Welcome back Mona Vale - we've missed you!

The doors to the historic Mona Vale Homestead have been thrown open to the public for the first time since the February earthquake.

The picturesque Homestead, with its pressed copper ceilings and ornate woodwork, has been strengthened and meticulously restored over the past two years to ensure it continues to stand as a lasting example of the beauty and grandeur of a bygone era.

The restored Mona Vale Homestead.

"The Homestead has been painstakingly reassembled, brick by brick, so it looks just as it did beforehand – only now it has a steel and timber structure behind the façade that will ensure its future is at least as long as its history,” said Fendalton Councillor Jamie Gough, who officially re-opened Mona Vale this morning.

Mona Vale was built in the late 19th century for Christchurch accountant Frederick Weymouth and was originally name Karewa. It was renamed Mona Vale in 1905 when it was bought by heiress Annie Townsend. The property changed hands several times between then and the 1960s when the threat of the Homestead’s extensive grounds being subdivided sparked a public campaign to save the property.

The Homestead passed into public ownership in 1969 and is classed by Heritage New Zealand and Christchurch City Council as being of the highest possible heritage significance.

The Homestead’s unreinforced brick construction meant it was badly damaged in the February 2011 earthquake but the Council’s Heritage Programme Team have repaired and strengthened the homestead to 67 per cent of the New Building Standard and upgraded its heating and lighting systems.

Cr Gough, whose family owned Mona Vale from 1939 to 1962, said he was delighted to see Mona Vale once again ready to receive visitors and host events - just as it did when his family lived there.

“The Homestead as we see it today has undergone quite the transformation – from a picture of collapsed masonry and extensive damage into a seismically-strengthened masterpiece that can once again play a significant role in the life of Christchurch,’’ Cr Gough said.

Other treasured heritage buildings within the grounds of Mona Vale are also being repaired. Repairs have already been completed on the Mona Vale Fernery and Mona Vale Lodge while repair work is currently under way on the Mona Vale Gate House. The historic rose garden wall and the Mona Vale Bath House are next on the list.