An Auckland homestead that once belonged to the world’s greatest whistler is heading to auction next month.
2 Pinestead Reach, in Stillwater, started life as a schoolhouse but became better known as the Kiwi residence of Ronnie Ronalde, a London-born musical hall artist who found fame and fortune with his whistling and yodelling concerts.
Ronalde, who reportedly sent shivers down the spine of Marilyn Monroe with his novelty act and counted Frank Sinatra and the Queen as fans, shot to prominence in the 1930s and 40s.
He moved to New Zealand with his wife in the late 1980s and bought the four-bedroom house in Stillwater and renamed it Whistler’s Lodge. During his time in New Zealand, he performed to sell-out concerts in Auckland and Christchurch and won over a new generation of fans, including Kiwi musicians Neil and Tim Finn.
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He later moved to the Gold Coast, in Australia, and then moved back to the UK where he died in 2015 aged 91.
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The current owner of Whistler’s Lodge told OneRoof she found out about the house’s celebrity past after buying it in 2007. “We were told that it had been the holiday home of Ronnie Ronalde,” she said.
“I had no idea who he was, so I researched and then we asked the neighbours and found out all about him.”
She said some of Ronalde’s touches were still evident. “The decor was very English. It was a bit old and tired, but you could tell it had been incredibly good quality when it was new. I suppose he brought a lot of the furnishings over.
“There were big heavy velvet drapes and the most amazing Axminster carpet – it was rather polarizing, all oranges reds and golds.”
She told OneRoof she sold the carpet to one of Ronalde’s fans. “When he [the buyer] got here and discovered the house and carpet belonged to Ronnie, he was so excited. He asked me if he could look through the house. He said, ‘I just wanted to say I’ve been inside Ronnie Ronalde’s house’.”
Ronnie Ronalde, left, at the height of his fame. He is pictured rehearsing with performers Hughie Green and Rosalina Neri for an appearance in New York in 1958. Photo / Getty Images
The owners have added modern vintage-style decorating through the house, a relocated 1930s school house, and the two cottages and workshop. Photo / Supplied
The owner told OneRoof she had located a signed copy of Ronalde’s autobiography.
“I’m leaving it with the house. There were photos taken inside the house, with people like Neil and Tim Finn and [impresario] Phil Warren. They were mentioned in his autobiography as well.”
She added: “I believe one of his children still lives in New Zealand, in the South Island. Until five or six years ago, we used to get mail for him, his royalty cheques – we got in touch with his website to get them to his wife.”
She said Ronalde installed the swimming pool at the property and had a boat called Blackbird anchored up at Gulf Harbour.
“The rooms were big, the living room was very big and we were told that his grand piano used to be in the corner. Our neighbour described him as a friendly character,” she said.
“When he bought this property, there weren’t as many houses around. He wanted to be able to practice his whistling without annoying the neighbours. I think that’s why we have such beautiful bird life here, they got used to his whistling.”
The 1.2-hectare lifestyle property also boasts two renovated cottages, a “She Shed” for craft and a workshop with Wi-Fi and power.
Bayleys agent Louise Thomson said the property was a standout house, “rich with history, character and versatile accommodation or work-from-home options”.
- 2 Pinestead Reach, in Stillwater, Rodney, goes to auction on September 26
