Orford Lodge

Orford Lodge, Manurewa

Quite a surprise to see such a lovely old building amongst the more modern buildings in the Hillpark area of Manurewa.  Built in 1910 by the lawyer Mr. Edward Russell this building carries the name of its 1928 purchaser, the Earl of Orford.  Interesting to note that the Earl of Orford was a descendant of Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of England.  Not just an ordinary house then, but one with quite a bit of history associated with the people who have lived here as well as the structure itself!

The grounds to Orford Lodge were quite extensive at over 20 acres and a team of up to nine gardeners would maintain the immaculate grounds.  I'm not sure what happened to the gardens during the war as both the lodge and grounds were used by the US Army.  The gardeners cottage and "garage" was used as the officers' mess and apparently many of the officers' signatures remain on the fireplace.

The attached image to this post is a five shot HDR image processed in Photomatix Pro and then antiquated thanks to Silver Efex Pro.