Tours of the cottage are available to hear about these early British colonists and their descendants, and the garden is open daily during daylight hours.

[1] The cottage was built in 1858 and is located on Nairn Street in the suburb of Mount Cook, Wellington.

The Cottage was built by William Wallis who arrived in New Zealand in September 1857 with his wife Catherine.

William and Catherine were newly-weds who undertook an arduous seventeen-week journey by ship to arrive in New Zealand.

He also built hospitals in the Crimean War, which allowed him the skills and capital necessary to emigrate to the comparatively new colony.

[citation needed] The Council took the building under the Public Works Act in 1974 from Winifred Turner, a granddaughter of William and Catherine and the last person to live in the cottage.