Jim Harper and wife Sarah outside their Foxton Main Street home. Photo / Ashleigh Collis
Jim Harper and wife Sarah outside their Foxton Main Street home. Photo / Ashleigh Collis
Hidden behind one of Foxton's historic buildings, carefully restored on the outside by a retired couple from Wellington, lies a whole new modern twist.
With a love of restoration and history, retired government policy analyst Jim Harper and wife Sarah purchased Foxton Racing Club and Manawatu Print Limited, all within the last four years.
Living on Foxton's Main Street made sense to the couple who had shifted from Wellington's CBD.
"It's a good option for main streets to have a mixture of commercial and residential. The shape of main streets are changing to put life back into them. We love central living. Life on a main street is about being connected with street life. Why would we move out of that?" said Mr Harper.
Attracted to Foxton because of the windmill and its cultural connection to a Dutch organ owned by the couple, the Harper's interest in Foxton grew.
"We decided to come to Foxton to see what properties were for sale. We drove past the Foxton Racing Club and both of us said wouldn't it be great if that was for sale," said Mr Harper.
Fate was smiling on the couple as two days later it went up for sale, for the first time since its original build in 1881.
"We didn't waste any time, we bought the building," said Mr Harper.
They moved into the Foxton Racing Club in October 2012, began the building process, and finally sold their house in Wellington this year, severing their ties with the capital city.
"Originally we thought we could work with the old building. The first initial inspection was 'yeah it looks ok', the second was 'no way' and it was given an earthquake rating of 12 per cent, by which time we had already bought it," he said.
The Harpers retained the historic building's facade and strong room, re-using what materials they could.
From the outside the building looks no different to its 1923 image but step inside and it opens up to new, modern living.
"Our home is stripped, commercial classical according to the architect," said Mrs Harper.
The couple went on to purchase the neighbouring Manawatu Print Limited, formerly the Manawatu Herald, to faithfully restore it to its former glory.
They bought the building from born and bred Foxton man John Read, who began his working life at Manawatu Print when he left school in 1959 and later bought the business in 1967.
Inside the old Manawatu Print building, former owner Jim Read, middle, says the restoration undertaken by Wellington couple Sarah and Jim Harper has been executed beautifully. Photo / Ashleigh Collis
Mr Read saw the Harper's restoration efforts of his old workplace, his life for more than five decades, for the first time last week.
He said the painstaking restoration had been "executed beautifully" by the Harpers.
"What a beauty, it's brilliant, they have done a great job," he said.
The Manawatu Herald was printed in the building from 1879 to 1964 and although restored back to its original, will be kept as the Harper's private craft space.
Mr Harper will continue to restore mechanical musical items while cranking up his reverse glass painting business.
The old printing press will not stay idle for long as the Harpers intend on learning the trade.
"Considering we own a print shop we would like to learn how to use the printing press.
John promised us lessons on what to do with ink. In the future we would like to do a lot of design and crafty things here," said Mr Harper.
