The Gray Homestead
Gray Homestead, 1920s. Photo Pātaka Art+Museum.
Joseph Dawson’s plan of the Gray Homestead, 1920. Ted Coates.
The Gray Homestead
The site of the Gray homestead, 7 State Highway 59, “has an open and sunny aspect to the north with a grand view taking in the coastal hills and a wide sweep of sea with Kapiti Island prominent in the distance.” (Murray and Fill. 2009, p219). The homestead was designed by renowned Wellington architect J M Dawson in 1920.
Joseph McClatchie Dawson was born in 1877 in the Wairarapa. He worked with his father as a contractor before travelling overseas. On his return to New Zealand he set up what became a very successful architectural business in Wellington. His buildings include the Hope Gibbons building, Hatricks Motor Garage and the T.G. McCarthy building. In 1909 he became an inaugural member of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and was later made a fellow of the Institute.
In the 1920s many houses in New Zealand were influenced by the Californian Bungalow style. “JMD’s interpretation of this style is best seen in the Gray House, Pukerua Bay, (1920). In elevation, strong emphasis is placed on the horizontal, with projecting gables over entrance porticos and side rooms. Detailing is simple with no direct reference to timber lattice work that had been in vogue only ten years previously.” (Kemp 1982, p65)
Murray and Fill (2009, p220) refer to the homestead as “characteristic ‘transitional’ bungalow style.” The house was built on a grand scale fitting Gray’s perceived status as the most prominent and wealthy land owner in the district.
By Ashley Blair
