12 MAY 2019 11AM-4PM
Tour Companions- My Aunty Jannette and daughter Kail
The ultimate Mothers Day was my first thought when I first saw that The Cargills Castle Trust was holding another Heritage Homes Open Day. Getting to look around a selection of Dunedin's outstanding heritage houses is the perfect way for me to spend any day!! The last tour was held in 2017 with Redwood ( the Garfield Ave home Lee Vandervis rescued and restored ) winning my the house I loved the most trophy. I got hold of my ticket straight away as they sell out very quickly, good to know there's many other curious people out there. I'm thrilled to see a couple of my favourite houses are on the list of this years open homes and after a very long week of waiting the day is finally here!!!
HOUSE 1-
22 CONEY HILL RD, KEW.
We decide to go to this house first and after some difficulty finding a park we make our way to the entrance of this very large house. Perched not far from a clifftop, the views are stunning. Upon entering it's hard to believe this lovely family home had spent 60 years as 4 separate flats. In 2017 the current owners began a intense restoration project to return the house to it's original layout including replacing the original roof which was in terrible condition and had caused a lot of water damage. Each room has beautiful character features and the owners have put up photos in most rooms with explanations of what work they've done, my favourite room is the only one we are not allowed to go in ( due to ongoing work ), the beautifully panelled dining room. Upstairs amongst the many bedrooms and bathrooms ( with underfloor heating which I believe should be in all bathrooms ) is where you really appreciate the position of this house with views from St Clair to North Dunedin. A house obviously built for a large family and after a little research I find out a little about that family. Charles Alexander Shiel was born in Ireland in 1859 and with 5 of his siblings arrived in Dunedin in February 1878. He quickly found employment with Mr Smith and Fotheringham ( brickyard business at Kensington ) as a brickmaker and by 1884 had started his own brickmaking business at Rockyside, Caversham. Before long his brother William joined the business and they bought land at Forbury Rd and moved there. They were very successful and became the largest brickmakers in Otago employing over 60 people. In 1893 he married Elizabeth Hegarty and together they had 5 sons and 1 daughter. In 1906 he built this house for his family, made with triple brick it was on almost 2 acres and had a tennis court.. Elizabeth died in 1934 and Charles in 1943. The house was sold and turned into flats immediately so it's lovely to see it back to being a family home once again.
HOUSE 2-
33 BRUNEL STREET, MORNINGTON-
Next we head to church...the former Mornington Presbyterian Church to be exact. I remember reading an article when this church was sold and converted into a family home and was pleased it wasn't being demolished or converted into modern apartments so I'm really curious about this one. The main entrance was previously on Glenpark Ave where we park but is now on Brunel St so we walk around. Now called The Olde Kirk and is used as a family home and has a self contained apartment that's rented as holiday accommodation. Within seconds of entering I'm in love and would be more than happy to stay a night or 2. There's so many interesting features with beautiful details it's hard to know where to look first. The church was designed by Robert Lawson and built by Francis Wilkinson in 1880, sold and deconsecrated in 2007. New owners Ruth Manning and Leigh Overton got to work renovating it from a functioning church with no kitchen, plumbing or insulation and over 3 and a half years turned it into a 6 bedroom 2 bathroom home with 2 mezzanines. I love how the huge living space can be closed off to suit it's use. I particularly like the master bedroom and main bathroom with it's claw foot bathtub and Victorian hamber toilet. Considering the size (400 sqm ) it's heated well by the log burners and I feel like I could happily settle in with a cuppa and a good book. I also like that there are many signs of it's previous life including a hymn board, a baptismal font ( found in a church in Waikouaiti ) used as an ice bucket and the kitchen cupboards were made from incomplete kauri pews. The very large dining table was previously used in the DCC boardroom. I really didn't want to leave and did joke to my Aunty that we could hide in a cupboard somewhere but more to houses to see.
