These stables were 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 stables stand from his half brother and paramount chief Wireu Parata Te Karakoura in 1900. In 1912 Matenga built a house on the property; the stables were part of the outbuildings also constructed at this time. However, 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 stables are clad in weatherboards with a corrugated iron roof. The eastern section of the building is two storeyed with a gable roof and double-hung sash windows. The western section of the building has a lower pitched roof, with large wooden stable doors dominating the main façade. There are two lean-tos on either side of this section, which were probably added at a later date.