Athenree Homestead

Open the first Sunday of each month from 10am to 4pm.  Call out to the Homestead and see how colonial life was back in the 1800's.

The real story of the possibility of the Homestead restoration began back in 1986 when John Rapley and his wife Colleen  purchased the property. John’s family had previously owned the property from 1921-1946 and he had many happy memories of the days when the Homestead was a wonderful well kept family home. 

The house was still lived in and in good order until 1952 when new owners unfortunately allowed it to fall in to disrepair and it was later used as a hay shed.The building slowly deteriorated to a state where according to most people, it was well beyond repair. 

Back in the 1940’s John Rapley and his friend Snow Browne were students at the Katikati District High School, and every day they walked past the house on their way to catch the train at the Athenree Railway Station. So even though they had watched the house deteriorate they still held a dream that the house could be restored, so in May 1986  John and Colleen purchased the property and it was back in the Rapley family name again. 

During the next few years John Rapley and Snow Browne slowly worked on ideas to restore the Homestead to its former glory. A small group of other like minded people with a sense of history shared their dream.

Call out and visit the homestead and marvel at the amazing work this group have done.