Why is this place significant?

Born in Edinburgh in March 1823, John Sidey was trained as a builder and contractor, the business of his father. In the 1840s he purchased his passage to Otago along with ‘50 acres of rural land in the new settlement, 10 acres of suburban land, and a town section of a quarter of an acre.’ He arrived on the ship Blundell in 1848, settling on his 10-acre suburban land parcel between Dunedin and Port Chalmers. Sidey set up as a businessman and general merchant, trading out of his town section at the corner of Princes Street and High Street; this business included a ‘butcher’s stall’ from at least 1853. He ceased this operation in 1857 in order to cultivate and reside on land, bought ‘two years previously,’ at Corstorphine. Sidey lived and worked on his estate for the next 58 years, until his death in 1915. The Crown Grant for the thirty-six Ocean Beach sections that would make up the bulk of his holdings here was carried out in 1865. Just prior to this, in 1863, Sidey advertised for tenders from masons ‘for the Building of Stables and Outhouses’ at Corstorphine. That same year, his son – the future MP for Caversham, T.K. Sidey – was born ‘at Corstorphine, near Caversham.’ According to local histories, Sidey completed his new home, now a part of the current Corstorphine House, in 1864. It is possible that construction work also carried on into 1865/6 as Sidey advertised for brickmakers ‘to make and burn kiln of bricks’ in December 1865. It is also possible that Sidey’s prior residence was still on site for some time after the completion of Corstorphine House – in 1871, tenders were called for the ‘taking down and re-erecting [of a] wooden house, with new verandas, gates, &c.’ There is likely to have been a vinery or hothouse on site by the end of the 1880s – a drawing, stamped ‘7- SEP 86’ by James Boyd & Sons of Paisley, shows a design for a heat piping system for John Sidey. James Boyd & Sons were a well-known Scottish company that designed hothouses ‘for prominent clients’ of the day. The house was extended in about 1910, which added an extra wing on the eastern side of the original building; it was reported that even at 87 years old, John Sidey could be seen climbing the scaffolding in order to oversee construction. Dunedin City Council Archives hold a building plan for a ‘fernery’ for ‘Mr. Sidey, Corstorphine’, which dates to 1911. However, the shape and proportions of the building in the drawing differ immensely from any building currently on site, and it is possible that the building shown in the plans was never built. Following John Sidey’s death in 1915, the ownership of the property passed to his son, Thomas. Thomas Kay Sidey (1863-1933) was a Dunedin lawyer, civic leader, and long-serving Liberal and United Party politician best known for campaigning for daylight saving time in New Zealand, successfully passing legislation in 1927 after years of advocacy. He served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, and was deeply involved in education, notably as Chancellor of the University of Otago. Knighted in 1930, Sidey also contributed to legal reform and community life. He left a scientific legacy, honoured by the Royal Society’s T. K. Sidey Medal for ‘outstanding scientific research concerning electromagnetic radiation.’ Following his death in 1933, Thomas’ widow, Lady Helena, lived at the property until her death in 1956. During this time, she hosted Governor-General Sir Bernard Freyberg and his wife during the 1948 Otago Centenary celebrations. The Sidey family continued to live at Corstorphine House into the 1950s; near the end of that decade, Stuart Sidey, T. K. Sidey’s son, sold the property to the Presbyterian Church, with part of the payment funded through a government subsidy. The subsidy was provided as the Church’s intent was to ‘establish there a home for mentally-deficient women.’ This institution was still running when the house was visited by historian Lois Galer in the 1980s – she recalls: ‘…the ravishes of modernisation have not gone beyond the front door…[a]part from the kitchen area which one would expect to find extensively upgraded for the home’s current purpose, there is nothing you could term “clinical” anywhere. The main rooms are virtually as they were, complete with elegant fire surrounds [and] sculpted plaster ceilings…’ When the building was added to the then Historic Places Trust Register in 1988, it was described as… ‘…a long two storied house of two wings with a large middle section set back behind a veranda with a wrought iron frieze and double posts alongside a classical porch of columns and a pediment at the front door. There are three main living rooms downstairs – the billiards room, the gold drawing room with an ornate coffered ceiling, and the dining room – and seven bedrooms upstairs. The interior retains its splendid plaster ceilings, the original fireplaces, wooden panelling and joinery and much of the Sidey furniture. There is a particularly ornate sideboard. The stained-glass window of 1910 is a fine piece of Art Nouveau work.’ In 1993, the Presbyterian Support Services put the property up for sale; the completion of a residential care complex elsewhere in the city meant that Corstorphine House was surplus to requirements. The property was subsequently sold in 1994. For a considerable period the property was run as a boutique hotel, hosting the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, the then Prince of Wales, and Governor-General Dame Silvia Cartwright. From about 2011, extensive works were carried out on the Conservatory building, which included replacing structural elements. As of 2025, the property is run as a venue for weddings and corporate functions.

Architect/Engineer/Designer: John Sidey probably designed the first part himself Mandeno and Fraser upgraded the house in the 1920s. Significance of Architect/Engineer/Designer: John Sidey arrived in New Zealand in 1848, after being in business in London with his father as a building contractor. Architectural Description (Style): The house is relatively sober and classical in its styling, more Georgian than Victorian, though it lacks the strict symmetry of Georgian houses. The two wings on either side of a central section reflect Palladian classical design. The wrought iron friezes over the verandahs add a colonial touch. The window heads are square except for the arched stained glass window in the place of the old front door. Modifications: The house has been relatively little modified in its conversion to a home for disabled women. The exterior is unmodified and still retains seven acres of large gardens.

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This historic place was registered under the Historic Places Act 1980. A fully referenced copy of the Upgrade Report is available upon request from the Otago/Southland Area Office of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. Disclaimer Please note that entry on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero 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. Archaeological sites are protected by the Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Act 2014, regardless of whether they are entered on the New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero or not. Archaeological sites include ‘places associated with pre-1900 human activity, where there may be evidence relating to the history of New Zealand’. This List entry report should not be read as a statement on whether or not the archaeological provisions of the Act apply to the property(s) concerned. Please contact your local Heritage New Zealand office for archaeological advice.