Newspaper Article 2005 – Property to be public reserve

An old homestead and its gardens will be linked to a new Subdivision in Hastings.

Property to be public reserve

CHRIS GARDNER
[email protected],nz

The public purchase of a historic Hastings homestead will guarantee a 2.4ha public reserve at the border of the proposed Lyndhurst subdivision.

The Hastings District Council, which approved a plan change enabling housing to be built on 67ha of former orcharding land off Lyndhurst Road, has spent $493,000 on the Stoneycroft house and gardens on the corner of Omahu Road and the Hawke’s Bay Expressway.

The gardens will be linked to the Lyndhurst development, which is subject to the possibility of appeal to the Environment Court until August 5, providing some of the 7ha the council plans as part of the development. The council has no concrete plans for the house, but Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said it would be used for public purposes.

The two-storey Victorian gothic homestead’s title deeds were destroyed in the Hawke’s Bay earthquake of 1931, but it is thought to have been built around 1875 and had only four owners.

The first owner of the house, William Birch, returned to England from New Zealand in 1874 to marry his cousin, Lydia Lardon, who was daughter of the vicar of Arkel, in Shropshire.

A notice in the Hawke’s Bay Herald, published on November 6, 1878, saw Mrs Birch advertise for a cook.

Mr Birch and his brother farmed a remote station on the Taihape Road, which was then only accessible by packhorse, and Stoneycroft was the newly-married couple’s town residence.

The last owners were the Ballantyne family, who had no offspring, and the sale was negotiated by a Christchurch-based family trust. Council CEO Murray Gilbertson said the iconic homestead was part of the social history of Hastings and should be preserved that way. “It’s one of the original old homesteads in the region, with all the chattels inside basically as they have been for many years. Were [We’re] very interested in any ideas or suggestions people may have for its future use.”

The homestead, out-buildings and many of the surrounding trees are protected by a heritage covenant, which will ensure it is protected for future generations.

The area that can be developed, approved last month following a lengthy planning hearing, is sandwiched between Lyndhurst Road and Omahu Road and bordered by the Hawke’s Bay Expressway and Nottingley Road takes in Ikanui and Arbuckle roads.

It is hoped the subdivision will deliver as many as 700 homes, and author Alan Duff is among several developers with an interest in the area.

Photo caption – COMMUNITY ASSET: Stoneycroft, in Omahu Road, Hastings, has been bought by the council for $493,000.