Art for Timaru and a home for older people
1885–1972
The Croft Homestead in Park Lane has recently begun another chapter as a restored community hub. Its survival and continuing social purpose are connected with Marion Lorna Grant and her husband, James William Grant, commonly known as Hamish.
Lorna was born Marion Lorna Guthrie. She married James William Grant in Christchurch on 12 April 1916. South Canterbury Museum records that the couple later retired to Timaru, acquired The Croft and bequeathed the property to the Presbyterian Social Services Association.
The couple purchased The Croft in 1947. In 1968 they gave the estate to the organisation now known as Presbyterian Support South Canterbury so that it could be used for the care of older people. Following Lorna’s death in 1972, the keys were formally transferred and the community began the long work of turning the site into a residential-care complex.
That later development was a collective achievement. Local fundraising helped meet the cost of completing and furnishing the new home, which opened in 1980 as the Lorna and Hamish Grant Eventide Home. Presbyterian Support records that The Croft has since provided a home for more than 3,000 older and vulnerable people.
Lorna and Hamish were also connected with Timaru’s public art collection. The foundation of the Aigantighe Art Gallery came principally through Hamish’s mother, Helen Grant, his sister Jessie Wigley and Hamish’s transfer of the family home and grounds. Lorna should not be credited as the sole founder of the gallery.
Her own contribution belongs within the next part of that story. Lorna and Hamish supported the gallery and gave works from their personal art collection, strengthening what local people could see without travelling to a major city. The exact number of works attributed to their gift differs between published accounts and should be checked against Aigantighe’s accession records before a number is used.
Lorna’s impact is clearest when her contribution is kept connected with other people. She and Hamish supplied property and resources. Presbyterian Support, local donors, staff and volunteers turned that gift into daily care. Gallery staff and the wider community continue to preserve and interpret the art they gave.
The result is visible in two Timaru places. One makes art publicly accessible. The other provides housing, care, dementia support and community space. Lorna did not create either outcome alone, but her decisions helped make both possible.
Read the WuHoo story: Lorna Grant: A Legacy of Art, Care and Culture
Sources
South Canterbury Museum: James William Grant profile
Confirms Lorna’s full birth name, marriage date, The Croft bequest and the distinction between the Grant family’s Aigantighe gift and later contributions.
Presbyterian Support South Canterbury: History of The Croft
Supports the 1947 purchase, 1968 gift, transfer after Lorna’s death, community fundraising, 1980 opening and the number of people subsequently housed.
Presbyterian Support South Canterbury: The Croft Homestead, 1972
Confirms that Lorna and Hamish purchased the property and bequeathed it to the Presbyterian Social Services Association.
Aigantighe Art Gallery: Collection
Provides information about the public collection and the gallery’s reproduction process.
Presbyterian Support South Canterbury: Homestead Community Hub reopening
Confirms that the restored homestead reopened as a community hub in January 2026.
Sir James Guthrie. Portrait Sir Winston Churchill (Oil on Canvas). Marion Lorna Guthrie 1895. christchurchartgallery.org.nz/sir-james-guthrie/marion-lorna-guthrie. "James Guthrie made his mark in the early 1880s as a member of the ground-breaking Glasgow Boys, who were influenced by French painters, particularly Jules Bastien-Lepage. This later work, with its restricted range of colour and tones, also shows the influence of Guthrie’s friend and mentor, American-born, London-based artist, James McNeill Whistler."
The Croft Homestead 1972. Hamish and Lorna Grant purchased the Croft in 1947 and bequethed it to the PSSA in 1968. - PSSA Given The Croft For Home (22 Feb 1972). Aoraki Heritage Collection, accessed 15/06/2025, https://aorakiheritage.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/7315