The Levin house known as ‘Naumai’ has architectural significance as a transitional residential design of the type that bridged the closing period of villa architecture and the approaching one heavily influenced by the California bungalow and, to a lesser extent, the English cottage. The steeply pitched roofs and half-timbering solidly places Naumai in the latter category and the house and its once far more extensive garden also have some historical significance as the frequent setting of social gatherings of note in the community.

Levin was one of a string of towns founded along the Wellington and Manawatu Railway line, completed in 1886. The sale of town sections to Pākehā settlers began in 1889. Its early prosperity was based mainly in agricultural products, while later this industry was also joined by successful businesses in manufacturing.

The house known later as Naumai was built on a spacious section in Winchester Street circa 1914. The property was owned by William James Kirk and it is assumed that he constructed the house, which can be architecturally described as a ‘transitional’ design. By the time the house was built, the sustained popularity of villas, the mainstay domestic form of the Victorian and Edwardian periods, had effectively ended. In their place were houses influenced by the California bungalow and the English cottage, the latter of which seems to be the inspiration for this house, having steeply pitched roofs and simplified gable half-timbering.

The Kirks did not occupy the house for long as it was sold in 1919 to John and Mary Grace Kebbell, prominent Ohau farmers who relocated to Levin after selling their farm ‘Te Rauawa’ in 1918. It is not presently known whether the Kirks also called the house ‘Naumai’, which means ‘welcome’, however as early as June 1919 the moniker was in use by the Kebbells. The Kebbells made alterations and expanded the house, possibly in two stages in 1928 and again in 1931-32, which might have resulted in the loss of an original porch, and also added a garage around the same time.

During its ownership by the senior Kebbells and, subsequently, by their daughter Marjorie Kebbell Kirkcaldie, Naumai became associated with hospitality and sociability, in particular garden parties held on its expansive grounds. In 1971 the property was sold to Roderick McKenzie, a Levin builder, and his wife and under their ownership they subdivided the property. The McKenzies created four sections fronting onto Winchester Street (two to either side of the new drive accessing the historic house and garden) and built two pairs of flats. Most of the remainder of the garden acreage was subdivided further by subsequent owners, with a new street, Winslow Place, created to access the now interior sections.

Naumai retains the exterior character-defining features of the transitional English cottage house; however, the interior has been subject to much alteration. The most recent changes occurred around 2012, reconfiguring rooms at the back of the house.