‘I will treasure for the rest of my life an intimate encounter with heritage that began one evening along the Janet Frame Heritage Trail in Oamaru.  As I read the brochure I noted that 56 Eden Street would not be included.  The omission had such a power of attraction that I soon found myself standing in front of the house.  I looked at its condition, its unpainted walls nested in knee-high grass.  There were no lights.  How could such a significant feature in the New Zealand cultural landscape be so neglected? And how could it be saved?’  ~ Bill Tramposch.

Bill and Peggy Tramposch went on to buy the house, set up a Trust, and establish funding for the restoration of the house.  The property, 56 Eden Street, is now owned and administered by the Janet Frame Eden Street Trust.

The Trustees are: Chloe Searle (chair), Katherine Miller (treasurer), Karen Ross (friends) and Kate Camp (trustee).

The establishment of the Trust was undertaken with the support of Janet Frame and her sister June Gordon who assisted with the re-framing of the property and the work of the Trust.

The curator at 56 Eden Street is Rachel Fenton who is assisted by a very able and enthusiastic band of volunteers on Sunday afternoons.

’56 Eden Street has been restored with an historian’s reverence and care, yet it does not all have the chill or distance of a museum. It feels like a family home.’ ~ Anna Smaill, writer.