26 / 56
26
COROMANDEL LIFE
SPRING/HOLIDAY 2016
Right:
After an archaeological survey in 2007,
the old Athenree Railway station was transported
and sited in the grounds of the Homestead. Today
the Station Refreshment Rooms are open to the
public for the popular Athenree Teas with locals
and visitors coming from far and wide.
Today the Trust continues with events at the Homestead to raise funds for the
final stage of the property which will complete the building to its original stance.
It is hoped that work can commence later this year.
ATHENREE: LOVELY NOW,
BUT
STILL
AN ONGOING PROJECT.
Focus for the near future will be planting the
gardens with heritage plants and continuing
restoration of the buildings.
They are hoping to promote the increased
use of Athenree Homestead for meetings,
special theme nights, weddings, reunions,
festivals and other events. Facilities include
a full commercial kitchen, two marquee lawn
sites, and the railroad refreshment building.
Group tours and teas can also be arranged.
Visitors to Athenree can enjoy a guided tour
of the Homestead building with its interior
rooms lovingly decorated with antiques
of the period. Visit the gardens and be
refreshed with a spot of tea at the railway
station cafe.
With the exterior stable and protected from the
elements, work on the interior could now begin
– replacing floors, rebuilding the staircase and
veranda, accessing the attic, replacing borer-
damaged timbers with now expensive kauri,
creating the shell-paved driveway in front –
always aiming to be as authentic as possible
with choice of materials.
There were many delightful surprises in the
project. A group of volunteers were scouring
Adela’s book, ‘My Simple Life in New Zealand’
for mention of plants, flowers, crops of the era.
Ellen notes, ”While clearing the garden near
the front door, it was discovered that seeds
that had remained dormant in the soil for
over 80 years had germinated and were now
growing strong and vibrant.”
ELLEN DISCOVERS STEWART’S
ORIGINAL 1878 HOUSE DRAWINGS
Some restoration clues came from drawings
and measurements of the house done by
an architectural student in 1960. On one
occasion, Ellen was in the New Zealand Room
at Tauranga City Library, researching Katikati
and sorting through recently donated papers.
Her heart stopped suddenly as she opened the
original 1878 drawings for the homestead – in
Hugh Stewart’s own hand!
Modern safety regulations required fire alarm
and sprinkler systems, and rebuilding the
two fireplaces and chimneys. And this meant
more tedious grant writing, financial reports
and submitted proposals. They decided to go
with the original wall covering over the solid
boards: ‘scrim’ jute fabric sheets covered with
wallpaper. They even located a few retirees
who still knew how to do the job.
Work proceeded to the point that the front
section of the Homestead was largely
complete by 2002, and was able to be used
for a Celebration Ball! Athenree once more
became a valuable community asset, with
the facility often now used for large and small
events: teas, family reunions, large weddings,
a mystery night, a Christmas holiday festival,
and even a book launch for Lindey Dawson’s
historical novel of the settlement era, “Scarlet
and Magenta.”
Valuable to the project, though not original,
were the donations of two railway station
buildings. One is used now as a cafe, and
the other was disassembled with the boards
and hardware used to restore parts of the
house. Public toilets, a serviceable driveway
and parking areas were also added, and large
marquees can now be erected for weddings or
other events.
In 2007, archeological dig studies were done
over much of the homestead; with topsoil
removed, the location of many buildings, wells,
fireplaces, underground storage, etc. were
mapped out, all useful for future phases of the
project. (See link on website resources page
28 to view full report.)
An unexpected benefit of the project has been
to restore personal contacts back in Ulster,
especially with historians, some of whom have
visited the homestead.
One of the results of this connection led to
the purchase of a large oil painting of Captain
Mervyn Stewart, father of Hugh and settlement
founder George Vesey Stewart.
Today this can be viewed in the ballroom
at Athenree along with Captain Stewart’s
Orangemen sash and many other historical
items that help to tell the story of the
homestead and early Katikati. ( See page 29.)
Above:
Athenree’s original builders/owners
Hugh and Adela Stewart in 1900. “A Summer
House was mentioned in Adela’s book”, writes
Ellen. “So we decided to erect one on the front
lawn, having no idea as to where it would have
originally been situated. Imagine our surprise
when a few years later photos were found
with Hugh and Adela standing by the summer
house and it appears to be almost on the
exact spot where we have erected it.”
(Continued from page 25)