Early history The Whakatipu Waimāori / Lake Wakatipu and Head of the Lake area are of great significance to Kāi Tahu. A deed of recognition acknowledges the area and the cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional significance of Whakatipu Waimāori. ‘The name “Whakatipu-wai-māori” originates from the earliest expedition of discovery made many generations ago by the tupuna Rakaihautu and his party of the Uruao waka. Rakaihautu is traditionally credited with creating the great waterways of the interior of the island with his famous ko (a tool like a spade), known as Tu Whakaroria (renamed Tuhiraki at the conclusion of the expedition).’ A tipua (demi-god/metaphysical being) named Matua is believed to live in the lake, it is his somnolescent breathing that causes the rise and fall of the lake. Whakatipu Waimāori once supported nohoaka and villages that were the seasonal destinations of Otago and Murihiku / Southland whānau and hapū for many generations. Here they exercised ahi kā and accessed mahika kai and providing a route to access the treasured īnaka and kōkopu pounamu located beyond the head of the lake. Waka and mōkihi were the key modes of transport for the pounamu trade, travelling the length and breadth of Whakatipu Waimāori. There were numerous tauraka waka (landing places) on the lake and the islands upon it (Matau and Wāwāhi Waka). Consequently, there are several recorded archaeological sites relating to Māori activities in the vicinity of Paradise where Ari / Mt Alfred and Ōturu / Diamond Lake are the physical manifestations of tīpuna. The tīpuna had an intimate knowledge of navigation, river routes, safe harbours and landing places, and the locations of food and other resources on the lake. The lake was an integral part of a network of trails which were used to ensure the safest journey and incorporated locations along the way that were identified for activities including camping overnight and gathering kai. Knowledge of these trails continue to be held by whānau and hapū and are regarded as taonga. Mahika kai, ‘places where food was produced or procured’, were a major focus of the Ngāi Tahu settlement and was well documented within the Wai 27 claim. The traditional mobile lifestyle of the people led to their dependence on the resources of the roto (lake). The mauri of Whakatipu Waimāori represents the essence that binds the physical and spiritual elements of all things together, generating and upholding all life. Europeans learned of the inland lakes from Māori. Chief Te Huruhuru provided Edward Shortland a map of the inland lakes in 1844. In 1848 the land in which Paradise came to be situated fell within the boundary of Kemps deed. European settlement European explorers and pastoralists became aware of the Whakatipu Waimāori in the mid-1850s. In 1853 Nathanael Chalmers was guided inland by Tūtūrau chief Reko when he saw Whakatipu Waimāori / Lake Wakatipu. In 1857-1858, the first Pākehā made it to the Head of the Lake and in 1860 William Rees and Nicholas von Tunzelman established their pastoral run on the edge of Whakatipu Waimāori / Lake Wakatipu where Queenstown would later develop. The magnificent landscape was noted in the Otago Witness, where it was prophesized the Lakes would be, ‘extensively visited for the mere purpose of viewing the grandeur of the scene.’ The influx of people following the gold rushes in the early 1860s saw Queenstown develop as a township and by the 1870s there was recognition of the tourist appeal of the Wakatipu area, and the need for accommodation.’ Early tourism The history of Paradise House is tied to the development of tourism in the Queenstown area. Lake Wakatipu, with its connections initially to Kingston and Invercargill provided the main communication link with the outside world. In the 1870s tourists were few, largely of local origin, and little catered for. By this time, however, there was talk in the local paper about tourists and a tourist season. Paradoxically, there was a reduction in the quantity of hotels and accommodation, as goldminers moved on to the West Coast gold rushes. The number of hotels decreased from twenty in 1866 to twelve by the early 1880s and were vying for business from the travelling public. Part of the competition was offering special services such as guides and horses, including trips to the Head of the Lake. By the mid-1870s tourists were staying at Kinloch at Bryant’s Glacier Hotel, with Bryant letting out rooms, and providing meals and a guiding service for visitors. The Queenstown area, promoted as the Cold Lakes and Glacial District of Otago, became part of the wider national and international tourist circuit both in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It was the rather colder equivalent of the Hot Lakes District in the North Island. By 1875 tourists from Europe the United States and Australia visited New Zealand. Status oriented classes were looking for more distant and less public resorts. Generally tourists were wealthy, and in the 1880s characterised by health and pleasure seekers. The Southern Lakes were included in tourist brochures alongside other attractions such as Te Aroha Hot Springs, Rotorua, Hanmer Springs, Te Anau and the Southern Alps with the Hermitage and Mt Cook. Accommodation houses were built in some isolated