On Monday the 9th of November 2015 the International Summer School students went to Olveston House. 

We had a guided tour and explored the house. I thought it was very interesting to see how rich people lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. We were told that there were only four family members however there were up to twelve staff or servants.

The interior was quite impressive and I really liked the Juliet room where the women of the house and their guests had their own little space to talk and look down on the ball room. We got to learn many things about Olveston and the people who lived there – especially the son who went to fight in WWI and the daughter who loved mountain climbing. She ended up living there on her own for nearly thirty years until the house was gifted to the city of Dunedin in the 1960’s.

I really enjoyed my visit because although my family have taken me to many special places in Germany, I thought “this is my dream house”.