Demelza

May 5, 202014 min read

SCHOOL TO SCHOOL AND BACK TO SCHOOL

Updated: May 5, 2020

WALKING COMPANION- My daughter.

WEATHER- Warm and sunny.

2 HOUR WALK

BOOK 5.

We start todays walk by St Hildas with a great view overlooking the central city. Head down the stairs to Heriot Row then another set of stairs to Elder St stopping outside No 17. Hazelwood was built in 1875 for Sir George McLean and his wife Lady Isabella, Sir George was the manager of the Dunedin branch of the Bank of New Zealand, politician and businessman but his passion was breeding race horses which explains the 2 storied stable with hayloft overlooking the cobbled yard. The home was built using Oamaru stone and triple brick walls and had all the character features you'd expect, marble fireplaces, moulded plaster ceilings, Baltic pine floors and kauri doors. After Sir Georges death in 1917 the house was bought by Robert Laverty. Over the years the house has been converted to flats and studio rooms.

Down to the corner to No 16 Pitt St. a wedding gift to Mary Hudson, daughter of Richard Hudson who we'll meet shortly, when she married Alf Hanlon who is most well known for being Minnie Deans lawyer. As we wander back up Elder St it looks like row of homes across the road look like they've been there forever but from 1862-1908 this was the site of Strachans Victoria Brewery, demolished in 1918 there's still remains of a well in the basement of No 18 Pitt St.

Up the stairs again and around to No 26 Heriot Row for the first of the many Basil Hooper designed houses on this walk. Ritchie House was built in 1914 for George Ritchie, manager of National Mortgage and Agency Company. George lived here with his wife Jane and 11 children until his death in 1922, the home stayed in the Ritchie family until 1972. Sadly for many years the home was neglected, until it was sold, restored and converted into upmarket accomodation for postgraduate students. I believe it is now a private family home again.

Back to St Hildas, this wasn't the first site of St Hildas. When the school first opened in 1896 it was on Leith St at The Grange, former home of John Hyde Harris superintendent of the Otago province and Mayor in 1867. In 1900 the school moved to 25 Heriot Row, once the grand home of Mr John Butterworth who founded Butterworth Bros in 1862 and his family. By 1924 the school needed to expand so purchased the grand home of the Cummings family at 35 Royal Terrace. The 2 homes were linked together and used until the late 1960s when they were demolished and what you see before you was built. The school also purchased other homes on Royal Terrace which were demolished and the grounds of the school were expanded.

Along the left side of Royal Terrace stopping outside No 19. Marli was once owned by St Hildas but luckily it was not demolished. Built in the early 1920s for Percy Halsted, nephew of Bendix Hallenstein, who founded Hallenstein Bros in 1873 and D.I.C in 1884. Percy moved to New Zealand in 1900 and by 1904 was director and general manager of D.I.C in Christchurch. In 1907 Percy bought land at 118 Bealy Ave and built his first Marli (sadly demolished in 2011 due to earthquake damage) which he sold in 1920 before moving to Dunedin. In 1935 Marli was sold to The Sisters of Mercy and in 1937 it was opened as Mater Hospital which had 24 beds and an operating theatre. It was sold in 1969 and Mater moved up to Newington Ave. Marli was used as student accomodation in the 1970s and 80s before being being sold in the early 90s and converted back to a family home.

Looking across the road we're spoilt for choice. We'll start at Linden at No 22, now the Dhargvey Buddhist Centre but once the family home of Richard Hudson. It was designed by Mason and Wales and built for Jacob Issacs in 1878. Sold in 1890 to James Wilson then in 1896 Richard Huson bought it for his large family. Originally this was a large property extending to London St and included a sunken garden, an orchad and stables (still standing and converted to a home), the house itself is large enough for the Hudsons and their 8 children with more than 15 rooms. Richard Hudson arrived in New Zealand in 1863 and after working the goldfields for some time he worked as a baker, he married his wife Mary and moved to Dunedin in 1868 where he opened a bakehouse which quickly became a successful biscut and confectionary business and you know the rest of the story....well almost. Richard Hudson was actually born Daniel Richard Bullock but by 1873 had changed his name to Hudson and dropped Daniel. Wise decision I think.....Cadbury, Schweppes and Bullock does'nt sound the same. After his death in 1903 his widow lived in the home until 1937. The next owners turned it into a lodging house which it was until 1975 when the Dowden family bought it, restored and converted it back to a family home. In 1986 it was sold and has been the Buddhist centre ever since. I got to have a look around a few years ago and loved all the character features.

