Regulatory Committee Agenda - Waipa District Council

5.4.3 Summary Cambridge Farmers Club-house
The building interior contains very few architectural references to the CFC phase and how the
club used the building. The lecture room, library and room adjacent to the library have been
stripped of their spatial characteristics and features. The building fabric no longer provides an
opportunity to experience the building as the Cambridge Farmers dub-house. There are
recordable architectural details, as noted in the previous text, that could be used to interpret
the CFC phase of building use.
5.5 Oakleit:h. Wells family (1881-1936)
The Farmers Club annual show went from an attendance of 1000 in October 1877 to a failed
show in October 1880. In 1880 during an economic depression the CFC also faced a dedining
membership. The CFC decided to sell off the dub-house and three acres of land to clear the
club of liabilities and mortgages on the property. Prior to the sale King Tawhiao visited
Cambridge and was allowed to reside at the Farmer's Club (Waikato Times 23 July 1881:2).
On 25 July 1881 the CFC building was sold by tender to Thomas Wells, a Cambridge merchant
and club member. Wells was one of two bidders for the building that submitted the same
tenders. The dub requested Mr Wells and Mr Grice provide new tender offers. The tender
from Thomas Wells was £1355, one pound more than Mr Grice's tender (New Zealand Herald
25 July 1881:5}.
Thomas Wells was a local merchant who owned a large wholesale and retail establishment on
Duke Street. His store stocked draperies, ironmongery, groceries, and agricultural farming
implements (Edgcumbe 1880). In late July 1881 he began the process of renovating the
(former) CFC building and converting the grounds into a garden (Waikato Times 26 July 1881).
The renovation work continued into late August 1881 (Waikato Times 23 August 1881:3). Mr
Wells renamed the building Oakleigh. The residence remained in tile Wells family for
approximately 50 years. Mercer (2009} documented the role the Wells family played in the
development of Cambridge.
Thomas Wells added a gabled bay window to the northern end of the building (figures 4-5),
which is referred to as the Wells addition. The Wells addition is similar in style to other
Victorian houses in the 1880s. It featured a fine bay window and Eastlake stick-style details in
the gable end (figures 4 and 5). The Wells addition to the CFC building is evident on the west
and eastern elevations. Figure 12 shows the east elevation. The Wells additions are also
illustrated on figure 13. The Wells Family lived at Oakleigh and developed the hall and
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