Perhaps the most frequently enquired after house in Wairarapa is a derelict mansion that sits atop a ridge in the Ahiaruhe district, across the road from Stonehenge Aotearoa. It must surely be the most photographed building in Wairarapa. It has all the requisites to...
For a long time the New Zealand movie business was dominated to two large firms – Williamsons (later to be taken over by Kerridge-Odeon) and Amalgamated Theatres. When Williamson’s built the rococo-styled Regent Theatre in 1930, it was only a matter of time...
One of New Zealand’s most remarkable set of farm buildings, dating back to the 1850s, sits atop a ridge in the Wainuioru district. The homestead, painted glistening white and designed in the Scottish baronial manner, sits at the heart of a unique set of buildings that...
The Wairarapa Times-Age building on the corner of Chapel and Cole Streets is perhaps Wairarapa’s best expression of Art Deco architecture. It was built as a result of the amalgamation of Masterton’s two newspapers, the Wairarapa Daily Times, established as...
Masterton had been without an official town hall for over ten years in 1895, and the Theatre Royal that had served the purpose was not up to the task. The Masterton Trust Lands Trust decided to act. On 21 May 1897, one day short of the 43rd anniversary of the...
The movies were brought to Masterton in the late 1890s by travelling companies which displayed moving pictures as part of an entertainment programme, using various halls. Later, buildings were converted for use as picture houses – the Foresters Hall became the...
