- Two teenagers bought a Waiheke bach for under £100 in 1960, building it themselves.
- Ray Grunby and Irene, who later married, spent every holiday there with their four children.
- The bach, which has a CV of $1.24m, is for sale as Irene can no longer manage it.
A Waiheke bach has hit the market for sale with a heart-warming past – especially for first-home buyers
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The property at 16 Palm Road, in the wealthy suburb of Palm Beach, was scooped up by two teenagers in 1960 for just under £100.
Ray Grunby was 15 when he bought the 996sqm plot of land with his then 17-year-old friend, Irene.
Both Ray and Irene were good savers, and at the behest of Ray’s father William they invested their money in a slice of island real estate.
The teens had met in the late 1950s after Ray’s father took Irene under his wing to keep her from going off the rails. Irene’s parents had split, leaving her Onehunga-based mother with seven children and no income.
The property goes to auction later this month. The agent expects the new owner will replace it with something new. Photo / Supplied
“Ray’s father ran a gymnasium for waifs and strays,” Irene told OneRoof. “I happened to join it with a girlfriend of mine who was a little bit forward. Lois said to me one day that we should go down to the boats, and Ray’s father heard her. Being very naive as I was, I thought we were just going down to look at the boats. But Lois was going to go on the boats where the American sailors were. Ray’s father could see that Lois might lead me astray [and] he took me under his wing.”
As well as keeping an eye on young Irene, and helping her mother out with food, William offered to take the teenager on a holiday with his own family to Waiheke. “Ray’s family thought it was kind to give me a holiday, to give me a break away from the other six children [in my house],” she said.
While out walking on that trip William spotted the section for sale at 16 Palm Road and said: “You kids should buy that.”
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Both Ray and Irene had been good savers from a young age. Each had around £50 in their Auckland Savings Bank accounts by 1959.
“In February 1960 when we came back to Waiheke, Ray’s father took us into the lawyer and we paid 95 pounds and 11 pence for the section and the lawyer’s fee,” said Irene.
From then on, both Ray and Irene saved all they could and would go over to Waiheke on the weekends where they slowly built their dream bach, with help from Ray’s brother, cousin and father.
“The building inspector from Ostend would come over every weekend that we were over there, and he would keep us on the right track, making sure that everything we were doing was correct.” Mr Lopes, a “woodsman” who lived over the road, helped clear mature trees from the site, Irene said.
The property is close to the beach and next to some of the island's most expensive homes. Photo / Supplied
Ray and Irene weren’t even a couple when they bought the land. Their romance blossomed after and they only became a married couple when they were in their mid-20s.
They had four children and as a family they would spend every holiday at their Palm Beach bach. Irene told OneRoof they would catch the slow ferry over to Waiheke and traipse down to Palm Beach, sometimes with the little ones on the parents’ backs.
The bach holds many memories and Irene is very sad to sell it after 65 years. But now a widow, and living in a retirement village, she can’t manage the home. Two of the couple’s children live overseas, and another sibling can’t face visiting the family home since Ray died suddenly in 2022. Irene was going through her own battle with cancer at the time. “It’s heartbreaking,” she said. “It’s like grief on a grief on a grief.”
The bach, which has an RV of $1.24 million, is listed with Bayleys agent Neill Clarke, who has a vested interest in getting a buyer who will appreciate it as much as Ray and Irene have. He lives immediately over the road and loved having the Grundy family as neighbours.
Clarke is realistic that the bach will likely be replaced with a brand-new home. The current two-storey 70sqm structure has asbestos in the building materials and is in need of renovation. Upstairs it has three bedrooms and a large open plan dining and lounge area. Downstairs is a large rumpus room. Like many older style Waiheke homes, the shower and flush toilet are separate from the main house.
- 16 Palm Road, Palm Beach, Waiheke Island, goes to auction February 26
