Maori occupation prior to European arrival in the Kawarau area is evidenced by an important moa-hunter archaeological site located at nearby Hawksburn. This site was excavated in the 1970s, uncovering earth ovens, tool making areas and temporary shelters as well as the remains of moa and other birds. The history of large sheep runs such as Kawarau Station dates to the earliest years of European settlement of inland Otago. Following the establishment of Dunedin in 1848, the Waste Lands Board was set up in 1853 to allocate pastoral runs outside the original Otago Block. Many of these blocks were located in Central Otago, with those exploring this new country often applying for the first leases. After the leases were granted, freehold title to a homestead block, known as a pre-emptive right, was also granted. Most run holders stocked their land with sheep, although a few also ran cattle. Sheep were brought into Southland and Otago ports from 1853 onwards; others drove flocks south from Nelson, Marlborough and Canterbury although this was a difficult trek through country with many rivers and no bridges. Poisonous tutu and wild dogs also took a heavy toll on flocks with numbers much reduced by the time they reached their destinations. The Kawarau Station sits within the Bannockburn area, much of which was once incorporated into the station itself. According to Stephenson et al, Kawarau Station was one of the "big five" stations of Central Otago. The others were Earnscleugh, Morven Hills, Moutere, and Galloway. The run borders the Kawarau River, from which the station derives its name. There are various accounts of the first run holders at Kawarau. Historian Herries Beattie states that William Saunders, formerly a runholder in the Mackenzie Country, first took up the 80,000 acre run (no. 330) and that it was subsequently in the possession of Douglas, Alderson and Company. Other sources state that B. F. G. Alderson took up this run in 1858, acting for the New Zealand and Otago Agricultural and Land Investment Association which was later absorbed by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company. Local historian Parcell states that the first resident manager was William McKenzie, followed by James Cowan in 1867, when 36,000 sheep were shorn. The station also ran a large number of cattle, and McKenzie, the first manager, had crops of ryegrass and hay growing by 1866. Rabbits posed a major problem from the early years and James Cowan organised a system of regular and continuous trapping and poisoning. Land Information New Zealand records demonstrate that the freehold pre-emptive right of 92 acres was transferred to the New Zealand and Australian Land Company in June 1883. An undated survey office plan of the pre-emptive right of 92 acres on Run 330, made out to Douglas Alderson & Co., and surveyed by John Connell, shows the woolshed, stables, men's house, store and house. On the plan the men's house and house are separated by the store, but these three structures were subsequently connected to form the homestead as it is today. A subsequent plan is dated 1878, surveyed by A. Pack. This post-dates the earlier, undated plan as it notes Connell's survey trig. This plan does not show the structures. The leases were held jointly by Alderson and John Douglas on behalf of the company. In 1890 the nearby Hawkesburn Run was amalgamated with Kawarau Station; in 1895 it was enlarged again by the purchase of the Gibbston section of the Kawarau Falls Run to the west. In 1890 A.L. Brydone, nephew of Sir Thomas Brydone, general manager of the Australian and New Zealand Land Company in New Zealand, took over as station manager. He was replaced by Robert Jackson in 1903. A third plan dated 1909, surveyed by Burton, shows the woolshed, now enlarged by the slightly lower section, as well as the homestead structures . In 1910 the Liberal Government had a policy of subdividing the large runs. The Kawarau Station lease was not renewed on its expiry. The total area of 206,120 acres was subdivided into sixteen holdings. In 1916 station manager Robert Jackson bought part of the run which included the pre-emptive right, which, according to Parcell, included 13,600 acres of the original freehold homestead block and pastoral run of 13,600 acres. This block retained the station name. Jackson remained at Kawarau until his death. The area was subsequently reduced to 11,900 acres when the Bannockburn settlement area was cut off. Following Robert Jackson's death the station was sold to D.R. Corson in 1922. Six years later Corson sold to John Anderson. John Anderson's son Richard Anderson took over the station in 1958 , with the Trustees Executors and Agency Company of New Zealand administering a share of the property, the company that still administers the station today in shares with Richard Anderson.

