HISTORIC century-old homestead has finally reopened to the public | WATCH - Property News AU/NZ | propertynoise.co.nz & propertynoise.com.au

PHOTO: Anderson House. Invercargill City Council

A nearly century-old homestead near Invercargill has finally reopened to the public today, after nearly a decade of earthquake strengthening repairs

Crowds flocked to the halls of Anderson House again, which has a rich history and now an exciting future.</span”>

The neo-Georgian home, which sits on nearly 60 hectares of land, was originally owned by Sir Robert Anderson and his wife, Lady Anderson.

Sir Robert was born in Queenstown back in 1866, before heading to the “big smoke of Invercargill” at the age of 12, his great-grandson, Robert Anderson, said.

Making his fortune in business, he worked alongside our 17th Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Ward’s company, J G Ward & Co.

He also worked for Nestle Australasia, before becoming the chairman of “Bank of New Zealand and quite a few other directorships”, Robert said.

Lady Anderson took care of the grounds following her husband’s death in the 1940s.

The home, built in 1925 for £15,000, was gifted to the people of the city following her death in the 1950s.

The sprawling Category 1 heritage building had served as an art gallery since its handover in 1951, and even featured in ’80s American action film Brotherhood of the Rose, before it was forced to shut in January 2014.

A number of factors forced the glorious home’s closure, with “the main one being the earthquake strength of the building itself”, Anderson House Trust chairperson Craig Macalister explained.

“And also at the time, it was starting to come to the view that the house wasn’t suitable any longer as an art gallery.”

Anderson called its reopening an “exciting for the family but also the public of Southland to get to have their house back again”.

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“It’s been a long journey,” Macalister added.

The Invercargill City Council spent around $1.5 million to repaint, strengthen and restore it to its former glory.

“It’s just fabulous. It’s been far too long,” one visitor told 1News.

The city’s new mayor, Nobby Clark, admitted it took far too long for it to reopen.

“We don’t have a good track record to resolving some of these earthquake-prone buildings.

“It’s been eight years in the making – should have been half that but it’s great to get to today.”

Loyal locals are delighted to return and start planning for its future.

“We might do some artwork. We might have weddings here. We might hold functions here, have concerts on the grounds – got to find a lot of uses for it,” Clark said.