List Entry Information
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
3954
Date Entered
2nd July 1987
Date of Effect
2nd July 1987
City/District Council
South Wairarapa District
Region
Wellington Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes the land described as Pt Lot 1 DP 14477 (RT WN18B/740) and Lot 1 DP 48601 (RT WN34D/464), Wellington Land District, and the building known as Rototawai Homestead thereon.
Legal description
Pt Lot 1 DP 14477 (RT WN18B/740) and Lot 1 DP 48601 (RT WN34D/464), Wellington Land District
Status
Listed
List Entry Status
Historic Place Category 1
Access
Private/No Public Access
List Number
3954
Date Entered
2nd July 1987
Date of Effect
2nd July 1987
City/District Council
South Wairarapa District
Region
Wellington Region
Extent of List Entry
Extent includes the land described as Pt Lot 1 DP 14477 (RT WN18B/740) and Lot 1 DP 48601 (RT WN34D/464), Wellington Land District, and the building known as Rototawai Homestead thereon.
Legal description
Pt Lot 1 DP 14477 (RT WN18B/740) and Lot 1 DP 48601 (RT WN34D/464), Wellington Land District
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The Bidwill family settled in the Kahutara area in the early 1840's and were first settlers on the west side of the Ruamahanga River. The original large property has been cut-up into many small farms until the Rototawai block was reduced to only a few hectares. In 1928 the timber homestead at Rototawai was destroyed by fire. The owner, W E Bidwill, commissioned Stanley Fearn to design the present house. Plans were prepared in April 1928 and the house was completed in July 1929. Judd and Russell of Masterton were the builders. The lofty water tower which is such a distinctive feature of the building, with its associated dairy and meat room at the foot, was part of the original home and has been skilfully integrated into the new complex. Mr W E Bidwill sold the property to Mr Richmond about 1978.
Physical Significance
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: Rototawai is an interesting and sizeable example of Stanley Fearn's work and in this respect it must be regarded as a valuable statement of his own personal interpretation of the English neo-Georgian theme in domestic architecture. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK SIGNIFICANCE: The building with its tower, set 700 or 800 meters back from the Kahutara Road amongst old established trees and lawns, makes a distinctive note in the rural surroundings.
Why is this place significant?
Historic Significance
Historical Significance or Value The Bidwill family settled in the Kahutara area in the early 1840's and were first settlers on the west side of the Ruamahanga River. The original large property has been cut-up into many small farms until the Rototawai block was reduced to only a few hectares. In 1928 the timber homestead at Rototawai was destroyed by fire. The owner, W E Bidwill, commissioned Stanley Fearn to design the present house. Plans were prepared in April 1928 and the house was completed in July 1929. Judd and Russell of Masterton were the builders. The lofty water tower which is such a distinctive feature of the building, with its associated dairy and meat room at the foot, was part of the original home and has been skilfully integrated into the new complex. Mr W E Bidwill sold the property to Mr Richmond about 1978.
Physical Significance
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: Rototawai is an interesting and sizeable example of Stanley Fearn's work and in this respect it must be regarded as a valuable statement of his own personal interpretation of the English neo-Georgian theme in domestic architecture. TOWNSCAPE/LANDMARK SIGNIFICANCE: The building with its tower, set 700 or 800 meters back from the Kahutara Road amongst old established trees and lawns, makes a distinctive note in the rural surroundings.
Construction Professional
Name
Judd & Russell
Type
Builder
Biography
Judd & Russell builders from Masterton.
Name
Fearn, Stanley
Type
Architect
Biography
Stanley Fearn was a contemporary of Gary Young and at one time was in partnership with Gary Young and Austin Quick. Fearn's work is distinguished for his houses in the English Vernacular style. Stanley W. Fearn (1887-1976) was a British-born, Wellington based architect who had a long career spanning a large part of the 20th century and incorporating a wide range of styles. He was still working as late as the 1960s. Most of his work was domestic but he designed a range of buildings, both in the capital, where he designed over 70 buildings, and further afield. In Wellington he is best known for the William Booth Memorial Training College in Aro Street (1913), which he designed with Austen Quick. This building won the first ever gold medal of the NZ Institute of Architects in 1927. His other Wellington buildings included Cambridge Pharmacy (1932) and the Dominion Arcade (1959). Among his houses was the Frederic Wallis House, Lower Hutt (1927), the grand country house Rototawai, near Featherston (1929), as well as houses in Hobson Street, Thorndon. He was involved in the rebuilding of Napier and Hastings after the Hawkes Bay earthquake and among his surviving designs is the former Bestall's Building, Napier (1932). His son Detmar was also an architect.
