Visit the Janet Frame House in Otago

If you’re a fan of the writing of Janet Frame, then this is a unique opportunity not to be missed. The property as it stands today is the story of the re-framing of this modest dwelling.  At each step the work has been carefully carried out to ensure that no permanent damage was done to the original fabric. The key rooms are very much as they looked during the Frame residency.  The dining room (with its original lino) and the bedrooms have not changed since those days. The kitchen has been rebuilt according to the recollections of Janet and her younger sister, June Gordon. The house is not a restoration, it has become what is now called a re-framing, a combination of known facts and recollections.  In many ways, the house is as the first lines in To the Is-Land; ‘… with its mixture of fact and truths and memories of truths…’

Who was Janet Frame?

Janet Frame was a leading New Zealand writer of novels, short fiction, and poetry. Her works were noted for their explorations of alienation and isolation. Among her more famous works are Owls do Cry and To the Is-Land.

The house and garden are presented with honesty, sensitivity and artistic flare. Nothing is overstated, nothing overlooked. Readers of her work will find great satisfaction in seeing the originals referred to in Frame’s work: a hillside, a seat by the kitchen range – but no visitor could leave without a greater insight into the life of the child who grew up here and became the writer, Janet Frame.

The house has an entry fee of $5.

  • Monday – 14:00 to 16:00
  • Tuesday – 14:00 to 16:00
  • Wednesday – 14:00 to 16:00
  • Thursday – 14:00 to 16:00
  • Friday – 14:00 to 16:00
  • Saturday – 14:00 to 16:00
  • Sunday – 14:00 to 16:00

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