Where old meets new at Hingaia
A Century-Old Karaka Bungalow Stands Firm: Where old meets New in Hingaia
At 264 Hingaia Road, Karaka, the past and present sit side by side. Earthworks now surround a century-old bungalow once home to John Albert Stanley Slack and his wife, Martha. The Slack’s originally built this Bungalow around 1920. Kathryn Weston, a local resident of Karaka and Great Granddaughter of the Slack’s. Kathryn and her brother Robert Slack and Aunt Heather Stinear returned to visit the family home recently, hosted by Ross Reid and McKenzie & Co.
The site is part of a new subdivision in Karaka, surrounding the homestead will be a new community of 89 homes. McKenzie & Co are the civil engineers overseeing the project, working alongside Ross Reid Contractors to bring the vision to life.
Amid speculation about the fate of the historic home, locals will be pleased to learn the bungalow is here to stay. The building, now listed as a protected historic property, will remain on its original site as development continues around it.
Ross Reid Project Manager Joseph Lehrke says a couple of families have reached out since work began, hoping to learn more about the old house.
“We’ve had a few families come forward about the house as it’s housed many people over the years. It was a pleasure to be able to show Kathryn and her group of relatives around,” he said. McKenzie & Co Construction Engineer Nora Pama also attended the tour and shared similar thoughts.
“It was fun to walk through the building and to appreciate the history, we’ve been working on the site for almost 12 months now, and I’ve always thought it was such a nice old building, it would be great to see it transform into a café for the area, or something similar,” said Nora.
Although the bungalow now stands weathered and worn, its charm endures.
“It still has good bones,” Kathryn says. “It just needs someone to give it a renovation – it would come up to be a grand home again.”
Kathryn has stories of a lively family home. Her great-grandparents, both known to socialise, often hosted tennis parties on the lawn. A photo from around 1920 which is thought to be the time of the bungalow’s completion, shows the edge of a tennis court in front of the house.
The original Slack family home was single storey and this photo was dated 1920.
The Slack family in their very flash for the time Cadilac, pictured outside the Oakland Villa, complete with foals. Located on what was known as Beach Road Papakura.
The Slack family’s connection to the area runs deep. John and Martha purchased the land in 1894 and built their first home, known as Martha’s Whare (a cottage) where they began raising their eight children. Martha was said to ask, “how many people would like fish for breakfast?” and then head down to the water’s edge to catch their breakfast from the Manukau Harbour!
The Slack family proceeded to buy up more land on both sides of the now named Hingaia Road expanding their holdings to 360 acres taking in what is now Strathallan College, Hingaia Road, Oaklands Road, Clotworthy Park and Hingaia School.
Later Kathryn’s Grandfather and Grandmother, Roy and Floss Slack farmed the land around Strathallan College.
Across the road once stood The Oaklands Villa, a grand five-chimney homestead also built by the Slacks. Although that house was relocated to the Hamilton area 17 years ago, in 2008. The original Hingaia Road bungalow remains in place, a rare survivor of Karaka’s early rural heritage. Which makes it a bit more special to the site.
The family eventually sold the bungalow property after living in it for 16 years, likely as age made upkeep difficult. The home began as a single storey dwelling before a second floor was added in the 1950s by the next owner. They had owned this block of land for 45 years.
For Kathryn, revisiting the site was a moment of reflection more than nostalgia.
“I don’t have sentimental feelings about seeing the land used for housing,” she says. Karaka will always be special to our family who have lived in this area for 130 years or so. Visiting the old place was a fun day – we really enjoyed ourselves. But I’d love to see the bungalow restored and lived in again. The bones are good, and it would come up beautifully. Once home to tennis parties 100 years ago, we hope to see it restored into a new chapter and life”.
The family are still uncovering more of the history of their roots in the area, and Kathryn has found this rewarding.
The site at Hingaia Road, where earthworks carry on carefully around the villa.
The villa will be for sale as part of the subdivision and is set to remain a key landmark in the area.
