History on move as family find home

When Anthony Medcraft's wife saw a 19th century house at Cobblestones Settler Museum for sale on Trade Me the couple knew they had to have it as their new family home.

So he and wife Marianne McMillan have bought the old Hastwell Homestead, currently the entrance building for the Greytown museum.

They bought it privately after the auction was withdrawn.

"Marianne spotted it and fell in love with it."

The house was built by the Hastwell family in 1876 and then taken over by the Tully family during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The original building was a two-storey home with a wooden shingle roof and stable added later.

Mr Medcraft said they were delighted with their purchase and hoped the home would be around for another 140 years or longer.

"We like it for the history. It's a nice solid building, solidly built with native timber - heart timber, rimu and matai floors ... it will be a family home with history."

If the walls could talk, he was sure it would have a tale or two to share.

While it was originally two floors, after the 1940 Masterton earthquake, it was dropped to one storey, he said.

"[The owner] got such a fright he took the top floor off ... if walls could talk, I reckon it could tell a few stories ... it has a beautiful feel about it."

Currently the family, living on a lifestyle block in Bucks Rd where Mr Medcraft breeds horses and alpaca, are housed in an American-style barn house.

The old Hastwell homestead will be situated on the property with the front of the home north-east facing with views across the Tauherenikau Valley and river.

They plan to transform the homestead into a three-bedroom home, retaining much of the original style and redeveloping the ceiling in the living room.

"Marianne wants to keep the window seat ... we might put French doors in the bedroom."

Alpha Removals will be picking up the home in two pieces with plans to move it from the original site to its resting place 18km up the valley by the end of August with the family hoping to be living in it by Christmas.

"There shouldn't be any problems," Mr Medcraft said.

Cobblestone Trust chairman Graeme Gray said the homestead wasn't in its original condition so wasn't registered as an historic building, making way for the trust to sell it and build a more interactive, educational entrance building for the museum. The trust is spending about $1 million to upgrade the museum with work on the new building due to start next month with plans for an opening by April or May next year.

It would provide space for storage and hosting different displays which would be changed regularly, Mr Gray said.

"In essence, it will be like an art centre. We want people to see different things and encourage people to come back. It will be set up as an educational centre as well ... we feel it will be an asset not only for Greytown but the Wairarapa region."