Maker: Alison Elliott

Panel number: 359

Petition sheet number: 430

Person honouring: Hannah McLean

Relationship to maker: Geographical

Duart House and garden in Havelock North is where Hannah lived from 1883 until 1914. With assistance from her children, she established the garden. The house and garden are now owned by Hastings city and maintained for public use.

Hannah was born to Margaret and John Chambers in North Adelaide, South Australia, in 1849. The Chambers family moved to New Zealand in 1854. John Chambers became a significant landowner in Hawke’s Bay, and his family lived in the homestead ‘Te Mata’ (adjacent to the present Te Mata Estate vineyard).

In 1870 Hannah married Allan ‘Tuki’ McLean who farmed Tukituki Station. He was 15 years her senior and has been described as a rather severe gentleman. The couple had nine children: John (1871), Margaret (1872), Mary (1873), Jessie (1875), twins Flora and Isabel (1877), Allan (1880), Walter (1882), and Nigel (1884).

Allan sold Tukituki Station in order to move his family closer to school in Havelock (North). Allan retired and bred racehorses. He built a mansion called Duart, specifying a design to remind him of a castle owned by the McLeans in Scotland.

Hannah’s husband did not believe in the cultivation of gardens – but following his death in 1898, Hannah immediately sold 150 acres around Duart. With her children she established a garden around the house. Many of the trees they planted still survive in the garden today. SInce 1972, Duart House has been used for events and functions, under council control.

Hannah died in 1914.

Panel materials: The fabric of the panel was second-hand and possibly linen. Thread used is a mix of both cotton (DMC) and linen. The purple and green trim was purchased recently in Japan. The two photographs on the panel are from  In other days: a history of the Chambers family of Te Mata by SW Grant.