nextJanuary 1997
Built in 1864, the Williams Cottage is Queenstown’s oldest remaining house. In the 1980s it was threatened with demolition due to the high value of its lakefront site. A Trust was established to protect and restore the cottage.
A Conservation Plan was completed which identified the very rare unmodified state of the cottage as significant, in particular the lack of any modern services such as electricity or water and many original wallpapers.
Major fundraising commenced to allow the Trust to purchase the building and carry out its conservation. Following its completion in 1997, it opened as an annexe to the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown, manned by volunteers of the local Historical Society, before being partly adapted as an historical retail shop.
It now houses the contemporary New Zealand design shop, “Vesta” and incorporates a small and popular café.
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