The builder was Rene Voets, with input by conservation consultant architect Tony Ussher. The cottage has a Category 2 heritage listing with Pouhere Taonga Heritage New Zealand. Its extensive renovation has made it a finalist in the 2021 Canterbury Heritage Awards, in the “domestic saved and restored” category. The house is at the beginning of the Bridle Path, the track taken by early settlers over the Port Hills to Christchurch. The trek from Lyttelton took about four to five hours in the mid-19th century.
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This photograph of Lyttelton, showing Islay Cottage at left, is thought to have been taken in about 1905.