- Judy Grigor, 85, has sold her Gore Bay property to a Christchurch family.
- Grigor bought the schoolhouse which she once attended for $500 in 1980.
- She has sold to move to a smaller property in Rangiora.
Great-granny Judy Grigor has found new custodians for the school she saved from the scrap heap more than 40 years ago for $500.
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Grigor, 85, told OneRoof she had sold her old school, Gore Bay Primary, and the lifestyle property it sits on to a Christchurch family.
Late last year Grigor put her Hurunui home on the market for sale and shared with OneRoof its special history.
She attended Gore Bay Primary as a young schoolgirl between 1943 and 1948.
The former Gore Bay Primary School is part of the sale and is being sold with everything in it including the original chalkboard and books. Photo / Supplied
The school, which her father had helped establish, closed a year later when the roll dwindled to just five students, after which it was turned into a community hall and then a cabin at nearby Gore Bay Campground.
The campground owners put it up for tender in 1980 to make room for more campers, and Grigor and her husband made an offer.
Grigor told OneRoof that the only other interested party had wanted it for firewood so they won it for $500.
The family shifted the school building to a nearby lifestyle block Grigor’s parents owned and later gifted her.
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Grigor and her family have lived on the block for more than 30 years, with the school providing accommodation for friends, family, and short-term guests.
However, she is set to wave a final goodbye on Friday as she hands over the keys to the 1.7ha property to its new owners – a Christchurch family with school-aged children, who are set to turn it into their holiday home.
Grigor told OneRoof she was feeling a mixture of emotions. “Sad because I really didn’t want to do it, but relieved because I knew it was time I did so it’s good to have the sale completed.”
She had put the block on the market in August last year so she could move to a smaller property in Rangiora. “It’s a freestanding home with a small rather unique garden, which is going to be my challenge,” she said.
The 1.73ha lifestyle property on Gore Bay Road, in Gore Bay, included a two-bedroom home and the former school. Photo / Supplied
Gore Bay is a popular holiday destination with Cantabrians flocking to the popular surf beach during summer. Photo / Supplied
“It will require some chainsaw gardening before I can settle down to planting it the way I would like it.”
Grigor said a drop in property values not long after she had listed the property made selling it a long and slow process, but “eventually the right people came along at the right time”.
Although OneRoof is unable to disclose what the property had sold for, it was listed as looking for offers over $800,000.
There had been a mix of interest from people looking for a permanent home and holiday escape. She had received an earlier conditional offer from a man wanting to return to the area permanently, but he had not managed to sell his property within the extended time limit.
Gore Bay Primary School in December 1943. Judy Grigor back when she was Judith Wilkinson, is in the front row at the far right. Photo / Supplied
Grigor was unsure of the new family’s exact plans, but thought they initially planned to use it as their holiday home. She was taking everything in the home with her, but leaving everything in the school house right down to the books and chalkboard.
“The school is being sold as is so its furniture and books and pictures on the blackboard and everything [will stay],” she said.
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