Inverlochy House is located at 3 Inverlochy Place, off Abel Smith Street, in the Wellington suburb of Te Aro. Surrounded by residential houses, apartment blocks and a hotel, it is nestled away in pleasant garden surrounds, which contains two listed heritage trees. It was the residence of the historically significant nineteenth-century businessman and local and national politician, Thomas Kennedy Macdonald.
Macdonald was well known to his contemporaries as "Kennedy Mac". A leading colonial businessman with a land agency and auction business, Macdonald achieved tremendous commercial success, and suffered some large financial losses. He was also a prominent local and national political leader and served as a Wellington City Councillor for the Te Aro Ward, a Member of the House of Representatives for Wellington City, and later a Member of the Legislative Council. Progressive in his politics, and a political ally of Richard Seddon and the Liberals, Macdonald preached protectionism, and advocated the manufacturing and industrial development of the colony. As chief government land valuer he played an important role in the land questions of the 1890s. On his death Prime Minister William Massey claimed that, in Wellington, "his name was as familiar as a household word".
Inverlochy House was first occupied by Macdonald between 1878 and 1879. Originally a 14 room mansion, it was built in the Italianate style and constructed primarily of timber. Due to Macdonald's business and political success, the surrounding estate grew considerably. At one time the whole of the city block comprised the Inverlochy estate. Inverlochy Place was known as "The Avenue" and served as the driveway for the House. When the estate was auctioned in 1893, due to Macdonald's bankruptcy, notice was given that the house, "with every modern convenience", and surrounding property encompassed garden and shrubs, two conservatories, a vinery, a watered fernery, stables and "also a fowl house, summer house, wash house and offices". An on-site tennis court however was not included. By this time the Terrace in Wellington had become one of the most exclusive streets in the country, and many of the colony's business and political elites had residences in the area.
Over time the land, the building, and its wider area have been modified. At the turn of the twentieth century the house was turned into two luxury apartments. In the early 1920s it was further subdivided into nine self-contained flats. Over this same period the estate has been increasingly encroached by various developments. While the house lost some of its grandeur and began to suffer serious wear and tear due to absentee landlordism, the property remained in high esteem amongst the community. This was strikingly illustrated in 1979/1980. Frank Renouf purchased the land on which Inverlochy is located, and began discussions to sell to Williams Development Holdings Ltd. Williams planned to demolish the house and replace it with a seven storey, ninety room motel and restaurant. This occurred at a time when the face of downtown Wellington was being changed by a large-scale rebuilding and earthquake-strengthening project, and the Terrace area became a site for offices, rather than the homes, of captains of industry. A successful campaign was undertaken in opposition to the development, and highlights the social significance of Inverlochy house.
Williams built the hotel next door and gifted Inverlochy House to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, who finally took possession in the mid-1980s. Major renovations and repairs were undertaken. It currently houses the Williams School of Art at Inverlochy, an appropriate usage considering the house's original owner, Macdonald, was not only a businessman and politician, but also a cultural patron, and a Council Member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. Though over time its area has been considerably reduced, the house and its surrounding grounds retains a high level of authenticity and aesthetic significance with a number of original fittings and fixtures, including a magnificent kauri staircase, original tiled floor, restored coloured windows and exterior monuments. It is also architecturally and historically significant, as it is one of the few remaining examples of the type of housing afforded by the late nineteenth century colonial upper class, in an area which once housed many of New Zealand's social, political and commercial elite.
Macdonald was well known to his contemporaries as "Kennedy Mac". A leading colonial businessman with a land agency and auction business, Macdonald achieved tremendous commercial success, and suffered some large financial losses. He was also a prominent local and national political leader and served as a Wellington City Councillor for the Te Aro Ward, a Member of the House of Representatives for Wellington City, and later a Member of the Legislative Council. Progressive in his politics, and a political ally of Richard Seddon and the Liberals, Macdonald preached protectionism, and advocated the manufacturing and industrial development of the colony. As chief government land valuer he played an important role in the land questions of the 1890s. On his death Prime Minister William Massey claimed that, in Wellington, "his name was as familiar as a household word".
Inverlochy House was first occupied by Macdonald between 1878 and 1879. Originally a 14 room mansion, it was built in the Italianate style and constructed primarily of timber. Due to Macdonald's business and political success, the surrounding estate grew considerably. At one time the whole of the city block comprised the Inverlochy estate. Inverlochy Place was known as "The Avenue" and served as the driveway for the House. When the estate was auctioned in 1893, due to Macdonald's bankruptcy, notice was given that the house, "with every modern convenience", and surrounding property encompassed garden and shrubs, two conservatories, a vinery, a watered fernery, stables and "also a fowl house, summer house, wash house and offices". An on-site tennis court however was not included. By this time the Terrace in Wellington had become one of the most exclusive streets in the country, and many of the colony's business and political elites had residences in the area.
Over time the land, the building, and its wider area have been modified. At the turn of the twentieth century the house was turned into two luxury apartments. In the early 1920s it was further subdivided into nine self-contained flats. Over this same period the estate has been increasingly encroached by various developments. While the house lost some of its grandeur and began to suffer serious wear and tear due to absentee landlordism, the property remained in high esteem amongst the community. This was strikingly illustrated in 1979/1980. Frank Renouf purchased the land on which Inverlochy is located, and began discussions to sell to Williams Development Holdings Ltd. Williams planned to demolish the house and replace it with a seven storey, ninety room motel and restaurant. This occurred at a time when the face of downtown Wellington was being changed by a large-scale rebuilding and earthquake-strengthening project, and the Terrace area became a site for offices, rather than the homes, of captains of industry. A successful campaign was undertaken in opposition to the development, and highlights the social significance of Inverlochy house.
Williams built the hotel next door and gifted Inverlochy House to the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, who finally took possession in the mid-1980s. Major renovations and repairs were undertaken. It currently houses the Williams School of Art at Inverlochy, an appropriate usage considering the house's original owner, Macdonald, was not only a businessman and politician, but also a cultural patron, and a Council Member of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. Though over time its area has been considerably reduced, the house and its surrounding grounds retains a high level of authenticity and aesthetic significance with a number of original fittings and fixtures, including a magnificent kauri staircase, original tiled floor, restored coloured windows and exterior monuments. It is also architecturally and historically significant, as it is one of the few remaining examples of the type of housing afforded by the late nineteenth century colonial upper class, in an area which once housed many of New Zealand's social, political and commercial elite.
