Home celebrates history and views
Cameron St is one of New Plymouth’s inner-city neighbourhoods that embraces local history.
Many of the homes along this street, which slopes up towards Coronation Ave and New Plymouth Boys’ High School, are large character homes built a century or more ago and have been carefully and thoughtfully maintained.
That care and attention to character is also found in this home at 43 Cameron St. There have been obvious changes made to this property over the years, but the renovations and improvements have been carried out with an eye for the home’s era and the fine detail of its character.
Information from Puke Ariki archives suggests that the home was planned by the noted architectural firm of Messenger, Griffiths and Taylor in 1923 for James Charlton Robson (1871-1952). The architects called for construction tenders in September that year, so the home was most likely completed in 1924. The builder is identified as A.o.brown, and the estimated cost of construction was £1650.
Information about that likely first owner is scarce. There are references on the Geni genealogy website to his similarly named father who was a sawmiller from a Northumberland family with a history going back 1200 years, and who arrived in New Zealand in 1862.
The two-storey Cameron St home was designed in the English Cottage style and finished, like a number of its neighbours, in weatherboard wall cladding with shingles beneath the roof gables.
The 898sqm of land the home sits on has its own history. It was once part of the Willowfield Estate, which originally encompassed this whole triangle-shaped block, reaching up from Pendarves St to the point of Cameron St where it touches Coronation Ave.
This substantial block of land was bought by the prominent Hirst family after their rural residence was destroyed during the Taranaki land wars of the 1860s and they sought the relative safety of the town. Thomas and Grace Hirst built the Willowfield homestead for themselves and five cottages along the Pendarves St boundary for their children, creating a family precinct that became known as the Hen and Chickens. The oak tree in the back garden here at 43 Cameron St is more than 100 years old and was thought to be planted by the Hirsts.
Willowfield’s ‘Hen’ is still at 37 Cameron St. It neighbours today’s feature home, which is one of 17 homes built around the old homestead following several subdivision projects.
The appeal of building here in the 1920s is still obvious today, with the setting on the Cameron St slope giving this home expansive views. From the upstairs rooms, you can see over lower homes to Paritutu Rock and the former power-station chimney to the west, with a panorama of city and sea out in front. It’s an outlook that will offer changing moods as weather comes and goes, and glowing sunsets as evenings settle in.
Prospective buyers will no doubt admire the presentation during a visit here. The home has a prominentstreet appeal with its high-pitched roofline, a riverstone wall along the street boundary, and mature trees screening its northern boundary. A wide driveway provides off-street parking for visitors and leads in to the double garage that has been designed to complement the look of the house.
Original wooden windows, some with leadlight features, point to the character flavour of the home. Step inside the front door, and the feel is confirmed. Polished timber floors, a richly grained timber staircase, and timber architraves and ceiling features create a warm welcome.
In most cases, homes of this era have their living areas at ground level, with bedroom spaces upstairs. Here, renovation has moved the living focus upstairs to take full advantage of that panoramic outlook.
You will find the contemporary ease of spacious, open-plan living across the front of the upper level, with the kitchen set into the back corner, and dining and lounge areas capturing the views.
Two sets of bifolding aluminium doors are a modern and convenient touch, giving full access out to a choice of deck areas an original-looking verandah facing north and a large newer and carpeted deck sitting out on the eastern side. You can enjoy allday sun up here.
The kitchen is a high-spec design featuring granite bench tops, a wide, double-oven, gas-electric cooker; space for a double-door fridge, and a mirrored splashback expanding the sense of space in here.
A study and a powder room with toilet and vanity complete the upstairs floor plan.
Downstairs, there are four bedrooms (the master with a luxurious tiled ensuite,) a family bathroom, and an extra room that
Advertising feature could purpose as a rumpus area, art studio, music room, or a kids’ living area. The extra room opens out through French doors to another large private deck area that reaches out into the trees that fill the lower slope of the property.
Harcourts consultant Marty Suchy is marketing the home, which he says stands out for its proximity to central city shopping, cafes, and reputable schools. “It’s a private, park-like setting that’s also just a stroll to Pukekura Park.”