7 minute read
Beauty spot
Its outlook may have changed, but many features of a remote cottage from a oncethriving goldmining community remain, hinting at the life of its eponymous owner
They’re two simple pictures, but they go a long way towards communicating those moments in the archaeological world that make all the painstaking work worthwhile.
The first, taken by stonemason Keith Hinds, shows pavers laid at the front of the quaintly named Mrs Heron’s Cottage – a 19th-century relic of the goldmining days dating from the 1860s at Roxburgh Gorge in Central Otago. Taken while conservation work on the cottage was being carried out in May 2019, the picture captures this exciting and previously undiscovered feature of the site.
The second picture shows heritage builder Chris Naylor, archaeologist Matthew Sole and former Heritage New Zealand Senior Archaeologist Otago/Southland Matt Schmidt enjoying a break from their work with a cuppa overlooking the beauty of Lake Roxburgh. Not visible in the shot is Chris’s fishing line with a frozen shrimp on the hook – a cunning recommendation from Matt that helped to catch five trout, of which the biggest three sadly got away. How’s that for a workplace? The view from the cottage was significantly different when it was built for Henry and Harriet Heron, who lived there from 1863 to 1875. For a start, it was part of a mining community called Fourteen-Mile Beach, which sprawled along the edges of the Roxburgh Gorge, with the Clutha River/Mata-Au in the distance. Today the cottage is a rare surviving reminder of those mining days, and that community, after the construction of the Roxburgh Dam in 1956 flooded the gorge and created Lake Roxburgh. While the front doorstep of the cottage is now closer to the water’s edge, it is still a safe distance away.
Thanks to a 2003 joint memorandum of understanding (MOU) to manage and conserve archaeological sites along the banks of the Clutha/Mata-Au, this is as far as the water will encroach on Mrs Heron’s Cottage.
The conservation work at the cottage is being managed by Heritage New Zealand and funded by Roxburgh Dam/Lake Roxburgh hydro-electric generation resource consent holder Contact Energy. The MOU also involves
2
4
cottage owner Land Information New Zealand and pastoral lease holder and previous caretaker/ owner of the cottage site, the Miller Family Trust.
The three-bay Mrs Heron’s Cottage was built in stages: the centre in the 1860s, the stone extension of its left side possibly in the 1880s or ’90s, and the corrugated-iron addition on the right side by miners during the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was constructed primarily of schist and mud mortar, with remnants of the original and later floors, plus tongue-and groove ceiling timbers and fireplaces, including a Shacklock oven, still there.
“In archaeological, historical and heritage terms, this is a remarkable site,” says Matt, who has been heavily involved in this project.
“The artefacts found while removing the fill that had built up around the cottage gave you a sense of the day-to-day lives of Mr and Mrs Heron. A rubbish pit with alcohol bottles, pieces of fencing wire, clay penny inks, a scale weight, broken plates and the remains of a beautiful black tea or coffee pot with gold trim were found.
“There were also iron hoops all concertinaed into a neat pile where a barrel at the back corner of the house had been located, probably to catch fresh rainwater.
Henry and Harriet Heron owned and worked a successful goldmining claim at the former Fourteen-Mile Beach, building the original cottage above the burgeoning town that at its peak had more than 1000 people living and working there.
The Herons lived there until around 1875 before moving about 15 kilometres south to Roxburgh to run the Commercial Hotel, and the cottage became known locally as Mrs Heron’s Cottage.
Henry died in 1896 but Harriet carried on managing the property until she died in 1913. There’s no doubt Harriet was an incredibly strong and resourceful woman. Twelve years spent at FourteenMile Beach, including three as possibly the only woman, are testament to that.
Last year’s conservation work centred on removing the built-up soil and debris from around the cottage, repairing the roof, and drying out and repointing the stonework. The interior was made safe where possible – for example, by patching holes in the floor – with care being taken to maintain the original features and fabric. Stonemason Keith Hinds is an experienced hand in pointing and stone repairs and has worked on many conservation projects. The St Bathans resident spent around two weeks with the other experts working on the exterior and interior of the cottage, using the next-door farmer’s track – not the easiest of routes – to get to and from the cottage.
Keith is pleased with the finished result, especially given the almost complete loss of the exterior render coat, which had left the schist stonework and mud mortar bonding open to further deterioration.
“The original stonework was pretty poor really, with lots of round and small rocks,” says Keith. “There were a lot of holes for mice and birds to come and go through, but now the job is done it gives the cottage a lot
3 The overgrown front of Mrs Heron’s Cottage prior to conservation work.
Tin found in front of the kitchen area to protect the timber floor.
4 The cottage is a valuable reminder of 19th-century goldmining activity.
5 Chris Naylor with in-situ iron hoops from a wooden barrel.
6 The wave wall protects the cottage from Lake Roxburgh. IMAGERY: CONTACT ENERGY
7 The cottage nestled by the lake. IMAGE: ANDREA FRAMINER
more strength. The repaired roof makes it quite safe now. I did mud pointing but with a lime base to it because of the cottage’s remoteness.
“I’m a bit of a heritage supporter and was keen on saving the cottage. The old rule is to only do what you have to do and not point rake out the old lime. “I’ve been doing heritage stonework for 30 years now. When I was approached, I was asked to really get this right. I love working on heritage like this and I feel really proud when the job is finished.”
Clyde-based carpenter Chris Naylor says the woodwork at Mrs Heron’s Cottage was in a parlous state.
“It was pretty much on the way out. The internal gutters had blocked up and rotted out, and rain had rotted out parts of the building.
“The central room flooring was pretty good, but the corrugatediron side was completely buggered. We replaced about 75 to 80 percent of the south-side floor with recycled rimu to match the original flooring.
“The idea was to leave the cottage as a ruin but make it safe. I put half-doors, on springs, in doorways, basically to keep the sheep out. Rough-sawn macrocarpa was also used to distinguish between the old and the new.
“The whole project was so fun, so good. It’s just beautiful down there.” RETURN TO CONTENTS
6
CONTACT AND CONSERVATION
Daniel Druce, Environmental Advisor for Contact Energy, says the Mrs Heron’s Cottage project is “the most significant heritage restoration work Contact Energy has done in Otago” and he is proud to be associated with it.
The cottage has been conserved as a managed ruin, as opposed to being restored to a liveable condition, in accordance with the conservation plan prepared by Jackie Gillies + Associates in 2014.
“The conservation plan was the blueprint for what was required to ensure that the cottage lasts another 150 years,” says Daniel, who is based at Clyde.
“The actual conservation work was done in two phases, with the construction of the wave wall in 2010 the first. That wall was a huge undertaking at such a remote site but prevented undermining the cottage by Lake Roxburgh. And the second stage was engaging the right people to do the work in accordance with that plan.”
Contact Energy has been active in a number of other heritage conservation projects in Central Otago – the majority in the Roxburgh Gorge – including archaeological investigations. The continued conservation work reflects the increased public appreciation of archaeology and heritage from when the dam was built in the 1950s.
“Mrs Heron’s Cottage is a pretty cool site,” says Daniel. “It’s a place that’s difficult to get to, only accessible by boat. You start to develop something of a duty of care, and then it just takes over a little bit.” n
