The Bungalow

A bungalow can be described as a single-storied house with a sloping roof, often surrounded by a veranda. The name derives from a Hindi word ‘bangla’ meaning “a house in the Bengali style,” and came into English during the era of the British administration of India.

California bungalows, Alameda, 2016. Photo Shirley Arabin

The 20th century bungalow became a popular house style in North America, Australia and New Zealand. It could be built of timber, plaster, brick, stucco or stone or a mixture of them all. The roof generally sits at a lower angle than the preceding villa style, and roof framing could be exposed at the eaves. Windows were smaller and hinged rather than hung sashes. The big bay window at the front was modified and often curved and clad in shingles on the exterior and inside a window seat. The shingles were very much an expression of its American roots. Decorative touches emerged from the British Arts and Crafts movement and from the American west.

Californian bungalow, Berkeley.  Photo DJ Grubb

The essence of the bungalow in New Zealand was the low roofline and the deep verandahs. There was a move away from the over decoration of the Victorian villa into a plainer and more practical style. In Britain a bungalow was usually a one story seaside house expressing the Arts and Crafts style, while in America it is known as a Craftsman house and often two storied, but the relationship still existed in the different locations. The roof and verandah were supported at the front of the house by sturdy piers of timber and often stone. Lead lights and stained glass featured in the windows and the interiors frequently had substantial varnished timber panelling in the major rooms, with plaster ceilings divided by boards. Door plates and handles could be copper or bronze in Art Nouveau or Art Deco motifs, and a copper hood over an open fire could be another feature. Modern facilities like electric power and indoor plumbing improved on the simpler villas. In Australia the Federation houses incorporated the bungalow style, generally with more decoration on gables and roof lines. The extent of the decoration depended on the original price of the house.

Fairview, Matheson homestead, Otumoetai. Photo Gainfort collection

A good example of a Tauranga Arts and Crafts house, Fairview the home of the late Alister Matheson in Matua was demolished some years ago. Alister's grandfather, Robert Matheson, made three purchases of land on the site of Ōtūmoetai Pā and established a 123 acre block. The Pā was originally part of the Tauranga land raupatu (confiscation) by the Government following the Tauranga battles of the New Zealand Wars in 1864, and the Matheson homestead was built in the 1920s.

The farm extended from the seashore to Otumoetai road, and the boundary with the Tollemache farm. In 1999 Alister Matheson received the Tauranga Heritage Award for his contributions to preserving and documenting Tauranga's history. He was a prolific writer for the Historic Review, The Bay of Plenty Historic Journal and published two books. The remnants of Fairview were sold to the Tauranga City Council in 2004 and became the Otumoetai Pa Historic Reserve.

Mr D G Jack's house , The Camp, Tauranga. Feb 1922. Photo Brain Watkins House Collection

 Sources

Stock N & Reynolds P, Bungalow: from heritage to contemporary, Random House NZ. 2014
http://tauranga.kete.net.nz/tauranga_local_history/topics/show/1088-alister-hugh-matheson-1925-2011

Note (27 Jan 2020): This article has been amended to reflect that the Otumoetai Pā was not deserted after the New Zealand Wars in 1864, but that it formed part of the raupatu (confiscation) by the Government following the Tauranga battles.