Mrs O?Keeffe has been investigating Glenside?s Halfway House and grounds
By Jamie Melbourne-Hayward
When a Wellington Council clean-up crew was working around Glenside?s Halfway House they unearthed some interesting discoveries that led to Archaeologist Mary O?Keeffe being called in. Mrs O?Keeffe has been investigating Glenside?s Halfway House and grounds and has gathered enough evidence to say it should be treated as a pre 1900 heritage site. The last house she investigated was in Ngaio, a place in worse condition than in Glenside, which was eventually demolished by developers. ?I shouldn?t think that will happen in Glenside. ?If any works take place on the site they will need to have an archaeologist present in case anything of interest is unearthed,? says Mrs O?Keeffe. Because the building is dated pre 1900 it makes it illegal to modify it without the consent of the historic places trust. The WCC is now able to look at what use the building could be put to. ?If they want to enhance the building now it won?t be illegal. ?They will now be able to get consent for that they want to do,? says Mrs O?Keeffe. The Halfway House has two aspects that were of interest, the house itself and the grounds around the house. Ms O?Keeffe was satisfied after looking at both areas that the house deserved a historical label. Recycling didn?t exist back in the 19th century, so all inorganic material was dumped in a large hole located at an outlying area. ?There are similar houses up and down the country with these rubbish tips beside them. ?You can tell a lot about people by what they throw away,? she says. Spotting opulent rubbish is a treat for archaeologists? investigating these kinds of sites, with old porcelain and other heirlooms that might have travelled with occupants from their homelands. ?Bones from the Sunday roast, old ceramics and family heirlooms. ?It?s great the things you can tell from such tiny detail; in order to tell the story of the occupants,? says Mrs O?Keeffe.
