- A vintage cottage in Ponsonby is for sale for the first time in nearly 100 years.
- The home belonged to Daniel Dawson, a dedicated local who lived there from the 1930s.
- Dawson was known for his generosity and involvement in the community.
A vintage cottage sandwiched between two modern apartment blocks is on the market for sale for the first time in almost 100 years.
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The three-bedroom property, which sits on a 334sqm section in Auckland’s Ponsonby, has an RV of $2.25 million but the listing for the deceased estate on OneRoof urges buyers to ignore the valuation.
45 Brown Street, which is being sold by Barfoot & Thompson agents Alexander Kramarenko and Luke Shi, was the home of Ponsonby character Daniel Dawson from the 1930s until his death last year at the age of 96.
Dawson had turned down offers for his home over the years, his nephew and executor Ken Rouse told OneRoof, but he was so committed to life in his suburb, even as it changed around him and neighbouring properties were sold and developed.
The late owner lived in the three-bedroom cottage since the 1930s. Photo / Supplied
“Dan was probably only seven or eight years old when he moved there [to 45 Brown Street], from Tōwai in Northland,” said Rouse.
Dawson became a builder, and was apprenticed to Fletchers in the company’s early years, when it was building state homes at scale. He never married but he had several hobbies and interests, including rugby league. “He was a keen leaguer,” Rouse said. “He was a member of the Ponsonby Rugby League Club and right into his 90s, he was a season ticket holder at Mount Smart Stadium for the Warriors.”
Dawson used to travel by bus and train to the stadium with his friends. “They were good family friends and used to accompany him, chaperone him to the league right to the end,” said Rouse.
“The Warriors from time to time would train at a facility on Brown Street and they’d walk past the house. [My uncle] would give the coach and one or two of the players a strop up on what he thought they should and shouldn’t be doing.
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“One of the local Ponsonby businessmen organised a birthday card for my uncle on his 90th and it was signed by all of the Warriors, which was a bit of a thrill for him.”
Even as the streets around him changed, Dawson remained the perfect neighbour. When Turet Knuefermann opened her clothing store Knuefermann on Brown Street, Dawson welcomed her to the neighbourhood and began dropping off gifts of vegetables he had grown in his veggie patch. It’s something he did for many local business owners, she told OneRoof.
“It was so wonderful to see a thriving veggie patch in the middle of the city,” said Knuefermann. “We were neighbours for 20 years and he was always such a gentleman. He would pop his head in on his way for a walk to say hi.”
Dawson was still able to get up a ladder and paint the Brown Street cottage when he was in his 80s. Photo / Supplied
Dawson was also popular with the staff and students at the A’oga Fa’a Samoa early childhood centre at nearby Richmond Road Primary School. “He used to caretake the grounds there for years and years and years without ever accepting anything other than beautifully painted and coloured Christmas and birthday cards,” Rouse said. “They would sometimes turn up and sing waiata to him, just in honour of his contribution to the school.”
He added: “Money never really interested him. He was terribly generous. Even though he was a pensioner he would give thousands of dollars away to children’s cancer research and the Red Cross and heart organisations.”
Dawson remained active well into his 80s, said Rouse. “He would get up a ladder and paint, right at the top of the house. The neighbours in the apartment blocks around watched that with some trepidation. [They] used to scold him, but it made no difference. He kept on doing it.”
A two-bedroom green villa for sale at 118 Church Street, in Onehunga, Auckland, will be recognisable to Dress Smart shoppers. Photo / Supplied
Listing agent Alexander Kramarenko said he was delighted he had been recommended to the vendors. He’d parked outside the home for more than a decade when taking clients for celebratory catch-ups at Cocoro restaurant across the street, or nearby Ponsonby Central. “I had often wondered. It was the only house left that was untouched.”
The listing of 45 Brown Street follows the listing of another vintage Auckland home surrounded by multi-storey developments. Earlier this month, OneRoof wrote about a green villa in Onehunga surrounded by the high concrete walls of Dress Smart shopping mall.
The two-bedroom deceased estate at 118 Church Street is for sale with Barfoot & Thompson agents Wendy Sadd and Michele Ballinger.
- 45 Brown Street, Ponsonby, Auckland, is for sale, tender closing March 25
