Westmere: A lawn alive with boats

Mike’s father, Gordon, with Mike’s older brother Russell, sailing past the section in the Frostbite before the house was built. Photo / Geoff Dale

Happy memories of growing up by the water fill this Westmere home, which has been in the same family for 60 years.

In the 1940s, when Gordon Lanigan built a house above the shimmering waters off Westmere, he was determined to make it both a home and a holiday haven for his young family.

He succeeded. The four Lanigan children who grew up here, around the corner from the Auckland Harbour Bridge, never had to leave 6 Rawene Ave for a summer holiday.

Year round, from dawn till dusk, they would swim, play, fish and sail off the large grass lawn at the bottom of the section, which dips down to its own sandy beach.

"We had a huge playground to explore - all seasons, all tides. It was truly something special," says son Mike Lanigan. "Dad always said we didn't need to go away for a holiday, because we had it all here."

Gordon Lanigan lived here until three years ago, just before he died at the grand old age of 96. Until then, he was still enjoying the spectacular view, watching the tide roll in and out every day from the sunroom he built exactly for that purpose.

Now the Lanigan family feel it is time to pass on their extraordinary childhood experience to someone else.

"We've come to realise that you don't own anything - you are just caretakers. We're handing on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for another family to carry on the enjoyment we have had here," says Mike.

In 1942, Gordon Lanigan bought this 1300sq m section on the Westmere waterfront - choosing it over another in Marine Parade, Herne Bay, because of its better access to the beach below. It took him years of shovelling and barrowing to landscape the descent the way he wanted it - and the 58 gentle steps he built are still in seamless condition today.

At the bottom of the steps lies a 400sq m, flat section of grass, which was the Lanigan family's playground. "There were always picnics, barbecues, birthdays and boats," recalls Mike's sister, Anne Carpenter.

From pram dinghies to Frostbites, P-class to Z-class, the Lanigan children cannot remember a time when this lawn wasn't alive with boats. Mike and his two brothers naturally learned to sail here, and today Mike runs his own sailing academy, Gulfwind.

"From the time I could walk, we would sail across to our grandparents at the family homestead in Birkenhead. Even before the Auckland Harbour Bridge was built, I would sail my P-class down to Westhaven, race, and then sail home again," he says.

Their father would go out fishing off the shores of Te Atatu and "never caught less than 100 snapper", Anne remembers.

Gordon Lanigan was a builder by trade, and it is not until today that his children realise how forward his thinking was.

Unlike most of the houses of post-war Auckland, Gordon wanted to build his home to take absolute advantage of the wide sea views. He struggled to find an architect in the city who would look beyond having the living areas facing the street.

The dining room, which the family called the sunroom, is virtually all windows to soak up the view - Pt Chevalier to the west, the shores of Te Atatu on the northern horizon, and Kauri Pt and Birkenhead to the east. The lounge and a bedroom have also strategically placed windows to see the sea.

"It was most important for Dad to get the kitchen right - so when Mum was making a cup of tea she could look out at the view, too," Mike says. Their mother, Olga, had a bell on the windowsill, which she rang to bring the rest of the family home from the beach at dinnertime.

Even though the main bedroom was at the street end of the house, Gordon positioned the dresser mirror on just the right angle so he could lie in bed, see down the hall and watch what the tide was doing through the sunroom windows.

He also built a garage with internal entry to the house - a design feature decades ahead of its time - and put a shower and toilet in the full-concreted basement so the kids could clean up after a day at the beach.

Virtually all of this sturdy brick house is original, but the family realises that the house will most probably be torn down and replaced by a more modern home, as has been the case with many homes around this one.

"It's sad, but you have to be realistic," says Anne. "But hopefully they will get as much happiness and fun out of living here as we did."

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 6 Rawene Ave, Westmere.

FEATURES: Absolute waterfront property with riparian rights, shared boat ramp and boat shed; three-bedroom 1940s solid brick home; heart rimu floors; internal-access garage; large storage area in fully-concreted basement with separate toilet, shower and laundry area.

SIZE: Land 1298sq m.

TENDER CLOSES: April 11. Interest expected over $2 million.

AGENTS: Patrick McCarthy and Tim Collins Smith, Bayleys. Ph Patrick 375 6848 bus; 027 233 3988 mob; Tim 375 7404 bus; 021 909 149 mob.