An historic Beaumont cottage beside the Clutha River is the latest restoration project for John Pryor, a longtime renovator and restorer whose knack with old buildings has taken him around New Zealand.
The Plate Layer’s Cottage, believed to date from the late 1920s, was originally built to New Zealand Railways designs, which Mr Pryor said had a distinctive history.
‘‘Railways built hundreds of homes in New Zealand over the years ... in the North Island, they actually had their own house manufacturing factory. They’d pre-assemble everything, flat pack it and ship it on their own railway line.’’
The cottage reflects a transitional style, on a large meadow section shaded by mature fruit trees rambling past handy outbuildings down to a willow-canopied beach on the turquoise Clutha River.
He said the house was a ‘‘mixture of styles’’.
Now nearing 80, Mr Pryor has restored ‘‘around four houses’’ over several decades, not as a developer but for personal satisfaction.
‘‘I have no formal training in joinery or cabinet making ... It’s just something I enjoy doing, and I enjoy it when it’s done. And after I while I get bored and start looking for something else to do.’’
Born and raised in Blenheim, Mr Pryor studied at marketing at Otago University before working in Auckland and overseas.
He picked up woodworking from his father and was pleased to find his hobby could sustain his lifestyle and even a small villa and bungalow renovation material business.
He lived with his family in a home he built on Kawau Island for 20 years, and restored classic yachts.
The current project, which he expects will take about five years, appealed for both its scale and setting.
‘‘It made sense for me to downsize,’’ he said.
For Mr Pryor, the motivation remains simple: ‘‘It’s more the feeling of pleasure and accomplishment of transforming something at my own pace ... somewhere you can see the beauty of the timber.’’
