The following text is from the original Proposal for Classification report presented to the Board 28 Oct 1993. This cottage is one of several buildings associated with the Historic Te Aroha Domain. It was the Head Gardener's Cottage for 61 years from 1907, the date the cottage was built, to 1968 when it was rented out to private tenants. In 1989 it became the DoC visitor centre and office. The house is a good example of a "T" plan Edwardian Villa. The interesting feature of this cottage is that it has no projecting bay beneath the gable representing a local variation. An exterior room was built on the verandah in 1928/9. This was restored by DOC in 1989 and the verandah rebuilt. The cottage exemplifies the growth and development of the Domain with regard to the need for a resident Head Gardener and its control by the (then) Department of Tourist and Health Resorts.