Prime Minister's Biography

Echoes of the Past

Premier House Occupants | PM @ Home | View a large image of the house as it is now

1865 Premier House is cobbled together from four distinct building styles. The original cottage, a fragment of which is visible at the southern end, was privately built in 1843 and added to in the 1860's.

In 1865 the Crown bought the house as a Prime Ministerial home and in 1872 Sir Julius Vogel engaged an architect to turn it into an elegant two storeyed structure. This included a ballroom with a sprung floor and New Zealand's first lift. Sir Julius also created what is thought to be New Zealand's first tennis court in the grounds.

From 1900-1912 Premier House was occupied by the Ward Family, who named it "Awarua". The house became a social centre, with regular garden parties including in 1908 a party for Kathleen Beauchamp (Katherine Mansfield). The house sported a gramophone, a billiard table and a piano, and in the weekends cabinet members would drop around for a game of billiards or a sing-song around the piano. 1880 In 1906, Ward's Cabinet was sworn in under a horse chestnut tree in the grounds.

Premier House was again altered in Gordon Coates' time (1926) when an upstairs balcony was added to trap the winter sun.

In 1935, a new Prime Minister, Michael Joseph Savage, decided he did not want to live in the house. It was converted into a children's dental clinic, drilling equipment was installed, and the walls, skirtings and mouldings covered in hardboard.

tooth Between 1937 and 1976 it became known to generations of Wellington children as "The Murder House". Between 1977 and 1989 the house was used by various groups, including the Thorndon kindergarten.

In 1989 the state of the house caught the attention of keen historian and then Minister of Internal Affairs, Dr Michael Bassett. Refurbishment of Premier House became a 1990 project, marking the nation's 150^th anniversary, and the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board agreed to fund its refurbishment and renovation.

The building was shabby and dilapidated, with the floors either on a lean or riddled with bolt holes put in during its time as a dental clinic. Architect Kelvin Grant took on the challenge of restoring the property while also creating a residence suited to a modern day Prime Minister.

Where possible, the layers of paint and hardboard were peeled back to the original surface. Upstairs a horizontal overlay floor was placed over one almost 200 mm out of alignment. A plaster moulding copied from an 1880's design now graces the ballroom ceiling and new stained glass panels complement and contrast with the original 1880's stained glass windows.

interior Downstairs, the sun porch, ballroom and dining room were restored to near original condition, while a new kitchen and other facilities were added to enable Premier House to be used for official functions.

Upstairs, a small, modestly decorated flat provides private living quarters for the Prime Ministerial family.

The 1990 restoration was carried out within the allocated budget of $1.8 million - $1 million presented by the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board and the remainder from the sale of ministerial properties.

Premier House Occupants | PM @ Home | View a large image of the house as it is now