A gracious example of the Neo-Georgian style, Waimāhaka Homestead in Waimāhaka, Southland was designed by Invercargill architects Brodrick and Royds in 1928. The homestead is of considerable architectural significance due to its form and the scarcity of this style of architecture in New Zealand from this time period. It is historically significant through its long association with the Holms family who established the oldest Romney stud, and the oldest continually maintained Hereford stud, in New Zealand. The Waimāhaka Estate has had a long association with the Holms family. James Holms (d.1908) took up Crown grants on the land in the early 1870s. Following his death in 1908, his son Alexander Scott Holms (1873-1953) took over the property and extended the estate. On 12 September 1928, Invercargill architects C.J. Brodrick (1867-1946) and T.P. Royds (1884-1935) invited tenders for the ‘erection of two-storey Brick Residence at Waimāhaka for A.S. Holmes.’ Ruth Helms writes that Waimāhaka resembles Cecil Wood’s Anderson Park Homestead (1924) in Invercargill, and this property likely inspired Brodrick and Royds. This two storied double brick building is set on a knoll in park-like surroundings with mature trees and shrubs. It is covered with white roughcast and bears a slated hipped roof which flares outwards as it reaches the eaves. The brackets and dentil course under the eaves and the window shutters are wooden. The sash windows have small square panes with the lower sashes larger than the top sashes. The top story windows are smaller than those of the lower story and are surmounted by a keystone. The combined effect is a sense of elevation. Additional bay windows project laterally from the ground floor rooms at each side. The main entrance is located in the centre of the garden front which is emphasised by a semi-circular concrete portico projecting from the ground floor supported by four columns with Doric capitals. The doorway is placed within a Serliana arch, with a palmette fanlight. In the attic a three sash dormer window is set into the roof with a shell tympanum over it, reflecting the design of fanlight below. At the rear of the building, a covered porch leads to a row of one storied outhouse rooms. The interior of the homestead has a typically Georgian layout with the main rooms aligned on either side of a central hallway which is lined with heart rimu. The house has seven bedrooms, and five living rooms. The fireplaces in the reception rooms are brick with dark-stained timber surrounds and the drawing room has a decorative plaster ceiling. A Jacobean staircase with barley sugar balustrade rises from a large hall with specially carved furniture made by P. Swanson. In 1950, the property passed to sons James Holms and Henderson Holms, and these two continued to uphold the Waimāhaka Estate’s reputation. In 2019, the property remains in the ownership of the Holms family. [The information above comes from an upgrade report completed in July 2019].