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The History of the
Exchange
As far as we know,
The Exchange was once part of a much larger farm, but a back block of some
50 acres was sold to Noel and Val Harrison back in the 1970’s. It was Noel
and Val who built all the properties you see here.
The first property to
be built was the Lodge and much of the original building was built
using recycled beams and windows from part of the old school house which was
demolished in Kohukohu. The bedroom and bathroom extension was completed
by us in 2009. Prior to this, you had to use the long drop toilet at the
top of the slope behind the flax bush!
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Bush cottage was the
second property to built and was lived in by Noel and Val’s son Eric
Harrison, who also wrote the book on Kohukohu, a copy of this is always kept
in the cottage.
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The Loft, was once
used as Noel’s library, but the previous owners used it as accommodation for
guests, but this has now been taken over by Chris as his workshop.
The main house, again
built out of recycled windows and wood from the old school house is the
larger of the properties. It was built sometime during the 1970’s, the
exact year is unknown. The native wood Rimu is prominent throughout the
house, both in flooring and the kitchen. It was designed by a local
architect on a Japanese theme, hence the open plan and “paper” window effect
on the back of the house.
Insert picture.
The Harrison family
have to take the credit for the mature planting you know see here at The
Exchange. Subsequent owners have probably all played their part too, but
when we first saw the property, it did not look quite like you see it today.
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Many of the mature
Gum trees on the property had been felled and milled on the property. The
“sawmill” was situated just in front of bush cottage and many of the trees
had just been left where they had fallen. As the property had been empty
for nearly 2 years prior to us buying it, the grass had grown over many of
the fallen trees and bamboo.
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The milled gum wood
has since been used to rebuild the deck around the main house, so keeping us
in line with our Eco and Environmentally friendly lifestyle. It has taken
us from 2007 to the present time to recover the gardens and grounds, remove
the felled trees and renovate the properties. There are still more things
to be done here, but that will be another story!
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