Maungaraupi Homestead, built in 1906, is an important example of the work of Charles Tilliard Natusch (1859-1952), an English-born architect who settled in New Zealand in 1886 and established an architectural practice in the 1890s. The land on which the homestead stands was acquired by the noted naturalist William Swainson (1789-1855) and later by his son-in-law Major John Williams Marshall (1814-1891) of the 65th Regiment. Maungaraupi Homestead was built for Marshall's son from his first marriage, William Swainson Marshall (d.1926). William had inherited his grandfather's passion for natural history and ethnology and was a foundation member of the Polynesian Society (est. 1892), one of the oldest learned societies in the Southern Hemisphere. In 1892 he married Elizabeth Hilda Swainson, the second daughter of William Swainson of Te Rakehou, Fielding.

The homestead was built by James McChesney of Marton and designed in the Tudor style favoured by Natusch and fashionable in the early decades of the 20th century. The building's exterior features the half-timbering typical of the style. Inside are rimu floors, walls, doors and panelled ceilings. Maungaraupi remained in the family until the 1980s, first as a family home and later as a guesthouse. Today it is a private dwelling and function centre with accommodation.

Maungaraupi is a fine example of the work of one of New Zealand's better-known domestic architects, Charles Natusch. The homestead is noted for its fine workmanship and the detailing evident in the interior. It is historically significant for its links to the Swainson family and John Williams Marshall.