They began building in July 1976 and moved in 18 months later, once the basic amenities were in place. They worked steadily for many years to complete the house.
Designed with level access and wide doorways for their wheelchair-bound daughter, this dream home became Norman's retirement project. He had worked as an electrical engineer with the Royal New Zealand Navy, having completed his apprenticeship making instruments for watch-makers. Everywhere here there is beautiful, handcrafted metalwork - from the light fittings and wall sconces to the entry archway and brass details around the fireplace.
The Ralph boys, Bayard and Tertius, were just 9 and 10 when their parents bought this land and they helped with some of the heaviest construction work. The boys and their mother poured the concrete that created the internal walls. Gay worked the concrete mixer, delivering many fully laden wheelbarrows and buckets of concrete.
These young boys were on-site when the huge Murray River Red Gum timber beams (from an old railway bridge) arrived via train, truck and tractor. Their job was to help lift them into place. These beautiful deep-red exposed beams, the copper nails, the braced tongue-and-groove Douglas fir interior doors, the rimu floors and panelled walls tell the story of the home they say is really quite humble.
"We like to see how a house has been built," Gay explains. "We wanted a home that looked as if it had grown out of the ground. This house is going to be here for 500 years."
The Italian tiles that add to the timeless feel in the downstairs entry, hall and kitchen/dining area were bought before the house was built.
Upstairs, the master bedroom adjoins a mezzanine landing and a large bathroom. The internal-access double garage has one double bedroom above; the free-standing single garage nearby has a single bedroom above it. The hexagonal three-level tower that was once a gazebo has a bathroom, studio and roof loft.
From the terracotta-paved courtyard to the tower loft, the views of Gay's tiered gardens take in the mature puriri, rimu, kauri and totara trees they inherited with this land.
This is a property that has given the Ralph children an enviable childhood. More recently, it was the setting for a family wedding.
Widowed four years ago, Gay has cared for her husband's legacy with immense pride. Now, aged in her early 70s, she has another project in sight in a smaller home on the North Shore, close to where she grew up.
The property sold in October for $780,000.
