Located in near the High Street in Motueka, the Greenwood Homestead was home to three generations of the pioneering Greenwood family from the early 1860s to early 1890s.
Doctor John Danforth and Sarah Greenwood (1809?-1889) were esteemed figures in the early history of the Motueka district. The family arrived in Nelson from England aboard the 'Phoebe' in 1843. On arrival the Greenwoods discovered that their balloted town section was a swamp. While Sarah and the younger children stayed in Nelson, John Danforth and the three eldest boys cleared and drained 50 acres, and build a log house at Motueka. In early letters Sarah reported her progress in house cleaning and cookery and enclosed her first drawings of Nelson. Later she wrote of moving into the new house (which lacked a staircase, chimney and kitchen stove), and of eating home-grown potatoes and eggs, and selling milk and butter.
According to Janet Paul, the Greenwoods 'had little capital but brought integrity, energy, an active social conscience and a civilising culture to their new country'. John Danforth Greenwood became a justice of the peace and magistrate. He gave medical assistance to the Maori at Motueka and served as Motueka's first doctor. He also worked in education and served in the House of Representatives. Sarah Greenwood, a notable artist, painted her finest landscape, 'Dr Greenwood's house in Motueka' in 1852.
From 1866 to 1871, Sarah Greenwood and her eldest daughters ran 'Woodlands House', a boarding school for girls in Bridge Street, Nelson. In 1872 she painted the Greenwood Homestead in a painting entitled 'The Grange'.
The Greenwood's second eldest son Frederick Greenwood established a farm about two miles from Woodlands in the late 1850s. In 1863 the Greenwood Homestead was constructed on the property. Frederick married Clara Maria in 1864 and the Homestead became their family home, with six children being born there between 1865 and 1877. John Danforth and Sarah moved to the Homestead in 1871/1872 and lived there for nearly twenty years.
The Greenwood Homestead is a two-storey home consisting of two main sections that have since been joined by a connecting annexe. Various features of the house are reminiscent of the Colonial Georgian style of architecture such as the symmetrical design, small paned windows, verandahs, timber columns and separate kitchen building. The front section of the Homestead has seven rooms - four downstairs and three upstairs. The windows in the upstairs rooms are a type of casement window with small panes that were popular at the time and the interior joinery is interlocking. The Homestead has concrete and brick foundations and was clad in weatherboards. The use of such materials would have made the Greenwood Homestead a very modern home at the time of its construction and have ensured its survival to this day.
The Greenwood family lived in the Homestead until 1891, when concerns about possible damage to the property through flooding prompted them to sell. Frederick and his family moved to New Plymouth, and John Stuart Wratt became the new owner of the property. The property remained within the Wratt family until 1976 when it was bought by the current owners, Mr and Mrs M.J. Whittaker. One of the conditions of the sale was that the Homestead was not to be structurally altered externally and that no trees were to be removed without the permission of the Waimea County Council or its appointed authority.
A 1976 valuation report on the Homestead noted that one of the downstairs rooms is carpeted and has been used as a lounge while the rest would be suitable as double bedrooms. This report also notes that all three of the upstairs rooms have been used as bedrooms. A verandah runs along the front of this section, and has trellising at each end. The rear section has a large kitchen on the ground floor with three storerooms opening off it. Upstairs is a single room suitable for use as a study, workroom or bedroom. At the time that the valuation report was written, the bathroom/toilet was located at the back of the rear section, with access from the totara beam veranda. This room is now used as an office. There have been few internal alterations to the Greenwood Homestead over the years, but a recent site visit revealed that the bathroom/toilet is now located within the main home and its former location off the back veranda is currently used as a laundry.
The Greenwood Homestead has historical and social significance as it dates to the early period of settlement in the Motueka District, and is associated with the Greenwood family who were pioneers in the truest sense. The Greenwood Homestead is also associated with the Wratt family from 1891. The Wratts took considerable care to preserve the building in close to its original condition. The Homestead is architecturally significant because of its two-section design and the use of concrete as a domestic building material.
