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Acacia Cottage

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Acacia Cottage
Map
General information
Architectural styleGeorgian Architecture
AddressOlive Grove Road, Cornwall Park, One Tree Hill, Auckland
Coordinates36°53′50.89″S 174°47′2.1″E / 36.8974694°S 174.783917°E / -36.8974694; 174.783917
CompletedJune 1841
OwnerJohn Logan Campbell
Designated2 February 1990
Reference no.525

Acacia Cottage is a category 1 historic place in Auckland and the former residence of John Logan Campbell.

History

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Acacia Cottage was built in June 1841 on Shortland Street, in Auckland's CBD, behind John Logan Campbell and William Brown's business.[1][2][3] It was originally the residence of Campbell, Brown and Brown's wife, Jessie Brown.[2]

Subsequently, it was inhabited by several families in its location of Shortland Street, who added a fifth room, an outhouse, and verandah.[2] It was moved to its current location in Cornwall Park in October 1920, and the outhouse and part of the verandah were demolished.[2][4][5][6] The cottage was moved by tractor, and images were published in the local newspapers of the transportation.[2] It was moved to a more prominent location within the park, where it now stands, in 1956.[2]

Acacia Cottage is now Auckland's oldest surviving residential building.[1]

Description

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Acacia Cottage was built from kauri timbers, roughly sawn, which Campbell bought from Mr. W. Spickman in Whangaroa for £75.[2][7] It is considered a typical construction and layout for the "initial settlement period."[2]

Exterior

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The exterior is kauri weatherboard, and was reportedly Auckland's first weatherboard constructed building.[2][3] The roof originally had kauri shingles and wooden guttering.[2] The kauri shingles were replaced with corrugated iron in the 1880s.[2] The foundations were originally wooden, but were replaced with concrete blocks when it was moved firstly in 1921 and subsequently in 1956.[2]

Some changes were made during the period between 1841 and 1921, but it has largely been returned to the original 1841 building structure, except for a wooden addition to the left hand side and the brick chimney which was originally internal.[2]

Interior

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It was a simple four-room plan in a Georgian design, with the front door opening onto a central hallway that connects through to the two rear rooms and a back door.[2] An addition fifth room, a bedroom, that was added at a later date, remains on the left hand side.[2]

The interior was lined with kauri.[2] With the addition of the brick chimney on the exterior, the fireplace was replaced with a brick fireplace.[2] The cottage has been staged with 1840-1920s furniture and is open for visitors.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Acacia Cottage (Auckland, N.Z.)". natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Jones, Martin (2001). "Acacia Cottage". Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  3. ^ a b "REMOVING ACACIA COTTAGE". New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVIII, no. 17680. 15 January 1921. pp. 2 (Supplement).
  4. ^ "Acacia Cottage being relocated to its permanent site in Cornwall Park". kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  5. ^ Ben Schrader, 'Historic places - Historical awakenings, 1900s to 1920s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/historic-places/page-2 (accessed 23 October 2024)
  6. ^ "ACACIA COTTAGE". New Zealand Herald. Vol. LVII, no. 17596. 8 October 1920. p. 4.
  7. ^ "AN HISTORIC COTTAGE". Nelson Evening Mail. Vol. LIV, no. LIV. p. 2.
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