Birkenhead Point: The astronomer's garden

A large family home sits in a grove of palms planted by an English eccentric, writes Graham Hepburn.

8 Awanui Street, Birkenhead Point.

Fifteen years ago Peter and Elaine Smales were looking for a place in Remuera or Parnell, but found a home in Birkenhead Point they couldn't resist.

The couple were living in Takapuna but with their daughter going to Diocesan School in Epsom they were looking for a home close by. That plan changed when they came across 8 Awanui Street.

"Elaine found it and we just fell in love with it," Peter says of the three-level plaster home in an exotic setting of mature palms planted by eccentric English astronomer Clement Wragge, who settled here in 1910.

The house looks unassuming as you enter from the quiet cul de sac via a neatly manicured front courtyard. But once you have passed through the living areas and are out to the large wooden deck, a scene opens up before you that is, as Peter says, "just like being in Thailand".

Towering to the north of the house are about 60 mature palms - gathered as seedlings by Wragge from around the Pacific - and they are dwarfed by an enormous rainforest tree, the Moreton Bay fig. The property used to be part of what astronomer and meteorologist Wragge called Waiata Tropical Gardens.

A short walk down the zig-zagging track through these stout-trunked palms takes you to the shores of Little Shoal Bay. Peter, who used to have a sailing dinghy down here, says the new owners could, if they desired, build a jetty off the property.

The exotic plantings give the property a tropical feel that is amplified by the covered outdoor area that opens on to the deck. A Muscat grapevine wanders into the conservatory and forms a canopy over the seating area. "It's great when you're having a white wine; you can just reach up and grab a grape," says Peter.

This extended living area is served by a large kitchen and across from that is the formal dining room. It has a fireplace and features pictures of Wragge and his Indian wife that Peter says will stay with the house.

Upstairs there are bedrooms, another bathroom and an informal living area that was the front room in the original kauri villa which faced east. Peter's office is on a mezzanine floor overlooking the conservatory.

Further upstairs, the master bedroom has its own balcony with views over the water.

The Smales say it has been a privilege and a pleasure to own such a "landmark property".

"We've had some good times here; it's great for entertaining. We've had noise control around here a few times," says Peter.

"We've brought up two kids here from adolescence and through university and we just love it."

But having bought some land in Noosa Valley, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, for their retirement, the Smales are leaving with no regrets and looking forward to building a new home.

"We're not going to miss this house because where we're going has the same sort of feel," says Elaine. "We just hope that the people who buy this are as passionate about the place and the environment as we are."

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land 1229 (approx), house 310sq m (approx).

PRICE INDICATION: Interest expected above $1.5 million. Auction November 5.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 12.30-1.30pm.

CONTACT: Victoria Bidwell, Bayleys North Shore, ph 489 0975 bus, 021 947 080 mob.

FEATURES: An historic landmark on the shores of Little Shoal Bay with riparian rights. Formal and family living areas, study, extensive outdoor living areas with garden lighting. Two fireplaces and gas central heating. Double internal access garage and off-street parking.