Historic Places Trust Appeals For £12,000

Press, Volume C, Issue 29662, 4 November 1961, Page 14

Historic Places Trust Appeals For £12,000

“A national call has come to New Zealanders to prove that they have worthy interest in their country’s history,” says Mr G. H. O. Wilson, chairman of the National Historic Places Trust, in a statement.

“For the first time since its establishment by statute in 1954 the National Historic

Places Trust is appealing to the public for donations in a very important national enterprise, the restoration and preservation of Bishop Selwyn’s historic mission house at Waimate North, in the Bay of Islands County, to its original form. “Built in 1831-32, the house is next in age to the Kemp house built in 1819 at Kerikeri,” says Mr Wilson. “The National Historic Places Trust has had wideranging activities in the North and South Islands which have not required greater expenditure than the Government’s limited annual grants and the subscriptions of associate members. To complete the planning for the Waimate mission house the trust requires £12,000. "In 1958 the trust bought the mission house and five acres of adjoining land. It has raised a service building for housing equipment and stores necessary for the work of restoration; it has finished a roadway to the house; and it is now installing two 5000gallon tanks with two electric pumps and hoses for protection against fire. Uses For Money "The estimated sum of £12,000 will be required for reblocking and strengthening foundation, fixing floors, returning the roof and dormer windows to their original shape, and shingling, repairing chimneys, other exterior repairs, interior renovations, installation of fire - prevention sprinkler water system, a house for a caretaker, and contingencies. At present the caretaker lives in the mission house. The restored house must be fully open for visitors. “The Rev. Samuel Marsden, representative of the Church Missionary Society of London, who brought Christianity to the Bay of Islands in 1814, chose the site for the Waimate mission station in 1830. The plan included a farm which became a training ground for Maoris in British farming methods and a source of supply for the other stations. Finished In 1832 “Finished in 1832, the house was the home of George Clarke, a lay missionary, his wife, and large family, until 1840. In 1842 Bishop Selwyn came to Waimate and leased the station from the Missionary Society. He adapted the buildings for St. John’s College, the first college of this country. “During the last part of

the house’s history the original roof, which was hipped and fairly low-pitched with dormer windows, was replaced by a different structure. In 1912 further renovations were carried out, and corrugated iron took the place of the roof shingles. “The Rev. W. C. Cotton made a pen and ink sketch of the house when it was at its best, in 1845. That sketch is the guide for the prospective restoration. The main structure will remain as it is now, including essential features of the interior, the formal drawingroom and dining-room, the staircase and the central hall, as well as the columned veranda.” Cheques made payable to the Waimate North Mission House Fund should be sent to the secretary, National Historic Places Trust, P.O. Box 5033, Wellington.