HOUSE 3-
520 QUEENS DRIVE, DUNEDIN CENTRAL-
Nestled amongst the Town Belt is Wharekura ( The Red House ) named for the beautiful red totara the house was built from in the late 1880's. We enter the house from what I'm guessing was originally a side entrance, straight ahead I glimpse the beautiful rimu wood paneling I've read all about in Lois Galers More Homes and Houses but more on it soon. We head into the living/kitchen area which once was smaller rooms consisting of the kitchen, scullery etc but opened up into one large open room for more modern living. The stand out feature is the black Italian marble fireplace which used to be in the grand drawing room of this house Across the hallway to the dining room and study, I'd say the study was originally used as the dining room and the dining room was possibly a bedroom or small sitting room. Next is the grandest room of the house, the very large drawing room. It looks like there's some restoration work happening but I easily imagine it filled with furniture. The main attraction is the gorgeous chandelier. Now back to the rimu wood paneling which lines the walls and ceiling of the large hallway, where this rimu came from is rather interesting. When Henry Crust leased this land from the Council and started making plans to built his family home the 1889-90 NZ and South Seas Exhibition was taking place, when it ended and started dismantling the buildings Mr Crust bought the rimu to use in his house. The staircase is also made of rimu and leads up to the bedrooms and bathrooms ( once again with the magical underfloor heating ). The bedrooms are small but charming, originally there were 5 bedrooms which Henry Crust and his wife needed for their large family. Henry Crust was born in 1847 and immigrated to NZ in 1862 and by 1867 founded Campbell and Crust- they were general carriers and after Duncan Campbells death it became Crust and Crust when Henry's son joined the business, Henry married Jessie Wood in 1871 and they had 6 children. Henry was a city councilor from 1898-1907 and died in 1926. The house was sold to Elfrida Cotton who lived here with her family until her death in 1966 then was bought by a developer who started converting it into flats. Luckily in 1969 the Sim family who had recently moved to Dunedin offered to buy it from him and kept it as a family home passing it down to their children.
HOUSE 4-
2 FIFIELD ST, ROSLYN-
On to my neighbourhood, I'm very lucky to live in a suburb full of old, characterful, houses and this house is one I always have a nosy at whenever I walk past so I'm quite excited to get inside( My daughter calls these houses the witches houses due to the turrets) A lot of restoration work has been taking place recently so it's nice to see the side of the house scaffolding free. We enter through the side door into the warm inviting kitchen area with lovely views into the garden. I would be quite happy spending hours cooking in this kitchen. Next through to the entrance hall....WOW is the first thing out of my mouth. Firstly the staircase is warm and inviting made from heart kauri and rimu and the ornate ceilings are lovely but the most impressive thing is the stained glass windows, created by Robert Fraser one of New Zealands most well known stained glass craftsman, they are beautifully detailed and add stunning lighting to the entrance way, on our right is the dining room ( with stained glass windows ) now being used as a bedroom and across is the drawing room ( stained glass windows again ) it's a grand room but has been decorated to feel cosy and inviting, beside is what I assume was the study but is now being used as a bedroom. Upstairs the bedrooms are large yet charming with plenty of character. Mahara was completed in 1905, designed by E W Walden and built in the Queen Anne revival style for Annie Blakely ( nee Lees) as a wedding gift from her father Andrew Lees. He had Leebank built next door at the same time for his daughters Catherine Melville( nee Lees). Sadly Andrew Lees died before the house was completed and it's assumed Mahara (meaning memory) was named to honor him. Annie lived here until her death aged 52 in 1918, strangely for the time Annie left none of her vast fortune ( Mahara, car, artwork and the equivalent of a million dollars worth of shares in her fathers company) to her husband John Blakely whom she been married to since 1896. He remarried 3 months after her death. The current owner has owned Mahara for the last 20 years and is her home which she also runs as a B & B.
HOUSE 5-
2 SARGOOD ST, MAORI HILL-
Just a few blocks away for the next house which from 1953- 1988 was Resthaven Retirement Home. Built in roughly 1909 for Thomas Gilray and his wife Annie. By 1920 Thomas had died so Annie sold the property to Catherine Reid. Sold again in 1953 to the Salvation Army who converted it to a rest home. We're warmly greeted at the door and assured that we're going to love this home and as we wander around I see why. The house flows beautifully starting with the lounge ( which I would use at nighttime) which then opens out into a sun room with lovely views this leads onto a more casual open living/ kitchen/ dining area. The very modern kitchen/dining area was added onto the house in 2000 with the original kitchen now being used as the laundry which we go through to reach the original formal dining room, large and bright with my beautiful character details it's easily my favourite room of the house. Back to the entrance hall and up the stairs into a large circular landing with the bedrooms all leading off it. This home is a perfect mix of old and new and would be very easy to settle in and feel at home.
