A time capsule found behind the Beehive last week has been cracked open on Wednesday, to reveal a number of objects from the 60s.
The objects inside included: a cigarette advertisement from October 1966, old currency in the form of coins, a magazine clipping from the Spring of 1960, photos, and some 'top secret' documents which were the briefing specifications of the building.
With some difficulty, the capsule was opened and the contents revealed on site by Minister of Arts, Culture, and Heritage Maggie Barry.
Ms Barry says the objects will be given to Te Papa Museum to evaluate. She suggested that the contractors currently working on the project could create their own time capsule.
The capsule itself appeared to be a bullet casing, but it had no details engraved on it.
Contractors working on the refurbishment of Wellington's Bowen State Building and Charles Ferguson Tower discovered the time capsule last week, which could be more than 50 years old.
It came as a surprise to those working on the $200 million overhaul project, as there's no record at all of a time capsule being buried at the time of construction.
The Bowen State Building was designed and built by the Ministry of Works in the late 1950s, and opened in 1962, and the Charles Ferguson Tower was built in the mid-1970s.
Jenny Shipley's National Government sold the Bowen State Building in 1998.
Until recently, both buildings housed the Ministry for Social Development, which has since moved to new offices on The Terrace.
Bowen State Building was also home to popular state servant café and eatery called the Ministry of Food.
Newshub.
