The Auckland villa Marilyn and Martin Sutcliffe bought five decades ago for $21,000 is likely to sell for nearly a hundred times as much when it heads to auction later this month. But the sale of the 1910s home will be bittersweet.
When OneRoof asked Martin to describe 50 Selbourne Street, in Grey Lynn, the very first thing the retired arts director highlighted was the fact his two children were born there. “It has a whole lot of significance for us because of that,” he said.
“My wife was pregnant when we moved in, and our daughter was born there in the house. Subsequently, 12 years later, our son was also born in the house.”
In attendance at both births was midwife Joan Donnelly, the “mother” of New Zealand’s home birth movement, said Martin.
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The three-bedroom house, which goes to auction later this month with a CV of $2.58 million, has also hosted a who’s who of New Zealand’s art and culture scene, including Dick Frizzell, with whom the Sutcliffes would often go camping (Frizzell’s works also adorn the villa’s walls).
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The circle of arty friends dates back to the couple’s time at Auckland University and the Elam School of Fine Arts. On leaving university, the couple set up a business making FIMO beads and opened a stall at the hugely popular Cook Street Market, alongside some of the city’s most creative craftspeople and designers.
“We were making beads to sell, and that was how we actually got together the deposit of $3000,” said Martin, who was 29 when the couple bought the house (Marilyn was 28).
“We were very lucky because the owner left the balance of what was owed in the house [as vendor finance] for three years until we sorted out a bank loan. That was how it all began.”
Having bought the home, Marilyn and Martin realised that they needed more permanent work than a market stall. That kick-started Martin’s career in community development, theatre and then arts, from which he progressed to a senior role at Auckland Council and then to the Corban Estate Arts Centre in Henderson. Marilyn studied education and then counselling and became a practitioner in that field.
Unlike today, Grey Lynn wasn’t a popular suburb when the Sutcliffes moved in. “People didn’t particularly want to live here then,” said Martin. “It was regarded as a bit of a dangerous area. But we wanted to be close to the city.”
The house has impressive artwork on the walls, including a nautical-themed painting by Dick Frizzell. Photo / Supplied
The house retains its classic charm. Photo / Supplied
He added: “We had connections with neighbours. We would sometimes hold an annual street party where we would close off a section of the street at either end with everybody wheeling their wheelie bins across the road.”
Martin enjoys cooking and over the years had a steady stream of creative friends for dinner, including Frizzell, artist Felicity West and actor Warwick Broadhead.
“I’m quite a cook, and so I was keen on making dinners for people. There were people from all kinds of areas. One of our friends way, way back was [activist] Donna Awatere [Huata].”
Martin said there was still a certain friendliness in the street, "but it’s a very different feel to what it was. People these days have locked gates and keypads and two SUVs. They just come out and jump in their car and drive off.”
The kitchen has hosted a who's who of New Zealand's art world. Photo / Supplied
Martin retired three years ago, but still mentors a group of young people at the Corban Estate Art Centre and owns some of their artwork personally.
The couple will miss some of the more unique aspects of the home, said Martin. For example, architect friend Malcolm Cheadle redesigned the rear of the home in the late 1970s, opening the back up with reclaimed windows and kauri match lining.
Ray White listing agent Cathy Roselli said she was impressed by what she saw when she first visited the house. “It was the charm of the home,” she told OneRoof. “So many of the homes we market are so orchestrated. This home has a groovy, cool authenticity about it. It’s uncurated. Some of the windows at the back even have their own stories to tell. I think it’s rather special.”
- 50 Selbourne Street, Grey Lynn, Auckland, goes to auction on October 23
