Passing through Neudorf, it is hard to miss the old, dilapidated but strangely beautiful building sitting just off the roadside. Once known as a Bush House, its earliest record dates to an 1843 survey. By the 1860s it was operating as a hotel and accommodation house, serving travellers heading to the goldfields.
Franz Seiboth applied for an accommodation licence in November 1872 for the house, which included outhouses on 25 acres of freehold land and another 119 acres of leasehold land, all in bush. His 1876 application was later declined for not being in the proper form and not being publicly displayed as required. He was told to wait for the next licensing meeting.
A year later, Seiboth was charged with using offensive language towards J. Dencker. He admitted to the offence but said Dencker had made him very angry. It is believed Seiboth was not fluent in English, as Mr Bossemann acted as an interpreter during the case.
In early 1878, he sold his property by auction, including household furniture, utensils and 30 sheep.
William and Hannah Perry bought the property sometime after and converted the former hotel into a family home. The couple had arrived in New Zealand in 1859 on the ship Queen of the Avon, disembarking in Wellington before travelling to Nelson. They first settled in Waimea East before purchasing virgin land in Upper Moutere.
Hannah died in 1895 aged 61 and was buried at Moutere Hills Cemetery on Gardener Valley Road. William retired in 1902 and moved to Taranaki, where he died in 1925.
Their son George later took over the property, although the exact date is unclear. Several children were born in the old house, and the family lived there until around 1916, when they moved into a new home across the road.
Mounted on the front of the building is a plaque reading Wyperserfontein. The name came about accidentally after a parcel arrived for Mrs Perry addressed to Mendory, Wyperserfontein, Nelson. Meaning wine press fountain, the unusual name amused the Perrys enough that they added it to the house around 1930.
Today, the building, derelict and sagging, still creates a striking image along Neudorf Road, drawing passing drivers to stop for photographs. There have been plans to restore it, but the work would be extensive and expensive. For now, the old building stands quietly, waiting for whatever the future may bring.
