Who We Are
People Who Saw Something Others Didn’t
We weren’t looking for a business.
We were looking for space to breathe, a place for our daughters, Holly and Rose, to run wild, and perhaps a corner of the world where life could move more gently.
What we found was a calling we didn’t see coming.
The first day we drove up that winding road and saw the old schoolhouse sitting there, forgotten and unloved, something clicked. This wasn’t just a property. It was a place with a soul. A heart that had stopped beating but was still there, waiting for someone to care enough to restart it.
We had no grand business plan. No experience restoring heritage buildings. No idea we’d end up hosting weddings or that this would become what it is today. We just knew we had to save her.
What happened next is the reason you’re reading this now. The reason weddings happen here. The reason people cry when they walk through the gates. The reason a forgotten country school became one of the most beloved places in New Zealand.
The Early Years: 2007-2013
Those first five years were intense. We worked until the wee hours—scraping, sanding, painting, polishing, while raising two young daughters and trying to figure out what on earth we’d gotten ourselves into.
We’d question our sanity regularly. Then someone would stop by—a former pupil, a descendant of a teacher, someone with a connection to the school’s past, and they’d have tears in their eyes thanking us. That’s what kept us going.
The local community showed up. People we’d never met arrived with tool belts on, ready to help. The school’s history started coming back, ribbons, trophies, books, even the original bell. We found treasure hidden everywhere: letters tucked behind walls, time capsules under floorboards, old photos in attic corners.
Slowly, building by building, the place came back to life.
In 2013, we opened Old Forest School to the world. We hosted an open day for anyone connected to the property’s past. The response was overwhelming—playground friendships reignited after 50 years, stories poured out, laughter and tears mixed freely. That day, we found our purpose. This wasn’t just our home. It was a place that needed to keep creating memories.
We officially opened for weddings and celebrations that same year. We booked out immediately and haven’t stopped since.
Today
We still live on-site in the renovated Headmaster’s Cottage, which was constructed in 1936. It’s our home, right in the middle of everything. Our daughters grew up here—their handprints are literally in the walls, part of the ongoing story.
When we’re not hosting weddings, you’ll usually find us maintaining the buildings and spaces, working in the gardens, or pottering in a shed creating something. We’re both avid gardeners (handy when you own a large garden), travelers, collectors of old junk, treasure to some folks, and tinkerers.
Many of the features around the property have been found, restored, and reimagined by us. The old delivery trailer from the valley’s long-closed general store. The tennis court equipment. The school baths. The gardens planted with cuttings from surrounding farms. The single men’s cabins transformed into accommodation.
Nothing happens quickly here. We let the property evolve, feeling our way as to how best balance its past with its future. When past pupils visit and struggle to remember what a “new” building was used for, we know we got it right.
Our Philosophy
Custodians, Not Owners
We don’t really think of ourselves as owners. We’re custodians. Temporary guardians of something much bigger than us.
Past pupils tell us this school was their happy place. Their safe place. People have profound connections to this land, connections that span generations. We hold those in the highest respect. These histories are entrusted to us, and we don’t take that lightly.
Every decision we make asks: Does this honor what came before? Does this feel true to the property? Would the people who built this place, who learned here, who loved here, recognize what we’ve done?
We’ve tried to create something that feels like an extension of who we are, warm, genuine, a bit quirky, definitely not precious. A place where people can be themselves. Where imperfection is welcomed. Where rust and weathered wood and wildflowers growing where they want are features, not flaws.
Sustainable, Family, Community
We’re proud to have built a successful, sustainable, unmistakably family business that echoes our ethics. One that employs local staff, supports local businesses and charities, and reinvests back into the property and community.
We believe in the “it takes a village” ethos. We support the businesses of our customers. We open our doors to past pupils who want to visit. We let the valley elders pull up a chair in our kitchen (as long as there’s home baking to hand).
This place is an extension of our home. Everyone is welcome.
Looking Forward
We’ve been doing this for over 15 years now, and the wonder hasn’t worn off. We still feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much beauty every day. To witness love stories unfold. To see people reconnect with their past. To create new memories on land that holds so many.
Old Forest School continues to evolve. New projects, new ideas, new ways to honor the past while building the future. The story isn’t finished. It’s just getting started.
Not on our watch will this place return to the ashes from which it has risen.
Come Visit
We look forward to showing you around Old Forest School soon. We’re confident, just like we experienced in 2007, it’ll be love at first sight.
Whether you’re planning a wedding, considering a celebration, or just curious about this place you’ve heard about, we’d love to meet you. Come walk the grounds. Sit in the schoolhouse. Feel what we felt that first day.
This place has a way of choosing its people. Maybe you’re one of them.
Deborah & Alistair McMahon
Work With Us
Every season, Old Forest School quietly welcomes a handful of exceptional people into our behind-the-scenes family, calm, well-presented humans who take pride in beautiful spaces and love looking after others. We occasionally seek people with experience in bar service, hospitality, event set-up, or caretaking/cleaning roles where attention to detail truly matters.
If you thrive in thoughtful environments, enjoy meaningful work, and feel a sense of care for places with history and soul, we’d love to hear from you.
If Old Forest School feels like your kind of place, introduce yourself hello@oldforestschool.co.nz