Russell Barnard outside The Heritage cottage.
The Heritage House, next to Tiffany’s Cafe at the southern end of Te Kūiti, has captivated visitors in recent years.
But a spokesperson for the Te Kuiti and District Historical Charitable Trust, Jill Ikin, believes far more people would visit if there were sufficient volunteers to fully staff the site, allowing for extended visiting hours.
Now, only a relatively small number of volunteers were on hand to show people through the cottage – which was open from 12.30pm in winter when volunteers were available, Jill said.
“If we could attract more people to show the visitors through, we would like to increase the opening hours. That combined with effective signage at either end of town on State Highway 3 to advertise the Heritage House to travellers, would just make all the difference.”
Jill pointed out that visitors were charmed by the beautifully restored example of a traditional railway house, boasting polished floors, period wallpaper and interiors fully fitted out with period furniture, appliances and fixtures.
The cottage recalls New Zealand’s first forays into large-scale prefabricated housing, dated from the 1920s. In that era more than 1500 such cottages were flat-packed and sent mostly around the North Island to accommodate railway staff.
And though close to 100 years old, better maintained examples have aged well, thanks to having been built of durable native timbers, such as heart rimu, mātai, tānekaha and tōtara. In contrast, a council building compliance officer told King Country News that today the New Zealand Building Code only stipulated a building must last 50 years.
The wood used in the cottage at 123 Rora St was cut from the bush at Kakahi, south of Taumarunui, then railed to Frankton to be pre-cut at a purpose-built sawmill.
In 2006, Te Kūiti resident Deryn Barton donated the cottage, which originally stood opposite Bosco Cafe at 57 Te Kumi Rd.
A high-water mark from the 1958 floods has been preserved within the house, with a plaque recalling that local man Phillip Wilkinson paddled his canoe in the front door and out the back door following that event.
Described ahead of being transferred to its present site as being in “a decrepit state”, it was cut in half and transferred by Patrick O’Sullivan, assisted by a group of men then aged in their 70s, who were dubbed “Dad’s Army”.
This group of mostly retired tradesmen also put the house back together and set about refurbishing it.
The group comprised Andrew Wagstaff (Captain Mannering), Russell Barnard, Charlie Mackinder and the two surviving members of the team, Keith Walker and Russell Aldridge.
Russell, a self-confessed “jack of all trades”, said the team started working one day a week but soon realised this was not enough.
“We could see we weren’t getting anywhere, so decided to work two days a week. Then, just to get it finished, we went to four-to-five days a week. It took us about 15 months, 2007 to close to 2009.”
Russell recalls some of the highlights of the job, including tightening up and replacing some of the scrim (sarking), which lined the rough saw native timber framing, polishing the mātai flooring and both re-piling and reroofing the house. The team also scavenged various useful items, such as period weatherboards, from other houses in the district. The team located a period coal range and even a fridge dating from the era, which the electrician on the job, Russell Barnard, managed to restore.
“Our women folk helped locate many of the furnishings, appliances and even some wallpaper with the same pattern used in the 1920s, which Diane Hickman sourced from Canada.”
The council donated $20,000 toward the refurbishment and local businesses got behind the project, including Hugh Burt Joinery (windows, benches, steps, a dish rack and other repairs); John Deere Electrical (wiring and electrical hardware); Don Pickering (hardware items); John Thom Ltd (paint and lining); Phillip Collinson (paper hanging); Quota Club (roofing iron); Placemakers (timber).
Railway cottages protected
FOLLOWING consultation which showed Te Kūiti residents prized the look and feel of the railway house precinct in Te Kumi Rd, the heritage homes there have received some protection.
Consultation ahead of the Waitomo District Council District Plan found many locals saw the 12 cottages as an important design element at the northern end of town.
The previous district plan had not recognised their value, planning officers said, hence the council had tried hard to ensure that while under the new plan the cottages could still be, “used and enjoyed without too many requirements and rules”, their most important design elements would be protected.
“If you are a current owner, thank you for looking after these much-valued buildings.
“We have noticed the care that has been taken painting them, restoring them, retaining the design elements which make them so special and looking after the gardens around them.
“We are proposing some rules to keep them safe for the future,” the report said.
Rules for protection include:
n Alterations which restore the front or sides of one of the cottages to their original configuration, style, form or materials are encouraged.
n There is no restriction on what colour the cottages can be painted.
n Noise insulation rules for buildings closer to state highways and rail lines do apply to railway cottages.
n Accessory building and new buildings can be built when located at the side or rear of the cottage and lower than the maximum height of the cottage.
Additions and alterations lower than the maximum height are allowed at the rear.
n Small second-hand relocated buildings positioned at the rear are permitted if they cannot be seen from a public place, but relocated buildings and shipping containers require a building consent.
n The cottages cannot be removed or demolished without a resource consent and more intensive uses, such as retirement villages, compact housing, motels, community centres, churches and marae are not encouraged in the precinct.
The King Country News has also contacted Ruapehu and Ōtorohanga councils to see if protections are in place for railway houses in these areas. Their responses will be published when received.
