Hutt Minoh Friendship House

Hutt Minoh Friendship House has a board room which can be configured in most formats and seat up to 20 delegates.

There are two other break out rooms and on fine days the myriad of paths and gardens offer unique opportunities for outdoor meetings.

For bookings and further information contact:

Karen Barnett
Hutt City Council
Ph: +64 4 570 6901
karen.barnett@huttcity.govt.nz

History

Romance, war and politics make up the rich and fascinating history of what is now the Hutt Minoh Friendship House.

Originally named Norbury, the house was built in 1904 in time for the 1905 society wedding of Alice Fitzherbert, eldest daughter of Lower Hutt’s first Mayor William Alfred Fitzherbert (son of early Hutt MP Sir William Fitzherbert), to Professor George von Zedlitz, by birth a German baron who became first professor of modern languages at the then Victoria College (now university).

The fairytale romance came under public scrutiny when World War I broke out and the professor, who had not been naturalised, was accused of signalling to German internees on Somes Island from his hillside home. Parliament swiftly passed legislation to remove him from his post and von Zedlitz, who had been a regular guest at Government House and the Premier’s residence, was given a year’s salary on which to face an uncertain future. He cut trees for his neighbours and helped the architect Natusch put a road through his Belmont property. He also went door to door during the great influenza epidemic to offer help.

In 1922 the family trust sold the property and the family moved to Cornwall Street in central Lower Hutt. Von Zedlitz died at Hutt Hospital on May 23, 1949. In 1979 Victoria University named a building in his honour.

Norbury’s new owners, Basil and Kate Donne, engaged Kate’s brother, well-known architect Jack Hoggard, to enlarge the house in which they were to frequently entertain. The Donnes lost their son Graham, a bomber pilot, during World War II, when his plane was shot down over Northern Egypt.

After Basil Donne’s death in 1945 Lower Hutt City Council bought the house for a caretaker’s residence for the surrounding Jubilee Park which had been created on the adjacent hillsides to celebrate the centenary of the Wellington Province in 1940 and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Lower Hutt Borough a year later.

Widening of the Western Hutt Road in the 1960s led to the demise of the park’s specially-built fernery.

This beautifully restored heritage building set in peaceful woodland gardens overlooking Lower Hutt City Centre is the focus of the city’s relationship with Minoh City in Japan. The house is also the venue for an open day featuring Japanese culture.

Refurbishment of the building for use as the Hutt Minoh Friendship House is the culmination of several years’ search by the Hutt City Council for a suitable use that would recognise both its unique history and attractive location.