The Sound of Rain

Auckland’s smallest house stands on a tiny plot of land in Potters Park, Mt Eden, surrounded by lush grass. The bronze artwork was created by Auckland-based artist John Radford, in honour of the park’s late landowner, Frederick Seymour Potter. Less than a metre wide, this sculpture is a miniature replica of Potter’s family home, which he built and lived in until his death in 1941.

The Sound of Rain points to the New Zealand quarter-acre-section dream and weatherboard villas that were built in the 1900s. There are phrases that refer to the land’s history as a council-run fruit and vegetable plantation, used for fundraising during WWII. Out front is a welcome in Māori and English, with the words vegetable garden and plum tree inscribed out the back. Radford also created small-scale, hand-crafted furniture and installed fibre optic lighting. At night, a warm glow comes from the villa’s windows, turning the house into a tiny beacon within the park.

Potter, an English-born businessman and philanthropist, donated land to various organisations across Auckland on the condition that they would be used as places for children to play. He gifted the corner section encompassing Potter’s Park to the former Mt Eden Borough Council in 1916 and this work was commissioned by the Eden Albert Community Board for the Dominion Centenary in September 2007.