Selwyn Times: October 14, 2020

Wednesday October 14 2020 Selwyn Times
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
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Take a tour of Ngaio Marsh House
Ngaio Marsh House and
Garden at 37 Valley Rd,
Cashmere, will be open
from 11am to 3pm over
Labour weekend, October
24 to 26. And on the
weekends of October
31 to November 1 and
November 7 to 8.
Entry costs $10
STEP INTO the scene of
murderous plots with a
Christchurch Heritage Festival
tour of the home of crime fiction
queen Dame Ngaio Marsh to
mark the 125th anniversary of
the author’s birth.
Born in Christchurch in 1895,
Marsh died in 1982, aged 86.
Nestled in a quiet corner of
Cashmere, the weatherboard
house – designed by leading
local architect Samuel Hurst
Seager – was home to the awardwinning
writer for 76 years, with
the family among the first to
settle in the area.
Today visitors can wander
back in time, with the interior –
packed with Marsh’s furniture,
family treasures, books, awards
and art – offering a unique
narrative.
The Heritage Festival tour,
which runs over three weekends
from Saturday, October 24,
shares chapters from Marsh’s life
WRITING HOME: Take a tour of Ngaio Marsh House as part of the Christchurch Heritage
Festival.
as a writer, director and lifelong
painter.
Ngaio Marsh House and
Heritage Trust spokeswoman
Jessica Petersen believes the
house “enriches the national
cultural heritage of New
Zealand”.
“While the house has been
enlarged over the years, it is
Dame Ngaio lived in it,” Petersen
says.
“The table is set with Dame
Ngaio’s china, and the dining
room and sitting room drapes
are made from fabric chosen by
Dame Ngaio on her travels.
“There is also memorabilia
from her many Shakespearean
productions, her writing desk,
Petersen says the writer’s
“whodunnit career began on a
cold, wet weekend in London in
1931”.
“She was bored and sat down
to write what would become her
first Roderick Alleyn novel, A
Man Lay Dead.
“Over 50 years, she wrote 32
classic English detective novels,
than her contemporary, Agatha
Christie, at one stage.”
Ngaio Marsh House is a
Category 1 Historic Place,
with a registered heritage
garden.
The house’s designer was
also responsible for wellknown
World War I memorials
overseas, and several Summit Rd
landmarks, including the Sign of
the Kiwi.
Visitors can join a guided tour
through the house and grounds
to discover more about Marsh’s
life and work.
•The Christchurch
Heritage Festival runs
from Saturday, October
24, until Sunday,
November 8.
• Check out the full
Heritage Festival
programme online at
ccc.govt.nz/heritagefestival
Discover our heritage
This spring, explore more than 50 special events.
Tours, open days, exhibitions, workshops,
performances and more.
Sat 24 Oct – Sun 8 Nov 2020
Image: PH18-WeJi-26. Wei Li Jiang. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Check out the full programme:
ccc.govt.nz/heritagefestival