B.
Godley House
Behind the scenes
The Press announced today that another iconic Banks Peninsula building is to be demolished, Godley House at Diamond Harbour.
It was quite shocking to see the damage sustained to the building from the Canterbury earthquakes in the aerial photograph reproduced in the paper. The brick house is a mess and unfortunately looks well beyond saving. The two story house with return verandas was originally built in 1880 by Harvey Hawkins on a stunning site that provides panoramic views across the harbour to Lyttelton.
However, the house's most famous association is with the popular Canterbury watercolourist, Margaret Stoddart (1865–1934) who lived there with her family in the early 1900s. The Stoddart family had a long association with Diamond Harbour, which began when Margaret's father, Mark Stoddart, purchased land there in 1852. Margaret Stoddart painted Godley House, Diamond Harbour around 1913. It's a vibrant watercolour study of the garden at Godley House that combines her interest in flower painting and landscape. The scene is vivid and the brightly coloured – well-tended flowerbeds seem far removed from the piles of rubble, hurricane fencing and overgrown weeds that now surround the property.
For me, these paintings of lost buildings take on an added poignancy and seem now elevated in importance somehow. Godley House made for a fantastic day trip from the bustle of Christchurch. The trip by ferry from Lyttelton in particular was one of my favourites – skirting across the harbour and wandering up the path from the jetty to the house, before relaxing in its expansive garden setting with a cold beer from the bar. I hope they replace it soon.
Margaret Stoddart Godley House, Diamond Harbour c.1913. Watercolour. Purchased with assistance from the Olive Stirrat Bequest 1990
Margaret Stoddart View of Lyttelton from Godley House c.1913. Watercolour. Collection Shirley Intermediate School
Related reading: Margaret Stoddart: Nature's Artist
Collection
Margaret Stoddart Godley House, Diamond Harbour
On her return from Europe in 1907, Margaret Stoddart lived in Godley House with her mother and sister and remained there until the family’s Diamond Harbour estate was sold off in 1913. The family were keen gardeners, as can be seen by the charming cottage garden. This is one of a number of paintings Stoddart did in Diamond Harbour and shows the style she had developed during her time in Europe. The expressive opaque watercolour treatment is combined with fine fluid washes applied in a quick and direct manner, out of doors before the subject. Stoddart was born in Diamond Harbour, Christchurch, but in 1876 the family sailed for Britain and she received her early education in Edinburgh. The family returned to New Zealand in 1879 and in 1882 Stoddart enrolled at the Canterbury College School of Art. She was a founding member of the Palette Club whose members were concerned with painting out of doors. She travelled to Europe in 1898.
Notes
New Brighton by Margaret Stoddart
This article first appeared as 'Stoddart: an artist for all seasons' in The Press on 17 November 2015.
Notes
An Otira stream (also known as Mountain Rata) by Margaret Stoddart
This article first appeared as 'Otira colour captured in all its summer glory' in The Press on 28 February 2014.
Notes
Godley House, Diamond Harbour by Margaret Stoddart
This article first appeared as 'Stoddart's summer' in The Press on 15 February 2013.
Notes
Margaret Stoddart: born Diamond Harbour 3 October, 1865.
While the Gallery remains closed to the public the permanent collection continues to grow with several generous gifts and bequests being received recently.
Notes
Diamond that shines
The ruins of Diamond Harbour's Godley House may have finally been removed but the stunning sparkling views out across Lyttelton Harbour remain.
Notes
Happy birthday Margaret
Margaret Stoddart was born on this day in 1865 at Diamond Harbour. Here she is in 1909:
Notes
The Watercolour Collection
The Gallery's Watercolour Collection had modest beginnings, but over the past 70 years it has grown steadily by gift and purchase and, of all the Collections, still maintains a largely traditional emphasis. When the Gallery opened in June 1932, just 28 of the 128 paintings on display were watercolours and, of these, 11 were by British artists and 17 by New Zealanders. Among the mostly nineteenth century British watercolours were those by Helen Allingham, Edgar Bundy, Matthew Hale, Laura Knight, William Lee Hankey and Ernest Waterlow. In contrast, the New Zealand watercolours were by mostly contemporary or early twentieth century artists and included works by James Cook, Olivia Spencer Bower, Margaret Stoddart, Maude Sherwood, Eleanor Hughes and Alfred Walsh. The foundation Watercolour Collection included two paintings of larger than usual dimensions. William Lee Hankey's We've been in the Meadows all day (1184 x 878mm) and Charles N. Worsley's Mount Sefton (996 x 1105mm) are still greater in scale than any other work in the Watercolour Collection.
Article
Exquisite Treasure Revealed
Canterbury Museum holds two albums compiled by Diamond Harbour artist Margaret Stoddart. The older of the two, containing images featured in this Bulletin, and itself currently exhibited in the Gallery, covers the period 1886–96. The album is handsomely bound in maroon, and stamped M.O.S. in gold. It contains a sort of travelogue by way of black and white photographs set amongst decorative painting, mostly of native flora, with some locality and date information.
Collection
Margaret Stoddart Bush Fire, Paraparaumu
Environmentalists in Aotearoa New Zealand have been fighting to protect our forests from as early as the 1860s. In 1863, the Kīngitanga Te Hokioi newspaper urged readers to: “cease setting fire to the forests lest the trees be consumed; lest there be no more trees for our descendants”. Five years later, Waitaha Canterbury MP and conservationist Thomas Potts gave a speech in parliament asking for assessment, care and protection of the forests. Some forty years later, Margaret Stoddart painted this watercolour in Paraparaumu on the Kāpiti Coast, showing smoke billowing from what remains of dense native bush that appears to be being cleared for agriculture. This was an unusual subject for Stoddart, far removed from the still-life subjects for which she became so highly regarded, and perhaps reveals her anxiety about the continuing deforestation of Aotearoa.
Kīngitanga ~ the King Movement which developed in the 1850s to stop the loss of land to colonists, maintain law and order and promote traditional values and culture
He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil (from August 2024)