The Wade Silverdale s former name, The Wade, derives from the anglicised the Wade River. European settlers began arriving in the district from the 1830s. areas such as Waiparaheka at the head of Te Weiti River. Wade after leaving H.M. Army in 1864. In 1865, he purchased the 104-acre Leigh Road farm from William Galbraith. By 1866 he also purchased land near the Wade Hotel. Henry Butler Stoney Regiment in 1860. He served in Taranaki and Waikato in 1860/61. and fought at Rangariri and Orakau in 1863/64. He purchased land invalided in 1864. committee of the Silverdale School, and held various government
Stoney Farm According to family records, Major Stoney and his son Henry the kitchen may have been part of the original Galbraith cottage. The farm grazed sheep, beef, pigs and poultry and had an extensive orchard. The Stoneys sent produce from the orchard to the Auckland markets and sold meat, eggs and butter locally. in the layout of the garden and orchard and there is still evidence of this at the property. Stoney Homestead Walter Butler Stoney inherited the farm from his brother The Stoney family had an open home policy and many visitors stayed at the farm. Walter Butler Stoney died in of land across the road from the Stoney farm. James Butler Stoney sold his section of the farm in 1994. Desmond Stoney
Landscape connected to the Horticultural Society of Victoria (Australia), The Stoney Homestead still has some plantings of mature trees almost certainly remnants of the garden developed by Major on the north east of the property, that frames the house from central Auckland.The trees are intrinsically linked historically to the pioneers, the homestead, and the local community. front and sides of the building. oldest surviving early farm houses in the Rodney region. It is and circumstances of the family over time, and the fact that it survival of the house is especially important as Silverdale has relatively little that links to the area s past history and farming landscape remains. Construction structure (built in 1866) consisted of three rooms a sitting room, house and became an outbuilding referred to as the dairy. The current kitchen, most likely the original Galbraith cottage, sleep-out before it became a kitchen. The second stage involved the addition of a dining room connecting the kitchen to the main house in 1900. The third extension (completed in 1904) added three bedrooms and utility rooms creating more internal space.
Architectural Features The original façade of Stoney Homestead is in Georgian Revival a later extension diminished the previous symmetry. the cottage constructed by Galbraith). The outside kitchen door in 1900 connecting the main house to the kitchen, making all the the dinning room. These extensions are clearly visible on the façade and in the roof structure. Simple architraves and skirting are are further evidence of the simple Georgian style. The latter additions are more Victorian in character, evident in skirting and machine run architraves, sashes typical of the Victorian villa. The doors in this area of the house are also typical of the later period, utilising decorative glass. styles. Doors are located at either end one opening onto the front verandah and the other leading to the back of the house. revealed, including evidence of a part-height brick chimney Out-buildings stable complex, a calf shed, and a maize crib. Today the only and the dairy (currently dismantled and in safe storage for future rebuilding). Interior partitions, consisting of single skinned vertical boards on timber rails, are evidence of this early type of construction, common in arranged to be in close proximity to the homestead. The demolition of some farm buildings had occurred in the 1950s
Life at Stoney Homestead is today). Mrs Thorburn once slipped on the bridge, falling into the river. Undeterred, she gathered her belongings and continued on Transport locally, and to and from Auckland still had its to Dad. The estuary played a big part in our lives. Daily trips by boat animals, such as checking on the sheep during lambing. Driving of getting cattle to go into the river, or horses to go into the mud. standing in the kitchen, looking out the door.