A former convent in Auckland's northern fringe has sold, with the departing “muso” owner being replaced by a new “muso” owner, says agent Kelly Davison from Burmester Realty.
The Helensville convent was once home to Domincan nuns and still has plenty of religious iconography.
Davison says she can’t reveal the price - OneRoof records show the CV is $1.08m - but people who love villas came from all over Auckland to have a look.
“It attracted people that love villas. There wasn't anyone there that wasn't a villa lover – a true villa lover. They were all in love with its history and everything.
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“The building is very similar to how it was built. It hasn't had a lot of extensions or anything like that and modernised, which they loved, and they loved its position and its big section and everything.”
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The new owners used to live in Helensville but sold another historic villa to move closer to town. When they saw the convent was for sale they decided to try for it and despite strong interest made an offer and were successful.
“It’s almost like their dream has just come true when they got it.”
Davison says it’s a small world because the vendors remember the new owners from when they used to live in Helensville, and just like the vendor the new owner is a musician.
Helensville is very historic and a few years ago Burmester sold the original “Helen’s Villa” for which the town is named, says Davison.
The "coffin room" - a long, thin space in the former convent - was transformed into a bathroom. Photo / Supplied
The property was owned by an artistic couple who brought joy and colour to the home. Photo / Supplied
That grand six-bedroom villa was one of the first houses to be built in Helensville and was named after one of the original settlers, Helen McLeod.
At the time of the sale the house was opened up to the public and hundreds of people came through.
In the pioneer days, Kauri logs used to be shipped down from Dargaville, and Davison says women from Dargaville used to have to travel to Helensville on barges to give birth at the birthing unit there.
The former convent dates to the 1880s and the vendor told OneRoof in June when the house was listed that when the nuns moved in they took down all the fancy parts of the villa because they wanted a simple environment to live and worship in.
The then owners were delighted to find the verandah balustrades were still under the house where the nuns had left them so promptly put them back up.
The property was a former convent and the owners have kept true its past life in some of their interior design choices. Photo / Supplied
Musical instruments abounded in the charming villa. Photo / Supplied
The convent also has ties to the McLeod family, as Andrew Mcleod, the son of the McLeods, was the first resident.
The McLeods were in the business of bringing Kauri down to the local port. It was milled in Helensville and the former convent is built from heart kauri.
The nuns lived in the house from 1931 to 1974 and the then owner recalled 11 nuns in their habits turning up to visit, but as a musician he particularly loved that some of the nuns taught music and he said the house had a musical vibe.
“You could just tell there’s been music in this house forever, you could just sense it.”
The house also has a deconsecrated chapel, and a bedroom the nuns used to call the “coffin room” because it is long and narrow – it’s a bathroom now.
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