- The unique home at 288 Wakapuaka Road, Nelson, built by artist John Gosney, is for sale.
- Current owner Glenn Stewart restored the property, uncovering Gosney’s art amidst overgrown gorse.
- Ray White agent Dennis Christian describes the property as whimsical, with a history of council disputes.
Is this New Zealand’s quirkiest home? Built by a renegade artist, the unusual abode is Gaudí meets gorse and is on the market for only the second time in its history.
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288 Wakapuaka Road, in Wakapuaka, Nelson, is located in a former quarry and is a giant monument to local artist and landscape architect John Gosney.
Gosney, who died in 2015, had convinced Nelson City Council to sell him the site, which he believed would be the perfect backdrop to his work.
Current owner Glenn Stewart told OneRoof he got to know the house during his commute. “I used to drive past there for work in the 90s. It was a really funky‑looking house with heaps of concrete bits of art,” he said.
Stewart often wondered who owned it, and then, after Gosney’s death, he chanced upon a real estate listing for the house. “By that time, I’d found out that John Gosney was the owner. He was a well‑known identity and landscape architect, and he’d built numerous houses and gardens around Nelson as well as a few commercial places,” Stewart said.
The house, which is more artwork than home, is loved by Gosney fans. Photo / Supplied
The home was built in a retired quarry and was overgrown when the current vendor bought it in 2015. Photo / Supplied
“He had a massive following, and he was prolific. You see [his art] everywhere -people’s letterboxes, massive stone pillars. He used to drive around in this massive Ford F‑150 truck with a crane on it, and he had long dreads and heaps of tattoos. He was quite the character.
“I got curious when I saw it was for sale and went and had a look. It was really run-down. There were huge amounts of landscaping supplies and old house parts – all sorts of funky stuff that he’d made and used for his art.
“He’d been unwell for a while [before he died]. Because it hadn’t been looked after and it was quite unusual, there wasn’t a lot of interest, so I managed to buy it.”
Much of the property had been overtaken by gorse. “It was like an archaeological dig,” Stewart said. “You’d be clearing a bit of land and all of a sudden, you’d come across an amazing Easter Island head or one of the numerous things that [Gosney] made.”
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Stewart said he ran online auctions for years to get rid of the discoveries, although he did keep the stuff: “I thought was really cool”.
He said cleaning up the site was punishing work. “I’m reasonably competent outside. I can use machinery. [But] it was quite the undertaking,” he said.
Inside didn’t need a massive amount of work, just fixing a few windows, adding extra insulation to the ceiling and replacing some GIB board. “It was mainly painting. It was orange, black and purple inside when I got there. And although I do love the funky art, that had to change,” Stewart said.
What stayed was the built‑in artwork. “Really cool heads and busts and all sorts of cool things. The floors are amazing. That’s concrete with inlaid tiles and bits of metal and stuff like that. All done in a really arty way.”
The gardens include faux Roman pillars and hidden treasures. Photo / Supplied
Stewart has often answered the door to people who knew Gosney or were just fascinated with the house. Gosney’s fans didn’t extend to Nelson City Council.
When Stewart turned up at the council to ask questions, there was some frostiness. “My understanding is that he had a less than easygoing relationship with them. He was a bit of a typical artist,” Stewart said.
Ray White listing agent Dennis Christian described the relationship between the council and Gosney as “a bit of argy-bargy”, especially in relation to the erection of signs, a gate that popped up without consent, and other “weird things”. “He was a bit of a renegade. The [property] files make some interesting reading.”
Christian, who lives nearby, had never been inside the house before getting the listing and was grateful for the opportunity to sell it. Like many other locals, he loves the home, and in particular the “Roman ruins” in the gardens. “It’s very whimsical. A quirky property,” he told OneRoof.
Gosney left many landmarks in and around Nelson, including the Smugglers Pub & Cafe at Tahunanui Beach. For that, Gosney sourced original wooden beams and thick steel riveted brackets from old South Island West Coast bridges and wharves, the pub’s website said.
“Two life‑sized reproduction ship cannons greet patrons at the main entrance doors. Inside, the roof space is awash with fishing nets, an old clinker rowboat and a life‑sized skeleton playing a piano.
“A motley crew of replica smugglers, seagulls – and a large rat – sets the scene of the bad old days of pirates and smuggling. Assorted old English signs, paintings and tapestries hang on the restaurant and bar walls depicting scenes from days gone by.”
According to Gosney’s obituary, he went to build a mansion in heaven when he died.
His three-bedroom, one-bathroom home is up for grabs with an RV of $563,000, with Stewart telling OneRoof that he is selling to move closer to Nelson city with his partner.
- 288 Wakapuaka Road, Wakapuaka, Nelson, is for sale, deadline closing April 29