Only a few houses along to No 30. Most likely built in 1877 for Richard Leary a businessman and politician who was elected Mayor in 1877. Only a year later Claverton was sold to William Hodgkins who moved in with his wife and 6 children. William was a lawyer but his true passion was art, he was a talented painted who started the Dunedin Art Society and in 1884 founded Dunedin Public Art Gallery which was New Zealands first public art gallery. Both of Williams daughters were also talented artists but Frances is the most famous. The Hodgkins lived here until 1884 but this wasn't the first home they lived in on Royal Terrace, Frances was born at No 32 and lived there until 1870 when she was 2 years old. No 32 burnt down a few years later.

The next house is best viewed from across the road. Possibly one of Dunedins grandest hidden homes it was designed by Robert Lawson and built in 1876 for Dunedins youngest ever mayor Keith Ramsay. He had arrived in New Zealand in 1862 and by 1865 had started his own shipping agency (which only ceased business in 1977) and was elected mayor when he was only 30 years old in 1874. He had 9 children with his wife Janet so the large 2 storied villa with large grounds was well used. Mr Ramsay died in 1906 and his widow stayed until 1914 when she sold it to John Mallard, he lived here till his death in 1935 and his children Stuart and Lilian (both unmarried) inherited it. Sadly they neglected to care for the home, it soon became known as the Haunted House of Royal Terrace and by 1989 was almost demolished. Luckily new owners in the mid 1990s took on the challenge of restoring it back to it's former glory.

Around to Olveston, past the main gates and up the path through the Town Belt. Once a quarry I believe this is one of the loveliest walkways in Dunedin (especially in Autumn), we're heading to the township Nevada, centered around Pacific St and named after the first steamship that crossed the Pacific from the USA to NZ in 1881.

Out on to Wallace St and over to Pacific Park Motel. This was once the entranceway, with a double iron gateway and gatekeepers cottage, to the large estate of Alfred Chetham Strode who was Dunedins first magistrate. Built in 1862 it was named Cranmore Lodge and was a wooden 2 storied house with around 13 rooms and with around 5 acres of land there was room for chickens, a cow, stables and other outbuildings as well as formal gardens etc. It was such an impressive estate that even royalty came to stay. In 1869 Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh stayed here whilst visiting New Zealand. Mr Strode even added a large new room to the house especially for the royal visitor. Mr Strode decided to move and leased the house. In 1889 William Hodgkins moved in with the family and lived here until 1897 and sadly died just after moving out. Cranmore was then sold to the Stevenson family. William Stevenson with his father in law founded a jam making and canning firm which in 1902 became Irvine and Stevenson's St George Company. William and his wife Barbara had 13 children and lived here for 55 years. Cranmore Lodge was demolished in the 1960s.

Along to No 19 which is the 2nd Basil Hooper house on this walk, in fact it was actually Basil Hoopers family home. Harptree was built in 1909 for Mr Hooper, his wife Edith and their 3 children and named for the village where his father was born. Basil Hooper was born in India in 1876 to William and Elizabeth Hooper who were missionaries and was the youngest of 9 children. He moved to New Zealand in 1885 with his brothers in to the care of his Aunt Bessie and after his mother died of malaria a year later his father and sister joined them. Whilst working as a builder in Cambridge he decided to follow his love of drawing and study to become an architect, he completed his secondary school education in Auckland then moved to Dunedin to train with Louis Salmond. After 4 and a half years he moved to London to study at the Royal Institute of British Architects, passed the final examinations in 1904 and returned to Dunedin where he set up his own business. He quickly gained a reputation as New Zealand's foremost Arts and Craft architect. The Hoopers moved to Auckland in 1923 and Basil died in 1960. Basil Hooper is personally my favourite architect and I dream of owning a Basil Hooper house one day, luckily there are many of them still around.

Now for the hardest part of this walk...up Pacific St we go. It's not actually as bad as it looks and the view from the top is worth the effort plus there are many splendid homes to discover on the way up. Keep an eye out for the dragons guarding No 47 and the Lilliput library near the top. After recovering the climb head to the other side of Highgate using the pedestrian crossing and up the driveway to Columba College.

