When they first arrived the immigrants had to camp in tents on the shore. Later, they constructed huts and eventually were able to build proper houses. With its slate roof and quaint shutters, this cottage was designed in the French colonial style for the promoter of the settlement, Captain Langlois. It was purchased by the Akaroa Museum in the mid-1960s and is open to the public. Some of the more recent buildings in Akaroa have been designed or renovated in imitation of the European style.