Anderson House (Former) was built for David Anderson in about 1875 – the Anderson family was once one of the leading mercantile families of Wellington. Anderson opened his grocery and spirit store in Lambton Quay, advertising on 29 September 1849 that he had commenced business. By 1867 his advertisements indicate his shop was in Willis Street. He was involved in the first smelting of Taranaki iron sands, among other business interests. His son, also David, had a store in Molesworth Street. The Andersons sold out to Burns, Philp & Company Ltd in 1920. The house was originally called Rhyme. The first David Anderson died in 1889 and his son, David, spent £2000 enlarging the house and adding the upstairs balcony. David Junior married Sarah Spinks and they took up residence in 1893 after his mother moved to Willis Street. Sarah died in 1914 and David in 1918. The next occupant (David Junior’s son, also named David) developed Anderson Terrace below the house. He died in 1935. During World War Two the house was used by the army and it was not until David III’s son Paul returned from the war in 1946 that it was once again a family home. In 1977 Paul Anderson died; the fourth generation of Andersons to live there. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) expressed interest in purchasing the property, together with the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society – the period furnishings were of particular interest. However, this did not eventuate and the furnishings were sold at auction in February 1978. The residence was sold in August 1978 to the Wellington Commercial Travellers’ Association who did not move in for four years until the house was renovated and another substantial wing added. Subsequent owners have been the Royal Foundation for the Blind and, since 1993, Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Board. Anderson House is a two-storey house, clad in rusticated weatherboards and roofed in corrugated iron. The original c. 1875 house has disappeared under the later additions and adaptations – balustraded verandas, bay windows and small wings to the sides were added in c. 1890. The veranda is composed of double pillars with decorative capitals, ‘supporting a very graceful Italianate balcony’. The interior was said to feature five Italianate marble fireplaces, fresco ceilings with original crystal chandeliers and the foyer a patterned marble floor. In the early 1980s a further substantial wing was added to the south side of the house. Anderson House’s significance comes from its association with a prominent family of the time and its nineteenth-century spaciousness.