Location: Picton
One of Picton's prominent landmarks, the Smith House, is an excellent example of an Italianate style villa and has a New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) Category 2 rating.
Built for George Alexander Smith, his wife and their 14 children on land they purchased in Oxford Street in 1875, it appears in early photos of Picton.
A discovery during renovation of an uncovered weatherboard bearing the signature 'R A Storey, 9.30 am, 7/12/1886' suggests the house was completed in the late 1880s.
A Scotsman, Mr Smith was a builder who went into business in Picton in 1872 with Thomas Philpotts, as George Smith and Co.
Their timber came from a sawmill also owned by Mr Smith, and Mr Charles Reeves, and the firm was responsible for many fine Picton buildings including the hospital, Oxley's Hotel , the Council Chambers and the Anglican Church.
George Smith enjoyed rowing and at one time employed the entire Picton No. 1 crew in his businesses, overseeing their training and allowing time off for regattas.
Smith House is a two-storey Italianate villa with Gothic trim, clad with totara and rimu with a corrugated iron roof, two extensive balconies on the second story and a veranda on the first. Features include elaborate panelling inside and out, deep bay windows, and ornate cornice and skirting work.
NZHPT link
