Mansion House on

Kawau Island Kawau Island is in the Hauraki Gulf, close to the north-eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the Māori word for the shag.At its closest point it lies off the coast of the Northland Peninsula, just south of Tā ...

, New Zealand, is a house that was owned by Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

from 1862 to 1888. Built in 1845 as the house for the manager of a copper mine on the island, it was extended significantly by Grey during his ownership. Mansion House is a heritage listed building. It is open to the public as part of the Kawau Island Historic Reserve administered by the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Background

Kawau Island is in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. It was occupied by

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

up until sometime in the 19th century and in 1839 was purchased by a land company intending to avail itself of the island's timber. In 1844,

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

deposits were discovered and mining infrastructure was quickly established. However, the efforts to extract the copper was plagued with flooding of mine shafts and workers left to go

gold mining in Australia Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth vi ...

. The copper mine on Kawau Island closed in 1855, after around had been extracted. The island was put up for sale in 1862 at which time Sir George Grey, newly commencing a second term as

Governor of New Zealand A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, purchased it for £3,500.

Mansion House

In 1845, the manager of the mine, Captain James Ninnis, had a two level brick dwelling of 11 rooms built at Momona Bay (what is now called Mansion House Bay). When Grey purchased the island, he was impressed with the building, commenting favourably on its thick walls, kauri timber and surrounding landscape. He contracted the architect

Frederick Thatcher The Reverend Frederick Thatcher (1814 – 19 October 1890) was an English and New Zealand architect and clergyman. He was born at Hastings to a long-established Sussex family. He practised as an architect in London from 1835 and was one of th ...

to extend the house with additional bedrooms, as well as dining and drawing rooms. Thatcher maintained the original

Georgian style Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover, George I, George II, Ge ...

of the house, designing a new wing with an elongate verandah and bay window. The work was completed by an Auckland builder for £5,000. Grey lived in the house from 1870 to 1874 and then used it as a getaway. For much of this time, his niece also resided at Mansion House and many notable persons of the period visited Grey at Mansion House. He spent extravagantly on the property, filling the house with artifacts from around the world and importing rare plant and animal species for his gardens. The original jetty leading to the property, built in 1844, was replaced with the current structure in 1875. It is likely to be the oldest surviving jetty in New Zealand. In 1888, his health now in decline, Grey sold the island. The new owners added the distinctive verandahs, designed by the architect Robert Watt, to the front face of the house and by 1901, it had become known as Mansion House. Over the next several decades, much of the surrounding land was subdivided and the house itself had several owners. In 1901, the house was redeveloped by a group of investors including photographer Henry Winkelmann, who marketed the house as lodgings under the name Kawau Boarding House. Winkelmann extensively photographed the house and surrounding property in 1901 as a part of this venture, and sold his stake in 1904. The island was a popular destination for tourists and day trippers from Auckland and for much of this time, Mansion House was operated as a hotel. In 1967, the last owner sold the house and surrounding land to the New Zealand Government so that it may be included in the newly established Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. Mansion House continued to be operated as a hotel under a lease and was subject to some alterations that were not in keeping with the character of the building. In 1977, the lease was surrendered and the house underwent extensive renovations to bring it back to how it appeared in the 1890s. This included the removal of an extension added by one of the later owners of the house, despite requests from the locals to leave it in place. Furnished and decorated with loaned or donated period pieces, Mansion House was opened to the public in October 1979. Mansion House was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now called

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...

) on 23 June 1983 and has registration number 8. The building has a category I listing. Originally administered by the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park Board, it is now the responsibility of the

as part of the Kawau Island Historic Reserve.

Notes

References

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External links

{{Rodney Local Board Area Warkworth Subdivision Frederick Thatcher buildings Houses completed in 1845 Kawau Island Heritage New Zealand Category 1 historic places in the Auckland Region 1840s architecture in New Zealand Rodney Local Board Area