Katherine Mansfield House & Garden

In Thorndon, Katherine Mansfield House & Garden preserves the colonial home where the writer was born and spent her first five years. The restored rooms give a sense of 19th-century family life, with period furnishings, photographs and objects connected to Mansfield. Look for her desk and embroidered Russian jacket, then follow the upstairs timeline through her life. The garden adds a quiet pause to a visit focused on Wellington’s literary history. An ‘I Spy’ activity sheet gives children a way to explore the house.

The house in Thorndon

Katherine Mansfield was born at this Tinakori Road address in 1888 and lived here for the first five years of her life. The house has been restored as a Victorian family home, with furnishings that evoke the period. Not every piece belonged to Mansfield’s family, but the rooms offer a view of the domestic setting of colonial Wellington in the 19th century.

The house’s history changed after the family left. It was later divided into flats, and its connection to Mansfield was largely forgotten. It now presents the home as a heritage museum, with objects and displays linking the building to the writer’s early life.

Objects and the life timeline

Photographs, furnishings and other objects help tell Mansfield’s story. Her desk is among the items on display, and an embroidered Russian jacket connected to her is another notable object. The jacket’s embroidery is also used on bookmarks and other souvenirs.

An upstairs timeline traces Mansfield’s life and gives visitors a way to follow her story through the house. She left New Zealand for Europe at 20 to pursue her writing career. Although she spent only her early childhood in this home, many of her short stories are set in Wellington.