The oldest part of Columba which started life as home to Bishop Samuel Tarratt Nevill stands before us. Bishopcourt was designed by Mason and Wales and built in 1872. Bishop Nevill was visiting New Zealand with his family in 1871 when the church offered him Bishopric of Otago and Southland which he accepted. The Anglican church now had to find where to house the new bishop and unfortunately were very low on funds at the time, Bishop Nevill stepped in and offered to advance the money himself on the agreement the church would pay him 2,500 pounds (with interest) back within 10 years. After building a home that cost well more than what was talked about and quite a bit larger ( Bishop Nevill wanted to be able to house students training for priesthood) the church felt they'd been duped and didn't make any effort to pay any money back. After 6 years residing here Bishop Nevill sold Bishopcourt and moved to an even grander home he'd had built in Leith Valley called Bishopgrove. Mr William Roberts, manager of the Bank of New Zealand owned it until 1883 when he sold it to Mr John Wright, founder of Wright, Stephenson and Co Ltd who lived here until 1903 when he sold it to Mr William Sargood. Mr Sargood was one of the founders of Sargood, Son and Ewen and lived here peacefully until 1908...well almost. On the evening of 27th July 1905 whilst entertaining he was called into the drawing room to hear a grievance from an employee at the clothing factory Mr Alan McGregor. When he entered the room he was shot, the bullet entered through his cheek and exited behind his ear, he escaped through the window while Mr McGregor was tackled to the ground. Mr Sargood recovered from his injuries but sold the house in 1908 and left Dunedin. In 1914 the Presbyrterian Church bought Bishopcourt and it has been a girls school ever since. The addition was added in the 1920's and blends in almost seamlessly.

Along to Dunblane St, named after the Scottish town and cross to the right side. 3 Basil Hooper houses up this street. No 1 was built for Mr T Turnball in 1919, No 3 for Mr Frank Throp in 1912 and No 3 Sargood St (named after William and was once his vegetable garden) was built for Mr C G White in 1914. Along to Redroofs Rest Home, built in 1987 replacing a much larger grander Redroofs. Built in 1906 and designed by J L Salmond it was built for Mr John Wright who previously lived in Bishopcourt. It was a large 2 storied brick house and stood in 3 and a half acres of land. It featured Marsielle roof tiles, richly panelled entrance hall, grand staircase and ornate pressed zinc ceilings. The Wright family only lived here 7 years before it was bought by the Salvation Army who used it as a maternity home, mainly for unwed mothers but it was open to married women as well. It closed in 1974 and was demolished in 1985.

Back onto Highgate, past Alison Holsts old home at No 453 and we stop at the shop for a treat for my daughter then along to Spelt Bakery ( home of Dunedins best pies) for a coffee for myself. Over to Claremont St which is exceptionally pretty at this time of year and full of character homes. Over to No 8 is another Basil Hooper built in 1914 for Mr G Black. No 10 was the residence of the Anglican Bishop in the 1990s, not as grand as Bishopcourt but still rather impressive. Along Maheno St, named after a World War 1 NZ hospital ship and stop at No 3, yes another Basil built in 1913 for Mr Ross but quite altered since then with the top story being added. Along to the path down to Lynwood Ave, this township was called Dunottar by the landowner Robert Chapman who was born near Dunottar Castle.

We turn left at the corner of Claremont St for some more lovely character homes, my favourite is the very English Beech Cottage at No 49 although No 34 is a close second. We stop at the seat at No 34 to read the plaque in the garden. This rather imposing house was designed by Mandeno Fraser and built in 1921 for Charles Mckellar , his son Ian purchased the home in the 1960's and in 1973 it was converted into 3 flats with a lot of changes to the original layout. It stayed in the McKellar family until 1995 and was converted back to family home. No 30 is another Basil, built in 1914 for Mr H Salmon and is best viewed about halfway down Hamel St.

Left up Newington Ave stopping outside No 69, this was the home of Gulielma Sargood and her family for over 50 years, more on the Sargoods shortly but first a quick detour to Burwood Ave, No 21 around 1914 this quaint cottage looks like it belongs down a little country lane, then up to No 27, which I've always admired, was built in 1895. Now head to Mercy Hospital to see what remains of Sir Percy Sargoods grand estate.

