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Pumpkin Cottage
History
HistoryPumpkin Cottage, or Te Whare o Turingakuri, was a cottage just north of Thomas Cotter's homestead, south of the road from Silverstream to the Hutt River road and rail bridges. Thomas Cotter may have used a pumpkin to signal to a relative that he should get off the train at Silverstream to help with milking.
The cottage had initially been sited in a pa opposite what is now the site of Saint Patrick's College, and at one time was occupied by the chief, Turingakuri, hence the alternative name (often misspelt). The Maori population was almost wiped out by a measles epidemic in 1857-1860, and the remains of the pa and a mission chapel were burnt down in 1900, according to Father J W Dowling, the first Rector of St Patrick's College, Silverstream, in a 1951 letter to Jack Kelleher.
The building was used by Scottish artist James Nairn and his pupils from about 1894 to his death in 1904. Nairn initially hung a pumpkin on a pole; when the pumpkin eventually deteriorated, he painted 'Ye Sign of Ye Golden PUMPKIN' and a silhouette of the pumpkin and pole, in yellow, on the northern wall, facing the road. Other artists of 'The Silverstream School', including Nugent Welch, Fred Sedgwick, Charles Barraud, Joseph Heginbotham, and Mary Tripe, continued to use it, possibly as late as 1949.
The cottage was used by St Patrick's College for college and farm staff; known names from a 'Leader' article of May 10, 2000 were Fesches from about 1949, and Burnses from around 1956 to 1959.
In 1980 Hutt County Council designated the land as Public Reserve, with an underlying rural zoning; the decision meant the county would buy the land. The college appealed against this zoning arguing that the land had industrial value, and that the Ministry of Works had considered it for road widening; the sum to be paid should reflect such values. ('Leader', October 7, 1980)
The cottage was pulled down in 1980, and Heretaunga-Pinehaven District Community Council bought the land. The City council erected a wooden stand containing information posters(?), and in May 2000 Ernie and Shirley Cosgrove, of Efil Doog Garden of Art in Akatarawa, donated a 7-to-8-ton boulder and commemorative plaque.
Cameron Jelley wrote a letter from Silverstream Hospital, asking for information on the cottage; it was printed in the July 4, 1978 'Leader'. The next issue printed a sketch by Roger Davidson, and summarized several replies. An 'Evening Post' article earlier in the year shad said that Thomas Cotter lived there about 1874 and grazed cows, and had put a pumpkin on the roof to signal to his son when he needed help with milking; the son would get off the train at Silverstream instead of proceeding to Trentham, and that James Nairn had heard the story. The Haybittles owned the cottage when Nairn rented it. In the 1850s, Silverstream was surveyed into about 15 100-acre (40-hectare) blocks, allocated to New Zealand Company shareholders; Cotter owned one, and the family acquired others, adding up to 880 acres (356 hectares).
The cottage had initially been sited in a pa opposite what is now the site of Saint Patrick's College, and at one time was occupied by the chief, Turingakuri, hence the alternative name (often misspelt). The Maori population was almost wiped out by a measles epidemic in 1857-1860, and the remains of the pa and a mission chapel were burnt down in 1900, according to Father J W Dowling, the first Rector of St Patrick's College, Silverstream, in a 1951 letter to Jack Kelleher.
The building was used by Scottish artist James Nairn and his pupils from about 1894 to his death in 1904. Nairn initially hung a pumpkin on a pole; when the pumpkin eventually deteriorated, he painted 'Ye Sign of Ye Golden PUMPKIN' and a silhouette of the pumpkin and pole, in yellow, on the northern wall, facing the road. Other artists of 'The Silverstream School', including Nugent Welch, Fred Sedgwick, Charles Barraud, Joseph Heginbotham, and Mary Tripe, continued to use it, possibly as late as 1949.
The cottage was used by St Patrick's College for college and farm staff; known names from a 'Leader' article of May 10, 2000 were Fesches from about 1949, and Burnses from around 1956 to 1959.
In 1980 Hutt County Council designated the land as Public Reserve, with an underlying rural zoning; the decision meant the county would buy the land. The college appealed against this zoning arguing that the land had industrial value, and that the Ministry of Works had considered it for road widening; the sum to be paid should reflect such values. ('Leader', October 7, 1980)
The cottage was pulled down in 1980, and Heretaunga-Pinehaven District Community Council bought the land. The City council erected a wooden stand containing information posters(?), and in May 2000 Ernie and Shirley Cosgrove, of Efil Doog Garden of Art in Akatarawa, donated a 7-to-8-ton boulder and commemorative plaque.
Cameron Jelley wrote a letter from Silverstream Hospital, asking for information on the cottage; it was printed in the July 4, 1978 'Leader'. The next issue printed a sketch by Roger Davidson, and summarized several replies. An 'Evening Post' article earlier in the year shad said that Thomas Cotter lived there about 1874 and grazed cows, and had put a pumpkin on the roof to signal to his son when he needed help with milking; the son would get off the train at Silverstream instead of proceeding to Trentham, and that James Nairn had heard the story. The Haybittles owned the cottage when Nairn rented it. In the 1850s, Silverstream was surveyed into about 15 100-acre (40-hectare) blocks, allocated to New Zealand Company shareholders; Cotter owned one, and the family acquired others, adding up to 880 acres (356 hectares).
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DescriptionA typical weather-board-and-corrugated-iron cottage with a steep pitched roof over the front rooms, a full-width lean-to at the rear, and a full veranda of straight corrugated iron at the eastward-facing front.Coordinates[1] City Council memorial.[2] Boulder and memorial plaque donated by the Cosgroves, 2000.[3] Memorial view is from this point.
Coordinates[1] City Council memorial.[2] Boulder and memorial plaque donated by the Cosgroves, 2000.[3] Memorial view is from this point.Details
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Pumpkin Cottage. Upper Hutt City Library, accessed 19/04/2025, https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/16010