Caccia Birch House is a late Victorian timber homestead set in two hectares of mature gardens on the edge of Hokowhitu Lagoon, in the leafy southeast suburbs of Palmerston North. The house was built in 1892 for Sir John Russell and is one of the few remaining examples of large-scale colonial Italianate domestic architecture in the lower North Island.
The interior retains many original features — kauri panelling, tiled fireplaces, marble mantelpieces — and is now run as a venue for weddings and small functions, with the gardens open daily for public visits. The grounds include heritage trees planted in the 1890s and a tea pavilion built for one of the prime ministers who used the house as a summer retreat.