Kumeu: Links with the past

CEDRIC GRAY visits a vast home in Kumeu where nearly every room has a story tell.

A visit to Arthur Mayall and Heather Baker's 3.5ha property on the outskirts of Kumeu township is like taking a walk down memory lane.

The journey starts in the attractive entrance foyer - a mini hall of fame to honour the life of Elvis Presley. To the left is a wurlitzer organ; to the right a steel guitar. Immediately ahead is a large painting (bought in Memphis) of the legendary heart throb, shedding a tear after one of his musical triumphs.

Everything about the property - and the memorabilia - is big. For a start, the house is about 700sq m. Built three years ago and in need of some finishing off inside, it has nine bedrooms and a vast, open-plan kitchen, lounge and dining area with a cathedral-like 7.5m stud. The biggest woodburner on the market provides winter warmth.

There is an eight-car, attached garage where Arthur stores his classic Zephyr convertible. There is room aplenty for the workshop, where Arthur manufactures ski-boats.

The striking home occupies a beautifully sheltered site off Trigg Rd, about 3km from the township. It is surrounded by orchards and light grazing land, the Mayall-Baker property including three paddocks, a wide expanse of lawn and a picturesque pond. There are three varieties of plum trees in two small orchards.

The house was built of Bay of Plenty earth brick, each brick weighing 22kg. "It was a bricklayer's nightmare," says Arthur, "but it was certainly built to last."

There are links with the past in every corner. The heavy double doors dividing the entrance foyer and lounge were retrieved from a Spanish castle. The vanity in one of the three bathrooms was once used by prisoners in a US prison, and one of New Zealand's first washing machines is in the laundry, along with a range of grandma's scrubbing boards.

A pony trap hangs from the lounge ceiling and an old Shacklock coal range stands alongside a modern Westinghouse gas stove in the kitchen. Old wagon wheels, cross-cut saws, soil cultivators and milking machines are poignant reminders of the early days of European settlement.

Arthur has the final say. He points to the "torture chamber", part of the set from the film Zena, which now occupies a corner of what he describes as his rock 'n' roll room on the first floor.

"We went to the auction for coffee and a look around, and we came away with this," he says.

The couple intend to move to a dry stock farm near Wellsford. The property is being auctioned by Norwest Real Estate, Kumeu, on June 8. Contact Mary Massara on 412 4279 for details.