Te Puke Awa, 486 Manutahi Road (circa 1890s-1900s)

This large single-storey homestead was constructed for Harper Brison Lepper and his family in the late 1890s or early 1900s. 

The land on which the house stands was originally granted to Colonel Maxwell Lepper (for whom Lepperton is named), in recognition of his services in the Taranaki Wars. The land then passed to Colonel Maxwell's son, Charles Maxwell Lepper, who subdivided the land, and conveyed this portion to his brother, Harper Brison Lepper, in 1882. 

An older home on the property was destroyed by fire, and necessitated the building of the present home. During its construction, Harper, his wife Evelyn, and their children, lived in an old jam factory located on the northeast corner of Corbett an Manutahi Roads.

The homestead remains in the Lepper family, with current owners (2018), Graeme and Robyn Lepper.

See: Taranaki Land Deeds Index I7, page 328