Doctor John Danforth and Sarah Greenwood (1809?-1889) were esteemed figures in the early history of the Motueka district. The family arrived in Nelson from England aboard the 'Phoebe' in 1843. On arrival the Greenwoods discovered that their balloted town section was a swamp. While Sarah and the younger children stayed in Nelson, John Danforth and the three eldest boys cleared and drained 50 acres, and build a log house at Motueka. In early letters Sarah reported her progress in house cleaning and cookery and enclosed her first drawings of Nelson. Later she wrote of moving into the new house (which lacked a staircase, chimney and kitchen stove), and of eating home-grown potatoes and eggs, and selling milk and butter.
According to Janet Paul, the Greenwoods 'had little capital but brought integrity, energy, an active social conscience and a civilising culture to their new country'. John Danforth Greenwood became a justice of the peace and magistrate. He gave medical assistance to the Maori at Motueka and served as Motueka's first doctor. He also worked in education and served in the House of Representatives. Sarah Greenwood, a notable artist, painted her finest landscape, 'Dr Greenwood's house in Motueka' in 1852.
From 1866 to 1871, Sarah Greenwood and her eldest daughters ran 'Woodlands House', a boarding school for girls in Bridge Street, Nelson. In 1872 she painted the Greenwood Homestead in a painting entitled 'The Grange'.
The Greenwood's second eldest son Frederick Greenwood established a farm about two miles from Woodlands in the late 1850s. In 1863 the Greenwood Homestead was constructed on the property. Frederick married Clara Maria in 1864 and the Homestead became their family home, with six children being born there between 1865 and 1877. John Danforth and Sarah moved to the Homestead in 1871/1872 and lived there for nearly twenty years.
The Greenwood Homestead is a two-storey home consisting of two main sections that have since been joined by a connecting annexe. Various features of the house are reminiscent of the Colonial Georgian style of architecture such as the symmetrical design, small paned windows, verandahs, timber columns and separate kitchen building. The front section of the Homestead has seven rooms - four downstairs and three upstairs. The windows in the upstairs rooms are a type of casement window with small panes that were popular at the time and the interior joinery is interlocking. The Homestead has concrete and brick foundations and was clad in weatherboards. The use of such materials would have made the Greenwood Homestead a very modern home at the time of its construction and have ensured its survival to this day.
The Greenwood family lived in the Homestead until 1891, when concerns about possible damage to the property through flooding prompted them to sell. Frederick and his family moved to New Plymouth, and John Stuart Wratt became the new owner of the property. The property remained within the Wratt family until 1976 when it was bought by the current owners, Mr and Mrs M.J. Whittaker. One of the conditions of the sale was that the Homestead was not to be structurally altered externally and that no trees were to be removed without the permission of the Waimea County Council or its appointed authority.
A 1976 valuation report on the Homestead noted that one of the downstairs rooms is carpeted and has been used as a lounge while the rest would be suitable as double bedrooms. This report also notes that all three of the upstairs rooms have been used as bedrooms. A verandah runs along the front of this section, and has trellising at each end. The rear section has a large kitchen on the ground floor with three storerooms opening off it. Upstairs is a single room suitable for use as a study, workroom or bedroom. At the time that the valuation report was written, the bathroom/toilet was located at the back of the rear section, with access from the totara beam veranda. This room is now used as an office. There have been few internal alterations to the Greenwood Homestead over the years, but a recent site visit revealed that the bathroom/toilet is now located within the main home and its former location off the back veranda is currently used as a laundry.
The Greenwood Homestead has historical and social significance as it dates to the early period of settlement in the Motueka District, and is associated with the Greenwood family who were pioneers in the truest sense. The Greenwood Homestead is also associated with the Wratt family from 1891. The Wratts took considerable care to preserve the building in close to its original condition. The Homestead is architecturally significant because of its two-section design and the use of concrete as a domestic building material.
