A person (could be Claude Williams) standing outside the combined house, post office, general store, and tearooms, c1938.
Originally built in the 1860s, the McIlvride family home was one of the earliest dwellings in Wainuiomata. The land itself was gifted by Hugh Sinclair to his niece Isabella McIlvride in 1859 or 1860, comprising around 9.7 hectares between what is now Moores Valley Road and the river. A modest cottage was established on the site, and in time a post office was operated semi attached to the house.
Life in these early years was both isolated and demanding. When Isabella’s daughter Christina, born in 1860, was just 12 years old, she would ride on horseback to the Hutt and back to collect the mail, illustrating the remoteness of the settlement at the time.
Following the McIlvride family, ownership passed to the Burrows family around the turn of the 20th century. Their presence is still recognised locally, with three of their sons commemorated on the Wainuiomata First World War Memorial.
In 1924, Colonel Les Andrews and his wife Carrie took over the property and established a general store, marking a shift from purely residential and postal use to a more commercial role. By September 1929, the Whites had taken up a lease from the Wainuiomata Development Company, which had begun acquiring options over much of the surrounding land in anticipation of future subdivision.
In 1936, the property was transferred from the Whites to Claude Williams. At that time it was advertised as both a post office and a store, although Williams later recalled that the store component carried only minimal stock.
By around 1938, the wider area was being prepared for residential subdivision as Wainuiomata began transitioning from rural farmland to a developing township. In 1939, Williams relocated the store building to a new site on the what is now Main Road, where it became known as the Williams General Store.
Credits
Special thanks to Vicky Alexander for some information in this article.
