The under-the-radar multi-millionaire who is selling one of Auckland’s most upscale farm estates, nearly didn’t buy the place because he couldn’t afford it.
As he puts the Parihoa Farm on the market, owner Matt Chapman talked to OneRoof about how the nearly 295-hectare property on Auckland’s west coast between Muriwai and Te Henga Bethells got to him and why he’s selling after 10 years of transformation – of both himself and the farm.
And while he sold a stake in his company Chapman CG, the world’s largest HR search company, to a Japanese listed company for USD 17.2 million in 2019, back in 2012 buying the place was a huge stretch for him.
“When I bought the property, I didn't have a cent left to my name. Bit by bit, I started furnishing the place I got my first couch, I could barely [afford] the animals, I couldn't buy any furniture,” he said.
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“So the journey of me with this property was very much like the journey of me as I built my life.”
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The Australian-born Singaporean citizen, and now New Zealand permanent resident, had fallen in love with New Zealand when he came here for a friend’s wedding in 2011. He turned his worldwide search for a nature-inspired spot from places like Tasmania, Switzerland and Vancouver to here.
“I started watching property sites, just learning what was around. To be honest this was still a dream.
“The day Parihoa Farm I came up, my jaw dropped and I was like, ‘what a fantasy property’.
The owner of Parihoa Farm, Matt Chapman, is selling his Muriwai home to move to Wanaka and focus on his new wellbeing business. Photo / Supplied
“I couldn't get out of my head. It was way over my budget, way, way worse.”
Chapman said the agent selling the property, Ross Hawkins (now with Ray White) convinced him that the owners, Mack and Anne Storey were worth talking to about their property even though it was above his budget.
“I hopped on a plane down to New Zealand for a night. I came over the hill to Parihoa and my jaw dropped.
“I didn't actually think I would do it because I was slightly overwhelmed. That would be an emotion that would come back many times in my life after that.
“But months later I decided to buy it,” Chapman said. Records show he paid $6.45m for the original farm.
The Storeys helped with the transition to ownership – Chapman prefers the word guardianship – and that is what he hopes to do as he hands over Parihoa to the next owners. He said the Storeys became good friends while his friend helped on the farm development.
“When I came into the picture, there'd been a lot of hard work and a lot of challenge. I became the benefactor of all their hard work and everyone's hard work before.”
Chapman admitted that during the very long overseas investment approval process he nearly ditched the purchase at several points, realising it would change his life.
“On the first of August, 2013, it was complete and I own the farm. I was like, oh my God, what have I done?”
Chapman said that he used any spare time to fly in from Singapore, calling it a chance to work on his “next life”.
“It was very inspiring. I always got very excited when I hopped on the plane, hopped out of the airport.”
He said that the wild nature of the place, looking over the ocean, with the amazing west coast sunsets captured his imagination.
The nearly 295ha Parihoa Farm has striking architectural buildings, such as the Jewel Box, used for television shows and luxury product launches. Photo / Supplied
But now he wants to find the next visionary for the property and inspire them to take it forward.
“Parihoa for me will not just be about the price, it will be about the people. It's such a beautiful, sensitive property, and there have been so many learnings over the last decade.
“There've been tears, there's been headaches. It's been a transformative property.”
Chapman said it wasn’t until 2017, four years after buying Parihoa, that he started to call New Zealand home. As he had the money, he began building out the farm, acquiring neighbouring properties, improving it with buildings such as the Jewel Box and more reception buildings and restorative plantings. The property comes with concept drawings for a new sanctuary designed by star architects Fearon Hay, to complement the original award-winning house by Andrew Patterson built in 2008 for the Storeys.
He grew such friendships with the Muriwai community that the farm was the place people came together for the funeral of the firefighters killed in the landslide during Cyclone Gabrielle this February.
Chapman said that while the property has lots of different sides to it, as a working farm as well as a venue for high end weddings and events, he has pulled back from doing too much commercial stuff, instead focusing on his new calling in wellbeing.
While he no longer does ultra-marathon running (he was a pioneer of desert ultra-marathons in the deserts of Chile, China, Sahara and Antarctica and a founder of the pioneer international snowman race in Bhutan) he said he is drawn to desolate, transformative place.
“The juxtaposition of rural and alien. The house captivated my imagination in a Thunderbirds kind of way.
The owner said he loves the juxtaposition of alien and rural, with the striking architecture set in the wild west coast cliffs. Photo / Supplied
The main house, designed by architect Andrew Patterson for the former owners, won awards. Photo / Supplied
“At the end of the day, this was actually my place of peace, my home. The more I learned of the iwi, the people that had history with the land, the more special I learned it was and the more I wanted to restrict that energy. So we've capped to a limited number of weddings, rather than chase the dollar,” he said, adding that instead he could use the farm and surrounding beaches to support his passion for wellbeing and fitness.
But Chapman has another project under way, and is now well into building a new home by architects Fearon Hay in Wanaka. He said unlike the more public Parihoa his Wanaka paradise will be more private, but he doesn’t want to hold on to both.
“My plan was to always have the two. But as I sink into the south, I realized that the new me only needs one thing. I realized that I just came to simplify ... it was a hard conclusion.”
Chapman still has ventures associated with his global HR interests, but will now focus on building his wellbeing company, creating stories and enjoying his mountain home. He may even pick up his recent side gig, and dream career, as a motoring journalist on the AutoMuse website he co-owns.
“Coming to this amazing country, which I really do call home now. It's really the life that I have now, to be honest and living amongst the land and the people.
“This property really personifies what New Zealand felt to me.”
The nearly 295ha Parihoa Farm is for sale for price by negotiation, but New Zealand Sotheby’s International agents Scarlett Wood and Chris Jones are also offering a 52.2ha part of the farm, Tirikohua Point Farm, with a tender closing January 25, while the Gatehouse, at 187 Constable Road goes to auction December 13.
- Parihoa Farm, Constable Road, Muriwai is for sale for price by negotiation
