Wharetiki, Art Nouveau residence in Christchurch City, New Zealand.
Wharetiki was a large Edwardian timber dwelling on Colombo Street in Christchurch, built on Lot 3 of a square property fronting Colombo and Salisbury Streets. It had a total floor area of 408 square metres, and its design, possibly by Robert England, incorporated a turret similar to that of Westhaven Eventide Home. The building was demolished in June 2011.
The house was built in 1904 for businessman Matthew Barnett and featured modern amenities of its time, including an artesian well for water supply. These technical innovations allowed the family to access water on the property, which was noteworthy for the era.
The name Wharetiki was replaced by Glenfell House when the Glenfell sisters, Jean, Reynolda and Ellen, ran it as a boarding house for Christchurch Girls' High School pupils for four years. From 1995 the ground floor housed a preschool run by Chesterfield Preschools Ltd, whose owner David Hampton was still the owner when the building was demolished.
The house no longer exists: it was demolished on 21 June 2011 after the High Court dismissed the owner's challenge. Nothing of the 1904 timber building remains at the Colombo Street and Salisbury Street corner, so there is no exterior to view. The site is private property in the north of the central city; the 2011 demolition order and court ruling are the record of what stood there.
The house became the subject of a notable legal case in 2011 when it challenged the demolition powers of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. This case was significant for how heritage protection and demolition laws would be applied after earthquakes in New Zealand.
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