Dunedin Heatwave!

Apr 10, 2025
3 min read

Friday 4 April

Woke to warm temperatures and blue skies despite everyone’s warnings that Dunedin is always freezing! Louis did a morning’s studio work online while I did the laundry and a spot of op shopping. I fear I am my mother's daughter as I became obsessed with buying pure linen tea towels at the local Vinnies op shop for just 50c each! But the best find was a knife at Hato Hone St John's which was identical to the one we lost at some point in the last few months - again, just 50c!

Met up with Abby Fernandes for a lovely lunch at Joe’s Garage - she seems to be totally immersed in her studies, her work and making a great life for herself down here - Otago University certainly resonates with me… much more like St Andrews back in the day than other kiwi universities. The buildings also have a very British feel - colonial Victorian and Gothic revival all over the place - the train station is amazing!

After parting ways, we headed out along the Otago Peninsula to seek out Larnach Castle. Took a stroll (exhausting clamber) up to the soldiers memorial and marvelled at the stunning views. Whilst the morning had been scorching hot and blue skies all round, by now the clouds were rolling in giving us epic moody, glowering panoramas along the Peninsula and out to sea.

We thought we would be too late , but snuck into Larnach Castle about 15 minutes before the gates closed and had the opportunity to explore this incredible, unique, beautifully restored historic building.

Built originally by & for the Larnach family back in 1871, the castle has a rather tragic history involving the death of two wives and William Larnach’s suicide which threw the ownership claims into disarray. It was commissioned as a mental asylum at one point and eventually fell into disrepair - until it was purchased in 1967 and gradually restored by the Barker family who still own it.

The Gothic revival mansion that is Larnach Castle mixes the Victorians' favourite architectural style with Australasian verandas and wrought iron balconies, topped off with a crenellated tower and guarded by fantastical beasts. It boasts that it is New Zealand's only castle and was designated a New Zealand Landmark by Heritage New Zealand in 2018.

Construction on the castle began in 1871, when William Larnach a banker, entrepreneur and politician commissioned and built it for his first wife, Eliza, who was mother to their six children. When Eliza died, he married her half-sister Mary Anne who appears to have lived with the family prior to this time, and upon her passing married Constance, who was considerably younger than him. His finances took a turn for the worse in the late 1870s, but with the castle in trust to his wife they were able to maintain this asset. Various other ventures and a not entirely glorious political career left him depressed and mentally unstable; it is rumoured that his son may also have been having an affair with Constance; and in 1898 he shot himself, leaving the various elements of the family to battle over his inheritance as he had died intestate.

What we see today is a carefully restored and recreated version of the original building, with many original features but others of the same historical period added in. The Barkers have worked to retrieve many of the original furnishings to add authenticity. It is a stunning building and quite fascinating to explore. I particularly liked the grumpy Scottish cat in the stained glass family crest who is "sans peur" - "without fear"!

The woodwork in the halls, the staircase, the foyer ceiling and the beautiful arched panelling was incredibly intricate - the ceiling alone took the Godfrey family over 6 years to carve.

I loved visiting the top of the tower as the last couple I married back in November had got engaged there several years earlier 🥰. Up a winding staircase of 29 narrow carved stone steps you emerge onto a stone platform with panoramic views in every direction - such a stunning location.

We took a quick tour of the gardens - which while they were not an original feature of William Larnach's home, and have been awarded "Garden of International Significance" status by the New Zealand Gardens Trust.