HOUSE 6-
12 ROYAL TERRACE-
I was most excited about getting to look around Daisybank. For some reason this is my favourite house on Royal Terrace and there's a lot of very impressive houses to choose from. We are very lucky to be greeted at the door by Mr John Barsby who has owned Daisybank with his wife Ann since 1988. Mr Barsby showed us through to the wood paneled dining room where he showed us photos of the house when they bought it and the various restoration projects they've taken on over the years including demolition of 3 extensions and then remodeling the kitchen/living area and answered any questions we had. It was a lovely start to the tour. Daisybank was designed by J A Burnside and built between 1896 and 1899 as a wedding gift from Richard Hudson for his son Richard Hudson Jr who lived here with his wife Millie and family until 1959. Since then there have been 3 owners...all educators. George ( principal of Dunedin Teachers College) and Doreen Beath bought it in 1959, Ray ( Professor of Zoology) and Jennie Freeman in 1967 and John (Professor of Classics) and Ann Barsby in 1988. As we wander around I'm quite overwhelmed by all the interesting features, there's so many things that it's probably easiest to list it all!
Entrance Hall-
Dark-stained English oak wood panels.
Painted glass portraits in the doors leading to the dining and drawing rooms of Queen Elizabeth 1 and Dudley Earl of Leicester and signed by Robert Fraser.
The elaborately carved hung staircase.
The snug (originally the childrens library) beyond the stairs with a bay leadlight window.
Dining Room-
Dark oak wood paneling.
Grey marble fireplace.
The leadlight windows in both bays feature heraldic embalms and unusual oval panes of semi-opaque glass.
Drawing Room-
Original chandeliers.
Wooden fire surround and carved over mantel.
Decorative plaster ceilings.
World famous violinist Yehudi Menuhin performed here for the Hudson family.
The kitchen/ living area is at the back of the house with lovely views of the extensive gardens that wrap around the house. Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms, a study and access to the 2 balconies. My favourite room is the snug, hidden just by the staircase I could spend hours here with a cuppa and a good book. Yet again I'm reluctant to leave but we're starting to run out of time.
HOUSE 6-
CHAPEL APARTMENTS, 81 MORAY PLACE-
We have time for one more on the list and choose the Moray Place Congregational Church as I attended this church for a couple of years when I was a child and have very fond memories of it. Standing on the corner of Moray Place and View Street it is one of the oldest churches in Dunedin, designed by David Ross and opened in 1864. Since the 1990s it was used for various purposes and is now been converted to apartments. I go in with an open mind praying they've converted it sympathetically. Up the stairs into the foyer which I remember well, I look for the spiral staircase that leads down to the ground level where the kids went for Sunday School ( except we had church on Saturday ) but it looks like it's been blocked up. In front of us it looks like 2 very large white rectangular 2 storied boxes have been placed inside a empty church building. We get to look inside one of the apartments which is modern and practical. Back outside to have a look at one of the downstairs apartments, I'm pleased to see some of the original brickwork features being used in this apartment. Even though I feel a bit sad about seeing my church no longer as I remember but at least it's being used and not left empty. When I get home I have a look at the Chapel Apartment website and am very pleased to see that some of the apartments we didn't get to see have a lot of the original church features.
CONCLUSION-
I had an awesome day out exploring just a few of Dunedins beautiful heritage homes .Obviously I couldn't take photos of the interiors but if you google The Olde Kirk, Mahara and Chapel Apartment you'll find photos so you can have a nosy yourself. It's very hard to decide on my favourite this year as they're all amazing and I'd be happy to live in any one of them but Mahara is the winner for me as I felt at home in it instantly. I hope the Cargills Castle Trust have another tour next year, there's still plenty of heritage homes I'd love to look around.