William Cottrell

In the late 1980s William Cottrell packed in his job as a film editor at TVNZ and went overseas. While travelling in Europe he decided to turn his passion for antique furniture into more than just an interest and took up an elite apprenticeship with master furniture- restorer David Hordern in London. Back home in New Zealand, William has earned himself a prestigious reputation for retrieving and reinstating over-restored and badly damaged pieces of period European and New Zealand colonial furniture. His unique line of work has made for some interesting stories.

He has had classic and invaluable furniture pass through his hands and has worked on pieces by the likes of Thomas Chippendale and William Kent. Te Papa's curator of applied arts paid him a visit just prior to the Museum's completion and was bowled over by the extent of William's own collection of New Zealand early settler furniture. Te Papa ended up purchasing around a third of the pieces William had in his possession at that time.

In 2002 William, his Italian wife Simonetta Ferrari and their children moved to Gunyah, an Edwardian homestead near Darfield. Gunyah is a ten-hectare estate, with 30 rooms and, of course, a huge collection of antique furniture. Even the children's bedrooms house remarkable collections. At Gunyah William continues his restoration business and the family run a retreat for tourists in the homestead.