The main homestead of Ernest and Hannah Hayes at Oturehua is being restored and refurbished to its 1920 character.
Mr and Mrs Hayes' 11-room mud brick home was the first in the district to have a flushing toilet and electricity.
A grand abode by any standard, it comprises five bedrooms, a drawing room, laundry, kitchen, pantry, bathroom, dining room, and large passageway.
The New Zealand Historic Places Trust owns the homestead as part of the Hayes complex at Oturehua, which has been managed by Ken and Helen Gillespie since the trust bought it in 1975.
In April this year, work started in earnest on restoring the homestead, which had been left largely untouched since it was built.
"Although we are opening it to the public now, it is still a work in progress. We would like to have it completed by this time next year, but that will depend on further funding and the donation of appropriate furnishings," Mrs Gillespie said.
To date the trust has funded the restoration project, and 1920 household items which would have been used in the original home have been donated.
"We are delighted with, and very appreciative of, the items we've received to date," Mrs Gillespie said.
While the homestead's physical structure - including floorboards, doors, windows, glass, fireplaces, and wallpaper - is original, only a few pieces of furniture remain.
"We have the original organ in the drawing room and a few original chairs, but we are desperate for things like bedding, which hasn't lasted from 1920," Mrs Gillespie said.
Also on the wish-list is a Shacklock No 3 black coal range, with left-hand-side fire box.
"We are very fortunate the actual house is totally original and in very good order. We haven't had to do much to it, other than fixing a few mud bricks and stripping modern paint from walls, and where we have replastered walls, we have used the old mix and methods from that time," Mrs Gillespie said.
The Hayes complex also includes Mr and Mrs Hayes' smaller, original homestead, which they built about 1885, after arriving at Oturehua the previous year.
Originally from England, they left London in 1882 with the first of their 10 children, who was an infant at the time.
Mr and Mrs Gillespie are also restoring the original homestead, which will have information panels and displays, as well as refreshments for visitors to the complex, from early January.
Before World War 1 the Hayes family began making mud bricks for the larger home.
These were stored on the property while male members went to war.
On their return, the bricks were completed, and the house built over two years "during their spare time", Mrs Gillespie said.
By the time Mr and Mrs Hayes moved into the new homestead in October 1920, some of their adult children had married and left home, and one had died.
The Hayes complex, which also includes the operational Hayes Engineering Works, a men's quarters and stables, will be open daily until late April.
Mr Gillespie will fire up the engineering works for operational tours on January 3, February 7, and April 11.
