House

367 High Street, RANGIORA

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The house at 367 High Street, Rangiora, is a single storey brick bungalow, constructed in 1920 for Robert McIntosh, former Mayor of Rangiora. Located just over half a kilometre west of Rangiora town centre on the main arterial route towards Oxford, this home illustrates early twentieth century lifestyles and represents the type of development taking place in the service town of Rangiora at that time. The house at 367 High Street has historical significance or value. The takiwā (district) of Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri Rūnanga centres on Tuahiwi and extends from the Hurunui to the Hakatere river and inland to the Main Divide. Nearby the famous Kaiapoi Pā was established by the first Ngāi Tahu ancestors when they settled Te Wai Pounamu. Kaiapoi Pā was the major capital, trading centre and point from which further penetration of the South Island occurred so the area is a genealogical centre for all Ngāi Tahu whānui (descendants). Kaiapoi Pā was established by Moki’s elder brother Tūrākautahi who was the second son of Tūāhuriri, hence “Ngai Tūāhuriri” is the name of the hapū of this area. The township of Rangiora was established in the early 1850s as a sawmilling town and became the administrative and commercial centre for the surrounding rural industries. The area, known as Ashley County from 1876, consisted of good farming land, suitable for crops and pasturage. Flour mills, flax mills and other industries grew quickly in the township and by the census of April 1901, the Rangiora population had grown to 1,768. Robert McIntosh, a farmer from Rangiora purchased four acres, one rood and twenty-six perches, as part of Rural Section 53A, in July 1920 to build his home. McIntosh was one of twelve children of Kenneth and Grace McIntosh from Scotland, who emigrated to New Zealand on the Mystery in 1858 and settled in Kaiapoi. Two of the twelve children, brothers Hector and Robert, both went on to become mayors. Hector was Mayor of Kaiapoi Council between 1924 and 1927, and Robert was Mayor of Rangiora between 1925 and 1927. The brothers established the McIntosh Shield to encourage friendly rivalry for inter-club sports between the two towns. The brick bungalow at 367 High Street is in keeping with the predominant style of house being built in New Zealand at that time. It has a shallow pitched slate roof, with a combination of hipped and gabled sections and decorative shingles in the gables. The timber casement windows are of varying sizes, some with lead lights, and an arched feature window sits central to the eastern elevation. There are two brick chimneys. An extension adjoins the western side of the dwelling, and an accessibility ramp now leads up to the front door on the northern elevation. A free-standing garage sits to the east of the house. Between 1926 and 1928, McIntosh subdivided and sold off several lots reducing the land he retained to approximately one acre fronting onto High Street. The first of these, in March 1926, was the transfer of a new lot to the Borough of Rangiora for road purposes. This was a strip of land that McIntosh gifted so that an entrance to the main gates of Dudley Park could be constructed, and now forms Park Street. In 1939 the property was transferred to Robina Jane Dickson McIntosh upon the death of her husband, and she sold it that same year to Francis Theodore Ager, a company branch manager of Rangiora. The home remained in the Ager family until December 1996, during which time it was extended and adapted for commercial use. In 1996 the property was purchased by Peter and Lynne Reijn of Christchurch, who subsequently sold a part-share to Stanley Charles Barker, a solicitor from Christchurch in 1997. In the late 1990s two new dwellings were constructed on subdivided land to the south of the house and by 2004, a new dwelling had been constructed in the former garden to the north of the house. These subdivisions and new dwellings with associated new boundary fences have significantly reduced the area now associated with the home, and as a result have compromised its setting. In particular the new dwelling to the front (north) of the house takes up most of the original garden and has diminished the home’s relationship with High Street. Some repairs were undertaken to the brickwork and roof in 2012 under an insurance claim following the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The current owners purchased the property in November 2013, and it is currently being used as a private dwelling.

House. June 1992. Original image submitted at time of registration | A McEwan | NZHPT Field Record Form Collection
House. Map from QuickMap® | QuickMap®

Location

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List Entry Information

Overview

Detailed List Entry

Status

Listed

List Entry Status

Historic Place Category 2

Access

Private/No Public Access

List Number

3775

Date Entered

9th September 1984

Date of Effect

9th September 1984

City/District Council

Waimakariri District

Region

Canterbury Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes the land described as Lot 3 DP 469395 (RT 633184), Canterbury Land District and the house thereon.

Legal description

Lot 3 DP 469395 (RT 633184), Canterbury Land District

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