Michells Cottage: Stonework and Resilience
Mitchell’s Cottage is a beautifully preserved schist homestead set among schist rock tors and tussock on the edge of the Old Man Range / Kōpūwai, just off State Highway 8 in Fruitlands, between Roxburgh and Alexandra. Built by hand in the late 1800s, it’s one of New Zealand’s best surviving examples of settler stone masonry, and a testament to skill, isolation, and determination.
A short walking track loops around the cottage, rock tors, outbuildings, shrubs and old fruit trees. Interpretation panels provide explanations of the construction techniques, and benches and rock platforms are perfect for a picnic.
A Landmark of Local Stone
The cottage was built by Andrew Mitchell, a stonemason from the Shetland Islands, for his brother, John, and his sister-in-law, Jessie. Construction began around 1880 and continued for more than 20 years. Using schist sourced from the surrounding land, Andrew laid every stone without mortar, creating a five-room house, sundial, stone-walled garden, and several outbuildings.
The workmanship is precise and enduring — each stone carefully fitted, each corner balanced. The dry Central Otago climate helped preserve the structure, and in 1980, it was protected as a historic reserve. Today, the cottage remains open and unfurnished, with interpretive signs and walking access across the site.
Tors, Tussock and Distant Views
The cottage sits among a field of schist tors that rise from the golden tussock like natural sculptures. These were formed over millions of years through frost shattering and erosion, giving the landscape a weathered, ancient feel.
From the garden wall, you can see across the Fruitlands basin toward Flat Top Hill and the Knobby Range to the east. Above the cottage are some large, interesting rock formations, with a modern house perched amongst the rocks. Early mornings bring long light over the hills, while late afternoon shadows stretch across the rock-strewn slopes.
A Harsh Life on the Hill
The land around Mitchell’s Cottage was first worked during the gold rush, but the area known as Bald Hill Flat proved difficult to farm or settle long-term. After World War I, it was renamed Fruitlands as part of a soldier resettlement scheme that planted thousands of fruit trees. Most failed due to frost and wind, and there are some ruined stone buildings on the east side of the road. The Mitchells endured regardless, farming sheep and maintaining the stone homestead until the 1950s.
Andrew Mitchell also built a sundial still standing near the house, and possibly the Whites Hut further up Symes Road — another dry-stone structure now partly in ruins.
Getting There and Exploring
Mitchell’s Cottage is signposted off State Highway 8 about 27 km north of Roxburgh and 13 km south of Alexandra. Turn onto Symes Road and follow the gravel track for 2.5 kilometres to the car park, accessible to 2WD vehicles. From there, you can continue up Symes Road, on the side of the range, to the Obelisk / Kōpūwai Conservation Reserve, best attempted in a 4WD.
Other nearby places to visit include Roxburgh Dam, Butchers Gully and Conroys Gully.
