Olveston Historic Home

Olveston is a beautiful example of the design and craftsmanship of bygone times, using materials and methods that were standard for generations. As with any older home there is always maintenance required, but for an historic home any repairs or replacements are always carefully considered. We always strive for the original materials and features to be used wherever possible.

Recently we have had some restoration and repainting work completed on the ornate wrought iron gates at the various entrances around the property. This required removal of the gates to have them cleaned and recoated. The brass locks have had their armature rebuilt and the original casings restored.

On Cobden Street there are large double gates which can be opened to allow access for vehicles up to the front door of the home. Adjacent to the double gates is a smaller pedestrian gate which has been disused for some years. In the process of removing the gates we were able to re-open this entry point to the property. However, work was required to install a new threshold step for the gate - a feature that was never present (or had been removed in the past). With the expertise of a local stone mason, we identified the type of stone, Breccia, that was used for the original walls below the iron fencing and the gate posts.

Breccia is volcanically formed rock that was used extensively in large historic buildings around Dunedin and was quarried locally in Port Chalmers. Breccia was commonly used in situations that demanded heavy use such as kerbstones, foundation walls and steps. The stone is particularly durable due to its high density yet still able to be cut and shaped (note the curved corners on the low walls leading to the entrances) and it has an attractive finish due to it being a composite containing pieces of different rock.

We were able to source a piece of Breccia from existing old stock at a local quarry and have it cut and placed to provide a firm footing for guests and comply with modern health and safety standards, while maintaining the original style and quality of the property. With time this new stone will weather and gain the patina that its 120-year-old neighbours have!

Come on one of our six daily 1-hour guided tours and learn about the Theomin family, their magnificent collection and how they lived in the early 1900s.

Olveston Historic Home is an authentic historic experience in the heart of Dunedin.



Article prepared by Peter Marshall, guide at Olveston Historic Home.

Thank you, Jan and Mary this could not have been restored without your amazing skills, time and passion. We are so grateful.

The Card Room at Olveston is a very cosy nook in the House and we believe it to have been a space much favoured by Dorothy in later life. There is a striking collection of cushions here covered in stunning fabrics from various countries.
The Olveston Shop has its own selection of hand-crafted cushion covers for you to choose from. Each cover is designed by textile artist Sue McLean and woven by Rod McLean on a cast-iron, foot-treadled, Hattersley Domestic Weaving System, designed by George Hattersley in the late 1800s, and comprising three dobby looms, a pirn winder, bobbin winder and warping mill.

Dating to about 1900, the history of these looms is undocumented until they arrived in New Zealand in 1946. They were brought to Christchurch by the Rehabilitation League of the Returned Services Association specifically for the therapeutic benefits weaving might provide to soldiers returning from World War 2. This usage resonates with the Theomin family who were themselves longtime supporters of the RSA. The looms subsequently travelled to Palmerston North, Hokitika, Te Anau and Lawrence before finally settling in the McLean’s Oamaru studio in 2006. Select a vibrantly coloured cushion meticulously crafted from merino wool grown and spun locally in Otago and complete it with an inner filled with New Zealand duck down.

Enjoy browsing in the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere of the Olveston Gift Shop.

Open daily from 9.00am to 5.00pm
42 Royal Terrace, Dunedin
Ph: 03 477 3320

Olveston Historic Home offers an authentic historic experience in the heart of Dunedin.

Another couple of legends to share with you in time for National Volunteer Week: meet Jan Wilson and Mary Flaherty, the skilled craftspeople who have lovingly restored this incredible eagle embroidery at Olveston Historic Home in Ōtepoti Dunedin.

The restoration was a true team effort from start to finish - read all about it here:
https://tohuwhenua.nz/stories/our-stories/eagle-embroidery-has-flown-home-to-olveston

Dunedin NZ

Uncovering the Original Beauty of Dorothy's Sitting Room

In 1992, it was decided that the time had come to restore Dorothy’s sitting room to its original elegance. Over the years, the room had undergone several changes, some during Dorothy’s lifetime, and others after her death. The goal was to return it to the way it appeared when the house was first built.

It’s believed that the original blue-green textured wallpaper was chosen to complement the deep turquoise tones of the fireplace tiles. With the restoration of the original brass fittings, that had been painted over in the 1970s, the room regained its warmth and vibrancy. These brass details, a hallmark of Architect Sir Ernest George’s design style, are one of Olveston’s defining features, adding beauty and variety throughout the home.

Initially, the plan was to repaint the ceiling, doors, window frames, and other woodwork in grey, a colour commonly used in Edwardian interiors. However, when the room was stripped back, it revealed that the ceiling's original shade was a soft blue-green that harmonised perfectly with the wallpaper and fireplace. The decision was made to restore the ceiling to this original colour.

To replicate the original wallpaper, Swedish Scanatex fabric was chosen for the walls. Not only does it offer a convincing substitute in appearance, but it also strengthens the plasterwork, bonding well and providing a durable, paint-friendly surface.

Selecting suitable curtains proved to be a challenge. The brown drapes, so familiar in this room, were installed in the 1950s by Thomas Wight and had once complemented the room’s pastel palette and furniture fabric. However, the upholstery had faded significantly, and the curtains, now tired and out of sync with the new décor, no longer suited the space. After much deliberation, it was decided that the curtains should not dominate a room already rich in character. A neutral gull-grey Scottish fabric was selected instead.

Originally, it was hoped that the silk linings of the old curtains, imported especially for Miss Theomin, could be reused. Unfortunately, their condition had deteriorated beyond repair. They were carefully packed, along with the original brown curtains, and stored for their historical significance.

