Community Contributed

8 Roslyn Road, Levin

Kete Horowhenua2020-03-23T16:53:21+00:00
Bartholomew Home
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Levin's oldest house, now into its tenth decade, has survived largely in original condition. The house, set back in gardens on the corner of Roslyn Road and Newport Street, was built by sawmiller Peter Bartholomew some time after he arrived here in 1888. He built the home for his wife and children, several hundred metres south of the mill he established off what is now Roslyn Road. It was constructed of heart matai, said to have been seasoned for three years.The timber probably came from Mr Bartholomew's previous mill in Feilding, transported with the machinery by bullock wagon. The dimensions are typical of those of the day, with 13 ft studs and seven ft six inch kauri doors.

The house was part of a tiny community, with the mill serving as the first Post Office. Mail was distributed by the mill's book-keeper, Mr Bartholomew's brother-in-law Fred Roe. The first store was also at the mill. Groceries were ordered in bulk from Wellington, and sold at cost price to railway workers and mill employees.

Some of Levin's first concerts, dances and religious services were held in a community hall roughly built for the purpose. Sewing meetings organised by Mrs Bartholomew and farmer's wife Mrs Stuckey formed the nucleus of the present day St Mary's Anglican Ladies' Guild.

The house was purchased by a Major Liddle from the Bartholomew family, probably about 1894. In 1907 it was purchased by Thomas and Matilda Morgan, and has remained in the Morgan family since then. Their son Dave and his wife Charlotte (nee Adsett) occupied the home from 1917. Three of their children, Mr Desmond Morgan, Mrs Mavis Whiley and Mrs Davena Murdoch, now live there.

The six-bedroom house is in excellent condition. The original match-lining, carved kauri mantelpiece and roofing iron are intact. The layout of the house remains the same apart from some small additions at the back, and the removal of the partition between the maid's room and the kitchen. The ceilings have also been lowered in some rooms and some modern wallboard has been installed.

In 1932, when the house was re-piled, the original totara piles were found to be two to three feet wide. Some of the stumps of trees originally on the site had been utilised too.

When Grandfather Adsett, the father of old Mrs Morgan was short of firewood he dived under the house and pulled out some of the piles for burning. It is thought that some of the originals are still under the house.

In 1972 the director of the Historic Places Trust, Mr J R S Daniels, described the house as "definitely worth making some effort to preserve." In a letter following a visit by Mr Daniels and three members of the Wellington regional committee he said: "It is well built, very attractive inside and out, and although altered a little inside, it remains a very good example of the villa house of the 1880s and 1890s. The alterations have not detracted much from its character and, although surrounded by modern houses, it retains a sufficiently large section to give it a good setting." Mr Daniels suggested that the verandah posts could be restored to their original appearance, and that some other detailed woodwork which has been removed could be replaced. Decorative wooden fretwork once decorated the top of the original twin posts. A wooden balustrade also enclosed the verandah. [The photo above shows the house in 2007.]

Source: The Chronicle 75"' Borough Jubilee Issue, March, 1981.

In 1972, The Chronicle carried the following story about the house:


Research on the Ostler homestead, at present subject of a bid for its preservation. has shown that there is an older. larger house still standing in Levin.


The house in Roslyn Road, was built by Mr P B Bartholomew after he arrived in Levin in 1888 - three years before Mrs Ostler and her daughter Helen built their homestead in the Horowhenua.

The Bartholomew house, regarded as large for those days, was built for Mrs Bartholomew and her family, who followed Mr Bartholomew from Feilding. Mr Bartholomew set up the first sawmill in Levin. The house was bought from the Bartholomews by a Major Liddle and subsequently sold to the Morgan family in 1907. Three of the late Mr Dave Morgan's children are now living in the house - Mr Des Morgan, Mrs Mavis Whiley and Mrs Davena Murdoch.

The six-bedroom house is in excellent condition, said Mrs Murdoch.

"The walls are so hard you can't put a nail in them." The original match-lining, seven foot kauri doors and carved mantle piece are still intact.

A print of a picture commemorating the charge of Scot's Greys at Waterloo which was given to the Morgans by Major Liddle, and a long form in the hall, polished almost to a shine like varnish by the innumerable people who have sat on it and children who have played on it, still remains from 1907.


In Large Gardens
The house, painted white with a red roof and picked out in bronze and teal green, stands in large gardens which take up a block between Newport Street and Roslyn Road.

No trace remains now of high fences used by Mr Bartholomew to keep in kangaroos, but Mrs Murdoch can remember when the fences were still there.

A daughter-in-law of Mr Bartholomew's, Mrs M S Bartholomew, Dudley Street, has information about the mills in an address prepared some years ago by her late husband.

In Nelson
Peter Bartholomew left Scotland at the age of 18 with two brothers and they soon began sawmilling in Queensland. Shortly after he came to New Zealand and began milling in Nelson and Feilding before he came to Levin. His first mill here was about one-and-a-half miles north of the Post Office on the Avenue.

The machinery was brought from Feilding by bullock wagon. A group of Maoris living nearby were afraid of the sparks and steam and refused to allow the mill to operate until a well-known Maori warrior, known by his English name of Major Kemp, came with some of his men and stood guard until the locals became accustomed to the machinery.

The Manawatu Railway Company's line, which had been completed by this time, was adjacent to the mill. The mill became the first Post Office, as mail was distributed by the mill's book-keeper, Mr F G Roe (Mr Bartholomew's brother-inlaw), and the first store.

Groceries were ordered in bulk from Wellington, and sold at cost price to the railway workers and mill employees.


Early Beginnings
A community hall was roughly built and the first concerts, dances and religious services were held there. Mrs Bartholomew, together with Mrs Stuckey, a farmer's wife, held sewing meetings there, thus forming the nucleus of the present St Mary's Anglican Ladies' Guild.

About this time a relative of Mr Bartholomew came from Australia bringing a kangaroo as a gift for the family.

Finally, there were seven kangaroos, which, as they grew too old to be played with, were put in an enclosure. They used to escape and roam the bush, but they were gradually destroyed either by accident or design, the Maoris calling them the "big rats."

By this time horse teams had taken the place of bullock wagons. When most of the timber was cut out, the mill was moved south to Weraroa and was enlarged, while smaller mills were set up over the Ohau River, and towards Lake Horowhenua near the racecourse.

Prouse Mill
By this time Richard Prouse had also built a large mill on the eastern side of the railway line so, as business was now in that area, the station was moved to Weraroa, where the railway tank (now demolished) stood. This station was burnt down and the new station was built on its present site.

The Bartholomew mill paddock and was bounded by Oxford Street, Hokio Beach Road, Mabel Street (named after a daughter, Mrs M McKenzie) and Keepa Street (named after Major Kemp). When all the timber suitable for milling was cut out, the mill was demolished and the land divided into small sections.


The Chronicle 23/9/1972