Lanarch Castle gardens. Pleached pear arbor with reflecting pool sculpture and views to Otago Harbour.
Lanarch Castle.
William Lanarch was a merchant, shipper, pastoralist, farmer and politician for over 25 years including the holding of Cabinet posts and he was land speculator. He succeeded at all but did not find happiness or ultimate success. He married three times with his first two wives dying. When one of his six children, a daughter died early, he was devastated. He was born of Scottish parents in NSW in 1833 and made his first fortune as a banker on the Victorian goldfields. In 1867 he moved to Dunedin to be a banker of the Otago goldfields. He stayed on as a Dunedin merchant and commissioned the prominent Dunedin architect Robert Lawson to build a mansion on the Peninsula. The house was built between 1871 and 1887 but occupied around 1872. It eventually contained 43 rooms including a lavish ballroom added in 1887 for favourite daughter Kate. Lanarch employed 46 servants in the house and the interior had floor tiles from England, slate from Wales, marble from Italy, glass from France and Venice and NZ kauri ceilings, NZ rimu floors and ZN honeysuckle panelling. The interior feature many panels of painted and stained glass. After Kate Lanarch died in 1892 her father suffered financial difficulties and he eventually committed suicide in the NZ parliament building in 1898. As he died intestate it took some years of family arguing before his estate was settled and Lanarch Castle was only sold in 1906. After a series of owners it fell into disrepair until it was purchased by Barry and Margaret Barker in 1967. They set about restoring the only castle in NZ. Since then they have added function facilities and accommodation to make the castle pay its way. The Barkers are still the current owners. Some believe that Kate Lanarch’s ghost appears in the castle from time to time. Another nearby historical house and garden is the Glenfalloch estate which was also established in 1871. The garden is known for its rhododendrons, magnolias, fuchsias, garden flowers, native ferns and NZ trees. In Scottish Gaelic Glenfalloch means “hidden valley” which aptly describes the location on the Otago peninsula.
Lanarch Castle gardens. Pleached pear arbor with reflecting pool sculpture and views to Otago Harbour.
Lanarch Castle.
William Lanarch was a merchant, shipper, pastoralist, farmer and politician for over 25 years including the holding of Cabinet posts and he was land speculator. He succeeded at all but did not find happiness or ultimate success. He married three times with his first two wives dying. When one of his six children, a daughter died early, he was devastated. He was born of Scottish parents in NSW in 1833 and made his first fortune as a banker on the Victorian goldfields. In 1867 he moved to Dunedin to be a banker of the Otago goldfields. He stayed on as a Dunedin merchant and commissioned the prominent Dunedin architect Robert Lawson to build a mansion on the Peninsula. The house was built between 1871 and 1887 but occupied around 1872. It eventually contained 43 rooms including a lavish ballroom added in 1887 for favourite daughter Kate. Lanarch employed 46 servants in the house and the interior had floor tiles from England, slate from Wales, marble from Italy, glass from France and Venice and NZ kauri ceilings, NZ rimu floors and ZN honeysuckle panelling. The interior feature many panels of painted and stained glass. After Kate Lanarch died in 1892 her father suffered financial difficulties and he eventually committed suicide in the NZ parliament building in 1898. As he died intestate it took some years of family arguing before his estate was settled and Lanarch Castle was only sold in 1906. After a series of owners it fell into disrepair until it was purchased by Barry and Margaret Barker in 1967. They set about restoring the only castle in NZ. Since then they have added function facilities and accommodation to make the castle pay its way. The Barkers are still the current owners. Some believe that Kate Lanarch’s ghost appears in the castle from time to time. Another nearby historical house and garden is the Glenfalloch estate which was also established in 1871. The garden is known for its rhododendrons, magnolias, fuchsias, garden flowers, native ferns and NZ trees. In Scottish Gaelic Glenfalloch means “hidden valley” which aptly describes the location on the Otago peninsula.