The two storeyed timber dwelling known as Oakwood at 307 Gleniti Road, Hadlow, on the outskirts of Timaru, is of historical significance due to its long association with farmer, Gladstone Robinson, and his family. It is of architectural interest as an example of a work by Timaru architect Jas Turnbull, constructed in 1906.
English-born Gladstone Robinson (b.1860-d.1936) had arrived at Port Chalmers in 1880 and initially farmed in Otago. He married Eva Bathgate in 1888. In 1900 he purchased the Otumarama Estate on the outskirts of Timaru in South Canterbury from Robert Hay. Five years later he sold that property to Arthur Elworthy, eventually repurchasing the upper block of it to build ‘Oakwood’ in 1906. In April 1906 the Timaru architect Jas Turnbull (1864-1947) was advertising for tenders to build a residence he had designed for Gladstone Robinson. Turnbull had worked in a Melbourne architect’s office before returning to establish his own practice in Timaru in circa 1895. In a career spanning over 40 years, Turnbull designed a wide range of building types in the South Canterbury town, including church, school and commercial buildings and a considerable number of large town houses. Oakwood is one such house.
The homestead Oakwood is situated at Hadlow, just to the west of Timaru. It sits approximately 500 metres to the south-west of where the late nineteenth century building known as Otumarama (List No. 2068), the property previously owned by Gladstone Robinson, is situated. The house is clad with weatherboards and has a pitched roof clad with corrugated iron. Stylistically it has an Arts and Crafts influence, with wide overhanding eaves and exposed rafters, timber shingles on part of the first floor and in the gables and decorative fretwork in the verandah. A distinctive feature of the house is the triangular shaped bay-like windows that project onto the verandah on both storeys. A single storeyed projection attached to the northern façade appears to be a later addition, and may explain why the building is sometimes thought to date to the 1930s.
Gladstone Robinson’s farming interests included involvement with pure-bred Holstein bulls, which he exhibited in the district. The Robinson family hosted numerous functions and guests at Oakwood over the years. In 1920, the Robinsons kept hold of the homestead and a few acres of land but sold the balance to the Government for a settlement for discharged soldiers, which is known as the Oakwood Settlement. Although they had stopped large scale farming, the Robinsons remained living and entertaining at Oakwood for many years, Eva remaining there after Gladstone’s death in 1936 briefly. Subsequent owners include Charles Deans Hudson, retired miller of Dunedin (from 1937), Charles Stewart Elms, Timaru hotelkeeper (from 1945), Michael Costello, farmer (from late 1950), and Henry and Sybil Robinson (from 1951), Pyne Gould Guinness Limited (from 1963), hotelkeeper George Everiss and his wife Maureen Everiss (from 1969), photographer William Bower and his wife Christine (from 1971). The current owners purchased the property in 2003.
English-born Gladstone Robinson (b.1860-d.1936) had arrived at Port Chalmers in 1880 and initially farmed in Otago. He married Eva Bathgate in 1888. In 1900 he purchased the Otumarama Estate on the outskirts of Timaru in South Canterbury from Robert Hay. Five years later he sold that property to Arthur Elworthy, eventually repurchasing the upper block of it to build ‘Oakwood’ in 1906. In April 1906 the Timaru architect Jas Turnbull (1864-1947) was advertising for tenders to build a residence he had designed for Gladstone Robinson. Turnbull had worked in a Melbourne architect’s office before returning to establish his own practice in Timaru in circa 1895. In a career spanning over 40 years, Turnbull designed a wide range of building types in the South Canterbury town, including church, school and commercial buildings and a considerable number of large town houses. Oakwood is one such house.
The homestead Oakwood is situated at Hadlow, just to the west of Timaru. It sits approximately 500 metres to the south-west of where the late nineteenth century building known as Otumarama (List No. 2068), the property previously owned by Gladstone Robinson, is situated. The house is clad with weatherboards and has a pitched roof clad with corrugated iron. Stylistically it has an Arts and Crafts influence, with wide overhanding eaves and exposed rafters, timber shingles on part of the first floor and in the gables and decorative fretwork in the verandah. A distinctive feature of the house is the triangular shaped bay-like windows that project onto the verandah on both storeys. A single storeyed projection attached to the northern façade appears to be a later addition, and may explain why the building is sometimes thought to date to the 1930s.
Gladstone Robinson’s farming interests included involvement with pure-bred Holstein bulls, which he exhibited in the district. The Robinson family hosted numerous functions and guests at Oakwood over the years. In 1920, the Robinsons kept hold of the homestead and a few acres of land but sold the balance to the Government for a settlement for discharged soldiers, which is known as the Oakwood Settlement. Although they had stopped large scale farming, the Robinsons remained living and entertaining at Oakwood for many years, Eva remaining there after Gladstone’s death in 1936 briefly. Subsequent owners include Charles Deans Hudson, retired miller of Dunedin (from 1937), Charles Stewart Elms, Timaru hotelkeeper (from 1945), Michael Costello, farmer (from late 1950), and Henry and Sybil Robinson (from 1951), Pyne Gould Guinness Limited (from 1963), hotelkeeper George Everiss and his wife Maureen Everiss (from 1969), photographer William Bower and his wife Christine (from 1971). The current owners purchased the property in 2003.
