The beautiful old building that is at the heart of Furneaux Lodge was originally the holiday home of Patrick and Elizabeth Howden of Wellington and formerly of Scotland. A pioneering family who left England in the late 1880's to settle in Argentina but finally settled in Wellington - they fell in love with Endeavour Inlet and bought the Furneaux estate, 1000 acres of virgin native bush in front of the magnificent backdrop of Mount Furneaux (822m) to build a home for holidays. Furneaux was named after Captain Tobias Furneaux (1735-1781) an English navigator who commanded the ship "Adventure" accompanying Captain James Cook on his second voyage.

Most of the development of the estate was carried out by one son, Captain Harry Howden, an officer in the Australian Navy. One of the historical artefacts kept at Furneaux is a Chinese mission bell acquired by Captain Harry Howden while serving on the Yangtze Kiang River in command of the HMS Mantis in the Sino-Japanese war. Captain Howden bequeathed the bush which surrounds Furneaux Lodge to the Crown to ensure the beautiful bush would not be lost to New Zealanders of the future. Among many of the magnificent specimens are number of ancient Rimu trees considered to be almost 2000 years old.

Furneaux Lodge remained a homestead until the 1970's when an extensive building programme turned the former holiday home into a popular and viable holiday resort.