A (WORKING) HISTORY

OF
10 ROYSTON STREET
NORTH EAST VALLEY
DUNEDIN

LAST UPDATED: 10 August 2008

Prepared by David Timothy Duval (dtduval@gmail.com)

Much of the information contained herein comes from official records held by the City of
Dunedin. Added to this is information and insight from Gary Blackman, local historian, and
archives of the Otago Witness (now Otago Daily Times). As this document outlines, the
exact date of construction of the house is unknown.

The parcel of land where the house currently sits is rather complicated and highly unusual.
Even the staff in the city records were puzzled. For example, the current legal description of
the property is as follows: “PT LOT 16 BLK III DP 398, PT LOT 6 BLK III DP 398, PT LOT 5
BLK III DP 398, PT LOT 7 BLK III DP 398, PT LOT 17 BLK III DP 398” (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1. The current legal designation of the property

The original land was part of what was known as the Township of Gordon. According to
noted local historian Gary Blackman, the area where the house sits was purchased by
William and Hans Strain in the mid 1850s. There is a Land Transfer recorded from 1902
which indicates that one John Isaac Martin Strain (presumably one of the sons) parcelled the
land where the house sits into Blocks. From then, the Blocks were divided in Lots:
FIGURE 2. From Land Transfer Record 1902 showing Block II and Block III purchased/transferred to
John Isaac William Strain.

Robinson Street is the former name of Royston Street, and Normanby Street is now known as
Marquis Street. District Road as indicated is now known as Black’s Road. It seems the Strain
family also owned the land between Block III and District Road as well. Looking at Figure 2,
the house currently sits primarily on Lot 6 in Block III.

One 27 May 1904, Alfred Edward Ansell bought Lots 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20, 21, 22 and part of 18
(referring to Figure 2). The purchase covered the back half of our lot (Lot 6), but one month
later, on 29 June 1904, Ansell purchased Lots 6, 7, 17 and 18. Within two years, the rest of the
Lots in Block III began to be sold off to individual buyers. Ansell was born in 1876 to a North
East Valley family and attended North East Valley School. He trained as a tailor and spent 5
or 6 years in London. In 1928 he became a Member of Parliament.

A postcard dated to 1906 (it conveniently bears the post stamp) shows a mostly empty
Gordon Township (Figure 3), although some houses line District Road (now Black’s Road).
Figure 3 – 1906 Postcard (printed in Austria) showing a mostly empty Gordon Township (red dot
indicates future location of 10 Royston Street) (courtesy Garry Blackman).

Andrew King of North East Valley (a builder) purchased a significant part of the land from
Ansell. On 13 October 1906, the Title registered King’s purchase (Figure 4).

FIGURE 4. As purchased by Andrew King on 13 October 1906.

Andrew King was living at 11 Russell Street when he passed away in 1915 (61 years). He is
buried in Block 30, Plot 123 at Andersons Bay Cemetery.

On 19 March 1907, John Andrew Orlowski (a builder) purchased Lots 12, 13, 14, 15 as well as
Part Lots 1, 2 and 3. We’ll come back to Orlowski shortly as his role in the potential
construction of house might be significant. On 9 July 1907, almost four months later, the
shape of one boundary of the modern lot begins to take shape when it was sold to James
Frederick Moodie (a builder). James Moodie was living at 69 Pacific Street, Dunedin when he
passed away in 1965 (87 years). The purchase by Moodie in 1907 resulted in a the
consequential Title amendment as follows (Figure 5):

FIGURE 5. After the purchase by James Frederick Moodie on 9 July 1907.

The boundary bisecting Lots 5 and 16 in the title transfer for 9 July 1907 to Moodie is the
current boundary and as a result could mean the house was already standing when the sale
to Moodie took place, possibly suggesting that Andrew King constructed the house before
the sale to Moodie. However, the Land Titles Register notes that Moodie sold what is now
the actual formal boundary designation of the house to John Andrew Orlowski just over
three months later on 16 October 2007 (Figure 6), which could mean Moodie constructed the
house (or had it constructed) in that three month period between July and October 1907.

FIGURE 6. Purchased by James Andrew Orlowski (sold by Moodie) on 16 October 1907.

