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Lavaud's cottage

Details

built c.1842, demolished about 1912

Tremewan archive:
Lavaud to Minister of the Navy and Colonies, Paris. Allier, Akaroa, 7 June 1842
'.... Today, as I find myself able to divert a few workers from their duties without
anything going awry, I wanted Your Excellency to be aware that I have engaged them
to build a small wooden house for me. This shall be one storey only and have two
little rooms. All I need from the corvette is some man-power, a few pounds of nails
that I was given at Brest as items of exchange, and some lime to whitewash it, as I do
not want to waste oil paint on it. I did not have anything appropriate on land for when
I had to spend the day there and so I hope that Your Excellency will not begrudge me
this. ....'

AnonymousletterstotheMagasinpittoresque,XI,47(November1843),
pp.373-6. Thefirst of these two letters was written from Akaroa in early April 1843, the
second from Auckland on 9 June, presumably by an officer ontheRhin.

'.... The Rhin is moored near the main French settlement. This little village is made up of some fifty houses. We own a quite nice little house there, with two bedrooms with fireplaces and an attic. Up until now it is the only government hotel.....'

Captain François Leconte to the Minister of the Navy and Colonies. Cherbourg, 29 March 1847.

[footnote: Jakob Waeckerle was to look after the naval commander's house and garden in Akaroa township.]

'Mr Billlins himself afterwards owned the cottage erected by French sailors for Commodore Lavaud, and there several members of his family were born.'
Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LIX, Issue 6184, 28 February 1936, Page 4