Howell’s Cottage ~ Te Whare Kohikohi
Lot 3 DP4512 (RT SLB1/711)

Howell’s Cottage, also known as Te Whare Kohikohi, is believed to be the first house built in Riverton, dating back to 1837–1838. Constructed by Captain John Howell for his wife Kohikohi, it is one of the few surviving New Zealand buildings predating the 1840s.

Originally a four-room timber cottage, it featured:
●      Two bedrooms, a parlour, and a kitchen
●      A hipped roof and lean-to extension
●      Shingle roofing (now corrugated iron)
●      A verandah with concave rafters giving a flared appearance

22 Napier Street, Riverton / Aparima, Southland Region
Note: The cottage is privately owned and not open to the public.
Start Year 1837
Finish Year 1838
Architect: Not formally recorded
Builder: Constructed by Captain John Howell for his wife Kohikohi
Materials: Australian hardwood timber

Nestled in the heart of Riverton/Aparima, Howell’s Cottage is one of New Zealand’s oldest surviving homes, believed to date back to c.1837–1838, although it may have been built closer to the 1860s. It features in an 1862 photograph where the land and dwellings have definite ties to the Howell family.

Commissioned by Captain John Howell, a British trader and whaler, for his first wife Kohikohi. Her status as a high-born Māori wahine from Horomona Patu’s iwi on Centre Island (Whenua Hou) meant their marriage was instrumental in forging peaceful Māori–Pākehā relations and securing land that would become Riverton.

The cottage is constructed with hardwood materials likely brought in via Howell’s ship, the Amazon and originally comprised four rooms — two bedrooms, a parlour, and a kitchen. Over time, a lean-to extension was added and a corrugated iron roof replaced the original shingle cladding.

Set within the original kaik (settlement) where local Māori lived, the cottage signifies a bicultural history as a symbol of diplomacy and domestic life at the time Riverton was emerging as a multi-ethnic community around whaling, trading, and maritime exploration.

Captain Howell’s activities — from establishing one of Southland’s first whaling stations to venturing off to California’s goldfields — helped shape Riverton’s development, and Te Whare Kohikohi remains as a tangible anchor to those foundational years.

Today, Howell’s Cottage is a Heritage New Zealand-listed Category I Historic Place, valued for its rarity, architectural integrity, and deep cultural resonance. Though it is privately owned and not open to the public, it continues to inspire researchers, storytellers, and descendants across generations.

History.

Location of cottage circled on 1874 Map of Riverton

'The Kaik' ; Unknown photographer; 1860-1870; RI.P188.01.3487 - cottage circled in background

Kohikohi Cottage (Howell’s Cottage) c1920s

A Family’s Promise to the Past

The humble timber dwelling, known today as Kohi Kohi’s Cottage, embodies the spirit of the generations, through the memory, love, and the determination of two remarkable descendants: Eva Wilson and her son Neville.

Eva Wilson: Reclaiming a Matriarch’s Story

Eva Wilson was more than a historian—she was a storyteller, a researcher, and a proud great-granddaughter of Captain John Howell and Kohi Kohi Patu.

For most of its life, the cottage remained in family hands. After passing from Howell to his son George, and then to grandson Edmund, it briefly left the family in 1952. But Eva was determined to bring it home, and in 1972, she repurchased the cottage, restoring it to the family’s care.

Eva was the first to call it Kohi Kohi’s Cottage, reframing its identity around its Māori matriarch. She poured her passion into documenting the family’s story, authoring Hakoro ki te Iwi: The Story of Captain Howell and His Family in 1976—a rich blend of whakapapa, oral history, and archival research. She also wrote Titi Heritage: The Story of the Muttonbird Islands, preserving Ngāi Tahu and Kāti Māmoe traditions.

In 1983, Eva built a second house on the property, where she lived until her passing in 1992. That same year, she successfully advocated for the cottage’s Category I Historic Place registration, ensuring its protection for future generations.

Neville Wilson: Keeper of the Cottage

After Eva’s death, her son Neville inherited the property and stepped into the role of guardian. He has lived beside the cottage ever since, quietly preserving its original features—its windows, its shingle roof, its soul.

In 2006, Neville signed the cottage over to the Southland Heritage Building Preservation Trust, securing its long-term restoration. His voice echoes through the Southland Oral History Project, where he shares vivid memories of Riverton, Round Hill, and Orepuki life. At Te Hikoi Museum, photographs show him standing proudly beside the cottage, a living link to its past.

Neville’s care is not just about maintenance—it’s about honouring Eva’s vision and the generations before her. Through his stewardship, Kohi Kohi’s Cottage remains a place of connection, storytelling, and cultural pride.

Eva Wilson at Te Whare Kohikohi 1990

Neville Wilson at Te Whare Kohikohi c 2000s

Stories.

