Located in the hills overlooking Nelson College, this circa 1930 two storey bungalow has some local historic interest because of the land’s association with notable people and the house’s brief association with Alaric Betts of the longstanding local printing company AG Betts and Son.

The property was part of Nelson’s original town survey in 1842 and subsequently some well-known occupants were associated with St Katherine’s, as the property was known, including Justice Christopher William Richmond and important surveyor John Samuel Browning. In the late nineteenth century the house’s site was part of land associated with Robert and Elizabeth Allan’s residence, who are the namesakes for the street. A subdivision was created and teachers Wilhelmina and Robert Wilson purchased the house’s section in 1929. It appears it was one of the first houses built in the subdivision. After Robert’s death in 1934 the property was acquired by Dora and Alaric Betts – Wilhelmina’s daughter and son-in-law. Alaric worked for their longstanding family printing business, established by his father circa 1892, and he became a director of AG Betts and Son in 1942. From the 1950s the house was owned by an electrician, builder and then various professional people.

This weatherboard-clad house was a characteristic two storey example from its era when it was added to the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero (the List) in the early 1980s, featuring bungalow aspects such as a front bow window with leadlighting, extended pointed bargeboards and rows of decorative joists under the eaves. By the time of a destructive fire in 1999 the building had undergone considerable modification, including the replacement of the bow window with French doors. The fire resulted in the replacement of much of the upper level interior linings as well as areas on the exterior and changes to the interior layout.

There are other examples of Nelson bungalow houses also entered on the List as Category 2 historic places, including List numbers 1568 and 1578. Like 5 Allan Street, these places appear to have been entered on the List because of their architectural importance as characteristic buildings of this type. However, in comparison, these other examples seem to have retained more of the features contributing to this significance.