Maori history of the area The Otakaro (Avon River) which meanders its way from a spring source in Avonhead through Christchurch city and out to sea via the estuary is a defining feature of the general area of central Christchurch where Tait House is located. Otakaro, its surrounding swamplands and waterways were well known to successive iwi Maori (Waitaha, Ngati Mamoe and Ngai Tahu) who utilised the area as an important mahinga kai and source of plant resources such as raupo, ti kouka and harakeke. Puari pa occupied the banks of Otakaro in the years between 1000 and 1500 . The Tait House site is probably within or on the periphery of the boundary of this extensive settlement that was originally inhabited by Waitaha people, who were amongst the first waves of Polynesian migrants to the South Island. In later years Ngai Tahu travelled to the swamplands on kai gathering forays from outlying settlements such as Kaiapoi and Koukourarata. Otakaro also provided an efficient means of crossing the swamp on the journey between northern coastal settlements and Te Pataka o Rakaihautu (Banks Peninsula). The swamplands that were so highly prized by Maori were not however regarded favourably by European colonists who later drained eel fisheries and diverted life giving waters from the traditional mahinga kai to make way for cultivation and urban development. Early European settlement of the area In 1842 the Ngai Tahu granted William and John Deans a lease to farm land which included the area later taken up by Hagley Park. In 1848 the Crown concluded negations with local Ngai Tahu for the purchase of their tribal lands. The subsequent development of Christchurch as a city reflects the mid-nineteenth century colonial planning models as conceived by Edward Gibbon Wakefield and John Robert Godley, who formed the Canterbury Association as part of their planned programme of systematic colonisation. Along with the port town of Lyttelton, the planned settlement of Christchurch in 1849-50 set itself apart from earlier Wakefield settlements in New Zealand (Wellington, Wanganui, New Plymouth and Nelson). Backed by influential English peers, members of the British Parliament and clergy, the Canterbury Association had the ambitious aim of gaining high land sale prices in order to attract a high class of settlers and fund the foundations of a specifically English 'Church of England' settlement. The Canterbury Association typically allocated town sections in conjunction with rural sections, with many landowners preferring to reside in larger dwellings on the rural sections beyond the Town Belts. A differentiation was established between the areas to the east and west of the central city. Larger and more substantial houses were constructed on the western side of the city within the surrounding amenities of Canterbury College, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch Boys’ High School, the Normal School and Hagley Park. Park Terrace was particularly popular and large residences were erected from the late 1850s, taking advantage of views of the river and Hagley Park. Clusters of smaller ‘working class’ cottages dating from the late 1850s to 1880s were retained to the north and north-east of Cathedral Square. Within the boundaries of the Town Belt (the ‘four avenues’), over time many smaller residences were replaced by commercial buildings, except for the area west of Cathedral Square which remained predominantly residential. James Tait and the house at 23-25 Cashel Street Town section 452 was located in close proximity to the educational and cultural ‘precinct’ west of Cathedral Square and was where many larger houses were erected in this area from the late 1860s. This section was first sold among a cluster of adjoining quarter-acre sections to Viscount Mandeville in 1851. The first owner and builder of the house on section 452 was James Tait (1833-98), who had purchased the section in 1871 from Thomas James Maling. Originally from Ayrshire, Scotland, Tait immigrated to Victoria, Australia, in 