‘Someone will buy it and cherish it’: 1860s cottage with panoramic views on market

High up on a hill overlooking Lyttelton Harbour sits a heritage gem - a whitewashed, red-roofed early-settler home with shiplap cladding, fretwork and a picket fence.

The story of this bonny house goes back to James and Thomas Newton, brothers who arrived in New Zealand from Britain, circa 1867. Wanting to put down roots they purchased section 247 on Governors Bay Road for the grand sum of £15 pounds sterling.

The pair chose well, the land had a flat section, perfect for building on, and it afforded panoramic views across Lyttelton Harbour and up behind the house to the hill line.

Fast-forward 158 years and the house is hot property - one of the port town’s landmark houses - which is included within the Lyttelton Residential Heritage Area. It also wears a different address, as the road was renamed Cressy Terrace in 1912.

“I don't know if it was the first house on this side of town, but it's close to it.” says current co-owner Tim Riley. “It would have included four of the sections up behind, which it doesn’t now. It's also on a ridgeline so it's not trapped in the shade.

“We think it was built and then some of the family came out [from the UK] and it was extended, so at one point they had 14 members of the family actually living on the property.”

Riley was 12-years-old when his parents Brett and Julie made the move from Sumner to Cressy Terrace in 1986. The couple were creatives - Brett was a writer and arts reviewer and Julie a photographer.

“They both worked from home and were looking for a bigger house. This house ticked all those boxes. My mother had a dark room in the back of the house and Dad had a study,” he says.

Sitting on a 549m² section, the footprint of the house is bigger than a typical settlers cottage. Riley says the design of the home is called a Canterbury Farmhouse. “It's not really a cottage because it's quite large, but it still has that cottage appeal with its slightly lower ceilings in some parts of the rooms upstairs.”

Some redecorating aside, the Riley family have kept the property fairly much as they bought it.

The home boasts beautiful kauri floors and sash windows. It has four good-sized bedrooms - one which features match-lined walls, a study, which could be used as an extra bedroom, a family bathroom, separate toilet and an open-plan living area which leads through to the kitchen and dining space.

The front door opens out to a sunny verandah which wraps around the front and side of the house and leads into the established garden. Out the back is an old wash-house laundry.

Riley says he has good memories of growing up in the house, not least because it’s so near to the harbour. “It was great because we had a yacht in Cass Bay, so for us it was a bit of a playground because we could go sailing and walking in the hills.”

It’s clear the history of the place resonates with Riley. He recalls how the family found a couple of treasures during some post-earthquake redecorating, including an original slate writing board used by one of the children who had lived in the house in the early years, which was gifted to the local museum. “It had her name inscribed on it,” he says.

The Riley’s also found a piece of panelling covered with newspaper that was dated 1867, which is still in the house.

Although Cressy Terrace has been a well-cared for family home, it was Brett who was most fond of the place. “My dad was the one who really loved the property - it was his baby really.”

Riley says one of his dad’s favourite memories was when the family he bought the house off in the 80s asked to visit during their reunion. “A bus pulled up and about 50 people got out.”

Now, after four decades as part of the home’s history, Riley, who still lives nearby, and his sister have made the difficult decision to sell. “The hope is someone will buy it and cherish it - really love it,” he says.

34 Cressy Terrace is being sold by listing agents Matthew Heazlewood and James Keir for Bayleys and will be auctioned on Thursday, December 11, 2025, unless sold prior.

The 2022 CV on the property is $960,000. Cotality puts the current median house price in Lyttelton at $772,569. The area has seen a 2.5% decrease in median house values over the past 12 months.