Herne Bay - Added Value

Dennis Anderson sits on the front steps of his old family home and remembers growing up in the 1960s at the far end of Jervois Road.

294 Jervois road, Herne bay.

``I used to have an 8-foot pram dinghy, and me and a friend would launch it off Herne Bay wharf and head out to the gulf fishing.

``Then we'd pedal our bikes down to the zoo and sell our catch at the cookhouse. The cook would give us a few shillings, and then we'd spend the rest of the afternoon riding past the cages.''

Forty years on, the area retains much of its charm. The beaches are still close, the bus turns around before it gets to 294, and the only traffic is heading for Marine Parade.

What was the local grocery is now a Chinese restaurant renowned for its Peking duck. Bayfield Primary school is a stone's throw away - Anderson remembers coming home for lunch.

It's an area of well-established trees and substantial houses. The placing of power lines underground has enhanced the park-like feel.

``Two doors down is what we used to call `the mansion'. It's now a rest home, but when I was growing up it belonged to the women who owned the Hydra bacon factory, and was surrounded by large trees and high hedges,'' he says.

The two-bedroom, 120sq m Anderson cottage is probably the most modest on the street, but it has the full 870sq m section typical of the area.

The 1913 villa first came into the family in 1930, when Dennis's great aunt Ida married the schoolteacher at Pakiri and the couple moved into the city to seek their fortune.

Dennis's mother boarded with her aunt for many years, and when the old lady died, she inherited a half share. His parents swapped their new home in New Lynn for the other half and the family moved in.

They made some changes as Dennis and his brother Murray grew up. A fireplace was taken out, opening up the two rooms on the right side of the house, and a kitchen was built in the 1970s.

Anderson's father Lyn dug out the basement and created a room for the boys, accessed by a steep staircase.

A steel double garage was erected behind the house in 1981 to house a new car. While that was at the expense of a persimmon tree, there are other fruit trees still on the sloping section, including loquat, plum, pear and fig.

The wooden front steps rotted out and were replaced with a new set built from the bricks taken out of the fireplace, but the original posts and balustrades were kept and stored safely under the house.

Anderson says his father used to sit on the wide front porch watching the world go by, until his death earlier this year.

He expects any buyer will make substantial changes, but the bones of the villa mean they will have a sound basis from which to start.

VITAL STATISTICS

BEDROOMS: 2+

BATHROOMS: 1

GARAGES: 2+

SIZE: Land 870sq m, house 120sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV (2005) $1.14 million. Auction September 28.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 3-3.45pm.

ON THE WEB: www.open2view.com # 13621

CONTACT: Wayne Bulog, Unlimited Potential, ph 361 6658 bus, 0274 723 557, or Daniel Burrill, 361 6482 bus, 021 755 793.

FEATURES: Sound villa in desirable location, ripe for renovation.