areas to provide for tourists. Other significant local examples include Glade House (built in 1896 at the Head of Lake Te Anau), and the Hermitage Accommodation House. Both were later taken over by the Government. Paradise was also to become part of the tourist circuit. The North and South Island tourist areas benefited from the expansion of rail and the improved communications. On 10 July 1878 Whakatipu Waimāori / Lake Wakatipu was linked by 490 miles of rail to Amberley via Dunedin and Invercargill. With the Dunedin and Invercargill rail links extending to Kingston, and the ability to connect with shipping services, Steamer links to Glenorchy, and transport to Paradise House provided the essential rhythm of life for staff and guests. During the summer months tourist traffic was busy, ‘since the weekend trips were inaugurated hundreds of people have had the opportunity of viewing this region … where not even tens had seen it before.’ The Gardiner’s Reliable Tourist’s Guide to Wakatipu District and Lakes reported that steaming time was three hours. The Head of the Lake became the scenic attraction with the building of the first hotel at Glenorchy in 1880. For most visitors, it was a day excursion except for those who wished to climb Pikirakatahi / Mt Earnslaw, or who favoured a longer visit in the area. Glenorchy was also a service centre for scheelite mining. William Mason’s Eden Grove Paradise House, originally known as Eden Grove, was designed by New Zealand’s first architect William Mason as his rural retreat. Mason had a rich and successful career that started in England and Australia and saw him become a significant figure in the development of New Zealand architecture. His first wife’s nephew, Joseph Fenn, had taken up land at Paradise Flat, thought to be named for the native Paradise duck / pūtangitangi (Tadorna variegata). Mason was charmed by the area and had taken up sections and built a house for Kate, his second wife. In 1883 he commissioned local carpenter and joiner, Frederick Finch, to build the eight-room house which he called ‘Eden Grove’ for under £160 ($30,122). The Masons resided there until the early 1890s. While its name alluded to the site, Mason had owned a house of that name in Auckland. Stacpoole describes Eden Grove as a four-roomed house built on a slightly elevated site facing Diamond Lake, with a distant view of Rees Valley. When Mason had been living in the house for a couple of months, he had a visitor who recorded his experience. Caught in a summer thunderstorm, Auckland artist Charles Blomfield (1848-1926) made for a small house in the distance, ‘On receiving a kind instruction to enter I saw at once that this was something more than a shepherd’s hut or runholder’s shanty. The house was well built and furnished with grace and comfort; handsome pictures hung on the walls, and a well stocked library filled up one side of the room. Feeling surprised at such signs of refinement in a place so far from civilisation, and no doubt showing my surprise on my face, I soon learned that the owner of the house was Mr Mason, a retired architect, who has chosen this spot for his summer home.’ After a few years of farming Mason decided to open Paradise as a tourist resort and in 1885 David Aitken (1840-1928) and his wife Jane (Jeannie) Bartlett (1859-1935) moved into the staff cottage. To cater for tourists Mason added on fifteen bedrooms. When the Aitken’s left to farm in Rees valley, the Harris’ ran the guest house for two years. In 1890 Mrs Mason asked the Aitkens to return to Eden Grove, offering them the lease on the accommodation house with an option to purchase. At this time Mason’s poor health forced him to move to Queenstown where he stayed at Eichardt’s Hotel for a time. In 1894 they returned to Dunedin and William Mason died there in 1897. The Aitkens era 1890-1943 When the Aitkens took over Eden Grove the house could accommodate 60 people and provided the base for perhaps thousands of people’s experiences of the remote wilderness surrounding the House. David, Jeannie and their children James, Isabella (Poppy) and John (Jack) were the centre for life in Paradise. Reading the pages of the Visitors Books the Aitkens become a larger-than-life presence, noted for their hospitality and their hard work. Their openness, humour, and sheer ability to make people feel part of the family made a stay at Paradise House a memorable experience, a special place in an outstanding landscape. There were many return visitors who recalled their experiences with fondness. David and the children guided their guests on their wilderness expeditions. Jack was associated with the New Zealand Alpine Club. The family’s local knowledge was very important. The children were valuable helpers in the daily operation. After the death of David, Isabella was said to have, ‘taken on more than her fair share of the management of the business.’ In addition to her domestic duties, and the ‘conduct of the post and telegraph bureau’ she also did a ‘considerable amount of guiding work.’ She also conveyed the passengers to and from Glenorchy. She was a ‘genial personality and gained the love and esteem of hosts of friends amongst tourists as well as the local population … she never had the privilege of taking a holiday; she actually died in harness.’ The road to Glenorchy was Paradise’s physical connection to the outside world. The steamer docked at Glenorchy where a service industry grew up providing accommodation, excursions, and guiding to the surrounding mountains. As the area grew in popularity, provision of transport to Paradise became an important part of the local economy. The buggy ride to Paradise took one and a half hours. The trip through the landscape, the journey narrated by the buggy driver, led tourists into a kind of mythical place; passing through Heaven’s Gate and over the River Jordan into Paradise. The descriptions and language set the scene for their experiences at Paradise House. Guests enjoyed the word play, commenting on their stay, and their walks around the property to other divine places such as the Rock of Ages and the Garden of Eden. Tourists visiting Paradise were enthralled by the scenery. The Visitors Books are full of superlatives describing the mountains, the lakes, the weather, the sand flies, the food, and other guests, everything except physical details of the Guest House itself. Gardiner described Mr Aitken’s accommodation house as an ‘excellent one…in every respect.’ Advertisements for Paradise House note that the proprietor had ‘made considerable additions to his House, affording ample accommodation for visitors wishing for a quiet holiday amongst Forest, Lake and Mountain scenery of beauty unsurpassed.’ The rates were 30s per week, or 6s per day. George Moore describes the Aitken’s ‘pretty little white cottage with its tidily trimmed hedges of New Zealand fur ‘micacarpa’ cropped till they look like green walls.’ Moore also describes the living area and bedrooms of the House as ‘nice, clean and comfortable looking and we have a nice sitting room, well supplied with books.’ The Annexe was built in the 1890s, with a tourist guide of that time noting that the David Aitken’s had ‘made considerable additions to his House.’ This included a honeymoon suite with a four-poster bed. The front annexe was also where the boys of the family used to stay. Sometime after 1910 the roof of the homestead was remodelled and extended to the edge of the guest wing roof. The pitch was raised, and the roof form changed to double hipped. The kitchen area was probably extended at this time too. As the family and the community expanded, further accommodation was built. The Big Cottage was built for Jack Aitken and his wife to live in when they got married around 1912. In 1914 the Garden of Eden Cottage was built to house the Ross family who worked at the local Sheelite mines. Later it was utilised as temporary accommodation for miners. The School House operated at Paradise in the 1920s teaching the Aitken children as well as children of the sheelite miners. Paradise House grew much produce on the property, an indication of the importance of the surrounding grounds. These included a substantial vegetable garden as well as fruit trees and berries. Visitors in the 1890s often commented on the Devonshire cream and strawberries – ‘all are suffering from a surfeit of strawberries.’ Jeannie would sell milk, eggs and surplus fruit and vegetables to the miners. Hops were grown on the front veranda, and still come up today. Yeast was made from potato water, ‘Grandmother used to make her own bread [,] half filling two four-gallon kerosene tins with flour, a bottle of yeast with some sugar in each tin, stirred around, then covered with thick blankets, and stood by the warm stove overnight.’ The kitchen was the centre of activity on boat days, heightened by the big lunch crowds but always busy through the season. The two double oven stoves, fitted with large wood burners produced great joints of roast meat, cauldrons of soup and old-fashioned iron pots of vegetables and fruit pies. Cold desserts could be found in the outside safe. Paradise House was inseparable from the appeal of the gardens and grounds, and the surrounding landscape. Guests also provide some insight into the surrounding gardens. George Moore describes sitting on the seat under the veranda, ‘[with the] bright little garden in front of us and the evening air bracing, although perfectly still and then we took a turn around the houses. What a lot of little attachments, stables, cow sheds, poultry houses, etc. sheep, geese, hens etc. and at the back without any fence, the beech wood, all so fresh with its bright green foliage ... we go into the little parlour, where a bright hanging oil lamp gives us a good light and we settle down to read.’ Throughout the Visitors Books comments are made about the exceptional atmosphere and family involvement. Hyperbole may be normal in Visitors Books, but it seems like this place really was, as one guest put it ‘more like a home than a boarding house.’ Many visitors returned over the decades. A retrospective written in 1947 described the place as a ‘playground for thousands of tourists and honeymooners.’ It was certainly an attractive place to visit by locals and those from abroad. Heffernan notes the variety of ‘professors of this and that’, doctors, medical and otherwise, school principals, teachers, surveyors and artists stayed at Paradise. These included Charles Blomfield, Francis Hodgkins, Kitty Geisow, Margaret Holloway, Evelyn Page, James Peele, Susannah Joachim, and Margaret Stoddart, along with Mr Moultry with his students. Photographers from Dunedin such as the Burton Brothers, and Muir and Moodie visited. J.D.S. Roberts, a freelance photographer for the Otago Witness and the Weekly News stayed in 1937, spending three days with a half plate camera. He returned in July of the same year for winter shots. Paradise was part of the network of linked walks. The Government recognised the importance of these links, noting that the most important work in the Wakatipu district was the ‘opening-up of a route whereby visitors may reach Te Anau from Lake Wakatipu and vice versa.’ In 1912 the first group ‘other than guides’ undertook the new Te Anau to Wakatipu track. Side trips were important for the tourist business. David and Jack Aitken guided in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Fergie Heffernan took over in the 1920s with a buggy and drag. There were eleven riding horses available at that time. Routeburn and Rees Valley trips were popular with riders. As transportation styles changed, Paradise adapted and Jack Aitken transported tourists in various vehicles from around 1919 first in a Model T Ford. The road between Glenorchy and Queenstown opened in 1962, ending the transport services in Glenorchy and in November 1970 the TSS Earnslaw service was withdrawn. Paradise House was also a meeting place for the scattered farming community. A church service was held once a month in the dining room, with the Presbyterian and Anglican ministers taking turnabout. Occasionally the Salvation Army officer would come on a bicycle, which he had travelled with on the steamer. Fergie Heffernan used to take the ministers up Rees Valley for an afternoon service, and back to Glenorchy for the evening service. Records show that a Post and Telegraph Office was in operation at Paradise from 1894 until at least the 1950s. Paradise had its own franking stamp. The telephone line is believed to have been put in by Joseph Fenn. The Post Office was located off the dining room in a separate addition with a lean-to roof and was approximately 2.5m square. It is possible the letter slot at the front door with its large box on the inside and elegant raised and diamond moulded access door was fitted at this time for posting mail. After David Aitken died in 1928, money was tight. The Depression added to the problems. Jeannie Aitken allowed miners to stay at the House for no charge and consequently the Aitkens owed a lot of money to the storekeeper in Glenorchy, Jack Thornton, and sold the property to pay off the debt in the early 1930s to his widow Johanna. According to Barbara Heffernan in an interview in 1997, the Aitkens gave up the Guest House operation because they ‘couldn’t attune to the modern ways’; the boarding house was no longer fashionable. The Veints era: 1943-1949 Charles Lloyd Veint and his wife Muriel bought the property and continued to run Paradise as a guest house in the late 1940s. Lloyd Veint’s son Jim recalled their period at Paradise as a busy time, helping for the visitors, including as a young child, guiding groups of tourists to the scheelite mine. In the forties there were only two weekly steamer trips in winter, and three in summer, so the numbers of guests were limited, and the property did not provide a good living. The Miller era: 1949-1998 Veint sold the Paradise House to Thomas Hugh Miller in October 1949, and bought the farm next door, Arcadia. Miller had come from Bermuda and was a widely travelled businessman. The family moved to the White Star Hotel in Queenstown for three months, heard about Paradise House and bought it. Miller had ambitious plans to transform Paradise into a luxury lodge built of stone and logs to cater for hunters, fishers, and honeymooners. This was at a time when there was a shortage of accommodation in the Glenorchy and wider Queenstown area. Miller’s plans never went ahead. They used Paradise House as a private dwelling, but continued to accommodate visitors at Paradise, where they camped or stayed in the various cottages and huts around the property. In 1967 Thomas’s son David Miller took over the ownership of the property. On David Miller’s death in 1998, a nationwide appeal was launched for a new owner, which caused much excitement and attention. Miller had been trying to give away the property since 1982, the criteria being that the property should remain ‘open for all to enjoy; it must remain free from commercial development; and it must never be sold.’ Just before David Miller’s death in 1998, the property was transferred to the Paradise Trust to protect the unique qualities of the place. The Trust continues to administer Paradise today. Paradise Trust (1998 - ) The Paradise Trust deed notes the primary object of the Trust is to ‘own, manage and make available Paradise for the present and future benefit and wellbeing of: residents of and visitors to the Queenstown Lakes District; Children; specific groups of people with a particular disability or need; and the public in general.’ The purposes of the Trust include the continuing availability of the place for local visitor accommodation and for educational purposes, and also to make Paradise accessible for people with disabilities. The intention of the Trust is to avoid any development or use which would substantially change the existing character and experience of Paradise. The Trust deed states further objects were ‘the preservation, conservation, protection and management of the open space natural resources, wildlife, birdlife, indigenous vegetation, flora and fauna of Paradise; the provision of opportunities for public use and enjoyment of Paradise and the encouragement of sustainable educational and recreational use of Paradise; to carry on any other charitable object which may seem to the Trustees capable of being conveniently carried on in connection with the above objects or calculated directly or indirectly to advance the objects of the Trust or any of them.’ In relation to future development the powers of building and development ‘shall be limited to low impact, non-intrusive development and building of a scale similar to that which already exists on Paradise.’ Paradise has an important link to outdoor education, with local schools using it as a base for school camps. Tertiary institutions have a long-standing link to the property, with both the University of Otago School of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences as well as the University of South Australia using it as a base for several decades. The landscape values were also recognised in the use of the area as the setting for Peter Jackson’s movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Paradise Trust, with the support of the Community Employment Group, commissioned a conservation plan for Paradise in 2002 and ecologist Brent Fagan completed a study of the flora of Paradise with a landscape plan by landscape architect Mary Wallace. The fire of May 2014 On the morning of 23 May 2014, a lightning strike caused a devastating fire which destroyed the recently restored Paradise House. Years of gifted artworks, furniture and several visitor’s books were lost as well. New visitor’s books have been created and the significance and value of Paradise to new and returning visitors alike, shine through, ‘We are honoured to be the first guests to stay since Paradise re-opened. Coming out here is like taking a step back in time. From the beautifully restored buildings, the animals …[and w]hat a wonderful place and an example for us all on how to preserve a place and wonderful environments. Thank you. It really is paradise.’ The visitor’s books also reveal the long-standing connections with returning visitors. After the fire the Trust received cards and letters of condolence from families as well as gifts of furniture, artefacts, paintings, and money. Environmental work continues with Paradise Trust contributing to the work of the Wakatipu Wildlife Trust which was established in 2018 to join up local groups interested in predator management. Bird life is returning and flourishing in the area again thanks to the predator control programme, weed control and replanting programmes. In 2019 the longstanding relationship with the University of Otago ended after over 40 years. In September 2020 Paradise was the recipient of an Otago Community Trust grant of $80,000 to help restore the historic barn.

This description is largely drawn from Jackie Gillies ‘Paradise Conservation Plan’, which was used in the original List entry report (Bauchop’s 2002, 2008). These descriptions have been amended where necessary to record observations from a site visit by the author in October 2019. Setting Paradise is located around 16 kilometres north of Glenorchy on the Glenorchy-Paradise Road, at the head of Whakatipu Waimāori / Lake Wakatipu in the Queenstown region of Otago. The 350-acre (141.6 hectare) property is a mix of pasture and outstanding wilderness areas, with another notable homestead ‘Arcadia’ nearby. Paradise is located on a wide flat river terrace facing north, looking up the Dart Valley with the Humboldt Mountains to the left and the Forbes Mountains to the right. Paradise sits in the valley between Ari / Mt Alfred and Pikirakatahi / Mt Earnslaw, with Ōturu / Diamond Lake to the south. The braided river valleys of Te Awa Whakatipu / Dart and Puahiri / Puahere / Rees rivers are also close by. There is pastoral land to the east of Paradise. Approaching from the south along the Glenorchy Road the gravel drive leads to Paradise from the east through beech forest. Paradise sits in a clearing at the eastern edge of a stand of the forest while a number of buildings included in the List entry are nestled in grassed clearings within the forest. The gardens and forest surrounding the buildings are intimately linked with the significance of the site. Eden Grove/Paradise House In May 2014 Eden Grove was destroyed by fire except for the lower portions of four chimneys, one of which contains the cast iron stove. Firemen removed the top metre from the chimneys and the caps reside in the garden adjacent to Miller House near three original ancient apple trees. A few original flagstones remain, and rocks mark the perimeter of the building. A grass lawn now carpets the footprint of the house and has become a space for outdoor dining. The area has been protected with a white picket fence, similar to that which was on the property during Mason and Aitken’s time, to prevent people driving on to the site of the Eden Grove ruin. Miller House (Guest Wing) The Guest Wing was added when Mason decided to change the home to a