CORRESPONDENCE Stone House

Press, 27 August 1977, Page 16

CORRESPONDENCE Stone House

Sir, — In “The Press” of Saturday, August 6, you published an article by Derrick Rooney, under the heading" Mountains, Stonehouse, and an Artist’s Vision.” In the portion of this article dealing with the stonehouse, one would be given the impression, that the house was nothing but a derelect old dump. Through your paper. I would like to give a little of the history of this house. In the early days, the Burke’s Pass and Mackenzie district, and Fairlie, were administered, by what was known as the Mount Cook Road Board. This was the predecessor of the Mackenzie County Council. In 1876 the Mount Cook Road Board called tenders for the erection of this building in stone, for the purpose of the headquarters of the Mount Cook Road Board. The first meeting in the new headquarters was held in the board's office on June 6, 1876. Tn 1883 there was constituted the Mackenzie County Council. However, meetings W'ere still held in the headquarters at Burke’s Pass until 1891, when it was decided to move the meetings of the council to Fairlie. The stonehouse then became a private residence, and was used as

such until the mid-19505. After this the Mackenzie Rabbit Board acquired the stonehouse for the accommodation of single men working for the board. The Mackenzie Rabbit Board made considerable improvements, such as putting water in and painting inside. Actually this is one of the historic buildings in the Mackenzie district. Another feature of the stone article is the reference to the road through Burke’s Pass. For many years the road has been tarsealed, and before this it was a first-class shingle road, taking buses and cars through to the tourist centres of the Southern Lakes and the Hermitage. — Nina Mackintosh (Fairlie).

Derrick Rooney writes: I am sorry if there were any inaccuracies in my article, which was, of course, based on the information made available to me. I did not suggest that the house was derelict. It never lacked an owner. But it was unoccupied, it was scheduled for bulldozing, and it was run down. As for the road — my recollection from my own boyhood in the 1950 s is that it was pretty rough in the winter.