[2] The property, owned by Palmerston North City Council, and operates as a conference and events venue on a cost-recovery basis.

The dwelling was designed by Danish-born architect Ludolph Georg West for Norwegian settler Jacob Nannestad and his wife Anna.

In 1903, Englishman John Henderson Pollock Strang and his wife Mary purchased the property and named it "Woodhey".

[4] The Caccia Birch House was used by the military during the Second World War and subsequently became a convalescent home for servicewomen and nurses.

[5] The original Nannestad building was a two-storey dwelling constructed of native timber weatherboard with a corrugated iron roof and the exterior is of sunburst style.