56 Eden Street

"I wanted an imagination that would inhabit a world of fact, descend like a shining light upon the ordinary life of Eden Street ... I wanted the light to shine upon the pigeons of Glen Street, the plum trees in our garden, the two japonica bushes ... our pine plantations and gully, our summer house, our lives, and our home, the world of Oamaru, the kingdom by the sea."

To The Is-Land, Janet Frame

56 Eden Street was home to Janet Frame from 1931 - 1943. It is open to the public from November 1 to April 30 each year, 2.00pm - 4.00pm daily. $5 suggested donation.

Eden Street is administered by the Janet Frame Eden Street Trust, PO Box 180, Oamaru.

NB: The Janet Frame Literary Trust is the charitable trust that controls the literary estate of Janet Frame. Janet Frame founded the Trust in 1999 and on her death in 2004, bequeathed her copyright to the Trust and directed that the ongoing royalty and other income be used to give grants to other New Zealand writers of poetry and imaginative fiction. For more information, go to www.janetframe.org.nz

Background on the Eden Street project:

The Janet Frame Eden Street Trust protects the girlhood home of Janet Frame as a residence for writers, a place where literary imagination is nurtured and sustained.

Peggy Tramposch, former Chair of the Janet Frame Eden Street Trust, talks about how this project came about:

"In June 2002, we bought the unoccupied and neglected girlhood home of Janet Frame at 56 Eden Street on Oamaru. We knew the house deserved to be saved because of its significiance as a cultural icon. But who was to save it was another matter. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust couldn't purchase it since the Trust has no acquisitions budget, and there was no apparent interest from the Waitaki District Council to own it. To protect the house we decided to buy it ourselves.

The house needed a new roof, window frames were rotten, the entire interior and exterior needed paint, and the kitchen had to be replaced. As we wondered how to proceed, Bill imagined obtaining an oral history on the house and neighbourhood from Janet herself. Michael King, Janet's renowned biographer, suggested we write to Janet, but that she might not respond. Bill wrote to Janet. After several weeks, she wrote back saying he could come to visit.

The first meeting between Janet and Bill was the beginning of an unexpected and delightful friendship. Janet related many of her memories of the house and of Oamaru. Her sister, June Gordon, provided us with detailed information ranging from the varieties of wallpaper to the patterns of lino on the floor. As the refurbishment progressed, so did our thoughts of what should become of the house. We formed a trust with the intention that one day the house could be used as a writers' residence and offer to others what Janet always yearned for: 'a quiet place to be alone with my thoughts'.

Originally, we considered restoring the house to its appearance when the Frame family lived there. Since those days, however, the original weatherboards had been covered with roughcast plaster and the windows had been changed. But Janet herself suggested we leave it as is. She seemed to like the fact that the house looked better now than when the Frames lived there. So, we are careful to state that this project is not a restoration. Today the house is like Janet's own biography, 'a mixture of fact and truths and memories of truths'. It is now what we are fondly calling a 're-framing'.

The life of this project has come from Janet and her sister, June. Their oral histories informed us about details that would have otherwise been lost. Except for a 'new' kitchen, the house was remarkably unchanged since the Frame family lived there from 1931-1944. We know what the furniture was, where it was placed, and who slept where. Janet described the kitchen with the coal bin next to the Shacklock stove where she would sit, read and go on her "adventures."

The first phase of this project is now nearly completed. To celebrate, Helen Clark, who was in Oamaru for the heritage celebrations, came to 56 Eden Street to see the project. Janet contributed one of her typewriter ribbons to string across the door to mark the occasion. We would not have progressed this far without generosity from many quarters. The law firm of Berry and Co., Oamaru, provided pro bono legal assistance to form the charitable trus. Geral Lynch-Blosse, master carpenter, attende to the interior of the house with skill and flair; Dave Cunningham painted every surface; Don McCone replace the roof; Grame Clark upgraded the wiring giving great care to period details. And every step of the process was managed by Alison Albiston, the Manager of the Burnside Homestead in Oamau. Without her indefatigable assistance, the project would not have been completed.

A generous gift from a personal friend and an interest-free loan from an anonymous donor allowed us to complete the refurbishment ahead of schedule. The second phase of the project is now underway. We will look for funds and develop a strategy to indentify and recruit writers to occupy the house."

Donations are always needed to secure the house and develop a fund for writers. Gifts are tax deductible.

Updated information
In 2005 the administration of 56 Eden Street passed to the Janet Frame Eden Street Trust Board whose members are Alison Albiston (historic Burnside Homestead manager), Carol Berry (Chair), Roger Hall (playwright), Karen Ross (NZ Book Council past Director), and Gordon Scott (accountant).
Advisors to the Board are Peggy and Bill Tramposch, Owen Jones and Pamela Gordon.

Curator Ralph Sherwood supervises the house when it is open to the public.

Local support has been very evident, with volunteers helping with both the supervision programme and donations of suitable 1930s household items. Care has been taken with reframing the house, with its mixture of memories and truth…With the gentle advice of June Gordon, the past is evoked in the space once occupied by the young Janet Frame as she learnt to love words.

Visitors sitting at Janet Frame’s desk often write a sentence or two in the Visitors’ Book, sharing the significance they feel about being in this place. It needs to remain austere, interesting and authentic. At the same time, information on Janet Frame is available to scholar and tourist alike. Thus, one of New Zealand’s most remarkable writers is celebrated.

Random House publications of Frame’s books are available at the property with stickers to mark the place of purchase. Bookmarks and postcards are also available.
The Board plans to develop a programme of literary activities at the house and over the year, such occasions as the announcement of Janet Frame Literary Awards and a public address by Pamela Gordon on her work as Janet Frame’s literary executor have been held.

The Oamaru Campus of the Polytechnic plans to use 56 Eden Street as a venue for Creative Writing classes and such events as the NZ Story-Tellers Guild’s 'Framing the Forties' on October 19th sees the property developing into a place where the celebration of literary imagination can grow.

Information on 56 Eden Street is available at the Oamaru Visitor Centre, phone (03) 434 1656 or see www.tourismwaitaki.co.nz