A magnificently restoredlandmark historic fire station lovingly reinstated to its original art decostate – including a museum-like collection of vintage firefighting gear andequipment – has been placed on the market for sale… complete with its very owngenuine fire engine.
The majestic MtRoskill Fire Station in Auckland was built in 1927, being the oldest CentralCity fire station and designed by arts and crafts architect Arthur Palmer. Itcontinued to be a working fire station until 2009 when it was vacated, and thefirefighting teams and equipment transferred to other stations nearby in MountAlbert and Onehunga.
In the 1980s, the firestation parking area, previously the site of the original St Margarets Hall,also served as the district’s ambulance base
The property remainedempty for nearly two years – falling into disrepair while it was intermittentlyoccupied by squatters and vandals until the dilapidated structure was purchasedin 2011 by heritage-loving architectural designer and renovation handyman NigMarshall and wife Bev, son Jolon and his partner, Rebecca.
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Appreciating the ‘hiddentreasure’ lying behind boarded-up windows, a leaking roof, graffiti-covered walls,and an overgrown garden, the family bought the property as a team restorationproject.
Constructed from concreteand double red bricks, the Mount Roskill Fire Station was perfect for a two-dwellingconfiguration – with a three-bedroom residence in the main road-facing portionof the building and another two-bedroom residence in what used to be the firestation captain’s ‘married quarters’ lodging.
Over the ensuing years,Nig, Bev, Jolon and Rebecca spent literally hundreds of hours restoring the imposingtwo-storey structure - taking it back to its historical roots dating backalmost 100 years and working off the original draughtsman’s blueprint planswhich they had sourced. Those plans are now framed and sit on one of thestation’s walls.
Native New Zealand timberfloorboards were sanded back, Oregon timber ceiling beams were exposed, and areplacement fireman’s pole was reinstated into the structure, which in the pastallowed for easy descent from the upstairs quarters to the waiting fire trucksbelow.
“The old girl was thefurthest state you could imagine a building being in without actuallydemolishing it. There was a lot of public interest when it came up for tender,but the sheer scale of what needed to be done obviously put a lot of peopleoff,” admits Nigel.
“We all worked our arsesoff to clean, scrape, sand every corner from the floor up to the rafters.
“Regularly throughout therenovation project we were visited by former firemen who had served there, alongwith local neighbours popping in to see what was going on. The stories wepicked up over the years were amazing – I’m wishing now that we had recordedsome of them, because they are so much of the history of Mount Roskill.”
As the restoration projectevolved, so too did the family’s fascination with the professional lives of thebrave firemen who served at the Mount Roskill Fire Station. While the interiorof the property increasingly began to resemble a 1920s fire station, Nigel andJolon patiently built up a museum-like collection of authentic New Zealand firestation paraphernalia – including helmets, hoses, extinguishers, axes, ladders,signage, and even a cabinet of model toy fire trucks.
An authentic 1940s/50s NewZealand fire alarm, gifted by the Fire Boards Historical Society, has even beenrepurposed as the home’s electronic gate opener.
The piece-de-resistanceamong the collection though was Nigel’s acquisition of a 1966 Bedford fire engine,named Flick, which has a current COF and can occasionally be seen - and heard –driving around the streets of Mount Roskill.
The commitment to theperiod art deco design forms even extended to the rear garden, where volcanic stratafrom the surrounding volcanic cones were quarried and turned into a terracedgarden with vegetable and fruit trees, aided by Rebecca’s gardening skills
Showcasing the adage that‘they don’t build ‘em like that anymore’, the property’s original art deco roofingtiles were the flayed terracotta clay style produced by Winstone in the 1920s.
Family circumstances forthe Marshalls have changed in recent years though. Son Jolon, now with two youngchildren, and Rebecca have moved down to the Waikato. Meanwhile, a change inhealth circumstances means the multi-level fire station residence with its NewYork loft-style mezzanine level master bedroom is no longer ideal.
So, the Mount Roskill FireStation at 504 Mount Albert Road sitting on some 1,126-square metres of landhas been placed on the market for sale – with purchasers having the firstoption of buying all of the fire station paraphernalia, and period furniture inaddition to the land and buildings. And yes, Flick the Bedford fire engine isincluded in that offering.
At the time it was decommissioned,Mount Roskill Fire Station had no heritage building classification. Recognisingthe cultural importance that the building enjoyed within its local community,the family was keen to ensure that degree of protection changed and wereheartened to know the process had already been instigated by the localcommunity board under the auspices of Auckland Council.
The building is nowrecorded as a site of ‘heritage and cultural significance’ within the ThreeKings Heritage Trail.
The Marshall’s know thatthe future options for their much-loved fire station project are varied – dual familyownership and use as it has been, one substantial dwelling with up to fivebedrooms and multiple living areas, a work-from-home scenario with separateoffices within what were the former fire station’s administration rooms, a trueto style art deco B & B commercial accommodation offering, or as the core ofa residential development project which could see the construction of aseparate stand-alone four-bedroom two-storey home, St Margarets, on its ownunit title. Plans and structural designs along those lines have already beenconsented by Auckland Council.
Real estate agent AnnabelMarshall of Bayleys Ponsonby said the Mount Roskill fire station offering wouldattract a very niche type of new owner. The land and dwelling at 504 MountAlbert Road is being marketed for sale by tender through Bayleys Ponsonby, withtenders closing on April 18 unless sold prior.
“This isn’t your standardfour or five-bedroom home. It’s very very niche… either someone who wants to livein what is a magnificently refurbished fire station that comes with almost 100years of history and heritage, someone who loves and appreciates the art decodesign form which has been painstakingly adhered to in the restoration, orsomeone who wants both of the above and has a vision for developing anadditional residence,” said Annabel Marshall.
As an acknowledgment ofthe Fire Station’s history and the tragic events from the recent CycloneGabrielle, viewing interested parties will be offered the opportunity to make adonation, where all raised funds will go to the Auckland West Volunteer FireBrigades and Fire Service Historical Society.
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