The grand and imposing Opou Station Homestead at Manutuke was constructed in 1883 for Thomas Bloomfield. Bloomfield was the nephew of trader and land purchaser Captain George Edward Read (1814/1815? – 1878), who had purchased the land on which the homestead stands from Thomas Halbert in 1852. Halbert had bought the land, which was included in the Tahuniorangi Block, from Maori owners in 1839. Bloomfield used his inheritance from Read to commission and built the homestead and associated stables. Bloomfield was bankrupt within a year of the homestead’s completion in 1883 however; a love of horses and horse racing are popularly supposed to have contributed to his financial problems, and after his death in 1890 the property was leased for several years. From 1911 the homestead was leased by the owner of nearby Opou farm, John Clark who renamed the estate Opou. In 1934 the Opou estate was purchased by his son, William Clark, and it has remained in the Clark family ever since. Opou Station Homestead was designed by noted Gisborne architect William Peter Finneran and built by Willliam Oswald Skeet, as were the stables. The two-storeyed homestead building is Georgian in style, with elegantly detailed classical colonial architecture. The south side of the building originally featured an imposing square tower which was removed in 1949. The building’s most striking remaining feature is the imposing pedimented balcony which wraps around three sides of the house. Opou Station Homestead has aesthetic significance, being situated within a landscaped setting of mature trees and spacious gardens. The homestead is approached along a wide sweeping driveway, culminating in a view of the imposing and impressive homestead building. The Opou Station Homestead has architectural significance for its high quality, architectural design and as a fine example of the work of Finneran. The building also has historic significance in regard to the association of the Opou estate with the rapid pastoral development of the Tairawhiti district and the prosperity it brought to the region. It is the oldest grand home in the district still standing. Opou Station Homestead has social significance as the grandeur and size of the house directly reflects the relative wealth of its owners and of that period. It is associated with several prominent Gisborne residents who resided in the house, in particular with Captain George Read who owned the land and whose bequest to his nephew allowed the homestead to be built.
Location
List Entry Information
Overview
Detailed List Entry
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
7170
Date Entered
4th April 1994
Date of Effect
4th April 1994
City/District Council
Gisborne District
Region
Gisborne Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes part of the land described as Lot 1 DP 1771 (GS3B/150), Gisborne Land District and the building known as Opou Station Homestead thereon and its fittings and fixtures
Legal description
Lot 1 DP 1771 (RT GS3B/150), Gisborne Land District