A mortgage between Orlowski and John McRae was entered on 15 February 1908 and the
Land Transfer Register records a transfer to Annie Louisa Goldsmid on 11 November 1908.
Taken together, this could mean that it was Orlowski (himself a builder), and not Moodie,
who built the house between February 1908 and November 1908 and then sold it to
Goldsmid. This, of course, is not the first time a mortgage is registered against the land, but
is the first time the modern shape of the property (an amalgam of existing Lots) has a
mortgage registered against it. John Andrew Orlowski died at Cherry Farm in 1971 having
lived 90 years, and is burried at West Taiari Cemetary (Block 1, Plot 21)

The first drainage permit was issued in 1906. Curiously, that drainage plan, issued when
Andrew King owned the land, shows the rough outline of the house itself (Figure 7). The
bath (often recorded as ‘foul’) drain is exactly where it is today, and the main storm drain
(‘10’) is also where it is today. The indication of ‘tubs’ and ‘sink’, however, somewhat, but
not fully, follow the outline of the house. The area indicated by ‘sink’ is where the modern
kitchen currently sits, which has likely always been the case. However, where ‘tubs’ is
indicated seems to indicate an longer extension of the kitchen itself, which is not the current
layout. At present, immediately outside the kitchen area is a detached shed which sits atop
what appears to be the original retaining wall.

FIGURE 7. 1906 drainage plot

It is thus perhaps not unreasonable to assume that the 1906 drainage plans showed the
planned construction of the house, rather than the house. A revised drainage permit from
1912 (Figure 8), when the house was owned by Annie Goldsmid (note forename indicated in
Figure 8), indicates exactly the current layout, and it is clear where the kitchen drain and the
shed drain exist (as they do at present). This could suggest that Andrew King bought the
land, obtained drainage permits and built the house before selling to Moodie in July 1907.
FIGURE 8 – 1912 drainage plot

The 1912 drainage permit also features a toilet (‘foul’) drain (marked by a modern “A” on
Figure 8 for illustrative purposes) which cannot be currently located on the property.
Interestingly, the location of the original toilet corresponds to the point marked “B” on
Figure 8 (see also Figure 9), but this does not show up on the drainage plans from 1906 or
1912. It would seem that the Goldmids (Annie was married to local bottler Daniel Goldsmid)
moved the toilet to the “B” location despite the original drainage plans.

Annie Goldsmid, a native of England, died 26 December 1915 (37 years) and is buried in
Block 158, Plot 0011 at the Northern Cemetary, not far from the house. Her last recorded
address is “3 Royston Street” according to the City of Dunedin Public Register of Cemetary
Records. The house was transferred to Daniel Goldsmid on 26 August 1918 at 11.25am. It
was transferred to Thomas Redpath Walker on the same day at the same time. It would
seem, then, that in order to sell to Walker, Goldsmid had to formally arrange transfer of
ownership into his own name as the house had previously been registered to his deceased
wife, Annie, who passed away in almost three years prior. Daniel Goldsmid died in August
1944 (71 years) at Dunedin Hospital and is burried at Block 16P, Plot 5 at the Southern
Cemetary.
FIGURE 9 - Original outhouse foundation at back

The subsequent chronology of owners of the property/house is as follows:

George Horace Anderson (salesman) (purchased 8 July 1919); d. December 1968 (88 years) in
Gore.

Morris Watt (paper mill employee) (purchased 14 August 1924); d. November 1962 (76
years), buried Block 219, Plot 45 at Anderson’s Bay Cemetery.

John Edward Drummond (labourer) (purchased 25 March 1930). Private John Edward
Drummond was part of the 35th Reinforcements C Company in WWI, and was listed as a
‘labourer’ before embarkation. His father lived in Palmerston. Drummon passed away in
Dunedin in January 1977 (81 years) and is buried in Block 253, Plot 22 at Anderson Bay
Cemetery.

Walter James Blackler (court clerk) (purchased 20 October 1943) Corporal Walter James
Blackler was part of 18th Reinforcements, J Company in WWI, and was listed as ‘clerk’
before embarkation. His wife was listed as living in Naseby at the time of his embarkation
overseas. Blackler was living in Christchurch when he passed away in February 1959 – age
unknown. He is burried in Block 117, Plot 29 at Anderson Bay Cemetery.

William James Watson Gilchrist (listed as a “farmer from Wakouiaiti”) (purchased 6

November 1944) (undertook alterations to the veranda at the front, according to plans
lodged with the City of Dunedin). Trooper William James Gilchrist was part of 25th
Reinforcements, Mounted Rifles in WWI and was listed as a ‘farmer’ before embarkation.
His father from Waikouaiti. Gilchrist passed away in 1979 (83 years) and burried in Block 3,
Plot 22 at Hawksbury Cemetery.

Graeme John Brinsdon (assistant foreman) (purchased 12 October 1967); d. April 1977 (47
years); last address was 10 Royston Street.
Peter (public servant) and Karen Sherlock (purchased 5 May 1978)

Ivan Stuart Richards (fire fighter) (purchased 14 April 1981)

Geoffrey Thomas Stokes (warehouse salesman) (purchased 12 August 1985)

Shane Gilchrist (journalist) (purchased 29 November 1995)

David Timothy Duval and Melissa Cirinna (purchased 19 December 2006)