BART: I grew up in Wellington but I have a connection to Wairarapa – my family on mum's side have been there for some time. Mum moved back to Masterton when I was 15, when my dad died. I was painting mum's shed for her one day and I had this overwhelming feeling that I should move there. I asked Mum if I could put a little house on her block of land, out of Carterton. She said she'd love that.
I was working in this delicatessen in Masterton making coffee, living in a caravan. This guy Jim was a building recycler, but he hates knocking down buildings, especially if they're nice old wooden ones. He always tries to resell the materials or, even better, resell the house to someone else who wants to remove it from the land. He was a regular in the deli, and one day he was trying to sell the customers a little smoko room from this industrial part of Masterton. He had pictures of it on his phone. I knew if I looked at it I'd probably want it. Eventually I was like, "OK, give me a look at the photos." And I was like, "Argh! I Love it!" He goes, "Come on. Just buy it off me. Otherwise I'm going to have to knock it down." I was like, "I can't, it's too much of a project." He sold it to me for $2500.
The former smoko room has now become an idyllic shelter, reflecting the seasons, where everyone is welcome.
A local removal company plonked it down on the land and I got into doing it up. It's only 50 square metres. It was lined with all kinds of materials like MDS but underneath the bones were mostly old native timbers from the 60s. It had nails sticking out of the walls with people's names or nicknames on them where people used to hang their cups. It was full of paper towel dispensers and soap dispensers.
It's got three rooms. There used to be two toilets – one's now the bathroom and one's the study. There's an open-plan kitchen and bedroom and living space.
Bart's Homewood woodburner was made in New Zealand. His power station is a unique feature of the house.
I gibbed it inside and connected it to solar panels with my friend Ed. His way is sort of DIY – you can tailor-make it to your lifestyle. The house ended up being like something from pre-internet era – all wood and simple technologies – and then it suddenly jumps right into the future: high-tech in a small way.
It's all about living close to the land and having a sensitivity of the kind of impacts that modern comforts have on the resources around us. We collect rainwater, we compost our number twos. We produce our own energy. There's a spirit of celebrating human ingenuity, and not being reliant on big firms providing you this thing you don't understand, but you know that you want.
The kitchen has a beautiful view.
There's a lot of fun in that, a lot of adventure and satisfaction. I have an intimate relationship with the amount of energy I produce, the amount of energy I can store. I think there's an element of personal sovereignty to knowing whether your water comes from, your energy and all that, and being part of the system. You're your own electrician, you're your own plumber. Of course, sometimes you've got to call in some friends.
When people come round for the first time, they notice something different. There's an element of excitement and then curiosity: people wanting to know whether I ever run out of power, how I cook on the wood range. There's the power station – that's very unusual, most houses don't have this cupboard with wires and lights and bits and pieces. There's the composting toilet – often people have never used one before. They're like, "How does it work, what do I need to do?", "What if you get up late and you really need to have breakfast and make some toast?"
A pinboard in the kitchen highlights Bart's interests.
I got the Homewood stove brand new from a New Zealand company. It cost much more than the house, like, $8500. They're made for wood. If you tried to get a second-hand one, they're generally designed for coal. These have these lovely big wood boxes so you can chuck in some big logs. I get the wood from a local mate who sometimes rings me up and goes, "Bart! I think you might be due some wood." I got lucky finding him. I also cut some up from a willow patch down the back of the property.
The fire depends on what type of wood you use. A lot of people told me that willow was no good because as soon as you put it in the fire, it's almost gone. But it explodes into heat and generates such intensity for a short period of time, it's enough to boil the jug and make some toast. I can pretty much have coffee and toast on the bench in 10-15 minutes from a cold start. The cast iron retains its thermal mass from burning the night before. If you tried to do tried to do that with macrocarpa, or Old Man's Pine, you're looking at more like 25.
Bart has deep roots in the Wairarapa region.
It had always been my dream to have a little shelter reflecting the seasons. In winter you've got this cabin you retreat into and you want everything within reach, and one central area you can heat and be cosy. In summer, the idea is that it opens up as much as possible. The air just flows through. It becomes a place to retreat to when there's rain or you need shade, and somewhere to store your food and clothes, but really you're just ranging around in the landscape.
The house is designed for people to traipse in and out. Anyone can come and camp whenever they want, or come and stay. It's got a sanctuary-type feeling to it, but it's not precious. People come and get their time out there. Every year we have a New Year's festival. Anywhere between 20 and 40 people – lots of kids – stay for almost a week. Some people sleep on trees on mattresses, others in tents. We play some backyard cricket and cook together. That's been going for the last seven years.
The study is one of three rooms in the house.
Mum lived on the land 60 years ago. There's an oak tree she planted next to the house. She lives in Masterton now. But there's a little 10 square metre hut next to the house and she lives in that when I can get her. She doesn't realise, but she doesn't drive anymore – she's got dementia. I go and collect her and I have her at home for as long as I can. She sleeps in her little hut. It's really nice.