The Shakespeare Rd property overlooks Lake Pupuke and has two houses.
The Shakespeare Rd property overlooks Lake Pupuke and has two houses.
A sprawling lakefront property where former Takapuna mayor Fred Thomas and his wife, Mary, raised their nine children is for sale by tender.
He liked to observe: "Takapuna is a great place to live - let's keep it that way."
The couple planted native bush on their Lake Pupuke land from where they admired the sunrise and teeming birdlife of the wildlife reserve.
Although Mr Thomas died in 2006, his wife lived in the smaller of two houses on the site until her death last November. Family trustees say they "reluctantly" offer it for sale.
"We moved there in 1968 and it was a marvellous place to be," said James Thomas, one of the two sons and seven daughters who grew up there.
The Shakespeare Rd property overlooks Lake Pupuke.
"It was a big section, running down into the lake. Once we kept a horse and two sheep and we had chooks and a large vegetable garden - we picked sweetcorn for lunch.
"We had great games on the back lawn and at night went eeling, with a torch and a harpoon.
"There were tremendous opportunities for recreation: windsurfing, sailing, kayaking, and swimming out to a homemade raft tied to an old tree stump.
"Over the years, we have had wonderful family weddings and gatherings, with mum and dad and nine kids. There are 38 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren."
One of the three family trustees is Peter Thomas, who is the husband of Lucy Knight, the mother of six who was left fighting for her life from head injuries after she tried to stop a youth stealing a handbag outside a Northcote supermarket in September.
Fred Thomas was mayor of Takapuna from 1965 to 1986 and in the last three years was also chairman of the Auckland Regional Authority.
A lawyer, he stood for mayor because he opposed a plan to build a regional centre on the North Shore municipal golf course by the Northern Motorway.
The course is now called A.F. Thomas Park and a medical centre in Fred Thomas Drive is named after him.
Pam Riley, of the Barfoot & Thompson real estate agency, said the houses and land on 100 and 102 Shakespeare Rd made up "one of the rarest and most spectacular old family properties" on the North Shore.
The combined property for sale by tender, closing April 21, is under two titles, with a combined QV rateable valuation of $4.73 million.
Pam Riley said the combined property was officially 6505sq m but she is marketing it as 5100sq m, the difference being an area which was covered when the lake level rose after 1968.
The land is zoned 4A for residential development under current planning rules and the agent has outlined three potential future uses: keeping it as a magnificent estate and building a home befitting the site; building eight to 10 homes; or creating a stunning lakefront estate on the waterfront title and building several homes on the site nearest the road.
• 5100sq m of land with a frontage to Lake Pupuke (104ha). • Two houses, one dating from 1924. • $4.73 million QV rateable valuation (2014). • 4A residential zone allows development. • 8-10 houses is one option. • April 21 close for tenders.
