Hororata Travel Guide

In 1864 Bentley Coton and his wife bought 50 acres of land at Hororata on the Canterbury Plains. Coton built a small cob cottage that originally consisted of five rooms including an attic bedroom.
The property was susequently purchased by the Oliver family in 1927 and it remained in the family until the 1970's. The cottage was uninhabited throughout this time, and gradually fell into disrepair.
In 1971, the owners offered the cottage and a quarter acre of surrounding land to the government as a reserve. Coton's Cottage became a historic reserve three years later, and the day-to-day management of the reserve was transferred to the Hororata Historical Society. The Society largely rebuilt the cottage in 1977, re-using many of the original materials. Subsequently, the Society moved a second building onto the property as the local museum