Rockcliff

A wise man built an arts and crafts house upon a rocky knoll.

That is why 'Rockcliff' is slightly elevated in the shorescape of King Edward Parade. It is also stands out from the row of pastel villas by being constructed in 1923, a little later than the rest of the foreshore was developed, and in a completely different style

W A Cummings was the architect, and in this construct he took a purist approach to the Arts and Crafts movement, which, by that stage was well and truly humming, in England. He was able to include round and ocular windows, and clad the handsome frame in rough stucco with popular tudor-esque black stained trim.

Cummings is the same architect responsible for Auckland Grammar School, and a variety of other notable buildings of the era. Some of the homes owners of the house were also somewhat famed, including Very Reverend Joseph Darby, and later, Ruth Stenborg, who imported pianos.

Though there was a 1970s addition, and the back yard fell victim to infill in the 1990s, the house on the rock stood firm. It remains regarded as a most exacting example of the Arts and Crafts tradition in Auckland.