- The historic Kaipara North Head Lighthouse keeper’s cottage is for sale for over $1m.
- Craig and Morag Rendle renovated the 1880s kauri cottage, preserving its heritage features.
- Agent Megan Hetges described the cottage as “profoundly unique” and ideal for history lovers.
The iconic Kaipara North Head Lighthouse is one of the country’s last remaining wooden lighthouses and attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year.
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Less well-known but just as important is the cottage that housed the lighthouse keepers.
The three-bedroom “treasure”, which was built in the 1880s using the same kauri timber as the lighthouse, is on the market for sale for over $1 million.
The Kaipara North Head Lighthouse was built in the 1880s and is one of New Zealand’s last remaining timber lighthouses. Photo / Getty Images
The cottage was sold off in the mid-1950s, after the lighthouse closed, and then relocated about 8km along the beach to its current site at 3 Signal Station Road, in Pouto.
Craig and Morag Rendle, who have owned the cottage for the last eight years and currently run it as a holiday home, told OneRoof they were selling up so they could be closer to their grandchildren.
They are giving the first qualified buyers a chance to stay there before they purchase.
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Craig said the area, which is a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Auckland, had always felt like home to him.
“This is still my happy place. The whole Ripiro Beach – it always felt like coming home. I was a Hamilton boy and used to spend a lot of time out at Raglan, so the wild west coast feels like home.”
Craig and Morag stumbled across the cottage while looking for a spot to store their boat and tractor. “It was a little bit rough around the edges when we saw it, but we thought, ‘Well, at least it’s got the land we can build the sheds on’,” Craig said.
The cottage was shifted to a spot further along the beach after the lighthouse closed in the late 1940s. Photo / Supplied
Owners Craig and Morag Rendle have carefully renovated the three-bedroom, one-bathroom home. Photo / Supplied
The Rendles built two large sheds on the 11200sqm property and then spent a full year renovating the cottage – inside and out.
Craig said they aimed to modernise the home while retaining its heritage, noting that they spent hours looking for antique treasures. “We just tried to keep things in the style of what you’d expect to see in a house of that vintage.”
The uncovered classic chandeliers and a bathroom vanity with vintage taps. The antique light switches and power points were flown in from Australia, while the phone box, which hangs on the wall, was won at a charity auction.
An old newspaper from the 1950s was the inspiration for a unique kitchen splashback. A stained-glass artist in Dargaville was commissioned to create a feature piece of the lighthouse and some blow carts to sit over one of the doorways.
The cottage was a "bit rough around the edges" when the Rendles bought it. Photo / Supplied
Hours and hours were spent stripping off layers and layers of old paint so that the original kauri wood could shine through again.
Some of the original features include the beautiful, sanded kauri floorboards, the mantels around the fireplace and some of the built-in cabinetry in the bedrooms.
“Morag has done a lot of the styling on the house. Everything that’s in there is original; we just changed the lights. The floor is obviously a real hero in terms of the kauri floor.”
Arizto listing agent Megan Hetges said the cottage was “profoundly unique” because its significance was beyond that of a typical historic home.
She said it would be the perfect fit for buyers with a love of history and the outdoors.
“Kauri Kottage cannot be compared to any other house that has ever sold or will sell in the area due to its significant heritage. It is a local and national treasure, and you cannot really put a price tag on that.”
The Rendles are also selling their large seven-bedroom, five-bathroom home at nearby 6577 Pouto Road. The property, which overlooks the harbour, has a price indication of $2.9m.
- 3 Signal Station Road, Pouto, Kaipara, is for sale, enquiries over $1m
