More Info →Back view of Monrad homestead, Karere

This building was one of the first European houses in inland Manawatu, erected 1867 by European carpenters employed by Ditlev Gothard Monrad, the Lutheran Bishop and ex-Premier of Denmark who settled at Karere in 1866. The house was occupied by the Bishop and his wife 1867 - 1868 and then by one of the Bishop's sons, Viggo, 1868 - 1885. The last owners and occupants were two of Viggo Monrad's sons, Ditlev and Oscar, who lived in the house from about 1886 until its destruction by fire in 1889. The house was situated near the bank of the Karere Lagoon on section 35 of the Karere Block, about three miles west of the present settlement of Longburn, near Palmerston North. To the left can be seen the original clay whare that housed the family until the house was built. A translated description of the clay hut reads, “They took the clay from the bed of the lagoon, which puddled with straw they used for the walls and the floor. The roof was of thatch but this was later replaced with shingles”.