This Victorian bay villa (and stables) was built for Hemi Matenga Waipunahau and his wife Huria Matenga. Hemi and Huria Matenga were regarded as national heroes. In 1863 their actions saved all but one of the crew and passengers of the SS Delaware when it founded off Pepin Island, near Nelson. Huria's popularity brought her to the attention of the artist Frederick Lindauer, who painted her portrait twice. Hemi Matenga acquired the land on which the house stands from his half brother and paramount chief Wireu Parata Te Karakoura in 1900. The house was built in 1912, but Hemi and Huria never lived in the house as Hemi died before it was completed. Following Hemi's death the trustees of his estate decided to establish the Hemi Matenga Memorial Park and Scenic Reserve. Huria eventually sold the house in 1916. The property change hands several times until 1946 when Dr John Alexander Doctor, a noted ophthalmologist, and wife Catherine Gibson, acquired it. Catherine died in 1960, and in 1962 Dr Doctor married Kathleen Francis McLeod. Dr Doctor remained in the house until his death in 1981.

The house is clad in rusticated weatherboards with a corrugated iron roof. Notable features include a widow's walk (railed rooftop gallery) on the apex of the roof. There is also an octagonal turret that is ornately decorated with Gothic-styled lancet shaped panels and turned brackets under the eaves. The house has undergone a number of alterations over the years, including the addition of a sunroom in 1969.