After the home was gifted to the city in the 1960s, picture lights were installed over some of the paintings. These have since been replaced with adjustable spotlights, and the light shades were also replaced. Fortunately, most of the original furnishings remain, preserving the room's atmosphere, and memories.
Today, the sitting room reflects the way Dorothy lived in this room daily, from 1907, when the family moved in, until she modernised the room in the 1950s.

Come on one of our six daily 1-hour guided tours and learn about the Theomin family, their magnificent collection and how they lived in the early 1900s.

Olveston Historic Home is an authentic historic experience in the heart of Dunedin.



Article prepared by Kevin Flaherty, guide at Olveston Historic Home.

Find Your Perfect Winter Read at Olveston

This is the ideal time of year to retreat indoors and curl up on a comfy sofa in front of a roaring fire, with your beverage of choice by your side, a pussycat in your lap and, of course, a good book in your hand.

The Card, or Persian Room at Olveston is the perfect spot for just such an activity and I imagine that Dorothy Theomin may have spent many happy hours here reading a book selected from the well-stocked, downstairs Library, warm and snug, with the lights on, the drapes pulled and the fire burning merrily.

You can follow her example by browsing the Olveston Gift Shop which carries a well curated collection of books to reflect both our history and current cultural life.
Consider

A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoa
This is a weighty, hardback publication from Auckland University Press. Edited by Catharine Hammond of the Hocken Library Uare Taoka o Hākena, and Shaun Higgins from Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum, this book showcases a selection of some of the earliest photographs produced in Aotearoa, from the 1850s to 1900.

If poetry is your preference we suggest
A Shell-Print of Waves
Aramoana Poems
published by AT THE BAY | I TE KOKORU, a community of writers, editors and readers devoted to the more concise forms of literature from micro and flash fiction to short stories and creative nonfiction, including hybrid and experimental work.

In this instance they have produced a collection of short poems, created during, and inspired by, writing sessions held at Aramoana and led by local literary stalwarts Madeleine Child, David Eggleton and Michelle Elvy in association with the Wild Dunedin festivals of 2024 and 2025. In “A Shell-Print of Waves” twenty-two writers offer poems that respond to their experience of Aramoana, a small coastal settlement 27 kilometres north of the city whose Māori name means "pathway of the sea". Contributors include the editors themselves, as well as many poets who also hail from Dunedin, Otago and the South Island more widely. Writers originating from further afield, who nevertheless have a strong connection to Dunedin, include South African based Thandi Sliepen, who currently resides in Aramoana, Jen Quealy of Katoomba, Gundungurra Country, Australia, and Síle Mannion, Irish woman and citizen/tauiwi of Aoteoroa/New Zealand.

The whole publication has been simply and sensitively designed by Gilbert May, also of Dunedin, and includes a beautiful slipcover.

For lovers of fine art we recommend
Marilynn Webb: Folded in The Hills
Rich with illustrations and issued in 2023 to accompany a retrospective exhibition of Marilyn Webb’s work at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, this bilingual publication, curated and co-authored by Lauren Gutsell, Lucy Hammonds, and Bridget Reweti, was selected as a finalist for the Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand Award for Illustrated Non-Fiction.

Enjoy browsing in the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere of the Olveston Gift Shop.
Open daily from 9.00am to 5.00pm
42 Royal Terrace, Dunedin
Ph: 03 477 3320

Olveston Historic Home offers an authentic historic experience in the heart of Dunedin.

Alongside the considerable number of paintings in the Olveston Collection is an exquisite body of printed works: artworks that are the result of images engraved or etched into plates, that are then inked and put through a printing press.

A small print that always catches my eye when touring through Olveston is one titled “Geese” by Greta Delleany. It hangs on the stairway in the Great Hall and depicts a figure herding geese in a landscape. The mark-making effortlessly defines the subject and shows considerable skills in the print medium.

Delleany was an etcher who lived in London and Harrow. She exhibited widely and frequently with the Royal Academy, Royal Scottish Academy, and Royal Society of Painters & Etchers.

This small work is just one of many accomplished prints in the Olveston Collection that can be seen on standard one-hour Public Tours, or on our more in-depth, two-hour Art Tours.

Come on one of our six daily 1-hour guided tours and learn about the Theomin family, their magnificent collection and how they lived in the early 1900s.

Olveston Historic Home is an authentic historic experience in the heart of Dunedin.



Article prepared by Kirsten Ferguson, guide at Olveston Historic Home.

Winter is the season when one expects a bit of rain to fall providing a welcome shower for the garden. Protection from walking in the rain calls for a good umbrella, and we have an original parasol in the Olveston Collection that belonged to the Theomin family.

Also in the Collection is a parasol k**b, intricately carved in ivory. It was made in 1850 by Asahi Gyokuzan (1843–1921), a sculptor of the Tokyo School in Japan. The carving depicts 21 faces, each with a different expression. This kind of object would have been placed on the sharp point or ferrule of an umbrella.

Complementing these Collection items is a wonderful selection of umbrellas for sale in the Olveston Shop, each displaying a different image inspired by original artworks in the House. You can select from (left to right):

On the Shores of the Lake by Ceridwen Thornton

Roses by Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, and

Botanic Gardens by William Greene.

Enjoy browsing in the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere of the Olveston Gift Shop.

Open daily from 9.00am to 5.00pm

42 Royal Terrace, Dunedin
Ph: 03 477 3320

Olveston Historic Home offers an authentic historic experience in the heart of Dunedin.