Meet the builders unravelling an historic jigsaw
Builders research building after their interest in history piqued
It’s been an insightful experience for builders on Whanga¯rei’s Clarke Homestead refit, involving bone discoveries and an education in 1880s craftsmanship.
Kerr Construction has a team of three working on the major conservation project at Whanga¯rei Museum, in Maunu, comprising site foreman Errol Pohe with 47 years’ experience, builder of 17 years Ben Taylor and fourth-year apprentice Gabriel Milina. All three generations have been gaining an education in history while restoring one of Whanga¯rei’s most historic buildings.
“It’s quite extraordinary the amount of effort that must have gone into building this place,” Pohe said.
“It must have been a very slow and precise process. It’s been like a giant jigsaw puzzle undoing it all and putting it back together. It’s been really eye-opening.”
He said, without today’s power tools and using the likes of handforged nails, he imagined the initial build would have taken at least double the amount of time it would today.
The Clarke homestead, named Glorat, was built in 1886 by Whanga¯rei carpenter Richard Keyte and was originally built on 94ha for Dr Alexander and Mary (nee Reid) Clarke as both a family home and doctor’s surgery.
Now a Grade 2 Heritage New Zealand-listed building, the homestead-turned-museum is undergoing a major refit including replacing the piling, now complete, scaffolding and wrapping, re-roofing, and new guttering and spouting in line with the heritage style of its era.
Kerr Construction is Heritage Northland’s recommended builder for work on heritage properties and this was Pohe’s third project at the Kiwi North site, having previously carried out restoration work on the chapel and outbuildings, also heritageclassed. He had developed an empathy for the place, which both Taylor and Milina had also acquired since working on this project.
Said Taylor: “At first I thought it was a bit scary — it was a respect thing for the [original] builders and the [former] occupants.
“It’s still someone’s family home at the end of the day. And it was a doctor’s so it probably helped a lot of people. It’s been a pleasure to work on this old girl and bring her up to scratch.”
“I’ve enjoyed seeing all the workmanship that went into building it,” said Milina. “We’ve got it easy now, in comparison, with the use of power tools.”
Both builders said the project had piqued their interest in history and they had been researching the Clarke Homestead after-hours.
Along with being impressed by the craftsmanship and high quality of materials used, Pohe and his team had been making some interesting discoveries: while crawling under the house during the re-piling process, they had discovered an assortment of bones and a tooth.
“There was one that was quite big and it looked like a [humerus]. I was holding it up to my arm measuring it. That kind of stopped us in our tracks for a while. I was thinking, this used to be a doctor’s surgery . . . ” Pohe said with a grin.
As it turned out, the bones belonged to animals, likely dragged under the house by various owners’ pets.
Although the dwelling had been re-roofed once before, Kiwi North director of operations Allie Fry had been hoping for no “surprises”, such as rot.
As it turned out, Pohe was surprised by the lack of rot in the kauri upper framework.
There was minimal rotting, contained within certain areas under the iron roofing, he said.
“We were all surprised when it was opened up — we expected a lot, especially on the outer edges but they were fine.”
Glorat is considered one of Whanga¯rei’s most historic buildings as, having been occupied by the same family, very few changes have been made.
Heritage New Zealand’s Bill Edwards said many of Whanga¯rei’s older buildings have been changed internally and externally to suit more modern lifestyles over time.
“This has not happened at Glorat so the use of space still reflects to a large extent the age in which it was built and the lifestyles of those who lived there.”
Glorat’s quality construction, with all the added trimmings, was indicative of wealth, he said.
“Glorat is an extremely good example of a late 19th-century house. The finest materials have been used in its building and the timbers are from the now rare and endangered, once extensive Northland kauri forests.
“The selection of cladding [ship lap], joinery and external ornamentation are of the highest quality and grade.”
The Clarke Homestead conservation project, costing more than $500,000, is driven by Kiwi North, governed by the Whanga¯rei Museum and Heritage Trust.
The first step was photographing, cataloguing and storing all the items and treasures accrued from generations of the Clarke family, many of which had not been moved since the last family member left in the 1980s, when it was opened to the public as a museum.
Descendant Basil Clarke farmed the land until 1972 before handing over the keys to his family home after the Northland Regional Museum bought the property as the site for a museum.
Basil retained 6ha for his own use during his lifetime and lived in the back of the homestead with his housekeeper until his death, aged 72, in 1983.
Then, the entire home was open to the public with its original antique furnishings and artefacts collected by the family.
The restoration project began late last year and is expected to be complete by May.
Kiwi North was hoping to extend the refitting to the interior, which was dependent on securing funding, so the public reopening date was uncertain at this stage.
However, once it was open, people could expect to see changes such as the removal of glass viewing dividers separating displays and spectators.
Instead, visitors would be allowed into the rooms via guided tours.
The removal of the dividers would help with airflow, keeping humidity under control and contributing to the building’s longevity.
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It’s been a pleasure to work on this old girl and bring her up to scratch
Builder Ben Taylor