Matanaka Farm
The Matanaka Farm , built around 1840 on the Waikouaiti coast , was the first farm in Otago on the South Island of New Zealand based on Western models and ideas . The buildings remaining on the farmland to this day are considered to be the oldest surviving farm buildings in New Zealand. For this reason, the farm was accepted into Category I by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a place worthy of protection on December 11, 2009 .
Building ensemble
It is believed that the farm was established around 1840. The farm outbuildings that still exist today have been used differently over time and in some cases have also been moved. The following buildings are still on the farm:
- The schoolhouse, originally built around 1840 as the first building as a barn, was set up as a school in 1852 and later moved to the location where it is still located today.
- The three-seater toilet was once located next to the house and has been an extension next to the schoolhouse since 1976.
- A granary stands next to the school building today.
- A horse stable is located a few 10 meters from the school house.
- A small warehouse stands next to the horse stable.
The entire ensemble was restored in 1977 on behalf of the Ministry of Work and opened to the public as a museum. A granary that was demolished shortly after 1975 and a dovecote that burned down in 1935 were not rebuilt.
history
The establishment of the farm goes back to the Australian whaler and businessman John Jones , who in 1838 took over a whaling station and land in Waikouaiti from an insolvent Sydney businessman and in 1840 convinced families in Sydney to settle in Waikouaiti . The first settlers came in April 1840. Jones started the first organized settlement on the South Island by western immigrants. It is believed that by 1841 some farm buildings also existed for the farm workers in the vicinity of the farm. Jones himself also settled with his family, but was initially still interested in whaling. After whaling no longer promised good business, Jones concentrated on farming around 1850 and thus became the food supplier for the settlement and later also for Dunedin , which was founded in 1848 and was a few kilometers south.
In 1854, Jones and his family left the farm and moved to Dunedin . His son William then took over the Matanaka Farm until he too moved to the prosperous Dunedin . In 1871 the farm was rented to McLeod Orbell , the first mayor of the Hawksbury settlement . In 1878 the farm changed hands and was to be sold three more times until its last owner, Monty Ericson, gave the Matanaka Farm to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust in 1976 .
The Matanaka Farm is now part of the urban area of Dunedin .
Web links
- Heather Bauchop : Matanaka Farm . New Zealand Historic Places Trust Pouhere Taonga , October 20, 2009, accessed July 1, 2012 .
- EJ Tapp : Jones, John . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 1, 2010, accessed July 2, 2012 .
Coordinates: 45 ° 36 ′ 27 ″ S , 170 ° 42 ′ 16.8 ″ E