Newspaper Article 1994 – Historical farm to be auctioned

Historical farm to be auctioned

A farm and John Scott-designed homestead near Waipawa is to be auctioned on November 4.

The Brow, owned by Thomas White and Stephanie Till, is part of the original historic 1400 hectare Tanner farm brought [bought] by Thomas Tanner in 1853. The Tanner’s original homestead, which burned down in 1966, was built of totara and matai milled on the property.

The Pattison family owned the Brow at the time of the fire and when rebuilding considered a new site. However, Mr Scott said the site on the rise of the Manga-o-nuku River was “inspiring and irresistible” benefiting from mature planting and commanding views. The property was also owned by the Adams family before the Whites.

Part of his brief was to design a house that would withstand fire and earthquake. The 224 square metre house has received a lot of attention in 27 years and has been photographed for books and magazines.

The 28 hectare prime limestone country farm is 13 kilometres north-west of Waipawa.

Photo caption – The John Scott designed homestead on the Brow farm.