- Ashburton property behind Peter Lynn’s kite empire is listed after seven decades of family ownership.
- From a small flat, the business grew globally, producing hundreds of thousands of kites.
- Lynn pioneered kite buggying and kitesurfing, while his giant creations achieved three Guinness World Records.
A South Island property that launched three Guinness World Records has been listed for sale after more than 70 years in the same family.
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Kite guru Peter Lynn died this year, a year after his wife Ellyn. Together they sold hundreds of thousands of kites and helped introduce kite buggying and kitesurfing to the world.
The couple’s creations ranged from the tiny octopus kites familiar to most Kiwi children to the largest kite ever to take flight – launched in February this year in Kuwait.
Now the family compound that launched it all – 105 Alford Forest Road, in Allenton, Ashburton – has been listed for sale.
The late Peter Lynn in 1992 with one of his creations, the Giant Fugu (Blowfish). Photo / Getty Images
The Lynn family has lived at the Ashburton complex for more than 70 years, running multiple businesses including the well-known Peter Lynn Kites. Photo / Supplied
Peter’s daughter Kirri told OneRoof that the 1.72ha block was first owned by her grandparents, Bob and Bertha Lynn, who bought it from the Ashburton District Council in the 1950s.
“Bob ran a big joinery business [on the property] and at one point employed more than 100 staff. He actually made some of the joinery for the Beehive,” Kirri said.
“As that business started to wind down in the 1970s, Peter, my father, was looking at types of businesses he wanted to run.”
He started making wooden toys and jigsaws, but then leaned into his passion for kites, setting up Peter Lynn Kites. The block itself allowed for so much creativity. “This is quite a unique property. It’s over five titles in total,” Kirri said, adding that her uncle and aunt own the neighbouring property.
“My grandparents lived across the drive in a little wooden cottage.” That property, which sits on a 1300sqm site, is also for sale.
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A third listing offers all of the Lynn properties at 105-119 Alford Forest Road for sale to a single buyer.
Despite the size of the combined family property holding, the kite business started in a small flat situated on the block. “My mum would sit at the sewing machine, and we’d have lots of things being built around us,” Kirri said.
Eventually the kite business became too large for the flat, and so was moved into another building in the compound. “I think that’s been the great thing about this property. It’s given flexibility for my parents and other people to grow and change and do things that might not have otherwise been an option,” she said.
At one point the family were producing 20,000 of its popular baby octopus kite line per year, with the total number sold running into the hundreds of thousands. “I think just about everybody in New Zealand knows of the baby octopus because they’ve probably bought them or had them as children,” Kirri said. “It’s robust, and it was so easy for kids to fly. They could run along and it would self-launch.”
At the other end of the scale were the gigantic inflatable show kites. Peter and his team from Ashburton travelled the world launching everything from giant iguanas to dragons and all manner of creatures at kite festivals.
The family compound includes multiple homes and business premises. Photo / Supplied
The brick home was built in 1981 after the family outgrew the flat where they also made kites in the early days. Photo / Supplied
“He got everywhere,” Kirri said. “Cervia in Italy was a favourite, and he got to go to Indonesia. At Den Haag [The Hague], 200,000 people would go to the kite event over the weekend.
“My parents went to China in 1984 just as everything was starting to change, and that was an amazing experience for them. Peter built up this relationship with China, and he spent a lot of time there over the years.”
Peter is also fondly remembered for inventing the kite buggy in 1990 and contributing to the development of power kiting and kitesurfing.
Kirri said he would experiment with his waterborne creations at the Ashburton Lakes. “We started on water skis, then on surfboards and then they designed their own boards.”
Peter was named the American Kitefliers Association's kite-flyer of the year in 2010, and he and Elwyn designed and built kites that broke Guinness World Records.
In their later years, Peter and Elwyn passed the Peter Lynn Kite business on to its current owner, Simon Chisnall, who has evolved the designs further, said Kirri.
Kirri said she was sad to sell the property, but happy that her parents’ legacy would live on. She noted that her father’s kite collection would move to the Ashburton Aviation Museum. “Peter had the world’s oldest kite in his collection,” Kirri said. “It’s paper and 250 years old, and it would be hard to make sure it didn’t deteriorate, but we’ll have a replica on display in the kite exhibit.”
The Lynn family properties are listed with Bayleys agent Ray Knight. The land is Industrial A zoned, but includes a home, income and investment potential.
“Whether you’re looking for a large family home, with generous storage and workshop space, an income-producing property, or a strategic land-bank opportunity, this offering provides the flexibility to do all three,” Knight wrote in the listing. “Conveniently located close to town, local schools, shops, and amenities, you’re never far from everything you need.”
The properties have a combined RV of over $2 million.
