Kintail (Former)

333 The Narrows Road, WAIPANGO

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Kintail, the ruins of a stone house built around 1860 at Waipango near Jacob’s River, Southland was occupied by the extended Watson-White family for over 150 years before falling into disrepair. It has historical and archaeological significance as a reminder of the early agricultural settlers in Southland and the establishment of permanent settlement, and possesses aesthetic value, the standing ruin providing a poignant and visually attractive reminder of the long history of this place. Stephen Watson was born in Deptford, London, in 1811. Following his elder brothers, Watson went to sea at an early age, working aboard whaling and merchant trading vessels working out of Sydney, around New Zealand and in the Pacific. Watson is believed to have travelled from Sydney to Aparima or Jacob’s River, as the Riverton area was then known. He arrived at Johnny Jones’ newly established whaling station. Watson returned to Sydney in 1839 in Jones’ employ, before returning again to buy seal skins. Watson brought with him his bride, 24-year old Bridget (nee Mullins, born circa 1816). Bridget was reportedly the ‘first European woman to settle permanently in Southern Murihiku.’ Around 1858 Bridget Watson died at their farm and was buried on the property at an unknown location. Stephen Watson remarried Catherine Murchison (b. 1822), a newly arrived settler from Kintail in Scotland. Catherine had borne a daughter on the voyage – Catherine Meche Murchison, seven weeks old on her arrival in Dunedin. Stephen and Catherine married on 21 February 1860. Catherine’s brother Finlay built the couple a new house, assisted by his nephew Roderick McRae. The stone was carted from Isla Bank, a settlement closer to Invercargill. The stone house had four rooms, with a timber lean-to added later. The property was renamed Kintail after Catherine’s Scottish home. In November 1864, Catherine gave birth to son Stephen Watson junior, who along with his half-sister attended the local Birch Bush School. Members of the Watson-White family lived on the property until the 1980s, when it was sold outside the family. Catherine’s life story, her child conceived out of wedlock, and the hostile reaction of Free Church settlers who saw her as of poor character and a reflection of Catholic morals in general, provide insight into the experience of Catholic settlers in early Otago. Kintail is a stone ruin – the exterior walls and front porch are standing, with the gable end walls being most intact. The walls are constructed with both shaped stone and random rubble brought to course. The kitchen may have been housed in a lean-to on the rear elevation, as a brick chimney breast remains that could be the right size for a coal range. The remains of the house indicate a one and a half storey dwelling of some status. The status is indicated in the detail – particularly the stone quoining. This is an early house for the area dating from the early pastoral period and the subdivision of the Jacobs River Hundreds. It is significant remnant of a settler house identified with an early settler figure in Southland’s history and with a long standing relationship to that family. In 2017, the ruins of the homestead sit near the modern homestead and recall the long history of the Watson-White family of Aparima.

Kintail (Former), Waipango | Heather Bauchop | 08/11/2016 | Heritage New Zealand
Kintail (Former), Waipango | Heather Bauchop | 08/11/2016 | Heritage New Zealand
Kintail (Former), Waipango | Heather Bauchop | 08/11/2016 | Heritage New Zealand

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

9775

Date Entered

5th May 2017

Date of Effect

6th June 2017

City/District Council

Southland District

Region

Southland Region

Extent of List Entry

Extent includes part of the land described Sec 12 Blk III Jacobs River Hundred (RT SL7B/277), Southland Land District and the structure known as Kintail (Former) thereon. (Refer to map in Appendix 1 of the List entry report for further information).

Legal description

Sec 12 Blk III Jacobs River Hundred (RT SL7B/277), Southland Land District

Location Description

Located at the end of Narrows Road, 100 metres away from the present-day homestead. Kintail (Former) is located in a paddock at the eastern end of the farm buildings.

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