The spokesman said the family had since created a holiday home where a generation of grandchildren had grown up with fond summer memories. For this reason, the family had mixed feelings about selling, but with the family patriarch passing away last year, it was time to move on.
The house also had a spa - but a swimming pool was unnecessary. "The whole Bay of Islands is our swimming pool."
Other highlights included a floating jetty big enough to accommodate a 15m boat, a cottage, and pathways wide enough for golf carts criss-crossing the landscaped grounds sprawling over the 2ha section.
A wardrobe inside the house led to an alleged escape passage under the mansion.
"There's a hatch under a wardrobe, which you can go down," said Chester Rendell, Bayleys Auckland Central salesman. "It comes out about 10m in front of the house, towards the water, allowing a potential quick escape by boat. We were told the space was for ventilation, but it could have been an escape tunnel for its previous owner, some locals say."
Bayleys said a heliport on the property was believed to have been part of Clark's alternative escape plan by air if needed, reminiscent of 1980s gangster movie Scarface. The property had a rateable value of $2.35 million but was expected to sell for far more, said Mr Rendell. The house would appeal most to families wanting a "magnificent permanent home" or a big holiday home.
Terry John Clark
- Moved from small-time crime and cannabis-dealing to selling cocaine and heroin.
- Murdered or had killed at least six associates - one survivor estimates 12 dead, according to Pat Booth, author of The Mr Asia File.
- The original Mr Asia was Martin "Marty" Johnston, who moved from Auckland to Singapore.
- Clark ordered the murder of Johnston, whose mutilated body was found in a disused Lancashire quarry.
- At its peak in the late 1970s, the syndicate was making tens of millions of dollars
