Homesteads: The story of New Zealand's grand country houses

Description

A stunning tribute to the grand homes built by New Zealand's pioneering pastoralists, Homesteads shares a remarkable legacy of this country's rural heritage. These houses are among some of the country's most iconic, many of them surrounded by equally notable gardens, and all still lived in today. Jane Ussher's evocative photographs capture the unique character and architectural diversity of each homestead, while Debra Millar explores the stories that have shaped these landmark rural properties through generations. Featured homesteads include Mount Peel Station, Longbeach Estate, Terrace Station, Surrey Hills and Blue Cliffs Station in Canterbury; Gwavas Garden and Oruawharo in Hawke's Bay; Merchiston Station and Pukemarama Station in Manawatu; Puketiti Station on the North Island's remote East Coast; and Kuriheka Estate in Otago. This is a book that showcases an extraordinary range of architecture, interiors and gardens, and brings the past into the present day.

Debra Millar is a writer and publisher who lives in Auckland but feels a strong pull to rural New Zealand. A former publishing director of Penguin Books and Penguin Random House, she has also edited home design magazines and retains a keen interest in New Zealand architecture. Her previous books include The Point: a history of Point Chevalier and its people. Jane Ussher is one of New Zealand's foremost photographers. The chief photographer of the NZ Listener for 29 years, she is the winner of two New Zealand book awards for Still Life (2008) and Coast: A New Zealand Journey (2014). In 2009 she was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to photography, and she has been inducted into the Massey University Hall of Fame.