Wharema is a large late nineteenth-century residence with close connections to several notable figures in the history of Fine Art in New Zealand. Erected in circa 1886 on the slopes of Mt Hobson-Remuwera in Auckland, the two-storey timber dwelling occupies part of an early colonial estate that belonged to businessman James Williamson (1814-1888). Williamson had helped to found several important financial institutions including the Bank of New Zealand (1861), but sold the land for subdivision in 1884-1885 as he succumbed to financial difficulties. By this time, Remuera had become an attractive suburb for members of Auckland's élite families, who were increasingly withdrawing from the colonial city centre. The half-acre plot on which Wharema was constructed was first purchased by Kate Clark (née Woolnough, 1847-1926), the wife of James Clark, Mayor of Auckland from 1880 to 1883. The couple were prominent members of the Auckland Society of Arts, and resided at a nearby mansion known as 'The Tower'. Kate Clark may have been one of the earliest women writing about New Zealand to have had books published overseas, with A Southern Cross Fairy Tale in 1891, Persephone and Other Poems in 1894 and Maori Tales and Legends in 1896.
Wharema appears to have been constructed in 1886, soon after the land was transferred to Kate's sister, Emily Woolnough (1857?-1920), who married artist Edward Payton (1854-1944) in the same year. Payton had traveled widely, producing illustrations of the eruption of Tarawera in 1886. Credited with producing the first Fine Art engravings in New Zealand, he also became the inaugural principal of Elam School of Arts, the earliest art school in Auckland. Both the proximity of their house to the Clarks and a similar involvement in the Auckland Society of Arts indicates the extent to which social networks combining family and financial ties were an important part of colonial society in New Zealand, particularly among the wealthy élite.
Serving as a family home, the grand residence was initially known as 'The Whare', reflecting Payton's interest in Maori culture and the New Zealand landscape. Located in a semi-rural setting, its gardens incorporated a driveway and a circular planting bed beside the main house. The dwelling's appearance was more strongly influenced by classical design than many houses of the wealthy elite in the 1870s and early 1880s - which were frequently Italianate in style - and may reflect American and other colonial architectural influences. Unusually built on scoria concrete footings, the structure incorporated service rooms on the southern side of its ground floor entrance and larger reception rooms to the north. Its first floor contained at least four bedrooms. All northern rooms had access to the building's main feature, a prominent wrap-around balcony on both floors of the house, offering views out to the Waitemata Harbour on one side and Mt Hobson-Remuwera on the other. The structure is likely to have been erected by George Heron, a Remuera-based builder who became a member of the Newmarket Borough Council and prestigious gentlemen's clubs in Auckland and Newmarket. A detached washhouse and stables may have been added at a slightly later date.
A desirable, élite residence, the house was occupied by other prominent figures in Auckland society, including the solicitor Edward Read Bloomfield. From 1907 to 1917, the property was owned by Mary Tole (née Smales, 1863?-1943), the widow of Daniel Tole (?-1904), a former Commissioner of Crown Lands and Provincial Surveyor. At the time of her occupation of the house, Mary Tole was mother to eight children, of whom several would achieve artistic and other prominence. These included the architect George Tole (1896-1972), who gained an NZIA Gold Medal in 1933 for the design of St Michael's Church, Remuera (with Horace Massey); the artist John Tole (1890-1967), who won the Bledisloe Landscape Medal in 1953 for his painting 'Beyond Taihape'; and Charles Tole (1903-1988), an even more significant artist who received the Serjent First Award in 1970. Influenced by American Modernism, Charles has been considered one of the dozen leading artists in New Zealand in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Partly modified in 1917, the house was subsequently converted into a boarding house, then a rooming house and four flats in the mid to late 1900s. Its large section was also subdivided. The main house has been restored for use as a family dwelling by its current owners.
Wharema is aesthetically and architecturally significant for its striking design and as a well-preserved grand residence of late nineteenth-century date which may reflect American and broader colonial influences in New Zealand architecture of this era. It has cultural and historical significance for its close associations with the development of New Zealand art in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most notably as the residence of several influential artists including Edward Payton and the Tole brothers. It also has historical and social significance for reflecting the spread of wealthy citizens into the suburban hinterland of Auckland in the late nineteenth century, and the importance of social networks linked to family, geography and culture in élite late colonial society. The place has some technological significance for its unusual, early use of scoria concrete basement footings.
Wharema appears to have been constructed in 1886, soon after the land was transferred to Kate's sister, Emily Woolnough (1857?-1920), who married artist Edward Payton (1854-1944) in the same year. Payton had traveled widely, producing illustrations of the eruption of Tarawera in 1886. Credited with producing the first Fine Art engravings in New Zealand, he also became the inaugural principal of Elam School of Arts, the earliest art school in Auckland. Both the proximity of their house to the Clarks and a similar involvement in the Auckland Society of Arts indicates the extent to which social networks combining family and financial ties were an important part of colonial society in New Zealand, particularly among the wealthy élite.
Serving as a family home, the grand residence was initially known as 'The Whare', reflecting Payton's interest in Maori culture and the New Zealand landscape. Located in a semi-rural setting, its gardens incorporated a driveway and a circular planting bed beside the main house. The dwelling's appearance was more strongly influenced by classical design than many houses of the wealthy elite in the 1870s and early 1880s - which were frequently Italianate in style - and may reflect American and other colonial architectural influences. Unusually built on scoria concrete footings, the structure incorporated service rooms on the southern side of its ground floor entrance and larger reception rooms to the north. Its first floor contained at least four bedrooms. All northern rooms had access to the building's main feature, a prominent wrap-around balcony on both floors of the house, offering views out to the Waitemata Harbour on one side and Mt Hobson-Remuwera on the other. The structure is likely to have been erected by George Heron, a Remuera-based builder who became a member of the Newmarket Borough Council and prestigious gentlemen's clubs in Auckland and Newmarket. A detached washhouse and stables may have been added at a slightly later date.
A desirable, élite residence, the house was occupied by other prominent figures in Auckland society, including the solicitor Edward Read Bloomfield. From 1907 to 1917, the property was owned by Mary Tole (née Smales, 1863?-1943), the widow of Daniel Tole (?-1904), a former Commissioner of Crown Lands and Provincial Surveyor. At the time of her occupation of the house, Mary Tole was mother to eight children, of whom several would achieve artistic and other prominence. These included the architect George Tole (1896-1972), who gained an NZIA Gold Medal in 1933 for the design of St Michael's Church, Remuera (with Horace Massey); the artist John Tole (1890-1967), who won the Bledisloe Landscape Medal in 1953 for his painting 'Beyond Taihape'; and Charles Tole (1903-1988), an even more significant artist who received the Serjent First Award in 1970. Influenced by American Modernism, Charles has been considered one of the dozen leading artists in New Zealand in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Partly modified in 1917, the house was subsequently converted into a boarding house, then a rooming house and four flats in the mid to late 1900s. Its large section was also subdivided. The main house has been restored for use as a family dwelling by its current owners.
Wharema is aesthetically and architecturally significant for its striking design and as a well-preserved grand residence of late nineteenth-century date which may reflect American and broader colonial influences in New Zealand architecture of this era. It has cultural and historical significance for its close associations with the development of New Zealand art in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, most notably as the residence of several influential artists including Edward Payton and the Tole brothers. It also has historical and social significance for reflecting the spread of wealthy citizens into the suburban hinterland of Auckland in the late nineteenth century, and the importance of social networks linked to family, geography and culture in élite late colonial society. The place has some technological significance for its unusual, early use of scoria concrete basement footings.
