Built in 1857, Kinder House is one of Auckland's most notable Category A Heritage properties and .Auckland Council listed Historic Building Category 1. on UP Schedule 14.1 as a significant heritage site. The house was commissioned by Bishop G.A. Selwyn and designed by Frederick Thatcher, the architect of many Anglican buildings in Auckland.
Kinder House is the last & only Gothic Revival designed colonial 2 storey building of the 1850's residence and retains the original oak, totara & bay trees & other tree plantings of the time in the tree park grounds and has a house 'well' from the colonial past. The tree plantings are representative of the colonial relationship between European settlers and the tangata whenua Maori people, with the spiritual connections as seen in the dedication ceremony of original Colonial "Kinder House' with the plantings of the exotic Bay tree as designated European connection and the native Totara tree to symbolise the cultural links between the two peoples with the opening of the house at the time.
The schoolmaster's house is of rubble construction, basically using scoria from Mt Eden, with dressed stone at corners and openings thought to have been quarried at Mt Wellington. Michael Dunn wrote an article in 1982 for the publication Art New Zealand which is available on the net at www.art-newzealand and incorporates a number of historic photographs. He notes that Kinder House was the grandest of three stone buildings constructed in Parnell by the master mason, Benjamin Strange, in 1857/8. It cost £1404.10.10, a considerable sum in those days. This was not surprising, as it was unusual to build in stone or brick at the time, particularly stone, there being a shortage of masons of sufficient skill. This is evidenced by structural difficulties which were experienced following the construction of a number of stone churches in the region at the time, namely the earlier St Thomas's on the corner of Kohimarama Road and the original St Stephen's chapel in Judges Bay.
The schoolmaster's house, on the corner of Ayr Street and Parnell Road, was sold by the church and remained in private ownership through to the 1970s. On the death of the then owner it became available on the open market. Councillor Sheila Horton and Deputy-Mayor Dr Lindo Ferguson convinced the Council to purchase the property because of is heritage value.. The Kinder House Society (KHS) was formed to manage the property and operate it as an art gallery under the agreement of the Kinder Family arts and archives and for local contemporary art displays. The first Chairperson and driving force was Sheila Horton, and with support from Margaret Newman of Civic Trust Auckland who are commemorated by a sundial and bird bath in the park grounds.
The Ground Floor rooms are devoted to the display of water-colours, photographs and sketches by John Kinder (1819-1903) and other temporary guest artistic exhibitions are on display at times. KHS volunteer guides do tours and the KHS is an independent trust incorporated organisation who are self funded and supported by members subscriptions, hireage, sponsors and grants in maintaining the property. The property operates under the Auckland Council property lease with covenant of a High Court Consent Orders of case Manning Q.C. v..A.C. restrictions.
The Legacy
The building was commissioned by Bishop G. A. Selwyn as a schoolmaster's house for the first headmaster of the Church of England Grammar School, now long since demolished, but which occupied the site directly opposite Kinder House to the south, where shops are now situated.