A clifftop mansion built in the 1980s by a notorious drug smuggler has hit the market for sale.
The seven-bedroom estate at 49 Okiato Road, in the Bay of Islands, has been given a luxury upgrade by its latest owner and has its eyes on international buyers.
The property, which sits on a 1.46-hectare site overlooking Okiato Bay, was once owned by Terry Clark, who headed an international smuggling ring that brought millions of dollars worth of heroin into New Zealand, Australia and the UK in the 1970s.
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Clark, who was nicknamed Mr Big, died in prison in 1983 after he was convicted of ordering the hit on his boss, Marty Johnstone, who headed the Mr Asia syndicate.
Clark started building the multi-million-dollar home on Okiato Point using money from the drugs empire he had helped build. He never got to see the completed project, which at one point had its own escape tunnel.
By the time it changed hands in 1997 the two-storey main house was in a state of disrepair. The then owners spent 10 years fully renovating the house and landscaping the grounds, before listing it for sale in 2015.
Barfoot & Thompson agent Leila MacDonald, who is marketing the property with David MacDonald, told OneRoof she sold the property to the current owners, Australian-based Louise and Matthew Baxter, in early 2020.
The Australia-based owners, who bought the house in 2020, have completely stripped and renovated it to luxury standards. Photo / Supplied
The owners, who own Dutch super-yacht-building company Moonen, say the house is surplus to their Australian country house, five Sydney properties and a chateau in France. Photo / Supplied
OneRoof records show the couple, who own Dutch super-yacht builder Moonen, paid $7 million for the property. They extensively renovated the house and grounds, but Martin Baxter told OneRoof that it was now surplus to their needs.
“We have a large farm in Australia. Obviously we have five different properties in Sydney and an amazing chateau in France, our manufacturing facilities are in Europe,” he said, adding that with kids overseas the house was not getting used.
“We’re just on the go constantly and we just have too many houses to be honest. It’s such a beautiful property, it should be enjoyed by someone.”
Baxter said their house-hunt in New Zealand for a place that was private but on the water and boat-oriented bypassed Auckland before landing on the Bay of Islands property.
“Now what we do is fly in from Sydney and the boys from Heletranz bring us up by helicopter,” he said, adding that after years of renovations it has only been over the past 18 months that the family has used the property.
Baxter said the renovation was designed by his wife Louise, a former dancer who hails from Hawke’s Bay, rather than an architect or designer.
The co-owner, who works on luxury yacht fitouts, used her skills in the property's makeover. Photo / Supplied
The main ensuite in the seven-bedroom house, which has eight bathrooms in total. Photo / Supplied
“It’s just amazing. This property has its own marina, it’s got two beaches and a boatshed, a manager’s cottage, large workshop, large gym.
“It’s everything anyone could want,” he said. A favourite feature for the couple is the huge master suite which includes a private sitting room with its own kitchenette opening to a verandah which has 180-degree views of the water.
Baxter said the renovation – which, he admitted went way over budget – started with stripping out the place, bringing in new floors, European windows, all new bathrooms (there are eight altogether, five of them ensuites, plus a family bathroom and two powder rooms) and kitchens. The heart of the classically-styled house is a grand double-height entry lobby with a sweeping circular stairwell.
Baxter said privacy was ensured by high levels of security, as well as the full-time manager and other staff.
The Okiato Bay property has its own marina, two beaches, a boatshed, a manager’s cottage, large workshop and gym. Photo / Supplied
The second two-bedroom cottage and marina jetty. Photo / Supplied
Russell, the nearest settlement, is 10 minutes’ drive away while Kerikeri, an hour away, is the closest big centre.
The couple’s luxury yacht business, where clients include the Bahrain royal family, makes them familiar with what top-end buyers might be looking for, and Baxter is expecting there will be international interest in the luxuriously finished estate now.
The Baxters are no strangers to making real estate headlines. In 2021 the Australian Financial Review reported they bought acreages on either side of their Bayview home, in Sydney, to amass almost 1.4ha of prized hilltop property at a cost of more than AU$20.6m.
The couple bought the first house overlooking Pittwater in late 2016 for $6.5m, adding the property next door, also in 2020, for AU$10m, and picking up their other neighbour’s plot for $4.175m in 2021.
MacDonald said that the renovation of the house was to a very, very high standard, with massive bathrooms, walk-in wardrobes and a classic timeless design.
She would not be drawn on the likely price the property will fetch post-renovations, but said it will be advertised around the world.
- 49 Okiato Road in Okiato Bay, Russell, is for sale by way of international tender
