Fort Halderman (52 Edward Street)

Though strictly not a Wakefield Historic Building this building has fielded more questions than any other building in Edward Street, so we thought it was worthy of a mention.
Some the building’s more unusual aspects are as follows:
 It is the only security controlled gate on the street
 It has a large statue of ex USA President Richard Nixon on the front yard
 The use of the name FORT in the title makes it rather unique and questionable in modern New Zealand
 Haldeman is associated with Richard Nixon’s Chief of Staff, who led the unsuccessful cover up of Watergate and was a convicted felon
 The buildings are modelled on the USA President’s accommodation known as ‘The White House’

 The building is not in keeping with the rest of Edward Street
 There is a large ornamental pond at the rear of the one hectare section
 The building is zoned for commercial office space housing fourteen rooms
It is wondered why this building and statue was allowed to be erected without comment or reservation by the Local Authority even though it is erected on private property as it is not in keeping with the ambiance of Edward Street with its many historic buildings and houses.

Additional Information about Fort Halderman

This information was shared on a historical walk (in October 2022) along Edwards Street, presented by Warwick Johnston from the Waimea South Historical Society (Inc 2022).