- A Southland homestead at 35 Wellesley Avenue, Invercargill, is back on the market, claiming Queen Elizabeth II visited in 1954.
- Listing agent Sean Bellew shared the story of the Queen’s visit with the Hazlett family, known for their racing connections.
- The five-bedroom Heathcote Manor features a large section and historical elements, with potential for subdivision.
A prominent Southland homestead is on the market for sale, with a rumour that Queen Elizabeth II stopped for tea with the racing royalty family who once owned the home.
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The listing for 35 Wellesley Avenue, in Invercargill, claimed the late Queen visited the home in 1954, “putting the wait staff in a flap”.
The Queen and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, reportedly wanted to spend time with a renowned Invercargill racing family, the Hazletts, during their royal tour of the city.
OneAgency listing agent Sean Bellew, who has sold the property once before, said members of the Hazlett family once told him about the visit; it was too good a story to leave out of his marketing.
The manor last changed hands in 2023, but the new owner never moved in, and the house has been vacant. Photo / Supplied
The grand staircase and the stained glass windows are reminders of its famous past. Photo / Supplied
“The family contacted me and said that the Queen came for afternoon tea,” Bellew told OneRoof.
“I’ve got to take people at face value. But when I last had it on the market and said the same thing, I was never challenged,” he said.
“And everybody remembers the Queen being here in 1954 because she stayed at the Grand Hotel.”
Bellew added: “The Hazletts are a very prominent family, and if you were going to say, ‘Well, who am I going to have a cup of tea with, in Invercargill in 1954?’, I’d imagine the Hazlett family would be at the top of the list. What else is she [the Queen] going to do? Sit in a hotel all afternoon?”
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He said the Queen’s love of racehorses was well-known. “That would give them a very strong base for a conversation. So I’m 99% sure that it was the racing limb of the Hazlett family she visited.”
The five-bedroom property, known locally as Heathcote Manor, was certainly up to royal standards in its heyday. “When the Hazletts built the place, they didn’t spare any money. It had a servants’ wing, you had wait staff, that’s why it’s so big.
“It actually still has the waiters’ call bell system in the house, which has buttons in all the bedrooms. There’s a formal lounge, a drawing room, and a library. The balustrade railing to the upstairs was imported from England, I know for a fact. As was the big stained-glass window, which refers to the War of the Roses.”
Bellew’s listing for the property is somewhat poetic. “Save me from myself,” it declares. “I’ve had one of Southland’s most prestigious families live with me, the halls full of laughter, young ladies squealing with glee! Tennis and croquet on the front lawn.
The Queen and Prince Philip in New Zealand in the mid-1970s. Their visit to Invercargill some 20 years prior also brought out the crowds. Photo / Supplied
“The Queen called by in 54, tea in the drawing room, putting the wait staff in a flap. I’ve survived a depression, a world war, and now I stand forlorn.
“Five bedrooms, formal lounge, drawing room and library, hand-carved banisters show that I am pure class. Time has ravaged me, but I believe further time cannot rob me! I can be brought back to life, my heart and soul yearn for the living beat of yesteryear.
“Your challenge is to redefine me as I demand and deserve it, save me from myself.”
Bellew told OneRoof that if he weren’t the listing agent, he’d buy the home himself.
He sold it just over two years ago for $950,000, but the owner’s circumstances have since changed. “I sold it to an international buyer, and the intent was that the son would come down here and do medical studies at SIT, but that never eventuated. The house has been sitting idle and vacant for over a year.
“It was on the market with another company, but it just got lost. That’s why my marketing has a unique bent. I know more about this house than any other real estate agent. I’m the only guy who’s sold it in the last 20 years.”
Bellew told OneRoof that one of the drawcards for the property was its “monster” 1750sqm section. “You could subdivide it three or four ways,” he said. The buyer, he added, would likely be “somebody who’s got vision”.
- 35 Wellesley Avenue, Avenal, Invercargill, goes to auction on March 11