guest house and was originally located around 2 m to the south of Eden Grove. This area was eventually built in. The addition of fire doors in 2005 between Eden Grove and the Guest Wing saved the latter from the fire of 2014. The Guest Wing suffered mostly from smoke and water damage. Within five months the building had been restored and was reopened to guests. Since its restoration, the Guest Wing has been renamed Miller House in honour of David Miller. Miller House is clad in wide rusticated weatherboards with two-pane double hung sash windows flanking a central four panelled door. The windows were sourced from the old hospital in Invercargill. Decorative timber brackets support the gutter. A new veranda extends across the front of the building was created to mimic that of Eden Grove. The front door was obtained from the property and the door press and large cast iron knocker with a cherub/Pan figure were retrieved from the ashes of the fire, cleaned and reinstated, along with the coat hooks. Prior to the fire there were eight bedrooms, and three toilets, a storage room and a bathroom. Following the fire, the front two bedrooms were turned into an open plan area. On entry through the central doorway, the lounge is to the left and the kitchen / dining room are to the right. A new ceiling was installed in this area and through into the first part of the hallway. New carpets were put in throughout the building which was repainted. The renovations revealed the outline of a previously unknown toilet prior to it being a bedroom. Wheelchair access was added at the back door situated at the end of the hallway. The Annexe The Annexe is located to the east of Miller House. It was built to create more guest accommodation. It is a long thin single-storey building comprising several rooms connected by a veranda along one side. The roof is corrugated iron. The walls are clad in wide rusticated weatherboards. Each room has two windows, each one being a four-pane double hung window, and one door opening out onto the veranda. The doors are four-panelled. The veranda is concrete. Internally the floors are tongue and groove, painted or varnished. Both bedrooms have fireplaces with simple fire surrounds and mantelpieces. Today only two rooms remain as bedrooms, one is a bathroom, and one an open plan kitchen and sitting room, the latter reinstated from the part of the building demolished by David Miller. The four double hung sash windows were reclaimed from the old Invercargill hospital. The Pink Cottage The Pink Cottage is located immediately to the west of Paradise House ruins and faces north. It is small colonial style cottage with a lean-to addition to the south and west elevations. The Cottage has a central door, flanked by two symmetrically placed windows on its north elevation. There is a small porch over the front door. The cottage is clad and roofed with vertical corrugated iron. The original portion has sliding four-paned sash windows. The Cottage originally consisted of a two roomed gabled section with a lean-to at the rear. Only the front section remains with rear and side additions made in the 1950s. The front door opens into the parlour. The parlour has access to a bedroom on the right, and small hallway straight ahead. The hall provides access to the second bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. The original fireplace in the parlour has been replaced with a wood burner, and the opening and chimney modified. The floors of the original portion are tongue and groove timber. The walls and ceilings are clad in Pinex over wallpaper, Hessian scrim and Rimu sarking. There are moulded architraves. The 1950s additions are largely intact. The addition comprises a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen as well as the hall. The floor is concrete. All walls and ceilings, except for the kitchen and bathroom, are clad with Pinex. In the kitchen and bathroom, the walls are clad in hardboard. There have been no substantial changes to the Pink Cottage since the 2008 report except for exterior paint work. The Big Cottage The Big Cottage was built in 1912 and is located at the opposite end of the river terrace to Paradise House ruins and faces south. It is grander in scale than the Pink Cottage. It has the tall windows and eaves, and high ceilings, a raised verandah and wide weatherboards typical of the Edwardian period. The Big Cottage is roughly square in plan, with gables to the east and west elevations and a verandah along the front elevation. The exterior is clad in wide rusticated weatherboards with square corner trims. The roof is painted corrugated iron. All windows are four-pane double hung windows. The front door is four panelled, with half glazed side panels and fanlights. The side panels are glazed with coloured glass and the fanlights in frosted glass. There is a lean-to addition on the north, clad in ship lap weatherboards. There is a small outhouse at the rear of the cottage. The front door leads to a generous hall which extends to the back of the cottage. All the four original rooms lead off this hall. The parlour was at the front on the right, with the kitchen backing onto it, sharing a chimney breast, while two bedrooms were located on the left hand side. The bedrooms did not have a fireplace. The floors are tongue