More Info →Developing the gardens at 'Atawhai', Fitzherbert

'Atawhai', meaning 'warm welcome', was built for Edwin Keiller, a widower, as a healthy place to raise his children. It was designed by C.T. Natusch, the architect, and built by Arthur Bennett at the top of the bluff across the bridge from Palmerston North. At the time building materials had to be hauled up the bluff by a double pulley, although a steep access road was built at a later date. The house had 17 rooms, plus sculleries and pantries, and included a verandah facing the sun. In 1963 the Presbyterian Educational Trust bought the house and it is administered in conjunction with Massey University as a hostel for students. It is now known as Fergusson Hall. The photograph shows the inital development of the rose garden.