Brown Gables (207 Hurstmere Road)

Shortly after World War I, George Nicks built his family home in the fashionable English Cottage style, characterised by bold roof lines and large picture windows. Brown Gables was built with the finest timber from his mill, the exterior being kauri weatherboard, and finished with the best materials. All of the windows have lead canes. Subsequent owners have modernised and added their own touches to the property, such as the addition of the portico in the mid-1990s, but the house still retains its original feel. Note the giant phoenix palm in the front garden, which possibly dates to William Hurst’s tree planting efforts in the late 1860s, when the area along the ocean side of Hurstmere Road was known as The Plantation.

Continue walking along Hurstmere Road.