Old Landmark Disappears

Progress cannot be halted, and in the cause of progress it was decreed that one of Nelson's oldest houses, the home of the late Dr Bett on the corner of Trafalgar Square and Nile Street, should be demolished to make land available for a parking lot. The city council, which owns the property, paid the Westport contractors £150 to pull down the old building with its distinctive tower. The house, estimated to be about 10O years old, was built mainly of kauri and the contractors had quite a struggle before they were able to topple the tower.

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A truck pulls the first section of the tower over

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A view of the house from Trafalgar Street as the demolition gets under way

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Down comes the second wall