- The historic three-bedroom home at 3 Rawhiti Terrace, Kelburn, is for sale after 29 years.
- Built in 1903, it features a rich history and an impressive garden by Richard Nanson.
- The property, priced at $2.095m-plus, offers views over Kelburn Park and Oriental Bay.
It’s possibly the most photographed house in Wellington, and it’s on the market for sale for the first time in almost 30 years.
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The three-bedroom home at 3 Rawhiti Terrace, in Kelburn, has made numerous cameos in tourist postcards over the years, thanks to its location between the Kelburn Cable Car and the Botanic Gardens.
It was bought by the vendors in 1996 for just under $900,000 and now has a price tag of $2.095 million-plus.
The cottage can be seen in postcards of the cable car. Photo / Supplied
The three-bedroom house boasts spectacular views of the capital and the harbour. Photo / Supplied
The cottage was originally built in 1903 to house the tramway’s caretaker and has a rich history. In the early days, the tram was known to make unscheduled stops at the cottage gate for the caretaker’s wife on “shopping days”, the vendors told OneRoof.
The cottage also boasts an impressive garden, the work of the previous owner, Richard Nanson, who was Wellington’s director of parks and recreation.
The vendors told OneRoof they had worked hard over the years to keep the garden in good condition. “Richard Nanson was an expert gardener. He planted quite a lot of interesting plants, and he had a very good vegetable garden.” Nanson also extended the original home and built the eye-catching turret.
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Work on the Kelburn cable car – technically a funicular railway – began in the late 1890s, with the line opening on February 22, 1902, shortly before 3 Rawhiti Terrace was built. It was an instant success and carried over 425,000 passengers in its first year, far exceeding expectations.
While the Kelburn stop is just a minute’s walk from their door, the vendors prefer to walk the 12 minutes to Lambton Quay on the downhill trip, only returning by cable car.
The home has views over Kelburn Park, right down the white sands of Oriental Bay. Behind it, and immediately across the road, is the Wellington Botanic Garden.
The impressive gardens were created by the previous owner, Richard Nanson, who was Wellington’s director of parks and recreation. Photo / Supplied
Tommy’s listing agent Sam Newble told OneRoof that the property was one of Wellington’s standout homes. “That location and the view are pulling in some people out who might not actively be looking right now,” he said, noting that many of his potential buyers were arriving by cable car for viewings.
“They might be thinking, ‘I would like to buy something like this at some point in the next five years [but] those opportunities don’t come up very often’.”
- 3 Rawhiti Terrace, Kelburn, Wellington, is for sale, enquiries over $2.095m
