The Burnett Homestead Gates were erected by T.D. Burnett during the worst years of the great depression (1932-3), with the inscription that reads 'to keep minds and hands busy'. Stylistically they resemble the nearby St. David's Pioneer Memorial Church (1928-30, Cat. I), a heavily 'Arts and Crafts' influenced Romanesque/Norman structure designed by Herbert Hall of Timaru, and also built of river boulders. Perhaps the same craftsmen who had worked on the church were provided with work for this project. The inscriptions are an interesting mixture, though once more Burnett is honouring and commemorating his parents and other early pioneers.
List Entry Information
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1956
Date Entered
25th June 2004
Date of Effect
25th June 2004
City/District Council
Mackenzie District
Region
Canterbury Region
Extent of List Entry
Part of Pt Lot 1 DP 3578 (RT CB3C/1499) and Road Reserve, Canterbury Land District and the structure known as Burnett Homestead Gates thereon. Refer to Extent Map tabled at the Rārangi Kōrero Committee Meeting held on 1 June 2023.
Legal description
Pt Lot 1 DP 3578 (RT CB3C/1499) and Road Reserve, Canterbury Land District
Location Description
(additional information: also 58 Burnetts Road, ALBURY and on some maps Burnetts is spelled Burnett) Registration Includes: The entrance gates, gate posts and associated wall and the land on CT CB687/9
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
1956
Date Entered
25th June 2004
Date of Effect
25th June 2004
City/District Council
Mackenzie District
Region
Canterbury Region
Extent of List Entry
Part of Pt Lot 1 DP 3578 (RT CB3C/1499) and Road Reserve, Canterbury Land District and the structure known as Burnett Homestead Gates thereon. Refer to Extent Map tabled at the Rārangi Kōrero Committee Meeting held on 1 June 2023.
Legal description
Pt Lot 1 DP 3578 (RT CB3C/1499) and Road Reserve, Canterbury Land District
Location Description
(additional information: also 58 Burnetts Road, ALBURY and on some maps Burnetts is spelled Burnett) Registration Includes: The entrance gates, gate posts and associated wall and the land on CT CB687/9
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The Burnett Homestead Gates have significance as an example of the projects undertaken during the Great Depression. Their scale indicates the status of the landowner who commissioned them and the overall message they convey is homage to the pioneer settlers of the area.
Why is this place Category 1 / Category 2?
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
(a) they represent an example of the projects undertaken during the Great Depression. In providing his home with an imposing entrance way, T.D. Burnett was able to give paid work to local people in need, with a project which might not have been so grand in another era. (g) The gates and their flanking walls are of technical and design interest through their massive construction and idiosyncratic inscriptions. (k) The gateway is a landmark feature in Burnett Valley as is St. David's Pioneer Memorial Church (Category I) on a wooded hillside across the road. Built in 1930, it too was commissioned by T.D. Burnett.
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The Burnett Homestead Gates have significance as an example of the projects undertaken during the Great Depression. Their scale indicates the status of the landowner who commissioned them and the overall message they convey is homage to the pioneer settlers of the area.
Why is this place Category 1 / Category 2?
Detail Of Assessed Criteria
(a) they represent an example of the projects undertaken during the Great Depression. In providing his home with an imposing entrance way, T.D. Burnett was able to give paid work to local people in need, with a project which might not have been so grand in another era. (g) The gates and their flanking walls are of technical and design interest through their massive construction and idiosyncratic inscriptions. (k) The gateway is a landmark feature in Burnett Valley as is St. David's Pioneer Memorial Church (Category I) on a wooded hillside across the road. Built in 1930, it too was commissioned by T.D. Burnett.
Construction Professional
Name
Burnett, T.D
Type
Architect
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
Groves, Charles
Type
Architect
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
McBride & Groves
Type
Builder
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Construction Details
Start Year
1932
Finish Year
1933
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Iron gates supported on massive ashlar bluestone gate pillars flanked by river boulder abutments.
Construction Professional
Name
Burnett, T.D
Type
Architect
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
Groves, Charles
Type
Architect
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Name
McBride & Groves
Type
Builder
Biography
No biography is currently available for this construction professional
Construction Details
Start Year
1932
Finish Year
1933
Type
Original Construction
Construction Materials
Iron gates supported on massive ashlar bluestone gate pillars flanked by river boulder abutments.
The gates form the entranceway to the winding drive which leads to the two storeyed timber Burnett homestead. From two massive central pillars are hung the main decorative iron gates, featuring the name of the property Strath Naver. The right hand pillar is engraved with the initials 'AB' for Andrew Burnett (the first owner of the property) and a forearm with the motto 'pioneering sweat and toil'. The left hand gate pillar is engraved with 'CB' for Catherine Burnett, Andrew's wife and the words "faith, hope, self-reliance". A New Zealand fern and a Scottish thistle are also included. At each side of the main gates the abutments curve outward, the initial section topped by castellations and the final lower end terminating with two pedestrian scaled gates. At the left hand end the iron gate has the notation "England Expects" with a wrought iron English rose symbol over it. At the right hand side the gate is decorated with a bunch of shamrocks and the words "Faugh a Ballagh", which is understood to be the motto of the Irish Guards. (Translated: "Clear the way") The curved flanking walls which abut the main gates have Gaelic inscriptions with letters made from different shaped smaller stones. These read on the left: CABHAIDH SINN AN T'SEAN RATHAD - AN RA THAD MA TH (We keep the old way - the good way). On the right: AN NI THA AGAINN CUMAI DH SINN (What we have we hold). A huge rock is set in to the right hand end of the wall. It is inscribed: Erected 1932-3 To keep minds and hands busy during the great depression 1932-3 Men learn lessons from adversity
The gates form the entranceway to the winding drive which leads to the two storeyed timber Burnett homestead. From two massive central pillars are hung the main decorative iron gates, featuring the name of the property Strath Naver. The right hand pillar is engraved with the initials 'AB' for Andrew Burnett (the first owner of the property) and a forearm with the motto 'pioneering sweat and toil'. The left hand gate pillar is engraved with 'CB' for Catherine Burnett, Andrew's wife and the words "faith, hope, self-reliance". A New Zealand fern and a Scottish thistle are also included. At each side of the main gates the abutments curve outward, the initial section topped by castellations and the final lower end terminating with two pedestrian scaled gates. At the left hand end the iron gate has the notation "England Expects" with a wrought iron English rose symbol over it. At the right hand side the gate is decorated with a bunch of shamrocks and the words "Faugh a Ballagh", which is understood to be the motto of the Irish Guards. (Translated: "Clear the way") The curved flanking walls which abut the main gates have Gaelic inscriptions with letters made from different shaped smaller stones. These read on the left: CABHAIDH SINN AN T'SEAN RATHAD - AN RA THAD MA TH (We keep the old way - the good way). On the right: AN NI THA AGAINN CUMAI DH SINN (What we have we hold). A huge rock is set in to the right hand end of the wall. It is inscribed: Erected 1932-3 To keep minds and hands busy during the great depression 1932-3 Men learn lessons from adversity
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
3rd September 2004
Report Written By
Pam Wilson
Information Sources
Interview
Interview
New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT)
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Other Information
A fully referenced version of this report is available from the NZHPT Southern Region Office. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Completion Date
3rd September 2004
Report Written By
Pam Wilson
Information Sources
Interview
Interview
New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT)
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Other Information
A fully referenced version of this report is available from the NZHPT Southern Region Office. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Current Usages
Uses: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Gate
Former Usages
General Usage: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Gate
Current Usages
Uses: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Gate
Former Usages
General Usage: Civic Facilities
Specific Usage: Gate
