Twenty years ago, on a beautiful location on Napier’s Bluff Hill, Dave and Jo Bickerstaff fell in love with a quirky old house. The land was once a part of the enormous estate known as the Mount House, which James Stanistreet Large constructed for his family.
Although dilapidated, the house was initially livable. They intended to renovate it and then move in. But after twenty years, they have made some changes to the house, but more has been torn down than rebuilt. After all this time, no one has lived there, and it is still abandoned.According to Dave Bickerstaff, “We’ve never been able to successfully do what we planned.” It’s just one of those things where we always meant to do more, but we haven’t gotten around to it.
A short distance down the garden path, the couple believes their home was once the large house next door’s standalone music room. It was most likely constructed about 1890, around the same time that the house was erected, and the croquet lawn was located on the property.
According to Dave Bickerstaff, “this house has been extended bit by bit over the years.” On our land, there’s even a pavilion shed and another observatory shed known as the Greenwich. It is neither a good state. I wouldn’t even want to step inside.
But the property, with its wide flat sections and some terracing, and the stunning views of the ocean, are what the couple fell in love with.
According to Bickerstaff, “the house was never anything [special].” However, the land is situated above the former jail site on the eastern side of the hill. Beautiful views of Centennial Gardens and the waterfall in the former quarry may be seen from there. Marine Parade and beyond are seen.
According to listing agent Phil Carmine of Tremains Real Estate, the owners were unable to complete the project to their satisfaction because it was simply too large in scale.
“It appears like two houses were combined; the more modern portion is on the lower level, and the rustic, top weatherboard portion would have been the original house.”
This is the 1993 addition that Bickerstaff claims was added to the home. Built to blend in with the older portion of the home, the turret is a component of the addition.
Carmine remarks, “The house is so quirky and cool in so many ways.” “To be completely honest, I’m not sure how many bedrooms it has, even with my hand on my heart. There are far more walls that have fallen than that have been built.
The 1172m² property is great residential estate in a highly sought-after hillside location. Its microclimate is so sheltered and sunny that even banana plants thrive there.
Bickerstaff remarks, “We have really enjoyed how peaceful and private the location is.” “Even though you can see some other houses across the valley, you could swear you were in the country rather than the city.”
According to the agent, Bluff Hill rarely sees the sale of such huge land lots. He is advising potential buyers to either start afresh with a new house or follow the working drawings the current owners have created to restore the property.
The property is being sold by tender, with a closing date of February 28, 2024, at 2 Hadfield Terrace, Bluff Hill, Napier. The RV for 2020 costs $640,000.
