Matthew Ryall, of Cromwell (left), the great great grandson
of John and Jessie Mitchell, who were the original
occupants of Mitchells Cottage, with his mother, Aileen
Ryall, and daughter, Kelsey Thompson, from Christchurch,
discuss the cottage with Doc ranger Marion Sutton. Photo by
Diane Brown.
One of Central Otago's better known historic sites,
Mitchells Cottage reserve, will soon be bigger as the
Department of Conservation adds more land.
The new 0.6ha will effectively double the size of the reserve
and has historic value, including stone ruins, heritage fruit
trees and the rock tors where stone was drilled from to build
the cottage.
"Visitors will be encouraged to explore the area behind
Mitchells Cottage, which we feel will greatly add to their
experience," Doc's Central Otago visitor/historic assets
ranger, Marion Sutton, said.
Doc staff will also carry out maintenance work on the
cottage.
The stonework had been repointed in 2001 but is now due for
more work.
"If you don't repoint regularly the mortar between the stone
will continue to erode," Ms Sutton said.
There had been much public debate in 2001 when the
restoration work was first carried out as people believed
there was so little mortar remaining the stone had probably
just been dry-stacked.
Having the pointing done flush with the stone was also an
issue.
Doc finished the pointing by raking it back so it was set
back from the face of the stones.
Contractors will begin work shortly on the repointing, which
has already significantly eroded since 2001.
Mitchells Cottage was built by gold miner Andrew Mitchell for
his brother John and sister-in-law Jessie between 1880 and
1904, using local schist.
Mr Mitchell used masonry techniques he had learned from his
father at home in the Shetland Islands.
The mortar will be made from a mix of local earth, sand and
lime and the stone is pointed by filling the gaps in between.
Mitchells Cottage is situated off Symes Rd, which runs into
State Highway 8 at Fruitlands.
It is considered to be one of the best surviving examples of
the stonemason's craft from the turn of the 19th century.
The cottage is the heart of the historic reserve, which was
created in 1980, managed by Doc and protected by the Historic
Places Trust.
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