Broadgreen Historic House is a two-storey cob cottage, built in 1855. When you walk through the door you are truly taking a step back in time!

Wander through Victorian rooms, elaborately furnished with ornaments, gadgets and art from Nelson’s past. Explore bedrooms of the past, a gentleman’s study and a fully equipped kitchen and dairy. Learn about the the Buxton and Langbein families who lived here and experience what domestic life was like for European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Enjoy various exhibitions throughout the year, and for fashion history fans, there are garments on display from Broadgreen’s nationally significant textile and costume collection.

Children can ride the large rocking horse or play in the ‘box room’, an interactive space to dress up, and learn about history through fun activities.

Complement your visit to Broadgreen Historic House by taking a stroll through the beautiful Samuels Rose Gardens which features hundreds of different roses, varieties both old and new.

Established in 1968, Samuels Rose Gardens contain 560 named varieties and over 3000 plants including Slaters Crimson China Rose - the first variety of rose grown in New Zealand.

Early settlers brought their favourite roses with them, as roses are only native to the Northern hemisphere. The gardens are named after the late Stephen James (Jim) Samuels, a rose nurseryman, who donated both the rose stock and bud wood and undertook the budding assisted by his wife, Rima. You can read more about Jim and Rima on the Te Tauihu history site, The Prow.

The land was once part of the Broadgreen homestead and was purchased by Nelson City Council when it bought Broadgreen Historic House in 1965. The rose gardens were officially opened on Rose Sunday, 17 November 1968.

In the beginning, 2,056 bushes were planted in the new civic garden. Over the years, the Nelson Rose Society and Heritage Rose Society have added new cultivars to the collection, and Nelson City Council continues to upgrade the rose stock as part of its continued management of the garden. The garden now boasts around 3000 plants.

A free catalogue listing current plantings of rose varieties in the garden can be obtained from reception at Broadgreen House.

The Broadgreen Centre was constructed in 1999 and officially opened in February 2000 by Dame Catherine Tizard GCMG, GCVO, DBE, QSO, who was Governor-General of New Zealand from 1990 to 1996.

The front office provides an attractive reception area for visitors to the house and a purpose built storeroom houses some of the unique textile collection.

The Le Cren Room in the Broadgreen Centre is available to hire. It has French doors opening onto the grounds. Next door to the meeting room is a small, fully-equipped kitchen with a serving hatch opening into the meeting room. Facilities include a wheelchair accessible toilet. The Le Cren Room is used regularly for community group meetings and functions.