Ben McFadgen has fond memories of visiting his great-aunt and uncle Lorimer and Kate Richardson at their Northland home when he was a child.
“They were really interesting, eccentric people, with a fascinating background,” he says.
“My uncle came from Wanganui and was a well-known botanist, and a chemist for ICI – he was involved in increasing wheat yield in Russia, Ukraine and China.
“In fact, he and Kate actually lived in China for years, when it was still full of horses, carts and bandits. Kate taught Chinese children, while he did his science.”
Start your property search
Ben explains that the couple moved their house to the dramatic seaside site from either Remuera or Epsom, he isn’t quite sure which, in the early 1960s after arriving back in New Zealand.
Long before the process earned its own television show, getting a house 80 kilometres or so from its starting point can’t have been easy.
“They basically cut it in half and put it on trucks – the roads around here in Algies Bay weren’t even sealed, so it was quite a feat,” says Ben.
He remembers “a stellar house”. “It was quite grand, with lovely features but since my great aunt died about 28 years ago it fell into disrepair.”
The house was cut in half and transported in trucks from inner-city Auckland to Rodney in the 1960s. Photo / Supplied
The 4.08-hectare estate is zoned Future Urban and Rural Countryside Living. Photo / Supplied
Ben says that he and his extended family lost control of the property for a number of years due to legal issues around the estate, but since regaining it recently they have done a lot to bring the house and land back up to a saleable standard and he believes it’s an offering that has huge potential for buyers with vision and imagination.
23 Martins Bay Road in Algies Bay, Rodney, is now on the market for sale by auction on May 9. The four-bedroom, two-bathroom property has a 2021 RV of $2.025 million.
“To be honest, if we weren’t all based in the southern North Island, we would be keeping it because it’s very special to us all,” Ben says.
“I especially remember Aunty Kate teaching me to shoot and she usually wanted me to go after magpies because she didn’t like them very much.
“Her own room overlooked the gulf, and she would sit in there and paint. She was a very talented artist.”
Nephew Ben McFadgen says: “It was quite grand, with lovely features but since my great aunt died about 28 years ago it fell into disrepair.” Photo / Supplied
The view of the bay from the Martins Bay Road home. Photo / Supplied
He says that another special feature is a unique pine tree.
“Uncle Lorimer found one growing in China and was very excited because he knew it was supposed to be extinct – and this one was dying.
“He took two cuttings back to London and one went to Kew Gardens while the other eventually came here. It obviously took well, and there are now two wilding pines further up the valley.”
Dianna Coman, from Bayleys, says that the picturesque views of Kawau Bay sets this location apart, along with its native bush, and a stream and spring.
It’s zoned for Future Urban and Countryside living so potential for the 4.08-hectare is vast.
While the site is ripe for a new contemporary home, like Ben, Dianna thinks it would be lovely if somebody was to restore the existing dwelling which enjoys timber panelling, ornate plaster ceilings and soaring studs – eventually bringing it back to its historic best, complete with modern comforts.
- Sponsored by Bayleys
