The house has a story... Alfred Buckland and Eliza Wallen married in England and emigrated to New Zealand in 1850 on the sailing ship "Sir Edward Paget".
They settled in South Auckland where they became established quite quickly by buying and selling land. Here are the girls outside the Main House..
Twelve years later, the two of them purchased 5 acres and moved to Epsom. They named their property Highwic.
Most of Highwic is hidden in the centre of the town by mature trees and high hedges. It has a very Victorian Garden on what remains of its land with a croquet lawn.
The house is known as one of New Zealand's finest Carpenter Gothic' houses its design found in ' A Symmetrical Cottage' from an 1850 pattern book.
Eliza Buckland did not live long at Highwic, she died of pneumonia in 1866.
She had seven daughters and three sons.
Ten months later Alfred married the servant girl Matilda Jane (how very Jane Eyre!)
She and Alfred had seven daughters and four sons, making a grand total of 21.
By the time the last one was born Alfred had 24 grandchildren - it must have been busy! The stockings set up for Christmas made us realise!
Alfred Buckland – father of the 21 children – had Bucklands Beach named after him!
The girls did some country dancing in the Ballroom which was added, along with a dormitory for the boys, when it all got too small!
I can't imagine having 21 children!!
The nice thing is children have free entry to the house and it really is a hidden treasure - by appointment only - with a talk by the live-in tenant.
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