Riverslea Stables, thought to have been constructed between 1864 and 1870, has historical and architectural significance as a rare remnant of the opulent Riverslea estate of Thomas Tanner (1830-1918). Tanner is considered one of the founders and patrons of Hastings and Havelock North, and the stables have value as a physical reminder of the socio-cultural aspirations of the district’s wealthy English settlers, and of the central role of horses in nineteenth century life.
Tangata whenua settled in what is now Hawke’s Bay around 1250-1300 AD, particularly along the coast and inland waterways. The people who became known as Ngāti Kahungunu arrived in the 1500s. The Heretaunga plains were a system of wetlands, swamps and lakes, which, along with coastal fisheries and bush, provided rich sources of food, medicine and materials. Pākehā established whaling and trading stations in the region from the 1830s, and the government started purchasing land in the 1850s, most of which was leased or sold to settlers who established sheep or cattle stations. By 1859 almost 1.5 million acres of Hawke’s Bay’s land had been purchased from Ngāti Kahungunu.
In 1864 Hēnare Tomoana (?–1904), a Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Te Whatu-i-āpiti leader, leased the Heretaunga block of over 17,000 acres to English settler Thomas Tanner (1830-1918). Tanner and a syndicate known as The Apostles were later found to have illegally leased the land, and then purchased it through persuasion and force. Tanner retained four of the land shares, along the easternmost edge of the block near Te Karamū Stream and Pā, for himself; he secured freehold title in 1870. He named the 5,332-acre estate ‘Riverslea’. Tanner’s prominence in Hawke’s Bay was established by his extensive landholdings (which included the Endsleigh and Pētane runs); his civic contributions including via the House of Representatives, A&P Association, Education Board, and Church of England; and famously, by the land he sold and donated for settlement, which later grew into Hastings.
The Riverslea Stables were built to support the 22-roomed luxury mansion Tanner built c.1870, set in three acres of gardens. Considered one of the most impressive residences in the province, its stables could not be merely utilitarian and are said to have been architect-designed in conjunction with the homestead. The stables building is largely two-storeyed and square in form, with a hipped roof rising above a weatherboard exterior. Its most distinctive feature is a ventilation spire rising from the centre of the roof. The ground floor contained stalls and looseboxes, the interior lit by pairs of large, multi-paned sash windows. A dormer door on the northeast elevation accessed the second-storey hayloft. A single-storey lean-to extends to the northwest, housing the harness room and stable hand’s room with fireplace. A lean-to which matched it to the southeast contained the coach room, with large folding doors to the exterior.
The ostentation of the house’s fittings was echoed in the stables, which boasted a carpeted floor in the harness room, and silver-gilded taps. Stables were important ancillary buildings for nineteenth century residences when horses were in everyday use. At Riverslea it was necessary to house not only the working cart-horses but also the family’s Canoe-Landau carriage and horses. Tanner also owned a number of racehorses and hired these out as studs. The estate also ran sheep, cattle, and an entrepreneurial hop-garden.
By the late 1880s Tanner’s financial difficulties were irrevocable, and the estate was sold in a mortgagee sale. The lavish homestead and grounds were bought for Tanner by his son-in-law Frank Gordon. The new owners of the balance proceeded to subdivide it, and the town of Hastings eventually grew to cover a third of the former Riverslea estate. Disaster struck the Tanners again in 1896 when the homestead was destroyed in a dramatic fire, and the family moved away. Only the stables escaped destruction and today are one of the last reminders of the Tanners’ life at Riverslea (the hop garden’s oast house burned down in 1950). Additions have since been made to the building’s south and east elevations, and the coach house lean-to at the southeast has been removed, during its long tenure of care by the Flanders family.
Tangata whenua settled in what is now Hawke’s Bay around 1250-1300 AD, particularly along the coast and inland waterways. The people who became known as Ngāti Kahungunu arrived in the 1500s. The Heretaunga plains were a system of wetlands, swamps and lakes, which, along with coastal fisheries and bush, provided rich sources of food, medicine and materials. Pākehā established whaling and trading stations in the region from the 1830s, and the government started purchasing land in the 1850s, most of which was leased or sold to settlers who established sheep or cattle stations. By 1859 almost 1.5 million acres of Hawke’s Bay’s land had been purchased from Ngāti Kahungunu.
In 1864 Hēnare Tomoana (?–1904), a Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Te Whatu-i-āpiti leader, leased the Heretaunga block of over 17,000 acres to English settler Thomas Tanner (1830-1918). Tanner and a syndicate known as The Apostles were later found to have illegally leased the land, and then purchased it through persuasion and force. Tanner retained four of the land shares, along the easternmost edge of the block near Te Karamū Stream and Pā, for himself; he secured freehold title in 1870. He named the 5,332-acre estate ‘Riverslea’. Tanner’s prominence in Hawke’s Bay was established by his extensive landholdings (which included the Endsleigh and Pētane runs); his civic contributions including via the House of Representatives, A&P Association, Education Board, and Church of England; and famously, by the land he sold and donated for settlement, which later grew into Hastings.
The Riverslea Stables were built to support the 22-roomed luxury mansion Tanner built c.1870, set in three acres of gardens. Considered one of the most impressive residences in the province, its stables could not be merely utilitarian and are said to have been architect-designed in conjunction with the homestead. The stables building is largely two-storeyed and square in form, with a hipped roof rising above a weatherboard exterior. Its most distinctive feature is a ventilation spire rising from the centre of the roof. The ground floor contained stalls and looseboxes, the interior lit by pairs of large, multi-paned sash windows. A dormer door on the northeast elevation accessed the second-storey hayloft. A single-storey lean-to extends to the northwest, housing the harness room and stable hand’s room with fireplace. A lean-to which matched it to the southeast contained the coach room, with large folding doors to the exterior.
The ostentation of the house’s fittings was echoed in the stables, which boasted a carpeted floor in the harness room, and silver-gilded taps. Stables were important ancillary buildings for nineteenth century residences when horses were in everyday use. At Riverslea it was necessary to house not only the working cart-horses but also the family’s Canoe-Landau carriage and horses. Tanner also owned a number of racehorses and hired these out as studs. The estate also ran sheep, cattle, and an entrepreneurial hop-garden.
By the late 1880s Tanner’s financial difficulties were irrevocable, and the estate was sold in a mortgagee sale. The lavish homestead and grounds were bought for Tanner by his son-in-law Frank Gordon. The new owners of the balance proceeded to subdivide it, and the town of Hastings eventually grew to cover a third of the former Riverslea estate. Disaster struck the Tanners again in 1896 when the homestead was destroyed in a dramatic fire, and the family moved away. Only the stables escaped destruction and today are one of the last reminders of the Tanners’ life at Riverslea (the hop garden’s oast house burned down in 1950). Additions have since been made to the building’s south and east elevations, and the coach house lean-to at the southeast has been removed, during its long tenure of care by the Flanders family.
