TOUR 915
Full Tour Itinerary:
Hawke’s Bay still retains many of the historic homesteads built by the pioneering pastoralist families who developed large sheep farming operations through the second half of the 19th century. Some have burnt down over the ensuing 100 years or more, but a remarkable number still remain. Many are being gradually restored and painstakingly brought back to their original splendour – a laborious and expensive undertaking.
Today we’ll visit 3 such homesteads, all once centres of large farming operations and still sitting majestically in their rural surroundings. First up we head to the Tikokino district and Gwavas Homestead and its renowned woodland garden. Gwavas has the rare, if not unique, distinction in Hawke’s Bay of still being owned and occupied by the same family that built the homestead in 1891. The Carlyons (a distinguished Cornish family) and their descendants have lived at Gwavas since the 1860s. We’ll have morning tea with the fifth generation of the family, who currently occupy the homestead, and enjoy a tour of the house and wonderful garden.
Further south along SH50 at Ashley Clinton sits Ashcott Homestead. The original run of nearly 16,000 acres was taken up in 1854 by the Tucker brothers from Ashcott, in Somerset. John Tucker married into the Deane family of Gloucester and changed his name to A’Deane. The homestead had its beginnings in 1860 and was gradually added to over the years. Ashcott has changed hands a number of times since the 1970’s and fell into disrepair. Its gradual restoration in recent years has been greatly welcomed by the local community and the current owners will show us around and tell us much more about the homestead’s history.
A’Deane’s original neighbour on the other side of the Tuki tuki River was John Johnston of Oruawharo. At its height this property was nearly 18,000 acres and the township of Takapau was established on Oruawharo land. The current homestead was completed in 1897 and has suffered a turbulent time being unoccupied for various periods in the last 70 years. Over the last 10 years, first the Harris family and now the current owners, the Lauder family, have put a lot into the glorious old homestead’s restoration and revival. We’ll have lunch at Oruawharo before enjoying a tour of the property.
These venerable old homesteads stand as a living piece of Hawke’s Bay’s history and we’re lucky to be able to visit them.
