Auckland... Pah Homestead...

I did lots of things while I was in Auckland and
went lots of places. At weekends when my friend
Janeen wasn't at work we did things together.
One of places we visited was this magnificent old
house 'The Pah Homestead', and the arts centre.


 Now owned by the Auckland Council it was built in 1877 as a
gentleman's residence... One of the largest and finest homes in
Auckland at the time. The house has been through various ownership...
Mr Williamson who it was built for, on his death the Bank of New Zealand
who leased it to the Anglican church. In 1913 it was purchased by
the Sisters of Mercy. More recently it was used as a temporary
residence for the homeless.

On 1 September 1983 it was registered by the New Zealand
Historic Places Trust as a Category 1 heritage structure . In 2002 it
was purchased by the Auckland City Council who have plans to develop
the surrounding Monte Cecilia Park into a premier park for the city.
It's now known as the TSB Bank Wallace Arts Centre...
Which is why we went there.

The rooms and architecture inside is magnificent...
 

Wonderful for displaying art...
 

Toss Woollaston, Tasman Bay 1986, oil on board.
 

Philip Trusttum, Studio, 1974, oil on board.
Bill Hammond, Watching For Buller, 1993, oil on canvas.

 Sam Mitcher, Janus, 2010, acrylic on perspex.

Suji Park, Bu Bu, 2012, ceramic figures on wooden base.
 

It is surrounded by  Monte Cecilia Park... The lawns are
vast and the views incredible.

There are some magnificent and very old trees...

This is the biggest Morton Bay Fig in New Zealand...
 

A wonderful specimen of a Bunya Bunya Pine...
A native of Queensland Australia...
And first cousin to the New Zealand Kauri.

It's a great place to go, to look at the art and there is a good cafe.
We did both of those then wandered in the park
enjoying the sun and admiring the trees.