One of Auckland’s iconic Hobson Bay boatsheds is on the market for the first time in seven years.
The stylishly-decorated boatshed number 15 on Orakei’s 1 Ngapipi Road will be auctioned on June 24, unless it sells before the auction date. The boatshed, one of only 17 on the edge of Whakatakataka Bay, is being marketed by New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty agent Paul Sissons.
The modest 65sqm shed has international film-star cred, having been the “office” setting for investigator David Lomas’ documentary TV show, David Lomas Investigates, the series that helps reunite families and uncover lost family heritage.
The owner told OneRoof that Lomas was an old family friend of theirs as their daughters played together.
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“He’d done filming in one of the sheds down from us, so when he couldn’t use that I asked if he’d like to use ours. It was a bit of fun, why not?” he said.
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Fun was certainly their aim when the family bought Boatshed 15.
The owner told OneRoof that they’d lived in the Orakei neighbourhood since the 1990s and always admired them, so were lucky enough to snap one up when it came on the market seven years ago, albeit against some stiff competition.
“We’d always like the idea of a boatshed for us and the kids as a chill-out pad. We’d made attempts to buy others, so when this came up, we went ‘this is the one’.”
The producers of David Lomas Investigates have used the boatsheds of Hobson Bay as Lomas’ ‘office’. Photo / Warner Brothers Discovery
Boatshed 15 on Whakatakataka Bay is one of the few in the historic community that still has its original wharf. Photo / Supplied
The fact that a top Auckland decorator had kitted out the shed in Ralph Lauren nautical style, and the property was sold with all the stylish furniture and an entertainers’ kitchen helped seal the deal.
The owners also own a classic American lake boat (named the O, in honor of both Orakei and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis who owned the same model boat) so loved being able to pull their boat up to the end of the original wharf (many other sheds have modern boat ramps instead). Or they park their jet skis at the end of the old wharf.
“Ours looks like it’s been there 40 years, it’s a decent wharf.”
Some other boatsheds on Ngapipi Road are still used purely for boat storage, and with floors removed and the old-school winch restored, number 15 could revert to that. But the family preferred to store their lake boat, jet skis or paddleboards elsewhere, pull up at the wharf and use the shed for partying.
“We just walk down the hill from home. This feels like our front yard,” he said.
The 65sqm shed was decorated by one of Auckland’s top interior designers with furniture and decorations intact. Photo / Supplied
The boatshed cannot be lived in but has been used for parties and family gatherings. Photo / Supplied
The owner said the history of the 1930s sheds was a drawcard. One of the neighbouring sheds was used to launch the zodiac (boat) that bombed the Rainbow Warrior; many of Auckland’s big names in America's Cup or commerce have passed their sheds down through the generations.
“Friends had their wedding here, it sat 20 or 30 people. Our son has had his school band play out on the wharf, there’ve been parties, a guitarist played a concert here, with people jumping in the water around him.
“It has heaters, so we used it all the time even in the winter, it’s our entertainment pad,” the owner said.
But with one of their children away at university and the other about to go overseas, the owners have decided to sell the shed to buy a flat in London for the family to share for their next stage in life.
Agent Sissons, who is bringing the boatshed to auction, last sold a shed in the iconic row at the end of 2020 for $1.2075 million after seven bidders fought for their piece of history.
He said most of the heritage sheds stay in families for generations.
Sunset views from Boatshed 15. Photo / Supplied
The exteriors of the boatsheds are strictly protected by Auckland Council. Photo / Supplied
Another smaller boatshed sold at auction last August for $1.35m, while a third, tinier one once used for rehearsals by Auckland icons Dave Dobbyn and Ladi6, failed to sell just before Christmas 2021. It was expected to sell for around $800,000 but has been withdrawn from the market.
Sissons won’t be drawn on what the stylishly fitted out Boatshed 15 might go for but thinks rarity value and its good condition will drive up the price.
“When they were built in the 1930s for Auckland’s gentry, they were passed down through the family.
“After three generations the owners moved on, but now there are some that are getting a lot of money spent on them. Those will then go down to the kids and grandkids and won’t go on the market again for another 100 years,” he said.
Both the owner and Sissons said talk amongst the owners put the costs for recent renovations to a couple of neighbouring sheds to the hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not $1m.
“Some have rebuilt from the piles up. But council really looks after them because of their historic value, the colours, the design, what you put in them,” Sissons said.
The sheds do not have their own title, he said, as owners only have a maritime licence to occupy. They are expected to maintain the sheds to heritage standards and are forbidden to use them as residences. The only ongoing cost is maintenance and once every 35 years a new resource consent, Sissons earlier told OneRoof.
Sissons said there were already buyers lined up to view the property, many of whom missed out on earlier sales.
In other parts of the country, boatshed buyers in Akaroa paid $255,000 in March for a Duvauchelle boatshed on the Akaroa Harbour, after eight bidders battled it out for the rare treasure.
- Click here to see Boatshed 15, 1 Ngapipi Road, Orakei
