In 1875, when a large block of land on the upper stretches of Rue Jolie was sold off in building lots, this section was bought by James Harris, a gardener. He paid £60 for the section, then in 1878 took out a mortgage for £200, almost surely to build this cottage.
The cottage was sold in 1881 to a prominent businessman, James Garwood, who leased it to the McGregor family. The McGregors bought it in 1883, and they and their descendants owned it until 1981.
Additions were built at the rear of the cottage in the early years of the 20th century. But its attractive frontage, with three dormers with casement windows and a bull-nosed verandah which has the double posts and latticed ends typical of other Akaroa dwellings, is more or less original.