Kawarau Station was situated adjacent to one of the richest goldfields in New Zealand, the Bannockburn goldfields, as well as the Molyneux and Kawarau River districts, the Nevis river district and the Carrick goldfield. Stephenson et al's study of the Bannockburn heritage landscape contextualizes the station within the rich local history. Other places in this area listed as Category II historic places include, amongst other historic buildings, structures and workings associated with mining (Young Australian Company waterwheel, mine battery, stone hut, sluicings). The iconic mining landscape of the Bannockburn Department of Conservation reserve is located nearby on Felton Rd, with the settlement of Stewart Town (historic place Category II) alongside. These historic places demonstrate the important industries connected with the history of Central Otago - pastoralism and mining. The station supplied bread, meat and some other groceries to those in the backcountry, while the mining population itself provided a source of labour for the station. Miners were able to fence off and occupy a small area of station land. Homestead This structure consists of three buildings (marked on an undated survey plan as the "men's house", "store" and "house", see Appendix 2) connected together at some point after the 1860s when the first structures were built. Some time in the nineteenth century these were joined together to form the homestead, with the original men's house in schist facing north at the end of the long original homestead (with a veranda) and store sections that face onto the lawn, forming overall a T-shaped structure. The section of the house that formerly constituted the men's house performed an essential function in the early days of large farm runs, housing the sometimes large numbers of men who worked on the stations. Single men's house were often combined with a cookshop (or kitchen) as was formerly the case here. According to Thornton, "It was the custom for station staff to have their own quarters, sometimes located at a considerable distance from the homestead or 'big house.'" These buildings, along with shearers' quarters, were usually located in separate blocks; sometimes there were separate cottages for the cook and married staff. In some cases conditions in the men's house could be rather rough and uncomfortable. Thornton points out that these often basic structures could at times house up to 100 men, who ate at plank tables running lengthwise, seated on forms. Basic rations were usually monotonous, consisting of mutton, potatoes, bread and tea. Originally the men's house had an earth floor, subsequently laid in wood and more recently again partly laid in concrete. It is also evident in the original store and joining section that the upper walls and roof have been raised at some point (possibly when a wooden floor was added). The men's house area now has the kitchen in one of the two rooms, with a large living room in the other. The store section has a long hall area at the rear, with rooms opening off this. The flax insulation is still in place in the ceiling in part of the building. A notable feature in the garden is the remarkable tree that is growing at the west gable end of the old men's house, completely covering this end wall. Woolshed Thornton states that woolsheds, complete with drafting yards, were built to cope with the very large number of sheep that required shearing on the large stations. It was both a shearing shed and a structure for storing wool. The design followed that common in Australia, with three basic areas; pens for holding sheep, the shearing board, where shearers cut the wool with hand blades, and the wool room where fleeces were sorted, classed and pressed into bales, then stored until they were carted to the nearest port. Sheep pen floors were built of slatted timber, about a metre from the ground to allow sheep droppings to fall through and the area to be cleaned out from time to time. The Kawarau Station woolshed is made up of two single-gabled buildings with shallow pitched roofs. The earlier higher portion of the building, constructed of local schist, is about 38 metres long with twenty stands for blade shearers. In around 1890 the stone, roofed yards were added to the lower end of the woolshed. This addition is approximately 32 metres long and the roofline is slightly lower than the first section of the woolshed. It is thought that the stone and corrugated iron for the addition came from the old Hawksburn woolshed (The Hawksburn Station was taken over by the New Zealand and Australian Land Company in 1890). More recently covered lean-to holding pens have been added to the north side of the building. The window in the gable end is a six-light double-hung sash, while those above the old shearing ports are elongated with five three-light fixed panes. The very thin long wooden lintel which not only spans the window openings but also extends into the solid masonry between them is considered unusual by Geoffrey Thornton.