Pioneer Homesteads—Vl Ohoka Homestead

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31089, 18 June 1966, Page 12

Pioneer Homesteads—Vl Ohoka Homestead

(Specially written for "The Press" by

JOHN A. HENDRY)

BOUNDED by what are now known as White’s road, Jackson’s road and by the old Eyre branch drain and road reserve, a Crown grant of 451 acres was made to Joseph Senior White, a storekeeper, of Kaiapoi, on June 4,1867.

Later, he added to this holding and bought more land in Swannanoa and elsewhere—in all about 1000 acres.

White came from Australia, was comparatively well-to-do and established the wellknown Beehive Emporium in Charles street, Kaiapoi. He started branches at Saltwater Creek in 1862, at Leithfield in 1864 and Amberley in 1867.

White was also very interested in silviculture, importing and planting 100,000 oak, elm, ash, beech and Australian gum seedlings for shelter belts. Not all of these grew, most of the gums failed. He built the homestead based, so it is said, on an Australian house he admired. Congruity On his death in 1905, the estate passed to his wife and son, and, in 1910, the homestead block was sold to a Mr Baynes who sold it to William McFarlane in 1927. Duncan Rutherford bought it three years later, selling to Mrs J. T. Matson in 1945. Dr. H. E. Blakely bought it 10 years later and recently the property was taken over by Coniston Farm Ltd., the pre-

sent occupiers being Dr. and Mrs A. Harper. This homestead is one of the gems of the district, for the whole complex of the main house, service wing barns and Implement sheds (not shown in the sketch) is so very compact and well planned. In fact, it has air of one of the smaller English country seats. From the sketch we see a two-storey brick-and-stone house with high-pitched slate roofs offset with quaintly fretted barge boards which lend a quality of lightness to the design. Probably it was begun in the mid-seventies some nine or 10 years after White took over the property, and was conceived as an entity from the beginning. The mere imposing front portion formed the main house, with the service wing nestling into it at the rear and the various storerooms forming a further courtyard beyond. Externally the service wings are the most appealing with their delightful dormers, free handling of the fretted bargeboards and unexpected corners and porches. The main block is a little

too solid, with its heavy baywindows and entrance porch, relieved though they are with different window treatments and cast-iron ornament Individually, though the units are interesting with Gothic influence, such as the shaped heads of both casement and sash windows, and the carved insets to the gable ends, while the fretted barge-boards, if not so free as elsewhere, are more elegantly finished with finials and even a weathercock.

On entering the welldetailed, panelled front-door we come into an outstanding hall containing a beautiful cut-string staircase complete with turned balusters fine moulded and wreathed hand-

rail the whole top lit by skylights. The house is plastered throughout with moulded cornices and ceiling rises and high ceilings to the main block, but with much less splendour to the service wing. To the left lies the drawing room of handsome proportions, most beautifully decorated in dull green and greys with accents of warm colour, while across to the right is a smaller family room or den, again beautifully furnished and very snug. Behind this lies the large dining room with a blue and

fawn Chinese carpet and blue accents. Here silver, old furniture and interesting furnishings, glow and mingle in a most pleasing manner. Well-Planned The bedrooms open off a spacious landing, and are all large and again carried out in charming colour combinations which set off to perfection the attractive furniture. Next to the main bedroom which lies over the drawing room is a small room, possibly a former dressing room but now a child’s room which opens on to the flat roof over the entrance porch and contains a large collection of miniature vehicles. From a half-landing on the main stairs, access is gained to the bedrooms of the service wing which are all fairly large, with coved ceilings, as might be imagined. Here, too, we find the precipitous back-stair leading down to the former kitchen regions, now unused, as a new kitchen has been built nearer to the main diningroom. When this wing is restored as the owners intend, the whole house will be hard to equal as an example of the architecture of the period.