New Zealand rugby league legend Ruben Wiki has sold his South Auckland family home under the hammer for $1.401m.
The five-bedroom home on Castlederg Drive, Flat Bush had three bidders in the auction room Thursday afternoon, said Ray White agent Bob Lemalu, who marketed the property with Ngarina Wong. Bidding started at $950,000 prompting the two other bidders around the room to compete for the house.
At one points bids were bounding up in lots of $20,000, but it took 34 more bids before auctioneer Ted Ingram declared the property on the market at $1.375m. Six bids later and the house went to the brave bidder with their final extra $1000.
It was all over in eight minutes.
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Wiki, whose rugby league career spanned nearly 30 years after starting with the Canberra Raiders in 1993, earlier told OneRoof that he and his wife Santa bought the house, which included a self-contained flat, eight years ago.
The multi-generational home was roomy enough for Santa’s parents and Wiki’s two children. But with both kids now moved out and the death of Santa’s mother last year, the house became two big for the three of them.
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OneRoof records show Wiki bought the five-bedroom house eight years ago for $1.33m. It now has a CV of $1.65m, but Lemalu said similar houses in the area were generally selling for below CV at the moment.
“It’s time to do the downsizing, and stress less,” Wiki told OneRoof earlier, joking that a place with less carpet to vacuum would be a bonus for the busy couple, whose day starts well before 6am running the family gym – Wiki Workz – in Otara.
Ruben Wiki, shown here in a 2017 Auckland Nines match between the Warriors and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, played 55 test matches for New Zealand rugby league, and was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. Photo / Getty Images
“We’ve had some great memories here, my mother-in-law’s last birthday [before she died] was really special. The kids have grown up here,” he said.
He said the two-storey house worked extremely well for the extended family, as Santa’s parents had their own self-contained area downstairs with a bathroom and a kitchenette and sitting room opening to the deck, while the younger generation had their space upstairs with four bedrooms and two more bathrooms.
Best of all was the huge family television room, which currently hosts framed memorabilia from Wiki’s time in the sport, with Canberra Raiders, the Warriors and more. But he laughed that daughter Mackenzie’s collection of jerseys was starting to take over (she now plays for the NRLW team in dad’s old club, the Canberra Raiders, and represents the Cook Islands in league).
The house featured an open-plan kitchen, living and dining room and a deck for outdoor entertaining.
The five-bedroom home in Castlederg Drive, Flat Bush, was designed for extended family living, with a granny flat for Wiki’s in-laws. Photo / Supplied
The family television room houses some of Wiki’s extensive memorabilia from his time with the Canberra Raiders, Warriors and more. Photo / Supplied
“There is a big demand for these multi-generational homes in Flat Bush, as lots of the Asian and Indian families look for bigger homes with a nice set-up for the grandparents on the ground floor,” Lemalu said, adding that the home was in zone for Mission Heights Junior College, Ormiston Junior and Senior Colleges, Chapel Downs School and Sancta Maria College.
As well as his professional roles, Wiki has also taken on mentoring roles as an ambassador for the Warriors Community Fund and through the couple’s Wiki Workz gym, run free programmes for high school kids that includes group fitness, nutrition workshops and team-building.
“It’s a safe space, it’s giving kids an option for when they leave school,” he said. More importantly, Wiki Workz helps the kids develop rangatiratanga (leadership) skills, form new friendships and achieve their goals, he said. Wiki also stepped in to do some coaching at his old club, Otahuhu, when son Denzel was playing there.
The covered deck was the scene of many big gatherings with family and friends. Photo / Supplied
The designer kitchen was set up for extended family. Photo / Supplied
“I was blessed at the start of my career to have wise people who made sure I was smart with my money, to invest in property. Santa is the reason for my success, she is the heart of the family, making sure the house was good and the kids got to school while I was the provider.
“It’s like learning a trade, my pathway was through league. But you get good people around you,” he said.
Wiki retired in 2006, after playing 55 test matches – still with the highest ever number of caps – but reappeared on our screens last year as one of the coaches in the TV series Match Fit: League Legends.
He was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2007 and was inducted into New Zealand’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
And after a stint as high-performance assistant with the Warriors, Wiki is now high performance manager for New Zealand Rugby League.
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