Equipment for the new slip was delivered in 1865 and 1866, but construction was delayed for several years because of a contractual dispute concerning the suitability of the design for the ground conditions.

The Wellington Patent Slip Company was formed to take over the assets, and construction began in 1871.

In 1863, the New Zealand Steam Navigation Company decided to build a slip at Greta Point in Evans Bay to make it easier to repair and clean ships' hulls.

[7] The immediate success of the first slipway led the Wellington Provincial Council to investigate building a bigger slip that could handle larger ships.

[8] In December 1863, the New Zealand Government passed empowering legislation authorising the Superintendent of Wellington to compulsorily acquire an area of land up to 20 acres (8.1 ha) at Evans Bay for the construction of a larger Patent Slip.

However, the Provincial Council was unable to fund the construction, and decided to grant a concession for a slipway to be built and operated.

[11][10][14]The Evans Bay Patent Slip, the first in New Zealand, was a major engineering achievement.

[15] Construction on land above the high tide line was straightforward, but work under the water was much more complicated.

The workers underwater could only work in good weather conditions: in a southerly the current was strong enough to lift a diver off the sea floor.

[15] The press reported that the slip could handle ships weighing up to 2,000 tons and was "the finest and largest in the Australian colonies".

[10] Also under the agreement, an area of land not required for slip operations was set aside for use by Union for a 25-year period.

[24][25] In 1961, Union chose not to renew its lease, so the Harbour Board took over management of both slips until 1969.

[10] The site was demolished and various equipment scrapped, sold or given to museums, and land was filled in for a new housing subdivision.

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