Construction Details
Start Year
1929
Type
Original Construction
Description
House was completed in July 1929
Construction Materials
Reinforced concrete double skin outer walls. The inner walls and the ceiling of the lower floor rooms are also of reinforced concrete. Rototowai has floors of Jarrah wood and a tiled roof.
Notable Features
An enclosed paved kitchen court and a tall water tower which marks the corner of the court.
Construction Professional
Name
Judd & Russell
Type
Builder
Biography
Judd & Russell builders from Masterton.
Name
Fearn, Stanley
Type
Architect
Biography
Stanley Fearn was a contemporary of Gary Young and at one time was in partnership with Gary Young and Austin Quick. Fearn's work is distinguished for his houses in the English Vernacular style. Stanley W. Fearn (1887-1976) was a British-born, Wellington based architect who had a long career spanning a large part of the 20th century and incorporating a wide range of styles. He was still working as late as the 1960s. Most of his work was domestic but he designed a range of buildings, both in the capital, where he designed over 70 buildings, and further afield. In Wellington he is best known for the William Booth Memorial Training College in Aro Street (1913), which he designed with Austen Quick. This building won the first ever gold medal of the NZ Institute of Architects in 1927. His other Wellington buildings included Cambridge Pharmacy (1932) and the Dominion Arcade (1959). Among his houses was the Frederic Wallis House, Lower Hutt (1927), the grand country house Rototawai, near Featherston (1929), as well as houses in Hobson Street, Thorndon. He was involved in the rebuilding of Napier and Hastings after the Hawkes Bay earthquake and among his surviving designs is the former Bestall's Building, Napier (1932). His son Detmar was also an architect.
Construction Details
Start Year
1929
Type
Original Construction
Description
House was completed in July 1929
Construction Materials
Reinforced concrete double skin outer walls. The inner walls and the ceiling of the lower floor rooms are also of reinforced concrete. Rototowai has floors of Jarrah wood and a tiled roof.
Notable Features
An enclosed paved kitchen court and a tall water tower which marks the corner of the court.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION (Style) Neo-Georgian. The façade is balanced by bay-windows on either side of a porte-cochere supported by doric columns. Window shutters, roof tiles and brick wall under ground floor bay-window, emphasise the neo-Georgian aspect.
ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION (Style) Neo-Georgian. The façade is balanced by bay-windows on either side of a porte-cochere supported by doric columns. Window shutters, roof tiles and brick wall under ground floor bay-window, emphasise the neo-Georgian aspect.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Information Sources
Fowler, 1971
M Fowler, Country Houses of New Zealand. A H and A W Reed, 1971.
Fowler, 1983
M Fowler, The New Zealand House, Lansdowne, 1983.
New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT)
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Wairarapa Daily News
Wairarapa Daily News
Other Information
This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Historical and Associated Iwi / Hapū / Whānau
Information Sources
Fowler, 1971
M Fowler, Country Houses of New Zealand. A H and A W Reed, 1971.
Fowler, 1983
M Fowler, The New Zealand House, Lansdowne, 1983.
New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT)
New Zealand Historic Places Trust
Wairarapa Daily News
Wairarapa Daily News
Other Information
This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. This report includes the text from the original Building Classification Committee report considered by the NZHPT Board at the time of registration. Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rarangi Korero identifies only the heritage values of the property concerned, and should not be construed as advice on the state of the property, or as a comment of its soundness or safety, including in regard to earthquake risk, safety in the event of fire, or insanitary conditions.
Current Usages
Uses: Accommodation
Specific Usage: House
Former Usages
General Usage: Accommodation
Specific Usage: House
Web Links
description: Rototawai Historic Homestead: Gallery, Gardens and Venue
Current Usages
Uses: Accommodation
Specific Usage: House
Former Usages
General Usage: Accommodation
Specific Usage: House
Web Links
description: Rototawai Historic Homestead: Gallery, Gardens and Venue
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