Couldrey House, historic house in New Zealand

Couldrey House is a single-storey homestead in Wenderholm Regional Park, north of Auckland. Its original cottage was built entirely of kauri, with two gables and a shingle roof. The house now has light blue weatherboards, white trim and a white roof, with a steep gable and small balcony on the left and a lower gabled wing on the right. A white veranda with decorative brackets runs across the front above a wooden floor and steps, and white-framed sash windows include a projecting bay on the right.

The house was built in 1857 by Robert Graham, a European settler and politician, and was later moved in the 1860s to its current location using teams of workers and animals. Several notable owners including Major John Whitney in the late 1800s and Herbert William Couldrey in the 1940s made changes that shaped its appearance and purpose over time.

The house takes its name from Herbert William Couldrey, who bought Wenderholm in 1940 and gave the building its Victorian look between 1957 and 1960. Two chairs inside came from the Ariadne, the ship behind the insurance payout that let Captain Thomas Caradoc Kerry buy the property in 1927.

The house is easily reached by car about 40 minutes north of Auckland with plenty of parking available at the site. Note that stairs are at the entrances, making access limited for people with mobility challenges, though the park grounds themselves are generally easy to navigate.

Two chairs inside Couldrey House came from the Ariadne, the ship whose 1927 beaching earned Captain Thomas Caradoc Kerry an insurance payout of £20,000. Lloyd's of London had taken him to court for conspiracy to defraud, but a jury acquitted him and he was paid in full, money that bought Wenderholm.