This is our story of the Jackson house.

“We” are Gary (Gert) and Elna Bester.

The Jackson house is a historic house in Kihikihi in New Zealand.

Major William Jackson was a prominent figure in the Maori Land Wars, and specifically in the King Country. After the wars, all soldiers and officers were awarded land, farmland and a town section. This was in Kihikihi.

The house was built around 1877 and was used by Jackson until his death in 1889. His widow sold the house around 1892.

We first saw the house in September 2003 while house hunting.  It was totally overgrown and very neglected. It was sitting on a one acre (4000 m+) section which could not be subdivided because of the gardens, which was famous at the time. It was also a New Zealand Historical Places Trust Category ll listed property. Research revealed that the house belonged to a trust and I located the solicitor who administered the trust. He said it was not for sale. I asked him notify me if the property ever came up for sale.

In 2005 we bought our current house in Cambridge, and guess what? Very soon afterward I received a call from the solicitor that the house was for sale. Obviously we could not buy it. However, we kept a close eye on it. Soon we noticed that the roof has been replaced, and the whole section was cleared.  Nothing much happened after that. There was some occupancy, but later on it was vacant again.