Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
The Sky Tower in Auckland CBD turns 25 on August 3. (File photo)
Auckland’s best-known landmark, the Sky Tower, is celebrating its 25th birthday on Wednesday.
Built by Fletcher Construction, it opened its doors to the public on August 3, 1997.
The tower has gone from a controversial beginning, where many objected to its size dominating the Auckland skyline, to becoming a much-loved symbol and feature of the city.
It was initially intended to function as a radio and telecommunications facility and hosts the world’s largest single FM radio transmitter, as well as local television broadcasts, wireless Internet, mobile network, weather measuring and laser link transmissions.
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Here are the numbers that illustrate its size and impact on Tāmaki Makaurau.
John Selkirk
The Sky Tower being built in Auckland in 1995. (File Photo)
328
At 328 metres, the Sky Tower is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere.
Because of that, it is one of the most-visited tourist attractions in New Zealand.
“SkyCity owns the tower, but really we’re just the custodians of it – it really belongs to the people of Auckland,” SkyCity chief executive Michael Ahearne says.
By comparison, the Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world, at 828 metres.
Staff Photographer
Auckland’s Sky Tower under construction in January 1996.
The Sky Tower is eight metres taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris and 24 metres taller than Sydney’s AMP Tower.
37
The Sky Tower is as tall as 37 buses laid end to end.
2400
Ahearne says the Sky Tower was designed and built with safety in mind and is designed to cope with the elements of nature.
The tower is equipped with a fire hydrant system that pumps 2400 litres of water a minute.
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
A light show at the Sky Tower to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
200
The base of the tower, which is slightly wider than the shaft, can withstand storms with winds gusting to 200kph.
1
The tower is capable of safely swaying one metre at the top.
90
The steel mast on top of the tower is 90 metres tall.
A gold-plated spiked metal dynosphere, which is 50cm in diameter, sits at its top in case of lightning strikes.
AVERIL NORMAN/Supplied
The SkyTower wreathed in smoke from the 2019 SkyCity convention centre fire.
This is designed to attract lightning, direct it down the cable and into the foundations where energy is dispersed into the earth.
7.0
The tower was built to withstand a magnitude 7.0 earthquake of 7.0 at 40 kilometres deep or a magnitude 8.5 at 360 kilometres.
1267
The Sky Tower has a total of 1267 stairs leading from the base to Sky Deck, the highest public observation level.
SUPPLIED
Shaun Wallace, from UK quiz show The Chase, has jumped off the Sky Tower before leaving New Zealand after a nine day trip.
38
The glass floors on the main observation level are 38mm thick.
85
The tower cost about $85 million to build. Construction took two years and nine months.
15,000
Materials used in the tower’s construction included 15,000 cubic metres of concrete, 2000 tonnes of reinforcing steel, 660 tonnes of structural steel and 260 panes of glass. The empty building weighs 21,000 tonnes – about the weight of 6000 elephants.
18
The lifts travel about 18kph or 5 metres per second. Each ride from the bottom to the top of the tower – or vice versa – takes about 40 seconds.
8m 11s
Every year, firefighters from around the country race up the Sky Tower wearing 25kg of kit to raise money for Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand.
Josh Harrison, the 10-time champion, holds a record time of 8 minutes and 11 seconds for the climb.