and groove boards, some painted, some varnished. There are moulded skirtings, above which is wallpaper on Hessian scrim on timber sarking. Skirtings and architraves are the same throughout the cottage. The ceilings are varnished V tongue and groove. The parlour has a carved fire surround, and a recent concrete firebox. The kitchen is lined with scrim and wallpaper with dado panelling matching the hall. There have been few modifications internally, most in the kitchen. The original range was replaced with the present one c. 1930s and a sink bench added. The walls in the kitchen have been covered in Pinex, as have those in the front bedroom. The original part of the Big Cottage is largely unchanged. The main areas of modification are the verandah (wood replaced with concrete) and the addition to the north. The addition to the north appears to date from the 1950s and houses the bathroom. There have been no substantial changes to the Big Cottage since the 2008 report except for exterior paint work. An application for resource consent was made to conduct structural repairs (chimney and re-piling) and to add a 27.8m2 extension to the cottage on the eastern elevation in a complementary style. The School House The School House is located on the edge of the beech forest on a slope overlooking the Big Cottage and the mountains opposite. Conservation architect, Jackie Gillies, considers that the School House was almost certainly shifted from another site, but there is no record of when. It was originally used by families who worked in the nearby scheelite mine in the 1900s. The School House was destroyed in a fire in 2011, all that remained was the chimney, fireplace and the original floor which has been protected by a layer of plywood. The one room building (7 m x 3 m) was completely rebuilt and an additional small window was added. The main window which was replaced is slightly larger version of the 3 x 2 pane double hung sash style. The Garden of Eden Cottage The Garden of Eden Cottage is located towards the west of the property enclosed on three sides by forest and with a view right out beyond the Ōturu / Dart River to the mountains. The Cottage was built in 1914 to house the family of one of the miners working on the Sheelite mine on the Paradise land, the Ross family. The Cottage comprises of three main rooms: a living room, a bedroom and a kitchen with a small shower/bathroom off it. There are two porches, one at the back and one at the front. The walls are clad in rough-sawn shiplap weatherboards. Windows are a mix of styles recycled from different sources. The roof is corrugated iron. The floor is half chipboard and half tongue and groove boards. The walls and ceilings are lined with several materials: particle board, sarking, Pinex and hardboard. Since the 2008 report very little has been changed: the fireplaces were replaced after earthquakes which had caused damage and caused the fireplaces to ‘leap out’. Galvanised piping has been changed to plastic. The Bushveldt Cabins The Bushveldt Cabins are a group of three small buildings, including one hut and two cabins. They are situated to the southwest of Paradise House in a clearing in the beech forest. The Hut is a single room with a small kitchen at one end, a shower and bathroom off it and a concrete porch at the back. The walls are clad in stained rough sawn shiplap weatherboards. The windows are recycled, some fixed shut. The building sits on a mixture of stacked stone and timber foundations. It appears that the building may have been relocated to this position. The main room is lined with Pinex, the floor is tongue and groove timber with lino over. There is a stainless-steel sink and formica bench at one end, beside a maroon and cream enamelled range. The range feeds a wet-back hot water cylinder. The shower/bathroom has a concrete floor and Pinex walls. At least one of the Bushveldt cabins was originally located to the right of the Pink Cottage and was moved by David Miller. The Cabins are clad in rusticated weatherboards and trim with a corrugated iron roof and lean-to veranda on one side. The veranda posts to Cabin 1 are unfinished logs, the back wall has been moved out over the back veranda. This is in desperate need of repair. A lean-to was added in 2016. The ceiling and door have been replaced. Both cabins have two windows (recycled single two-pane sashes from double hung windows. The door is tongue and groove edged and braced. The floors are tongue and groove with lino covering. Cabin 1 has Pinex ceiling and wall linings, while Cabin 2 has hardboard. Cabin 2 has had a new window installed and has been lined with a patchwork of wallpaper. Each cabin has access to an outdoor bath. The two cabins were repainted in October 2020. Barn and Stable The Barn is located to the north of the homestead on the road that leads to the Big Cottage. The Barn comprises of a stable of six stalls with large, covered areas in each wing. There is a hay loft on a second floor, accessed by a ladder from inside the stable. The lean-to roofs to each wing are constructed of tree- trunk posts with poured concrete footings formed in square oil tins. The roof is corrugated iron on pole rafters. The walls are clad in stained shiplap weatherboard with corner trims. Some areas of wall are in a poor state of repair. There