Located in the suburb of Wakari on the western side of the Kaikarae / Kaikorai Stream in Dunedin, this arts and crafts style residence was home to two artists named Peter McIntyre. The house has historic and architectural significance.

The Kaikarae / kaikoria lagoon and stream was an important source of mahika kai for Kāi Tahu whānui, as a source of tuna (eel) and pātiki (flounder). Tradition tells us the Kaikarae was dug by Waitaha explore Rākaihautū using his kō named Tūwhakaroria as he travelled south to Murihiku and name of the stream has its origins in a seabird known as karae.

In 1875 40 quarter acre sections were advertised for sale in the Township of Broughton in the Borough of Roslyn as ‘having a fine exposure to the sun, and well sheltered from the prevailing winds, with a magnificent view from each section.’ The land was further described as being ‘an easy distance from the new Woollen Factory, and the numerous fellmongeries, Glue, and other public works on the Kaikorai stream, makes it well worthy of the attention of artisans and others employed in the district’. The house is situated on Section 39, Township of Broughton. The section was owned by Henrietta McIntyre (Peter’s mother) from 1889 which she purchased with a three roomed cottage on site.

The house is believed to have been designed by Peter McIntyre (1862-1932), a lithographic artist, and built by John Miller Armour (1876-1959) in 1909 as the McIntyre’s family home. Peter is recorded as living in the street from 1906 and is joined early on by the Cubitt family (his wife’s family). The family also owned section 32 (Father Robert owned this which went to sons Peter and John, next door to 39-40, now 19 Gilmore Street) and John Armour lived at section 33.

Peter McIntyre was a successful cartoonist and the first New Zealand printer to produce full coloured lithographic posters. Born in Doune, Peter was educated at the Highland Society School in Glasgow where he learned his trade. He arrived in Dunedin in 1879 on the Oamaru and co-founded the Caxton Printing Company. He is remembered for using a three-colour printing process 45 years before it became common in New Zealand. Peter married Isabella Cubitt, a spinner, in 1895. Following the liquidation of the Caxton company in 1917 he worked as a cartoonist and printing advisor for the Otago Daily Times until his death in 1932.

The two-storey house is built in brick with colonial windows and a slate roof. Steep pitched gable ends face north, south and east, the latter facing Gilmore Street. The east elevation has a bay window with prominent eave at ground floor. The half timbering of the gable ends, steep sloping roof and off-set entrance show the influence of both English Cottage and Arts and Crafts styles. The house is reputed to have been the first in Dunedin with all facilities under the one roof.

Peter and Isabella McIntyre (1872-1947) raised their children Robert (1897-1960), Mary (1900-1982) and Peter (1910-1995) in the house. Peter was educated at Otago Boys High School (List No. 375), Otago University (List No. 62) and Slade School of Fine Art in London (1931-1934).

He served as New Zealand’s official war artist from 1941 and on his return to New Zealand was one of few artists making a living from his profession. He was incredibly popular as a portraitist and became a household name, his art ‘filled spaces the works of modernists and abstractionists did not – on the walls of hundreds of homes ... and offices in New Zealand and abroad.’ McIntyre published several books and continued to be a successful artist ‘drawing record sales and gallery attendance’.

Following the death of Peter Senior in 1932, the ownership of 21 Gilmore Street was transferred to Isabella and following her death in 1947 it transferred to their daughter Mary Cumming. There are few documented details of alterations to the house except for the addition of a wood burner and the enclosure of the entrance porch. The old McIntyre house (possible the one that was listed for sale in 1889) on the corner was advertised for removal in 1940. The land was subdivided by Peter Junior in 1946.

Today, the house is set back from the street and is situated amongst garden and established trees and remains a picturesque feature in street where many houses have been modernised.