History

Over a century of class.

The Homestead was built in 1909 by Robert McDowell using beech sourced from Kinloch, at the head of Lake Wakatipu.

It had 16 rooms and was fitted with acetylene lamps throughout - this was before Queenstown installed such lighting and a long time before electricity came to the district.

There were very few houses of this scale in the district at the time and only a handful of these homesteads still remain in the district today.

The first owner, Robert McDowell, was an important figure in the development of Arrowtown, Macetown and the wider Wakatipu area providing the essential service of supply of provisions through his carrier business. This business must have been extremely successful to allow him to branch out and purchase such a large farm and to then build a new house on the property at the cutting edge of design and technology.

The Homestead was purchased by the Lee family in 1910, just one year after it was built. Robert Lee was an important figure in the district at that time, being active in gold, coal and sheelite mining as well as farming. His standing in the community is evidenced by the erection of the Robert Lee Memorial, which still stands on Ladies Mile, after his death.

The Lees sold the farm and The Homestead to Eric and Mary Strain, of Dunedin, in 1938. The Strain family became, and still are, well-known personalities in the local community and have made considerable contributions to farming such as the introduction of the first tractors and electric shearing machines. In 1993, the Strains sold The Homestead and 200 hectares of the farm to an American investment group. The Strain family retained 40 hectares and continue to live in the area.

In 2005, the farm and Homestead was bought by Queenstown businessman and current mayor, Jim Boult.

The restoration begins…

In 2015 the current owners, Justin Crane and Kirsty Mactaggart bought the now derelict Homestead, Woolshed and Stables from Jim, and began an extensive restoration and extension of The Homestead and the grounds.

The restoration took over three years to complete and Justin and Kirsty moved in with their son Rory in 2018. 25 years after the Strains had sold to the American investment group, the current owners became only the fourth family to live in the Homestead in over 100 years.

The Strains remain neighbours and are friends of the current owners. The great grandson of Robert Lee, also Robert Lee, has become a friend of the current owners and recently bought a neighbouring section to The Homestead where he has built a beautiful home on land his grandfather used to farm.

Justin and Kirsty bought The Homestead with a consent to build 10 holiday cottages, however decided to reduce that consent to only 5 cottages in order that they sat more quietly in the landscape and to reflect the exclusive and iconic location. The 5 holiday cottages are located and designed to nestle in the foot of Slopehill with stunning mountain and Lake views, and were completed in June 2020.

The development of the holiday cottages was undertaken in order to finance the restoration of the historic farm buildings - The Woolshed and The Stables. The plan is to start these final projects later in 2021. Watch this space !