16 March 2020
Just to change the subject from worrying viruses... Who knows who lived here on Keane Road, Pleasant Point? I would love to find the home of George and Elizabeth Rhodes at The Levels, but Im not sure if this is it? Cob buildings were once a significant part of New Zealand's early history and census figures from 1845 recorded more than 40 per cent of building stock in the South Island was of earth construction. As times progressed and more building materials became available this percentage declined to the point where there are fewer than 200 earth dwellings in the South Island today.
The Keane Cottage, located on Keane Road in Levels Valley near Pleasant Point, is a well-preserved example of early cob construction in South Canterbury. Cob buildings were once a significant part of New Zealand’s early built environment. In 1845, census figures recorded that over 40 per cent of the South Island’s building stock was made from earth. As imported building materials became more widely available, this number declined. Today, fewer than 200 earth dwellings survive in the South Island.
James and Ellen Keane were immigrants from County Kerry, Ireland. They arrived in Canterbury on 1 July 1861 aboard the Chrysolite, which had departed Gravesend, London, earlier that April. After landing at Lyttelton, the Keanes spent approximately ten years living in Christchurch before moving south to settle in South Canterbury with their five children. They purchased farmland in the Levels Valley and constructed a cob house on the property that still stands on its original site.
The cottage they built is a substantial two-storeyed structure with a large ground-floor living room and an upper loft where the family slept. The covered wagon they used to travel south remained on the property near the cottage well into the 1940s. The main elevation of the cottage faces north-east, with small four-pane casement windows flanking an offset entrance. The north-west gable end features a loft door with a cathead hoist above it. A brick chimney is located on the gable ridge. A nearby outbuilding of similar cob and timber construction survives alongside the cottage.
Cob was a popular choice for early settlers due to the availability of local clay and soil, and the communal labour required to construct it. These structures provided effective thermal insulation, making them suitable for Canterbury’s climatic extremes. When well maintained, cob buildings can remain functional for centuries. The Keane Cottage has been kept in good condition through regular upkeep by past and present landowners. It is fenced off from the surrounding farmland to protect it from stock and has been fitted with a corrugated iron roof, spouting, and other protective features. Restoration work was carried out in the late 1980s by the South Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
The Keanes initially held their property (RS 13743) as leasehold, and James Keane was listed as a farm labourer by the time he secured freehold title by 1896. The land remained in local ownership into the twentieth century and was later subdivided in 1970. The road that runs past the property was already known as Keane’s Road by 1900. The setting includes a partially fenced garden in the south-west corner of a paddock near the intersection of Keane Road and Pleasant Point Highway. Remnant cob structures also survive on the opposite side of the road.
The Keane Cottage and outbuilding are listed as a Category B heritage item by Timaru District Council. They hold historical and cultural significance for their association with Irish immigrant settlement, particularly by those from County Kerry who worked on the South Canterbury railway. The buildings have architectural value as examples of colonial vernacular design and demonstrate early settler building techniques. Their survival contributes to the understanding of local rural history and the practical use of cob as a building material in the 19th century.
