At a scale commensurate with the rest of the grand Victorian estate, the Ōamaru stone Cookshop and Single Men’s Quarters at the Windsor Park farmstead were built for leading North Otago agriculturalist and pastoralist Edward Menlove (1831-1903), possibly in 1874 to a design by David Ross. The building has been assessed as having historic and aesthetic significance.
Many of the landscape features now visible in North Otago were said to originate from the mythical Ārai-te-uru waka. Tradition recalls that the waka capsized off Moeraki whereupon the crew managed to swim ashore, leaving the cargo to be taken ashore by the waves. The crew members fled inland and were transformed into the mountains and hills which make up the interior. The main landscape feature in the area is the Waiareka Creek, known by Māori for the resources that could be gathered along its length. Following alienation of the land, the first European owners were the Filleul brothers, who eventually sold to Edward Menlove and Thomas Calcutt. Before the end of the 1860s Menlove would become the sole owner of the land. From the 1870s onwards, Edward Menlove set about remaking the landscape in the form of a traditional English country estate. The Stables were probably built in 1874 to designs by David Ross. The Single Men’s Quarters and Cookshop is likely to have been constructed at the same time.
The Cookshop and Single Men’s Quarters building measures approximately 20 m x 6 m (65.5 ft x 19.5 ft). It is constructed in Ōamaru stone and originally had a roof clad in timber shingles; the roof also had a central louvred venting structure. Contemporary photographs also show a timber building just adjacent to the west. The building’s chimney sat on the northern end of the building, suggesting that the Cookshop portion of the structure was located here.
In 1902, Windsor Park station was taken for closer settlement, splitting the land into two separate portions. In May 1902, 3,821 acres were subdivided into 38 farms, and then the remaining estate was subdivided into ten farms and sold. In 1908, it was further subdivided – the homestead, house and garden blocks sold separately. The house block of 104 acres was sold to J.A.S Wait for £3,000 while the 360 acres homestead block was passed in. In 1909, the land containing the Stables and the other main farm buildings was acquired by Stanley Reid, a ‘sheepfarmer’ and in the 1950s was transferred to Ian Kingan. Aerial photographs from the 1950s onwards suggest that the louvred venting structure of the roof had been removed by this point. Currently the roof is clad in corrugated iron, suggesting a modification from the original timber shingles. The timber building, seen in 19th Century photographs to the west of the building, no longer exists as a standing structure.
As of 2023, the land remains in the ownership of the Kingan family.
Many of the landscape features now visible in North Otago were said to originate from the mythical Ārai-te-uru waka. Tradition recalls that the waka capsized off Moeraki whereupon the crew managed to swim ashore, leaving the cargo to be taken ashore by the waves. The crew members fled inland and were transformed into the mountains and hills which make up the interior. The main landscape feature in the area is the Waiareka Creek, known by Māori for the resources that could be gathered along its length. Following alienation of the land, the first European owners were the Filleul brothers, who eventually sold to Edward Menlove and Thomas Calcutt. Before the end of the 1860s Menlove would become the sole owner of the land. From the 1870s onwards, Edward Menlove set about remaking the landscape in the form of a traditional English country estate. The Stables were probably built in 1874 to designs by David Ross. The Single Men’s Quarters and Cookshop is likely to have been constructed at the same time.
The Cookshop and Single Men’s Quarters building measures approximately 20 m x 6 m (65.5 ft x 19.5 ft). It is constructed in Ōamaru stone and originally had a roof clad in timber shingles; the roof also had a central louvred venting structure. Contemporary photographs also show a timber building just adjacent to the west. The building’s chimney sat on the northern end of the building, suggesting that the Cookshop portion of the structure was located here.
In 1902, Windsor Park station was taken for closer settlement, splitting the land into two separate portions. In May 1902, 3,821 acres were subdivided into 38 farms, and then the remaining estate was subdivided into ten farms and sold. In 1908, it was further subdivided – the homestead, house and garden blocks sold separately. The house block of 104 acres was sold to J.A.S Wait for £3,000 while the 360 acres homestead block was passed in. In 1909, the land containing the Stables and the other main farm buildings was acquired by Stanley Reid, a ‘sheepfarmer’ and in the 1950s was transferred to Ian Kingan. Aerial photographs from the 1950s onwards suggest that the louvred venting structure of the roof had been removed by this point. Currently the roof is clad in corrugated iron, suggesting a modification from the original timber shingles. The timber building, seen in 19th Century photographs to the west of the building, no longer exists as a standing structure.
As of 2023, the land remains in the ownership of the Kingan family.