Over to Marinoto ( meaning calm or peace), constuction began in 1878 for Mr John McGregor who completed the first floor then ran out of funds, in 1883 it was sold to Mr Arthur Morris, co-director of the Union Steam Ship Company, completed the home and named it Marinoto. It was sold to Mr John Ross in 1901 who due to ill health had to leave New Zealand so in 1903 it was sold to Sir Percy Sargood who lived here with his family until his death in 1940. Percy Rolfe Sargood was born in Melbourne on 26th Sept 1865 to Fredrick and Marian Sargood. Fredrick was a drapery and softgood merchant who established his company Sargood, Son and Ewen which by the 1890s was one of the successful Australasian firms of it's type. As an adult Percy joined the family business and moved to New Zealand in 1891 to take charge of the Dunedin and Christchurch branches and by 1902 was in full control of the New Zealand operation. In 1893 he married Lucy Ormond and they had 3 children- Cedric, born in 1893, Gulielma (known as Bill) in 1896 and Huia (known as Dick) in 1898. Sadly Cedric was killed in action at Gallipolli at age 21.The Sargoods were fine art enthusiasts who collected many pieces from around the world, in 1927 they donated 4,000 pounds in memory of their son to establish the Dunedin Public Art Gallery at Logan Park and over the years they donated many art pieces to the art gallery. Marinoto was a large property sitting on 13 acres of land with the house consisting of 14 main rooms plus servants quarters. Over the main entrance, on the other side of the house which was accesed by a rhododendron lined driveway from Newington Ave, were turrets, the entrance foyer is large enough to host large parties and balls with the grand staircase being framed by 3 imposing arches. the rest of the ground floor consisted of 4 very large rooms, the billiard, dining, drawing and living plus the kitchen and service areas. Upstairs were 5 very large bedrooms. the grounds included a tennis court, croquet lawn and formal gardens where many garden parties were held. The Sargoods needed a full staff including 5 gardeners, cook, parlormaids, house cleaner, nanny, groomsmen and a chaffeur. After Sir Percys death the house was sold to the Otago Hospital Board who in 1947 opened it as a convalescent home, in 1958 the Sisters of Mercy bought it and used it as a convent until 2011. It is now being restored to it's former glory (although without the turrets, chimneys and conservatory which were demolished in the 60's and 70's), with many builders etc there the day I was having a nosy around trying to take photos. I'm looking forward to seeing it restored and hopefully we get a chance to have a look inside.

Back onto Newington staying on the right until we get to No 29. Morven was designed by Mandeno and Fraser and built here in 1937 for Dr Douglas Iverach and his wife Zealandia but it was not the first Morven to stand here with the first one built for Zealandias father Sir John Ross (co-founder of Ross and Glendinning) in 1908. When Sir John and his wife Margaret died in 1927 and 1934 it was decided that to divide the large estate evenly between the 6 children Morven would need to be demolished, at only 30 years old!!! All was not lost though, the pathway, road wall, nameplate and glasshouse are from the first Morven.

Along to the steps leading up to Wallace St and head up stopping for a look at No 61 and 63, built for Robert Chapmans daughters, head along to No 57A for a look at Robert Chapmans grand 2 storied villa. A quick detour back onto Lynwood Ave for the last 2 Basil Hooper houses on this walk. No 4 built for Mrs Napier in 1919 (the shutters were a later addition) and No 8 for Mr R Throp in 1920.

Back to Wallace and down the no entry lane then cross Newington and through the bush walk till you come out onto Queens Drive and cross to Duchess St. Mandatory stop at the swings for my daughter then up Bute St. Probably Dunedins most contrasting little streets with the red brick wall on one side and the grey imposing stone wall on the other. The stone wall belongs to No 58 Royal Terrace, built in 1885 for Mr George Esther who named it Te Tarata (meaning the tattooed rock) who lived here until 1900 when it was sold to William Burnett and his wife Eliza Keokeo Burnett. They had 4 sons and 5 daughters ( Lake Mahinerangi was named after one of their daughters) and managed Hawkdun Station near St Bathans so mainly used Te Tarata as a town house. William died in 1927 and Eliza in 1934 but the house remained in the family until 1960. In 1914 the house was leased and opened as a private hospital called Braemar then in 1939 the YMCA leased it for use as a hostel for the armed forces and wartime visitors.

Almost finished, you could say we've saved the best for last. Along to No 42 and through the gate to one of Dunedin's grandest homes. Olveston was built for the Theomin family and took 2 years to build (1904-1906), designed by British architect Ernest George, is 1276 square metres and was fitted with the most modern conveniences of the time....central heating, in-house telephone and heated towel rails, Sadly by 1966 when Dorothy Theomin died there were no heirs to pass it on to, it was then revealed that Dorothy had left Olveston to the City of Dunedin. The Dunedin City Council weren't actually very keen to take it on but luckily were convinced and around 30,000 people visit every year. To learn a lot more about the Theomin family and look around their amazing home I highly suggest taking a tour. After having a good look around the grounds we head down the main entrance and along to St Hildas.