Souter House
The soldier of the 3rd Waikato Militia who was granted this one acre section was Theophilus Galway who enrolled on 1 September 1863 in Melbourne Australia.
Souter House was designed by Mr James and built about 1877 of rimu and kauri, with 13 foot studs, small pane windows and finials - which are still intact. As the family, grew additions were made to the house.
This private dwelling belonged to Captain William Souter, a retired sea captain who, in his own ship, carried on trade between Auckland and Australia. He married Sarah in 1862 in Auckland, and they had 3 sons - Joseph, Arthur and Edwin - and 3 daughters - Anne, Violet and Kate. They came to Cambridge about 1877 and established W Souter & Co.
Joseph and Edwin Souter took over this business in 1888 and became very successful general merchants. They moved into the motor industry and stayed with it until 1961 (Souter & Co imported the first Ford Motor Car into the Auckland Province in 1908).
In 1991 it was converted to include a restaurant. In 2007 the restaurant closed its doors and the property was purchased by Herbert Morton Ltd Chartered Accountants.
Protected Trees near Souter House are a Coral tree, Black walnut and Copper beech. The Japanese Momi Fir (which looks like a Christmas tree), was planted in 1905 and is considered the best specimen in the North Island.