About us 

Earl and Pam welcome you to their accommodation at Lauder and hope your stay is an enjoyable experience for you.
We have farmed sheep cattle and deer at Becks since 1981 shifting from Lawrence with our three children now all married with six delightful  granchildren for us to spoil.

Earl is the fourth generation of the Harrex family to farm in the area therefore we both appreciate  the historical history and scenery the area has to offer visitors. Glen and Renee now farm at Becks.
We have been involved with Farm Stays and Station To Station 4WD Tours hosting guests in our own home for many years.
We are both involved with our local community, Earl being a member of the Omakau Lions Club for fifteen years.

The Lauder property was purchased in May 2007 and commenced the project to convert to accommodation in January 2008 completing in October 2008.
Pam has now retired after twenty years of nursing at Ranfurly and Dunstan  Hospitals and they are both excited to have a new focus in our lives.

About the Lauder Store

The Lauder Store is the third general store, built in the 1900’s and served the local district until 1995 when it closed.

The house at the rear of the store was relocated by the previous owners and used as a private home.
The Reception Area, Arkwrights Snug and bathrooms are new extensions.

We were able to remove the plaster over the sun-dried mud brick walls in the store to show guests the original features of the building. These walls have been sealed for protection.

Mud brick, made from mud and water was used for building in Central Otago as the lack of trees growing for timber was a problem. Mud brick retains warmth in winter and has a cooling effect in summer.

The small exterior room to the side of the store was the local butcher shop. The concrete bench is still there. A smaller room at the rear of this building was the killing shed.

The late Mr Bill Harley was the previous owner of the store and used to live in Lauder – the home is now a B&B situated beside Lauder Hall.
His wife (aged 90) lives in Dunedin and his family kindly gave us the Lauder Store docket framed in Reception.

The old photo of the Store at the top of this page and on the home page was found in the wall when demolishing the middle section, not dated. It gave us the idea of returning the front of the store to its original look.