Restoration to begin
It has taken 12 years for the trustees of the Athenree Historic Homestead to get to this day.
The second stage of the Homestead’s restoration is starting in the next two weeks, and the site will be closed off to public access for several months. Western Bay of Plenty District Council has granted a resource consent for the plans to go ahead.
The $350,000 project is scheduled to be completed this summer.
The historic Athenree homestead is close to reclaiming its former glory with an extra $50,000 needed to completed the restoration project.
The second phase of work on the building is underway.
The trust has just been granted a resource consent by Western Bay of Plenty District to start work at the back of the building.
Work involves construction of five missing rooms on the southern wing — a kitchen, scullery and a downstairs bathroom with a bedroom and school room upstairs.
For the chair of the Athenree Homestead Trust, Martin Rapley, the news comes as a relief.
The trust estimated the cost of the project at $350,000 with a TECT dollar-for-dollar grant, but there is still a small amount needed.
“We are about $50,000 short to complete the finishing touches such as the period interior design, furniture and landscaping,” Project manager and trustee Peter Robertson says.
Thanks to previous fundraising events and its Railway Cafe on the site, the trust raised $26,000, used to pay professional fees and permits.
Restoring a historic building proved to be a work of patience for the volunteers.
Waihi architect Kyle Anaru was hired to match the earlier plans to the current building regulations.
It took eight months before the consent was granted.
“It has been a long wait but now, we are very excited to get started,” chair Martin Rapley says.
Peter says Council has been particularly slow with the project.
“They were nervous because of the nature of the restoration — matching the modern building rules with a period building. For instance, the building is not square as a modern one would be. The right angle is about 45.5 degrees or 43, so the builder will have some difficulty to work around this,” he says.
Ian McConnochie of Athenree Builders put his hand up to tackle the issues and do the work.
Work is starting in about two weeks and the entire site will be closed during construction.
“The Railway cafe, the Homestead museum and the entrance gates will re-open at the end of the restoration,” Peter says.
The trust hopes to finish the project in early November just in time for their annual Christmas Fair on Sunday, November 25.
Athenree Homestead is a landmark in New Zealand and a testimony to early Irish settlers settlements dating back to 1878.
It was the northernmost
farm of the Ulster Plantation of Katikati, which was the sole planned Irish settlement in the world and the brainchild of George Vesey Steward.
For Martin Rapley, seeing the Homestead in its fully restored state is a dream come true.
“A lot of people I know thought they would never see it finished during their
lifetime.
“For us, the trustees, all volunteers, we have spent countless time on paperwork and obtaining funding,” he says.
The volunteers were awarded the Supreme Award at the 2016 Trustpower Western Bay of Plenty Community Awards for the restoration project.