The land on which the Terrace Houses were built was first granted to John Hyde Harris in September 1860. Not quite a year later Aucklander Henry Tancred bought the property. He sold it to James and Charles Allen for £1800 in May 1878, with the price suggesting there may have already been buildings on the section. In 1881 the property was leased to South Dunedin man Jesse Millington, at an annual rent of £120, for a period of 25 years. The lease discusses Millington's responsibility to maintain the buildings, and the plumbing, and pay taxes and rates. Millington took out a mortgage with the New Zealand Mortgage and Investment Association in 1881 for some £3000. Millington disappeared in 1887 and the lease was vested in the New Zealand Mortgage and Investment Association. The first tenants were apparently from the lower middle class and the working class, there were painters, bootmakers, carpenters, butchers, bakers and a storeman. Charles Allen, a substantial property owner, died in 1888. His real estate became the property of his brother James Allen, including Sections 41 and 60 Block XXXIII on which the Terrace Houses stand. The property seems to have been maintained as a rental property while Allen and later his wife Mary Allen owned it. Mrs Allen sold the property to retired mercer Robinson Bentham in March 1924. Bentham had the property surveyed. In 1925 the property was subdivided into lots (Deeds Plan 402). The following year the terrace houses were sold on individual titles. In recent years the terraced houses have been landmark rental properties, well known to students, and an important element in the townscape of the North Dunedin student area.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 2
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
3189
Date Entered
4th April 2005
Date of Effect
4th April 2005
City/District Council
Dunedin City
Region
Otago Region
Extent of List Entry
Registration includes the land in certificates of title OT271/238, OT17A/73, OT271/228, OT271/223. OT17A/74, OT17A/77, OT271/237, OT271/225, OT271/226, OT17A/75, OT271/227, OT17A/76 and OT271/232 and the buildings, fixtures and fittings thereon.
Legal description
LOT 4 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/238); LOT 5 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT17A/73); LOT 6 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/228); LOT 7 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT17A/74), LOT 8 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/223); LOT 9 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT17A/77); LOT 10 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/237); LOT 11 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/225); LOT 12 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/226); LOT 13 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT17A/75); LOT 14 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/227); LOT 15 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT17A/76); LOT 16 Deed Plan 402 (RT OT271/232); all Otago Land District