Ask Phoebe Landmark to get new lease of life

Jacaranda House is to be managed for DoC by the Manukau City Council. Photo / Richard Robinson

I have long been fascinated by a grey stone building up on the bank above Wiri Station Rd, where it joins Roscommon Rd in Manukau. It's the only building in the area and has been empty for many years. Lately, the ground around it has been tidied and the windows have been boarded over. My guess is that it was once a homestead, bungalow-style, from the 1920s. Whatever it is, it's a sturdily built edifice, impressive in spite of age and condition. Would you be able to tell us something of its history? Nigel Christian, Sandringham.

It appears the house, known as Jacaranda House, and later as Rumney Cottage, was built about 1928. The house takes its name from the large tree beside it.

The land on which it stands was bought in 1880 by a gentleman named Alexander Whyte. On his death, the land passed to his son and a number of partners.

In 1924, the property was sold again, this time to Harold Forrest. He was unable to service his State Advances loan, and eventually the land ended up in the hands of Ernie Shepherd.

Shepherd was a colourful character. He habitually wore riding breeches, long boots and a waistcoat, and would drive his cattle along Wiri Station Rd on horseback.

He was, by all accounts, a generous man. He gave interest-free loans to friends, employed ex-servicemen after World War II, and gave free beef cattle to a local orphanage. He was also a member of the Otahuhu Borough Council.

In 1963, the property was bought by the Crown for railway purposes, under the Public Works Act 1928 and Railways Act 1949. Mr Shepherd continued to live in the house until his death in 1972 at the age of 85.

The house was then leased to various families, some of whom were associated with nearby quarrying operations, and it became known as the quarry manager's house.

The origin of the name Rumney Cottage is unknown.

The external walls of the house, and columns to the pergola, are made from volcanic rock, both basalt and scoria, from the nearby Wiri volcano (the Wiri Lava Caves are behind the house).

The upper sections of the exterior walls, and most of the interior walls, are concrete.

Inside, there has been little change to the house, perhaps because of the concrete walls. It originally had three or four bedrooms, some of which have been adapted for other purposes, and offices. It's all in pretty good condition, given its age. The ceilings are patterned plaster with exposed joists, and the upper part of the walls are of similar material.

Land Information NZ (Linz) owns the house. The plan is to transfer it to the Department of Conservation after settlement of legal issues, and it will then be managed by Manukau City Council. No decisions have been made on a use for the restored house, although an information centre is possible.

Source: Jacaranda House conservation plan.