Hobsonville: Moving with the times

An historic home that keeps changing location has come to rest, fully renovated.

60 Wiseley Road, Hobsonville.

If he were alive today Joshua Carder wouldn't recognise his little kauri cottage - but then it has undergone two major renovations and been shifted twice in its 140 years.

Carder had a brickworks at Limeburners Bay and built a home there in the early 1860s at what is now Oakpark Place. About 30 years later that cottage was dragged 500m up the hill by a team of bullocks to Wiseley Road. Later, it was modified in such a way that it became the heart of a large villa and was home to three generations of the Wiseley family, who were farmers.

About a year ago, flight attendant Dale Kiely bought the homestead, which was on a large piece of land, with the intention that he and wife Linda would live in it. They shifted the house so they could subdivide the land and create a section for his parents to build on. But in the time it took to finish the project, the Kielys' plans changed; they've sold the land and now they are selling the house.

Dale says when he bought the home it was in "a huge state of disrepair" on an overgrown section.

"My father, when I was looking at the house, said, 'What do you want to do with it? It's fit to be bulldozed'."

But Dale could see the home was ripe for a sympathetic renovation.

It was moved not only to facilitate the subdivision but also so it could be re-oriented to improve its street appeal. Then it was gutted, re-wired, re-plumbed, re-roofed and renovated top-to-bottom, including demolishing and replacing a decrepit lean-to.

"And it's still got potential for further development," says Dale. "It's got a huge cavity space up in the roof; there's at least eight or nine feet of headroom."

Dale says that while the house has been modernised, "I wanted it to maintain part of its classical appeal of being a villa".

"From the front we managed to totally maintain the integrity of the villa," says Dale. "In the back of the house we've got this large area with the lounge and kitchen and family area where it all flows through and out the back on to the deck."

Dale painted the interior and exterior in timeless villa colours, mainly creams and whites.

"It's a light and spacious house anyway but the colour scheme just adds to that expanse."

Polished kauri floorboards are a feature in the kitchen and family living area, as well as the bathrooms, laundry and entranceway. The rest of the house is carpeted.

The return verandah on the street frontage is mirrored by a wraparound deck at the rear, which has views across the water to the city.

If the reaction of the neighbours is anything to go by, Dale has honoured the home's heritage.

"A lot of the older people from around the area have come in to have a look at the house, saying 'I remember this house from when I was a kid'. And then they have come out with beaming smiles."

Vital Statistics

BEDROOMS: 4

BATHROOMS: 2

GARAGE: 2

SIZE: Land 754sq m, house 220sq m.

PRICE: $759,000.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 3-4pm.

CONTACT: Nick Vitasovich, Harcourts Hobsonville, ph 416 8176 bus, 0274 417 703 mob.

FEATURES: Meticulously restored and modernised historic home. Two gas fires. Carport could easily be converted to a garage.