are no casements, doors or architraves to the openings however some of the window and doorframes are still partially intact. There are two slatted gates accessing the stables under the lean-to wings to the North and South. These have strap hinges and galvanized flashing over the doorframe. The floor is new poured concrete. The walls are unlined. There are three stalls to each side on the ground floor. Each stall has a rough sawn louvre frame and a timber manger. The hayloft is unlined with a doorway and small framed opening above to the east and west sides. The north and south walls under the eaves in the hayloft are open. In the winter of 2018 heavy snowfall caused the northern wing of the barn to collapse. In November 2019 strong winds broke several beams in the northern wing. A temporary fix was employed to preserve the north facing wall. There are plans to restore the barn and potentially use this as a function venue. ‘The insurance payout [sic] will fund the conversion of a historic barn for weddings and other functions - now in the planning stage - as well as the restoration of another cottage and the building of a new manager's quarters.’ In 2020, the Paradise Trust received $80,000 funding for the restoration of the barn. Restoration will begin in July 2021. Comparative analysis Kinloch Lodge, Kinloch (not listed) The Glacier Hotel which became Kinloch Lodge was established by Richard Cogar Bryant (1823-1910). While not listed with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, Kinloch Lodge has significant historic value and is scheduled on the Queenstown Lakes District Plan, Ref 97. The Bryants are thought to be only family with a record of 150 years of continuous settlement in the Wakatipu.Bryant built the Glacier Hotel (now Kinloch Lodge) which has been offering accommodation and guiding in the area since 1868 and continued in the family until 2002. Like Paradise, this historic building and business has adapted with the requirements of the tourism industry but offers a service with modern conveniences. Paradise however has maintained a rusticity and ‘back to nature’ experience which adds to it aesthetic appeal. Ferguson’s Cottage Complex, Mount Ruapehu (List No.7621, Category 2 historic place) Fergusson Cottage is situated on the lower northern slopes of Mount Ruapehu in the Tongariro National Park. The Park was established in 1894. Like Paradise this was a remote destination that was difficult to get to. Both places catered for adventurous outdoor enthusiasts during summer and winter. Pressure for facilities came from followers of the new sport of skiing, which was first tried at Ruapehu in 1913. Like Paradise, this place has evolved to meet demand with the addition of new buildings over time however these do not maintain the simplicity of the early buildings, or the overall aesthetic of the structures and surroundings at Paradise. Defiance Hut, Franz Josef (List No.5046, Category 2 historic place) Defiance Hut, now located at the Franz Josef Visitor Centre, was originally constructed in 1912-13 to enable greater tourist and mountaineer excursions to Franz Josef Glacier and is the earliest high-level mountain hut remaining in New Zealand. It plays an important role in telling New Zealand's mountaineering history. Like many of the simple buildings at Paradise, Defiance Hut was built to provide accommodation to enable visitors and adventurers access to remote parts of New Zealand. Made of similar materials to the older Pink House at Paradise, Defiance Hut is larger and is of a later date and is very sparce inside, where Pink House was built as a home for the Aitkens. Travellers Rest, Rakiura / Stewart Island (List No.2563, Category 2) Predating Mason’s accommodation wing, Travellers Rest provided accommodation to the Southern-most tourist destination in New Zealand, Rakiura / Stewart Island. Located on a picturesque headland overlooking Halfmoon Bay on remote Rakiura / Stewart Island, Travellers Rest was built as a boarding house for tourists in the 1870s and is an example of an early tourist operation providing a base for exploring the wonders of the island. Prominent settlers James and Agnes Harrold ran the boarding house for thirty years. Unlike Eden Grove Traveller’s Rest still stands, however it is in very poor repair and has not been used to provide accommodation for many years, where Paradise continues to provide accommodation services. Mestanes Bay Baches (List No.7510 historic area) and Red Rocks Baches (List No.7509 historic area), Wellington Mestanes Bay Baches (List No.7510) Red Rocks Baches (List No.7509) The Mestanes and Red Rocks Baches date variously from 1900 - 1910 and like Paradise provide insight into the humble nature of early holiday accommodation. This simple style of architecture is of cultural importance to many New Zealanders and represent places to enjoy leisure time and solitude. Like Paradise, these huts are largely original and rustic in their design, free of pretention. Although the landscape is different, like Paradise, the baches are situated for the inhabitants of the buildings to enjoy the environment and have easy access to it. Where Paradise is owned by a Trust, the baches are owned by individuals; both rely on a tight community who share similar values to preserve these buildings.