Known simply as the Gardener’s Cottage, this heritage
building is located in one of the most beautiful gardens in New Zealand, the Rotorua Government Gardens. This
late Victorian villa was built in 1898 with two bedrooms and a lounge. Today the cottage has three bedrooms.
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| Front of the cottage 2019 Photograph by Ani Sharland |
The cottage was originally intended as the head gardener’s house. However, the cottage has had many residents other than the head gardener. The list includes, employees of the bath house, a head attendant and a masseur, Mr J. Redward. Pat Johnston also lived in the cottage for 16 years and at that time the cottage had three bedrooms. Pat recalls people sitting on the front porch eating lunch, weddings take place in the front garden and watching marathons and the annual Anzac parade. Often gardeners who cared for the gardens dropped in and had a coffee with her.
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| Side view of the cottage from the carpark 2019 Photograph by Ani Sharland |
The gardens of the cottage provided produce for the Te
Runanga tea kiosk, the sanatorium and Waimangu House.
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| The rear garden 2019 Photograph by Ani Sharland |
The front garden was added in 2000 with cobblestone areas, a fountain and paved pathways.
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| The front garden 2019 Photograph by Ani Sharland |
The cottage was the only
building in the present Government Garden area until the 1900’s when a later series
of developments followed. The cottage is the oldest surviving building in the
government gardens. Upgrades over the years have included new interior and exterior paint and fixing the scullery roof.
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| Architectural feature 2019 Photograph by Ani Sharland |
This post was written by Ani Sharland with thanks to Philip Andrews book, "The Government Gardens" and articles from the Daily Post.
