The distinct whare frontage of this waterfront holiday home at Rawhiti pays tribute to the rich history of the Bay of Islands.
Below the home is the site where early Maori would camp while they fished in the summer.
Jonathan Ferrier's connection with the Bay of Islands dates back fivedecades to when he holidayed here as a child, staying with grandparents. Their link to the bay goes back to the 1930s.
"My grandfather had a strong connection with the local Maori and he is buried in the urupa there. He gave each of his three children a piece of land."
Jonathan's mother sold her land, and his parents later bought this land on Onepoto Point.
"How I understand it is, the local chief created three European titles and gave a title each to his children," says Jonathan. "My father was offered the point and he checked with family before he bought it. He travelled quite long distances to make sure it was all okay with the various parties involved.
"We didn't do anything with the land for quite some time and then we developed it in the late 90s. The building was finished in 2003."
The family looked to architect Andrew (Andy) Patterson, a school friend of Jonathan, for the design.
Jonathan's father showed Andy a painting of an idyllic scene of a basic bach and a red Massey Ferguson tractor to indicate the simple lines he wanted for the family's new holiday home, which would be nestled among the native bush on the 9020sq m section.
"Basically, the home is built of corrugated zinc and has the old-style chimney," says Jonathan.
"A lot of the families we associate with, their descendants used that whare site out front for their summer fishing. So Andy got hold of that story.
"The home was designed to be seen from the water very clearly as a whare."
The north-west facing house has commanding views over Albert Channel and across to Urupukapuka Island. There are two bedrooms, two tiled bathrooms and the open-plan, pitched-ceiling living area includes the substantial fireplace and Gaggenau kitchen. Bifold doors open to the deck, a place to enjoy the sunshine and panoramic views of the bay.
The property also has a separate boatshed with a six-bed bunk room, bedroom and bathroom.
Image 1 of 5: This distinctive family home has a significant and longstanding connection to the land it is built on, writes Donna McIntyre
A track from the lawn leads to a safe swimming beach.
"The beauty about the main house is a couple can go up to the house and there is a master bedroom off the living room, with a deep bath and a shower, and that has the awesome views out over the channel," says Jonathan.
"The living room has the deck ... and the large table inside was made from a single piece of kauri; we have had that in the family for about 30 years. There is another guest bedroom on the left-hand side.
"The view from the kitchen is a congregation point.
"When we are here at Christmas, we all do different things. We have friends who live nearby... we go out fishing, we sail, we dive, we swim, and there are wonderful walks around.
"We also have a pad that we didn't complete when we built the house -- that is for a separate two-bedroom building. It is yet to be built but it is ready to go.
"My brother Andy died recently, but he would fly his helicopter up here and he built a helicopter pad in front of the boatshed. He landed a Robinson and a Hughes 500 there."
Jonathan talks of the bay's environment, not only as a magnificent marine playground but also its significance in the nation's history.
"If you look at Anne Salmond's book Two Worlds, you have the way the history is written by Europeans and then the oral history of the Maori.
"The environment to me is very spiritual in the sense of how Maori treat it. It has this incredible richness to it for a family looking to buy the property and establish some sort of connection to the place; it's way more than just the property.
