The house 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. A verandah and extra ground-floor rooms were added to the house about 1880. 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. From left: Miss McAlister; Thekla Monrad; Olga Monrad, Viggo's wife; Oscar Monrad; Harold Monrad; Mrs Johannes Monrad and three of her children.