- Six60 stayed at Matt Brooking’s historic home in Balclutha during their tour last year.
- Brooking’s property, Lesmahagow, is a six-bedroom home and popular wedding venue.
- The family is selling the home as Brooking’s wife has a medical placement in the North Island.
It’s not often one of the world’s biggest bands wants to stay at your house. But that’s exactly what happened to Matt Brooking when Six60 made an Airbnb booking for his historic home while touring the country last year.
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Six60 performed two shows in Balclutha in August last year, after fans were asked to vote on the location of the encore to its Grassroots Tour.
The Airbnb booking at 146 Benhar Road, in Benhar, was made under someone else’s name, but Brooking had an inkling who the incoming guests might be.
Six60 played an encore show in Balclutha in August 2024 and stayed at the historic home. Photo / NZME
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the band walking up his path. “It was a bit surreal, but then we’ve had quite a few famous people stay,” he told OneRoof, noting that various Act and National MPs and even an ex-All Black have been guests at his home.
“We are probably the nicest accommodation in the area, so when they are stuck in Balclutha, they probably choose to stay with us.”
Brooking bought the six-bedroom historic home, known locally as Lesmahagow, in 2019 for $600,000, and has run it as a bed and breakfast and wedding venue for the past five years (it was recently rated New Zealand’s seventh best Airbnb spot to tie the knot).
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The 111-year-old landmark property was built by the McSkimming family, of McSkimming Bricks fame, and the gardens were designed by Alfred Buxton, the father of New Zealand landscaping. While the plantings on the 6526sqm property have changed, the bones of his impressive design remain, with most choosing to stand under the 90-year-old pergola in the sheltered rose garden to say their vows.
The entire property can also be rented out for about $1500 a night for functions. When this happens, Brooking and his family move out.
The large brick home was built by the McSkimming family in 1914. Photo / Supplied
Renowned New Zealand landscaper Alfred Buxton created the gardens using bricks to form the edges. Photo / Supplied
Brooking and his wife Brooke bought the property after moving back to New Zealand from Australia so she could study medicine at the University of Otago. “We couldn’t really afford to get what we wanted in Dunedin and then we stumbled across 146 Benhar Road.”
The previous owners held it for 40 years and had been running it as a bed and breakfast up until 2010, when the Global Financial Crisis ended the business.
Brooking said his family had loved living at the property, but Brooke had gained a placement as a junior doctor in the North Island, and so it was time to sell.
He said Lesmahagow had just four owners in its 110 years, which was testament to just how special it was.
- 146 Benhar Road, in Benhar, Clutha, is inviting offers from $1.09m
