Asbestos Cottage

The place

Historic DOC cottage in a grassy clearing of the Cobb Valley (Kahurangi National Park, Nelson/Tasman), with views over the valley. Period furnishings preserved: deer skins on the floor, walls papered with magazines, original garden (gooseberries, currants, hellebores, daffodils). **Built in 1897 by asbestos prospectors.** From 1914, Annie Fox and Henry Chaffey lived there in near-seclusion for almost 40 years: Annie was fleeing an abusive marriage, and the couple married at the cottage in 1932. Henry died in 1951, Annie took her own life in 1953. **Asbestos decontamination work completed by DOC in 1997.** Access: new Asbestos Cottage Track (2 h) from the high point of Cobb Dam Road — the old track is closed due to high asbestos concentrations near the mine. Free.