Country Life: A historic Hawke's Bay homestead finds new life

The walls inside Wallingford Homestead once rang out with the sounds of music and children's playful laughter.

These days the home is no less lively, though instead of children playing it's adults who come from near and far to enjoy a night of tranquil luxury at the boutique accommodation.

Guests are welcomed onto the property by husband and wife Chris Stockdale and Jeanette Woerner, who traded their life as award-winning restaurateurs in Sydney to move to the countryside in 2018.

"We wanted to leave the big city and all the stresses associated with the big city behind," Woerner told Country Life as she ushered us into the home.

"We were just really looking for a change."

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Nestled in the hills of Central Hawke's Bay, about 30-kilometres south of Waipukurau, the historic homestead was the home of the Ormond family for four generations.

The original homestead was built in 1853, though later burned down in 1895, and replaced by the current country home.

As the Ormond family grew, so too did the house, boasting 15 bedrooms, it's own school room and a nursery wing - at one point it was recognised as the largest single storey homestead in the Southern Hemisphere.

In 2018, the farm, including the homestead, was sold to Auckland veterinarian Gareth Dunkerley who had fallen in love with the property while riding at the Wallingford Gymkhana as a youngster. He also later hunted over Wallingford property.

It was exactly the country home Woerner and Stockdale had always dreamed of living in, and the opportunity to run the restaurant and boutique accommodation business came as the couple was looking to return to New Zealand.

"We just loved the feel of the place and we loved Gareth too, the owner," Woerner said.

She had developed a detailed knowledge of the home's history and of the Ormonds. Both were "very central to the nuts and bolts of rural New Zealand" for at least a century.

"This was very much a house that was full of life," she explained.

"It was the epicentre of the community, you know if you need advice or to see someone this is where you came.

"It was just a big open home for joy."

The walls of the hall were still lined with portraits of the Ormond family, while the old grand piano was now situated in the restaurant which was open Thursday through to Saturday nights.

The menu - comprising nine small plates with a lot of variety - had an emphasis on seasonal and foraged produce, sourced locally from passionate, ethical producers.

Seafood was sourced from the Tora Collective and meat from the Waipawa Butchery. Stockdale had also made use of the homestead's kitchen gardens.

"As a chef, coming to Wallingford was exciting because a lot of the produce we find in the grounds - kaffir lime leaves, citrus, figs and you know for me that was quite incredible," he told Country Life.

"Also having the truffles was something that for a chef is pretty mind-blowing. It goes from spending a couple thousand dollars a week on truffles to going to the paddock and digging them up."

In the heart of farming country with some of the country's best food producers just down the road Stockdale had found renewed passion for the art of slow cooking.

"The food revolves around the whole concept of the slow movement and the slow movement is about knowing where your food comes from, just slowing down when you eat it. I guess [it's also] the importance of the environment, being sustainable and supporting local producers. Being in Hawke's Bay the variety of produce is quite incredible."

You can find more information about the history of Wallingford Homestead here.