A former captain of the Silver Ferns has put her stunning Wanaka dream home on the market for sale.
The four-bedroom designer property at 1 Wicklow Terrace, in Albert Town, is listed with Ray White agent Anna Findlay and goes to auction on April 20.
The home was built by Joan Harnett-Kindley and her husband Don nearly 15 years ago, replacing an old bach that had previously sat on the 1993sqm section.
Harnett-Kindley, who played for the national netball squad between 1963 and 1974 and was captain for 45 of the 116 international matches she played, said the couple were selling up to build a townhouse elsewhere in the town.
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The couple’s house on Wicklow Terrace has an RV of $4.25 million and is a standout in the town. It looks out on the river, has views of Mt Gold and Mt Maude and comes with a full-size tennis court.
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Harnett-Kindley told OneRoof that when they were building the home they carried out earthworks to raise the ground level by 4m to protect against flooding, with the designer home sitting 5m above the level of the original bach.
The home is built in schist stone to ensure it was in keeping with the environment, a design feature that Harnett-Kindley is especially proud of. “It just belongs here,” she said. “And I think that’s the nicest part about it.”
Harnett-Kindley said she started her own real estate agency in Christchurch in the 1970s, after leaving netball, and later became a director of her husband’s real estate business in Wanaka.
She also became a judge for the Master Builders House of the Year competition, and her experience in the competition helped her with the design of the Wicklow Terrace property, which was carried out by architect Ken Warburton.
“We had a really lovely experience with Ken Warburton, because he knew what we wanted and the way he designed it was exactly the way we wanted,” she said.
Harnett-Kindley, who just celebrated her 80th birthday, said she still had a passion for sport, playing tennis on the court quite regularly, but felt the size of the home and section was too big for the couple’s current lifestyle. “We're on half an acre of land. As one gets older it’s a lot of work. We’ve got to move while we can still enjoy the new [home].”
Former Silver Ferns captain Joan Harnett-Kindley, left, with Beatrice Faumuina at the Hall of Fame Induction ceremony at the 56th ISPS Handa Halberg Awards in 2019. Photo / Getty Images
The Wicklow Terrace home looks out to the river and has views of Mt Gold and Mt Maude. Photo / Supplied
Listing agent Anna Findlay said the Wicklow Terrace house was one of the best in the area, and one of the few larger homes on the riverfront. “A lot of the properties along the riverfront are old original baches,” she said. “Land is very tightly held in this area.”
Both Findlay and Harnett-Kindley think the house would appeal to Auckland buyers, although South Islanders have also been looking. “It could be someone for Auckland. People there have had such a bad time,” said Harnett-Kindley. “We think it could also be someone from here who likes the outlook and wants access to the river, the boating, the fishing and the skiing. It’s all here, you see, right on our doorstep.”
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