St Georges Woodlands Farmstead

Woodlands is a historic colonial villa offering guests a rare chance to step into a bygone era while enjoying the luxury of thoughtful renovation incl modern gourmet kitchen, pebble floored showers & fresh new beds & bedding. Polished parquet floors in the elegant lounge or a stately veranda & lush gardens accompany your gin & tonic at sunset. Set on a vast working sheep & cattle farm, tracks available for hiking, the estate is surrounded by sweeping pastures, native birdsong & open skies. Woodlands is the ancestral home of the Newton family, vibrant members of the local farming community in Taranaki for over one hundred years. The Newton family has lived, loved and prospered here at Woodlands since the early 1900’s. The dedication of the family has created an amazing property of rich farmland, lovely vibrant gardens and of course, an elegant turn of the century villa in which the family lived which you could soon call home for your visit to stunning Taranaki. The most legendary Newton to date is Harold Brassey Newton, born in 1915 in a tumultuous time in the world’s history. As a young man, Harold joined the RAF and headed to Europe to fight in World War 2. Harold was a decorated WW2 fighter pilot, awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by King George himself after the war for his bravery in action. Facing a 6 month long wait to travel hime to NZ after the war he decided to bravely fly a tiny Ercoupe 2-man aircraft all the way home from Belgium, a 20 day journey taking him through Europe, Africa, India and Southest Asia. He still holds the record for the smallest plane single manned flight across the Tasman from Australia to NZ. For Harold there was nothing he could not do, no journey too difficult, no farm too hard to break in, no goal unattainable. He increased the family farm enterprise from one to 3 large farms, most still farmed by his descendants today. Harold was very intelligent and well read, always telling stories from ancient history he used to teach lessons to his children and grandchildren, in whom he instilled a passion for life, nature, hard work and accomplishment. He was a legend who inspired many and left a legacy of enormous proportion behind him. Come stay at Woodlands and feel the inspiration of this incredible man and his family around you. You will sleep in 6 lovely bedrooms with 1 to 3 brand new beds in each which are fashioned in elegant colonial style. Intricate cornice and leaded glass windows adorn the master bedroom with French doors opening out onto the vast veranda and lush gardens, a stunning way to greet the morning. Furniture made by NZ craftsmen of native beautiful rimu wood compliments the lovely new drapes and wood floors. The kitchen is newly modernised with everything you need to prepare a gourmet meal and plenty of lovely historic china, platters and glassware for serving. The bathrooms are also newly renovated with gorgeous tiling, pebble floored showers and modern lighting and amenities. The lounge is the centrepiece of the home with a fireplace, elegantly upholstered chairs and sofa, leaded glass art deco style windows, a piano and an operating turntable to complete the old world feeling listening to albums from the family’s collection. The dining room and small adjoining seating area, also with a fireplace, is open to the kitchen for an interactive evening with guests. Above the garage is a great room complete with TV, seating area, another dining table and 3 single beds. A perfect spot for your younger guests to play, interact and get to sleep early while the rest of the family enjoys the formal areas. Farm tours, horseback riding adventures and other local experiences available for extra charge.