Description Comments

Colonial Mutual and MLC Assurance Co. Ltd Buildings

Object type

Image

Description: Built as the Clarendon Hotel in 1904, the Colonial Mutual building became commercial premises after the hotel closed due to a fire c1925. An original third floor was removed after the 1931 earthquake. Goldfinch and Cousins occupied premises in the building from 1927-1975. Colonial Mutual Life purchased the building in 1950, and it was demolished c1975.

The five storey M.L.C. building stands between Coleman Mall and Rangitikei Street corner in Palmerston North. It cost ₤150,000 to build and opened in May 1964.

Argosy Studio (Argosy Industrial Photos) was a photography business owned and operated between 1950 and 1980 by Joe Greening (formerly employed by Elmar Studios). Originally located in Broadway, Argosy later moved to Cuba Street on the corner with Lombard Street.

As well as commissioned work (such as photographing the old railyards or aerial shots for the Council) Greening was known to operate as a street photographer, capturing the likenesses of passersby, offering his card with the negative number so they could buy the image if they wished. Many of these images will be in family photo albums.

A fire in 1965 destroyed many negatives in Argosy's collection but this image was one of the 400 or so survivors. Greening donated many of these surviving images to the Ian Matheson City Archives in 1989 before retiring to Kaitaia. He died in 2001.