[1] The Barnetts had six children; five girls and one boy:[1] Some time after their wedding, the couple moved to Otago to farm.

[2] Barnett's brother Thomas (Tom) had a business relationship with Peter Grant and they were placing racing bets together.

Women's suffrage, temperance and anti-betting were strong movements, and gaming houses were banned, which included betting shops.

Legislation was finally passed in 1908, banning gaming in public places and making it illegal for racing clubs to accept bets by telephone.

Barnett, who had earlier been banned from the same course for life, but who had managed to get that decision overturned, offered to Grant to bet on a joint account.

Luck was with them again, and some time after Grant's wedding in February 1896, they had sufficient capital to add a branch in Christchurch to their existing betting shop in Dunedin.

Their Dunedin branch was searched by Police and Barnett, Grant and two employees arrested in September 1897.

[11] Between 1901 and 1904, they were arrested three times,[2] including in January 1902, their Christchurch office was raided by Police, with the case going to court the following month.

[12] The case went to a jury trial, but all the witnesses refused to give evidence, as they would have incriminated themselves by doing so, as it was illegal to visit a gaming house.

[8] In 1909, Barnett was convicted of having published horse betting details in his publication Daylight that violated the Gaming Act 1908.

[14] With the passing of the 1910 amendment to the Gaming Act, Barnett decided to officially retire as a bookmaker, but it is likely that he continued to work underground.

In 1901, Barnett bought a large section in the Christchurch central city, fronting onto Salisbury and Colombo Streets.

[2] It had several servants and Mary Barnett's unmarried younger sister Maria (known as Polly) was in charge of them.

[15] Mary's father suffered a brain injury in 1888 and spent the remaining 20 years of his life at Seacliff Mental Hospital.

Margaret Whelan made many spontaneous trips back to Dunedin when she got nostalgic and would stay there for a few weeks at a time, but she would otherwise live at Wharetiki for the rest of her life.

[1] After Matthew Barnett's death, the remaining family members put the house up for auction in May 1935.

[16] Wharetiki House was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust as a Category II heritage building.

[1] In 1928, Barnett funded an architectural competition for a statue commemorating the three journeys of James Cook to New Zealand.

[19] Barnett also funded the sculpture itself, which was unveiled on 10 August 1932 in Victoria Square by the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe.

[26] The first annual competition with the Barnett Tiki was held a few days later in Wellington and was won by Christchurch.