Carterton: Historic Piwakawaka for sale

VIEW: Woodwork, in keeping with homebuilder Peter King, is the theme for "Piwakawaka".

A Carterton property with a hefty historical pedigree might be off the grid, but it's on the market.

"Piwakawaka", at 508 Perrys Rd in East Taratahi, was built from a concept by designer Max Edridge, the man largely credited with the revival of Greytown's shopping area.

The land, nearly 12ha, was originally owned by the Perry family, where Bill Perry - later a Wairarapa MP in the 1920s - grew up. Nearly 6ha are privately owned native forest, with some trees around 500 years old.

The "off the grid" refers to the house being self-sufficient, having solar power and its own wind turbine, says Bayley's Real Estate manager Sarah Kaye.

"It's just fantastic," she said.

A particular Edridge touch are shakes from cedar trees which fell during the Mt St Helens volcanic eruption.

"It was Max's view that this was the closest resemblance of the bark of a shaggy tree," she said.

Owner Peter King, of Peter King Joinery, built the house and it reflects his trade.

Timber used includes totara, Lawson cypress, blackwood, macrocarpa, Oregon pine, matai and cedar.

The property also has 150 olive trees, which produce a harvest of up to 200 litres of oil.

Max Edridge, who died in 2013 aged 75, was a pioneer in designing homes for disabled people before starting an architectural business in Greytown.

His efforts in the 1990s firmly put the town on the tourist beat.