Just when you thought it was safe head to go back into the real estate market ... a former post office building in Havelock, Marlborough, has a surprise in store for buyers.
While the price tag of $749,000-plus and the quality of the renovation of 61 Main Road will no doubt impress, what will really stick in people’s memories are the sharks. The property is teeming with them.
The owners of the historic building have converted several rooms into elaborate marine and wildlife displays, complete with fibre glass models of great white sharks, eels and other animal life.
Vendors Janet and Ross Brownson bought 61 Main Road 21 years ago while looking for a place to showcase Ross’ marine taxidermy.
Start your property search
The Nelson couple were frequent visitors to the town and knew the building well. “It was extremely run-down when we bought it. The rats would walk in and out because the piles had all gone and the floor was on the ground,” Janet told OneRoof.
“I can remember when we walked in there, I said to Ross, ‘if we were 10 years younger, I’d say yes’. It was in such a poor state."
Discover more:
- Everyone thought the sea views were fake: Expats bought architectural gem sight unseen
- Couple who bought Grey Lynn villa for $21,000 now selling it for 100 times as much
- First-home buyers earning $225,000 'absolutely gutted' after banks turn them down
But the Brownsons did say yes as the high ceilings and large rooms were the perfect backdrop for Ross’ collection.
The couple took a year off work to restore the place, re-piling, painting, insulating, and installing a heat pump and new wiring.
They hand-built complex dioramas to display the realistically painted fibreglass sea creatures before opening their museum, which they called Eyes on Nature. It ran for eight years before they closed the museum and, until last month, rented the space out to an office and Destination Marlborough’s i-site.
The sharks stayed, much to the delight of the tourists coming through the town, which bills itself as the greenshell mussel capital of the world.
The former post office building has been lovingly restored and maintained. Photo / Supplied
Another room recreates the wildlife visitors to Marlborough can enjoy. Photo / Supplied
“People would come in and say ‘This is the best i-site in New Zealand’,” Janet said. It closed last month so the building could go on the market.
The grand scale of the post office is thanks to Havelock’s boom gold mining past, Janet said. It was designed by the official Colonial Architect W H Clayton and has heritage protection, with Historic Places New Zealand saying it is one of the best remaining examples of the smaller post offices.
Leaving their immaculately maintained place is hard, Janet said. “The first person we told I was nearly in tears. But we know that it’s time for us to hand it over to somebody younger.
“We’re only going because of our age. We live in the North Island we’ve decided to let someone else enjoy it.”
Summit Real Estate agent Dianna Schulz said that the property was zoned for a home or business. She said she would not be accepting any offers until the first open home on October 20. “It’s priced to sell,” she said. “It’s such a rare building and it’s in such excellent condition. I had a few enquiries even as I was putting the sign up on the fence. It could even appeal to Aucklanders.”
- 61 Main Road, in Havelock, Marlborough, is looking for offers over $749,000
