Waitangi Day Open Home

Nau mai, haere mai ki Te Whare o Antrim: Come and visit Antrim House

Bookings essential

Book a time to visit on Waitangi Day between 11am-2pm and get a rare opportunity to look around the whole house (including the tower), and hear from knowledgeable staff about the history of the place.

Tucked back off Boulcott Street and retaining its surrounding gardens, Antrim House was originally built as the home of the Hannah Family in 1904. Later used as a hotel and a hostel, it is now the home of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga. As it is used as an office this is a rare opportunity to look at spaces that are not commonly open to the public.

Bring your lunch or your coffee and sit on the verandah or front lawn, to reflect on the days when the Waikoukou stream ran along the course of Boulcott Street as described by historian James Cowan:“…the place where Willis Street and Manners Street meet was once called Wai-Koko, otherwise “Tui Creek” [koko is an alternative name for tūī]. A small stream flowed down from the wooded hills along the present line of Boulcott Street, or nearly so, and there was a pool on its course just here, which was a place resorted to by the Maoris for snaring the birds of the bush. It was a shady pool, and here gathered the birds, the tui or koko, the bellbird and the pigeon, drinking and refreshing themselves by splashing and sprinkling the cool water over themselves, as birds do in the heat of summer”.

Bookings essential. Free entry but koha welcome.

Covid: All visitors are required to wear a face covering, scan or sign in , and present a valid vaccine pass. All our staff have current vaccine passes. This event will not go ahead under Covid Red settings. More info on our protocols is at https://www.visitheritage.co.nz/about/hnzpt-covid-19-information/

Accessibility: Ground floor rear entrance is accessible. Upper floor accessible only by stair.
Questions? information@heritage.org.nz, 04 472 4341.