Hulbert House Boutique Lodging

A genuine article of Mason and Wales famous colonial architecture for the upper classes from the turn of the last Century. Hullert (Now Hulbert House) was designed and built for Horatio Nelson Firth, the mining registrar and receiver of gold for Queenstown.

Firth is reported to have come into a large inheritance which enabled him to commission this house in 1886. His wife and seven children were housed here while most other Queenstown families were existing in one or two room stone cottages, like Stonehill Cottage across the road.

Heritage NZ tells the next chapter in the story:

"The timber villa was built of Red Beech, with several bays, two verandas and double hung sash windows. The interior was decorated with quality fittings including imported marble fireplaces, decorated ceilings, and joinery with panels of glass featuring gold leaf work. Its size, setting and architectural grandeur made it one of Queenstown’s most impressive residences. The family lived in a grand manner at Hullert until 1901 when Firth was imprisoned for embezzlement. His wife Catherine opened Hullert as a boarding house until 1909 when it was sold and the Firths removed to Wellington."

The house continued to exploit it's size but not in style, operating throughout the 20th Century as a nursing home, lodge, refuge for a private girls school and backpackers hostel. Right now, it is in it's best form ever, having undergone revitalisation, and never having lost much of it's charm. A stay at Hulbert House is to stay in a home steeped in genuine South Island style and history.

Several of Mason and Wales other remarkable large homes have become places of Historic Accommodation.

BOOK YOUR STAY AT HISTORIC HULBERT HOUSE BOUTIQUE LODGING

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