150 years of history in fairytale property

When in the 1860s Captain Kasper built the kauri home his family were to live in for the next 80 years, he had no idea what would rise around it in the next century and a half.

Just down the road would be the modern seaside settlements of Snells Beach and Algies Bay. But his house would still be there, surrounded by farmland.

Of course, it has changed, and even fallen into disrepair. But when Pam Martin and her former husband bought it in the 1980s, a return to glory was on the cards.

The Martins used the house as an office for their oyster farm. When, in 1995, they bought land from the adjoining farm, Pam began turning it into a fairytale called Narnia.

The marsh was drained and formed into rolling pastures. Two ponds were created, bridges, weirs and culverts were formed, and irrigation and stock watering installed.

In 1999, Pam moved in fulltime, and in 2000 the house was completely renovated. But it remains grounded in its past. Sash windows and the kauri ceilings are still there, as are some original fireplaces and kauri doors.

The kauri stairway from the open-plan kitchen and dining room leads to the attic - which could easily be transformed into a master bedroom retreat.

A sitting room on the northern side of the kitchen leads to the lounge, which opens to the veranda and a view over the lawn to the harbour.

Pam now spends nine months a year in Britain, and no longer has the time for her dream property.

"To be fair to it, it needs somebody there to live in it all the time," she says.

It's still on the market, awaiting expressions of interest around $3m.