After Kohikohi;

The Story of Sarah and George

When Kohikohi Patu died in 1841, Riverton lost one of its most influential founding figures. Born on Raratoka (Centre Island), Kohikohi was a high-born Māori wahine of chiefly descent, with her father, Horomona Patu, a respected rangatira of the island, and it was to here she returned to be buried on her ancestral island.

Upon her death, she left behind two young children; son George Teoti Robert Howell, aged about three years old and daughter Sarah Ann Maria Tereana Howell, just an infant.

After Kohikohi’s death, Howell remained in Riverton and took responsibility for raising George and Sarah. In 1845, he married Caroline Brown (also known as Koronaki), a part-Māori wahine from Codfish Island (Whenua Hou). Caroline was just 13 years old at the time of their customary marriage, which was later formalised in 1846.

Caroline and Howell went on to have 17 children, forming one of Southland’s largest and most influential settler families, and she became a devoted stepmother to George and Sarah, raising them alongside her own children.

George Howell

George grew up in Riverton, immersed in the whaling, trading, and farming that shaped the early settlement, and as the eldest son, he inherited Te Whare Kohikohi.

In 1862, George married Isabella McNaughton, and together they raised five children within the walls of the cottage. He worked as a farmer and bushman, contributing to the growing community while preserving the stories of Riverton’s earliest days. Locals remembered him for his gentle nature and vivid recollections of the town’s beginnings.

George lived in the cottage until his death in 1937, at the remarkable age of 98, and was laid to rest in Riverton Cemetery. The following year, ownership passed to his son Edmund Howell, continuing the direct line of family stewardship that had begun with Kohikohi herself.

Sarah Howell: A Quiet Legacy

Sarah Ann Cameron, nee Howell, married Scotsman William Cameron at age 15. Her mother died when she a baby, but Sarah formed a lifelong bond with her stepmother Caroline and grew up in a large, sociable household. She and William farmed in Western Southland and later operated the lighthouse on Raratoka, honouring her role as a guardian of her ancestral land.

Sarah and William had 12 children, and her strength and resilience became part of the wider Howell legacy. She passed away on 1 December 1912 in Ormond, Gisborne, and was buried at Makaraka Cemetery on 3 December, aged 73.

Preserving the Story

Much of what we know about Kohikohi, George, and Sarah comes from their descendants—especially Eva Wilson, who documented the family’s history in Hakoro ki te Iwi: The Story of Captain Howell and His Family. Thanks to their efforts, the story of Riverton’s founding family continues to be shared and celebrated.

Re-enacting Riverton’s Beginnings

The townspeople of Riverton have not only remembered but relived its origins through powerful public re-enactments. These events have honoured the bicultural partnership between Captain John Howell and Kohikohi Patu, whose 1836 marriage helped establish Riverton as a place of shared heritage, bridged Māori and Pākehā worlds, and laid the foundation for a community built on connection, resilience, and mutual respect.

1938 Centennial Re-enactments: Honouring Kohikohi and Captain Howell

In the summer of 1938, Riverton came alive with celebration as the town’s Centennial marked the 100 year Legacy of Te Whare Kohikohi

These re-enactments affirmed and celebrated Riverton’s identity and bicultural partnership, and acknowledged the legacy of Kohikohi, who died young but whose influence lived on through her children, George and Sarah, and through the cottage that still bears her name.

As Riverton folk gathered in 1938 and again in 1986, they weren’t just looking back—they were reclaiming and honouring their unique Southern story of connection, resilience, and shared belonging. The celebrations reminded everyone that Riverton’s history is not just colonial—it is woven from Māori and Pākehā threads. Among the parades, dances, and sporting events, one moment stood out: a re-enactment of the arrival of Kohikohi, the first wife of Captain John Howell.

Staged on the beach, the scene recalled the day in 1836 when the young Kāti Māmoe wahine was escorted from Raratoka Island to her new home at the kaik in Aparima. The event had been delayed a year due to an infantile paralysis epidemic, but the spirit of commemoration was undiminished.

Locals gathered to witness the symbolic landing, where Māori in traditional dress mingled with settlers’ descendants, photographers, and dignitaries, in acknowledgement of the woman whose marriage to Howell secured the land between the Waimatuku Stream and Jacobs River. Her dowry and mana helped establish Riverton as a place of shared heritage, and the re-enactment honoured her role as a founding figure.

1986–87 Sesquicentennial Re-enactments

The town once again turned to its origins during the Sesquicentennial celebrations held in December 1986 and January 1987.

Just south of the coastguard station, a replica Māori village was constructed as the scene of the second major re-enactment: the marriage of Captain Howell and Kohikohi Patu. The ceremony, true to the historical detail, honoured their 1836 alliance.

These re-enactments weren’t simply nostalgic—they were affirmations of town’s identity and the bicultural partnership at the heart of the founding of Riverton.

📸 Image Acknowledgement

Special thanks to Te Hikoi Southern Journey Museum for generously allowing the use of images from their eHive collection.