This cottage takes its popular name from tall Nikau palms in its garden. The palm is important to Banks Peninsula because, common in warmer parts of the country, it reaches its southern limit in a gully near the Akaroa Heads.
The cottage was built on land bought by Frederick Pavitt in 1858. It was sold on in 1864 to Henry Watkins, a druggist, and in 1870 to James Annand, a bootmaker. Annand sold it just four years later, in 1874.
The cottage could have been built by any of these owners between 1858 and 1874. It was built in two stages, with the section that has its gable end right on the street added to the original cottage. The size and style of the original wing suggest it was built earlier rather than later. It may have been built by Frederick Pavitt in 1858.
This is the only survivor of a row of three simple early cottages. The loss of its two companions in the 1990s was a serious blow to Akaroa’s historic and architectural heritage.
