If walls could talk, this Warkworth house would have some riveting tales to tell.
It would start by relating how the villa was built in 1908 in Herbert Rd, Mt Eden, Auckland, for widow Harriet Clark and her seven children, following the death of her husband, George, who was kicked by a horse.
It would tell of a further family tragedy — the deaths of two of Harriet’s sons in World War One.
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The new owners planted two pohutukawa in memory of the two sons, Sir Edmund's uncles, Harriet lost in the 1914-18 war. Photo / supplied
And it would reveal how several of Harriet’s daughters remained spinsters due to the deaths of their beaus in the war. It would also be sure to tell the story of one daughter, Gertrude, who married and had a family. One of her sons was future mountaineering legend Sir Edmund Hillary.
Sir Edmund Hillary's mother, Gertrude, grew up in the villa when it was located at Herbert Rd, Mt Eden.
Some years after Ed became the first person to reach the summit of Mt Everest, Vanessa Beddoe-Sandstrom happened to visit the house as a child.
She never forgot it. So when she heard nearly six years ago that it was being sold by a property developer who wanted it moved off the Mt Eden site, she and husband Claes immediately drove from Warkworth to see it.
“We fell in love with it,” says Vanessa. They sold their home and looked for land on which to relocate the house. But time was running out.
The night before the contract was due to expire, they signed the deal on a vacant block in Wilson Rd and set about getting the house moved from Mt Eden.
The villa in its original location being prepared for removal with paving stones uplifted. There were protests, but the house was eventually shifted for townhouses. Photo / file
There were protests — it was linked to Sir Ed and should stay put, people said. But eventually it was shifted north in two pieces.
Later, Vanessa and Claes set about giving it a makeover. “We didn’t want to make it whizz-bang and modern, we wanted to respect the integrity of the building.”
Original features like the pressed tin ceilings, stained glass windows, wooden floors and ornate fireplaces were carefully preserved.
The renovation preserved original features such as pressed tin ceilings and the ornate fireplaces. Photo / supplied
A new kitchen was installed, but the cabinetry, tiles, tapware, light fittings and Silestone benchtop were chosen to compliment the era of the home. Vanessa and Claes planted two pohutukawas in memory of the sons Harriet lost in the 1914-18 war.
The modern kitchen is in keeping with the era of the house, albeit with modern luxury appliances and cabinets. Photo / supplied
Agent Anthony Shaw from Bayleys, who is bringing the house to auction on December 18, says it’s a beautiful home. “It’s got peace and privacy, but you can be in town in a couple of minutes.”