1851 and resided there for 10 years. In 1862 he arrived in New Zealand, first at Otago then relocated to Christchurch later that year where he practised as a builder and contractor. James Tait was founder of the Christchurch firm of stonemasons J Tait Ltd. Under James Tait’s administration, the company contributed to the construction of many prominent Christchurch buildings including Anderson’s Foundry (erected 1869, demolished 1959), Canterbury Museum (first section opened 1870, Category 1 historic place 290) Fisher’s Building (erected 1880, demolished 2011, previously Category 1 historic place 1869), and a considerable portion of the Christ Church Cathedral (first section opened 1881, Category 1 historic place 46). Tait’s firm occupied premises at the corner of Cashel and Montreal Streets, one block east of the site of Tait House. Until 1879 his recorded address is Section 880 Lichfield Street, later the site of J. Ballantyne & Co Ltd’s former stable building (erected 1897, demolished 2011). From 1875 Tait owned a quarry located at Colombo Street south. The electoral rolls for Christchurch City record James Tait first residing at Cashel Street in 1880. Early maps show that the house on Section 452 was not present in 1862 but is clearly shown in the Strouts’ map of 1877. Most likely it was constructed shortly after Tait acquired the land in 1871. Newspaper accounts in 1874 refer to James Tait’s residence at Cashel Street West, though Wises Directory does not list him there until 1880. Because Tait owned both Section 452 as well as the three sections (483, 485, 487) on the corner of Montreal and Cashel Street for his business, there is potential confusion with respect to Tait’s location when he is described at Cashel Street. Initially no street numbers were associated with the properties. When numbering was first introduced to Cashel Street, Section 452 appears to have become 292 Cashel Street West, and then around the end of the first decade of the twentieth century the property was renumbered 23-25 Cashel Street. As no architect can be identified for the building, it is probable that the first owner and builder of this dwelling, stonemason James Tait, was also its designer. Later the property was described as being ‘built of brick and stone, containing 11 rooms, bathroom, h. and c., slate roof, gas, stable, coach-house, asphalt footpaths, ¼ acre in garden’. Tait retired in 1895 and moved with his wife and daughter to Nayland Street, Sumner. Having served on the Christchurch City Council, he became a member of the Sumner Town Board and was elected as the new borough’s second mayor. During his mayoralty he oversaw the implementation of Sumner’s first high pressure water supply and took an active interest in infrastructural improvements to the town. Upon his death in 1898, J Tait Ltd. was inherited by his eldest son John Anderson Tait (1861-1952), who refocused the business in the area of monumental masonry. This company J Tait Ltd remains in operation in Christchurch in Tait family ownership, now based in Sydenham. Tait House was retained in Tait’s estate as a rental property to provide income for his family’s annuity. Newspaper advertisements throughout the first decade of the twentieth century demonstrate that the place operated as boarding or rental accommodation. The house was transferred to his daughter as sole owner in 1917, who held the property until 1932. In 1941 Section 452 was transferred again to Joseph and Rose Baxter, owners of the adjacent College Court. The land area of Section 452 was subdivided at this time with a smaller lot (Lot 2 DP12086) formed at the rear of the property with a driveway formed from land extracted from Sections 450 and 452. Elizabeth Antonetta Cheevers, a journalist for the Christchurch Star, acquired the property in 1960 and lived there from 1966 to 1977. Since then the house has again reverted to rental accommodation. In a 1977 assessment Christchurch architect Don Donnithorne observed that the house was divided into three flats.

