nextNovember 2009
Butler’s Farm is a stone-built farmhouse and group of farm buildings at Fruitlands, south of Alexandra. The farmhouse and the outbuildings were built by John McDonough in c. 1873. Five years later, in 1878, the farm was sold to John Butler.
The farm and its lands were at the centre of the disastrous Fruitlands Estate orcharding enterprise which ran from c. 1915 to the end of the 1920s.
On the date of its registration by the NZ Historic Places Trust, February 2009, the HPT described the farm and its buildings as having ‘aesthetic, archaeological, architectural, historical, and technological significance. Its outstanding setting and place in the landscape makes it a special local landmark.’
Many of the buildings are in a very parlous state and Jackie Gillies & Associates is developing plans for their conservation and eventual re-use. As of November 2009, a conservation plan is due to be produced. Meanwhile design concepts and measured plans are being developed.
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