Historic Significance

Historical Significance or Value HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Mt Vernon Station was established by John Harding in 1853 and the present homestead is the third on the site. The station is still owned by the Harding family. John Harding was a self-made man, a staunch Methodist and Temperance man who with Sir William Fox founded the New Zealand Alliance in 1886. Mt Vernon Homestead is more of a large family home than an ostentatious mansion. The station was at times hard pressed financially and was propped up between the 1860s and 1890s by capital from the wealthy English aristocrat, the Hon Algernon Tollemache. The house was damaged in the 1931 earthquake and remained unoccupied until 1957 when it was restored by the present owner. Mount Vernon has historic and social significance as part of the distinct type of land owning hierarchy which developed in Canterbury and Hawkes Bay in the second half of the nineteenth century, and for its long association with the Harding family.

Physical Significance

ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE Mount Vernon is one of Hawkes Bay's most imposing homesteads. It is an elegant structure incorporating refined classical detailing. The design of the house shows the influence of American domestic architecture in the arrangement of the verandah and use of Classical motifs. The founder of Mount Vernon, John Harding, was an admirer of George Washington and it is reasonable to assume he instructed Ben Smith to design something resembling Washington's famous residence. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK SIGNIFICANCE The Homestead is superbly sited on a rise and faces north across the Tuki Tuki river from Waipukurau. The building is set within a park containing many historic trees. There are Chilca trees on the estate, the seeds of which were sent by John Harding's son Josiah, from South America. SPECIAL FEATURES Interior panelling in New Zealand timbers. Circular Kauri staircase in the downstairs hall. Harding family museum in the basement.