Current Description Situated on a rectangular parcel of land in a block close to the Botanic Gardens towards the western end of Cashel Street, Tait House sits approximately 16 metres back from the footpath on the north side of Cashel Street. With a footprint of approximately 11 metres by 15 metres, the house has a treed setting with shrubs and lawns at both front and rear of the house. A free standing single storeyed timber outbuilding sits in the north-eastern corner of the section, approximately 6.5 metres from the house. The façade is characteristic of Georgian symmetry with two bay windows on the ground floor flanking a centrally positioned entrance. A large porch projecting from the entrance dominates the façade and by its overlapping of the adjacent bay windows suggests this was a later addition. An 1877 street plan showing the ‘foot-print’ of this building describes the frontage with two projecting elements either side of the entrance, which supports this assumption. The entrance patio is laid with slates, indicating that the house’s hipped-roof was possibly originally laid in slates (now corrugated iron). The upper-storey is articulated by three upright windows with simple surrounds. The treatment of the exterior is characteristic of the Palazzo style with heavy rustication and moulded quoins on the ground floor façade and lighter detailing on the sides and upper storey. The surface plaster is incised with vertical and horizontal lines that imitate jointing in stonework. A horizontal band divides the façade and provides a horizontal emphasis also typical of the Georgian manner. A masonry lean-to section at the rear of the dwelling was added later, possibly when the house was converted to flats. A second weatherboard lean-to has been extended to that masonry lean-to, incorporating a pre-existing out-building into the main structure of the building. The interior floor plan adhered to the principles of Georgian symmetry and simplicity. At the time of a 1977 assessment of the house, all exposed woodwork and cast-iron fireplaces had been painted, internal doors were clad in plywood. However, many original elements remain in place including the Kauri flooring and wedge-shaped nails on the first floor and an elegant stairway connecting the two levels. In 2008 the front ground floor flat was renovated with new floor- and wall-coverings, and the addition of new kitchen and bathroom facilities. Analysis of earlier floor plans indicates that the bathroom has been extended to incorporate an existing lobby. Other than this, no substantial improvements or alterations have been made to the interior and is generally in original condition. The original layout remains legible through subsequent modifications. Comparative Analysis In the 1870s Christchurch residences were predominantly constructed in timber. Public buildings in the central city were also of timber construction until the mid-1860s when a programme was commenced to construct buildings in permanent materials to improve the character of the city. Brickworks were established at the foot of the Port Hills and in rural Canterbury, and quarries were opened and worked in locations along the hills. The construction of Tait’s dwelling in triple-brick reflects the profession of the builder and owner. However, by the advent of the erection of masonry buildings in Christchurch, the preference for Georgian Classicism had been superseded by Victorian Gothic. This was the common idiom for churches, schools and other public buildings and characterised the area west of Cathedral Square in buildings such as Canterbury Museum (1870), Canterbury College (1877) and the Normal School at Cranmer Square (1876). Conversely, many Georgian-style dwellings were constructed in timber. Tait House therefore appears to have been a translation in masonry of the vernacular residential building type which in Christchurch was most commonly articulated in the readily available material of wood. The dwelling marks the transition in residential building types from timber construction to masonry and the retention of a familiar idiom. The Georgian architectural style was commonly used for domestic buildings of the colonial era throughout New Zealand, its pared-back and standard elements and proportions being ideally suited to lesser-skilled labour and the limited availability of building resources. Nineteenth century Georgian style houses specifically built in brick were not especially common in Christchurch and Canterbury generally. Of those that were built, many suffered badly in the Canterbury earthquakes and have been demolished (such as 112 & 116 Centaurus Road, Christchurch and Elvaston at 42 Colombo Street, Christchurch, as well as the more Italianate style Linwood House at 30 Linwood Avenue, Christchurch). Godley House, Diamond Harbour (1880) was the most similar registered building comparable to Tait House, in terms of date, design and materials, since the brick was plastered on the exterior in a similar way to Tait House. However, Godley House was demolished in 2012 due to severe earthquake damage. Rather more common in the nineteenth century were two storeyed Georgian-style/Italianate timber houses (for example, 4 Armagh Street, Christchurch and the Vicarage on Winchester Street, Lyttelton). Being of timber, these buildings have tended to survive the quakes better than the brick ones. Christchurch does have some brick neo Georgian style buildings in Christchurch dating from around the 1920s, due in large part to the influence of architects Cecil Wood and Heathcote Helmore. Some of these were destroyed in the Canterbury earthquakes (for example, Weston House, 1923) and a few survive (such as the commercial Worcester Chambers at 69 Worcester Street, 1926, and the 1950s house at 20 Maidstone Road, Christchurch). This twentieth century phase of Georgian influence represents a continuum of a style used occasionally, though not predominantly, in Canterbury. The Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 caused considerable destruction in central city and many historic nineteenth century (and later) residences have been demolished as a result. Tait House came through the earthquakes with relatively little damage and is now a relatively rare example of a nineteenth century brick Georgian-style residence in central Christchurch.