after. The studio block was then sold in 2013 and is now a privately-owned film and TV production complex known as Avalon Studios.
Following its sale, the tower became the Avalon Business Centre and housed Kordia's Network Operations Centre (NOC) until recently. In a way, this brought TV back home to Avalon as the NOC served as New Zealand's transmission control room for all major television and radio services - as well as other critical broadcasts for the likes of the police, air traffic control and the National Grid. Also housed there was the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC) and Rescue Coordination Centre - essentially a control room for the entire southwestern Pacific Ocean! The tower also served as a filming location for Wellington Paranormal.
Between 2020 and 2021, the tower was vacated but still houses some critical communications equipment for the NOC and MOC (now located in the adjacent TV studios), along with mobile network infrastructure and a satellite earth station. These areas are, as you would expect, securely locked down, but other parts of the tower were explorable at the time of access. As of this month, most of the tower's interior has been stripped.
A final word on Avalon Tower: It was home to the Television Centre's in-house bar, known as the TV1 Club. Because Wellington's a small place, I was able to get a couple of first-hand accounts from a retired ballet dancer and former TVNZ secretary who both told me that this was the place to be in its heyday. So, without further ado, on with the pics!
From the bottom up:
Basement (storage & plant)
Ground (lobby & link block)
Level 1 (TV1 Club etc. & link block)
Looking towards bar (original link block to studios on left; now sealed).
Original funky wall (note the TV1 Club plaque on the bottom right of the marble).
Looking towards link block from behind bar.
'Tower Bistro' servery.
Love the view - more dish p0rn later.
Former restaurant. The room in the corner once formed part of a VIP dining area.
Former lounge. This area later became the children's programmes production offices.
Filming equipment - possibly left over from the Whitireia film programme - which was based on this floor - and/or used by Wellington Paranormal crews.
Probable Wellington Paranormal set in former Bistro kitchen.
Random ordnance.
Levels 1R to 2 are reserved for plant.
Level 3 (Kordia NOC/MOC)
Network Operations Centre equipment room (Maritime Operations Centre can be seen on other end of corridor).
Network Operations Centre equipment room (Avalon Studios can be seen outside window).
Network Operations Centre.
Network Operations Centre notice wall.
Maritime Operations Centre lobby.
Maritime Operations Centre.
Fun light.
Levels 4-9 (general offices)
The upper floors all basically look like this.
Typical Wellington weather over Avalon Studios.
There's also a 3-storey rooftop service block consisting of a tank and vent room on level 10 (rooftop), a lift motor room on the floor above, and telecommunications equipment (including an iconic parapet) on the remaining levels. These upper levels would have once contained TVNZ broadcast equipment.
Meanwhile, outside, I went a bit arty... enjoy:
See you in another life, beloved tower.
