In Oratia, David Harre's house has stood for 130 years. Mr Harre lives in Albion Vale, formerly the home of the Parr family, who were orchardists here in the late 1800s.
"We were only allowed in this room on Sundays because that was the day of rest,'' says Mr Harre as he sits in the restored lounge.
Mr Harre is the third generation of his family to live here. His grandfather, John Harre, rented the house from the Parr family in 1914 and, subsequently, the family bought it.
"It was great growing up here,'' Mr Harre says. "You know every corner, and we've contradicted the New Zealand tradition of moving house every two or three years.''
David's mother, Marge Harre, ran a restaurant from the house for 20 years and the wear and tear took its toll.
"We've been fixing it up for 35 years. We bought two houses for 20 in Newton Gully and used the kauri in them to repair this house.
"The foundation is made of bricks, and it took us 10 years to take them up and clean them all.''
He says the effort has been worth it. "We have family in the cemetery over the fence, and we've seen our family grow up here. Not many other families can say the same.''
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