Restoration work on the former Clarendon toll house uncovered some of its secrets.
In 2001, the building was restored by the community, with help from the New Zealand Lotteries Grants Board.
Modern interior linings were removed, revealing tongue and groove walls. The original floor was repaired and rotten exterior cladding replaced.
Builders suspected the toll house was constructed as a kitset because of the way the weatherboards and casement windows fitted together and there was some speculation that it might have been part of the Auckland Islands whaling station before being shipped to Dunedin.
After tolls were abolished in Bruce County in the 1880s, the toll house was bought by farmer and businessman Henry Driver and eventually shifted to Helensbrook near Milton, where it was used as a residence.
Later, Jessie Duffy brought up three children within its walls.
Her granddaughter, Sheena Duffy, says the building was larger then, with a kitchen and a laundry at the back.
Measuring 6.5m by 4.95m, the rectangular-shaped building is thought to be constructed of Baltic pine and rimu.
The interior has a brick fireplace with a Victorian timber mantelpiece.
The building was originally divided into two rooms but the partition wall was removed in the 1970s.
Ms Duffy's late parents, Bill and Noeline, continued to use the toll house after building their own home nearby.
The cauldron in the laundry was heated when they plucked chickens and, once the partition wall was removed, they managed to fit in a pool table.
Bunks were installed so their children could have sleepovers and later, as teenagers, they held parties there.
Noeline Duffy formed a trust with the idea of converting the toll house to a small museum.
However, Sheena Duffy says with none of the children living locally, they are looking at ways it can be preserved for the future and that might involve a council.
