This is how the story of the Old Stone House goes:
As noted by renowned historian, Gordon Ogilvie in his book, The Port Hills of Christchurch, a Chennai-born England-educated ex-Magistrate of Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh), John Cracroft Wilson, arrived in Christchurch in 1854 with his 17 Indian servants. This, arguably, is the first instance of Indian immigrants arriving in the land of the long white cloud.
When in Canterbury, Wilson, with the wealth he accumulated in India, purchased three up-country runs, the Lansdowne Station, and a 268-acre property on the Port Hills.
This Port Hills property, which stretched from Huntsbury Hill to Worsley Road and across the skyline to Governors Bay, was later named by Wilson as “Cashmere” after his favourite part of India - “Kashmir”. In its prime, Wilson's Cashmere estate covered almost 5000 acres.
Later, Wilson built an 11-bedroom homestead (that came to be known as the Cracroft House and was destroyed in the 2011 earthquakes), gardener’s cottage, blacksmith shop, stables, coach house, storage shed, and a dairy, on his vast property.
Meanwhile, his Indian servants and their families lived in dwellings set into recesses on the eastern side of what is now called Shalamar Drive. Some even went on to own land as well as keep their own hoof stock.
Living in a strange land with cold climate, and toiling day and night made survival difficult for some. “The Indians never seemed to be at ease there. They were frequently ill, believe the place was haunted and often tried to defect,” writes Ogilvie in his book.
Though to give Wilson some credit, who was known to be public-spirited and capable of great kindness, he did build an accommodation house for his workers where they lived like an extended family with stone quarried from Marleys Hill in 1870. Just like an old English farmhouse, the accommodation, which came to be known as the Old Stone House, had storage and stables, cooking floor, eating and communal rooms, as well as sleeping quarters.
Earthquake damaged Old Stone House (Photo: Supplied)
This remained the case for almost 100 years, until in 1966, John Cracroft, Wilson's descendants gifted the building to the Student Christian Movement (SCM). Then in 1971, the building was tragically gutted by fire. A Cracroft Community Centre was formed, which rebuilt the House in 1979.
Then 2011 happened.
While the near-by Cracroft House was completely destroyed, the Old Stone House sustained significant damage.
But like in the ‘70s, the community rallied again, and finally last month, the Old Stone House was reopened to the community after a seven-year-long wait and a $2 million earthquake restoration project.
The event was attended by Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel, Caroline Murray, a great-great-granddaughter of John Cracroft Wilson, and Tim Scandrett, Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board member.
“The rebuilt Old Stone House is an integral element of the city’s heritage, providing a window to the past for future generations. While Christchurch has several impressive stone buildings, the Old Stone House is the only one built for servants’ use,” Mr Scandrett said.