A landmark villa on one of New Zealand most-prized streets is on the market for sale for the first time in more than 50 years.
The vacant five-bedroom home at 34 Bassett Road sits on 1553sqm section and has a rich history - and a connection to the Royal Family.
Known as Tiromoana, but originally named Medina, the property has gathered a catalogue of stories since its construction in the late 1800s.
It was once owned by a high-ranking member of the military and in the 1920s it hosted the Duke and Duchess of York, who would later become King George VI and the Queen Consort and the father and mother of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Start your property search
Later, the home served as a hospital throughout the 1940s, overseen by two sisters who served as nurses during the First World War and the Russian Revolution.
The property, which has a 2021 CV of $6.9 million, is being sold by way of deadline private treaty, closing on December 1. It is zoned residential single house and sits within double grammar zone.
Ray White Parnell agent Dean Tuffley, who is marketing the property along with UP agents Richard Hart and Collen Strachan, told OneRoof that the vacant estate offered buyers the chance to create something special on the site.
“The possibility for the buyer to create their dream is a rare prospect. It’s seldom that properties in premium addresses such as this become available to the open market,” he said.
The owner's son told OneRoof that his father had snapped up the property in 1969, at a time when it had fallen into less glorious uses and been divided into four flats.
He bought the home within 10 minutes of seeing just one of the flats, recognising that the property had special qualities.
Most of the home’s splendid details remain, namely a grand staircase, fireplaces, decorative plaster ceilings and kauri floors. Photo / Supplied
The home once served as a hospital throughout the 1940s and was a block of flats before the current owner bought it in 1969 and made it his family home for the last five decades. Photo / Supplied
The owner's son recalled his father saying: “You can change a few walls, but you can’t change views and position.”
The owner gradually restored the mansion back to one working home, which largely involved knocking down a fair number of walls.
But throughout the home’s varied functions, most of its splendid details remain. Namely a grand staircase, fireplaces, decorative plaster ceilings and kauri floors throughout. The bedrooms are generously proportioned - the home is characterised by broad halls, generous spaces and beautiful Victorian detail.
The owner’s son recounted the thrill growing up in the house, with numerous rooms and endless space providing a child’s dream place to roam. “We had our school at the back, and a lot of places to charge around, the house was a lot of fun to live in and explore,” he said.
The ground floor presents a large office, the sum of which was once an entire flat, a grand room with tall ceilings and ornate details, the kitchen and some of the home’s many rooms.
Upstairs, the bedrooms count five and the top floor is home to a turret, believed to be used by the home’s first owner, a shipping captain, with views out to the harbour and Rangitoto.
34 Bassett Road is a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house with a floorspace of 299sqm sitting on a 1553sqm section. It has an RV of $6.9m, of which the land value is $5.7m. Photo / Supplied
There’s no shortage of examples of similarly grand Auckland homes being given the attention they deserve, with magnificent results.
The owner’s son conceded: “There’ll be a genuine sadness in the family when the home is gone. We would love it if someone restored the home to its former grandeur and gave it the attention it deserves.”
