History – A Soothing Soak

In 1927, the Rare family purchased land including a house, known as the Buchanan Homestead, in a place called The Wires, located in a remote part of the Thames-Coromandel district, between Hukutaiā and Whangamatā. The homestead was expansive, with five bedrooms, kitchen, pantry, office, large living room and bathroom.

The story goes that Hērangi Rare refused to move into the homestead unless a suitable bathtub was installed. The existing timber plank bath had rotted and was definitely not fit for purpose. So her husband, John, created the infamous bath from kauri – a workable and durable timber that was also readily available.

Once completed, it measured 1900mm long, 650mm wide and stood 590mm high. It’s a considered design, the surface is very smooth on the inside, and the sloping ends facilitate a relaxed soak. It was duly installed in the bathroom, which had a piped hot water system running from a booster on the side of the wood stove in the kitchen, as was common practice at that time.

The Rare’s moved out of the homestead sometime in the late 1930s and sold up in 1953, and the bath was moved into a loft in one of the sheds on the property. It remained there unused, gathering dust for 15 years. Arthur Sutton and George Trembath, who purchased the property from the Rare’s, eventually hauled it out with a Ferguson 28 tractor and trailer. It was later sent to The Kauri Museum, where it remains an important part of our collection.