Esk Head Homestead

In a remote situation near the headwaters of the south Branch of the Hurunui River lies the original Esk Head homestead built in 1863 of cob. It is a rare survival of an early runholder's cottage continuously occupied as the homestead and with virtually no alterations. The replacement was not built until 1984.

The cob building was erected by Christopher Edward Dampier who had taken up the run in 1859 after coming to New Zealand as solicitor for the Canterbury Association nine years earlier. The station has remained in the family for 122 years until a recent change of ownership. The Family did not live at Esk Head but several managers have occupied the homestead throughout most of this period. In the high country area where extremes of temperature are experienced the cob construction, 500mm thick, provides very good insulation as does the thatch of snow grass fully exposed in the kitchen and verandas. At some stage corrugated iron had been placed over the thatch.

Of single storey the house is L shaped with verandas on the re-entrant sides and wide eaves. In addition to the cob some of the construction is of rammed earth (pis'e de terre) and some of the partitions are wattle and daub.

Hugging the ground in a narrow valley the cosy Esk Head homestead has considerable aesthetic appeal. As an example of early unaltered cob homestead construction it is the finest in New Zealand.