Special Anniversary Heritage Tour of the Former 1YA Building

On 1 June 1960, a small team brought together the first official television broadcast in New Zealand inside the beautiful brick building that is now home to the Gus Fisher Gallery.

They pulled it off thanks to a makeshift setup in what has now become one of our gallery spaces, culminating in a live performance downstairs in Studio One by the Howard Morrison Quartet.

This was just one lively chapter in 74 Shortland Street’s rich history, which began in 1935 as the purpose-built broadcasting studios for Radio 1YA before being converted for television in the 1960s. It then served as a makeshift recording studio for NZ musicians in the 1990s before being acquired by the University of Auckland in 2000.

On the anniversary of this inaugural television broadcast, join us as we take you through the building’s history beyond the gallery space.