KEY POINTS:
One of Mt Albert's original homesteads was lovingly tended by its owner of the past 25 years, who also had plenty of character.
21 & 23 Stilwell Rd, Mt Albert.
Barrie Cardon was an enthusiast - of American muscle cars, six-cylinder motorbikes, and his stately house on the slopes of Mt Albert.
His daughter Narelle tells how Barrie, a property investor who died in 2005, could "live on the smell of an oily rag", but cheerfully spent $225,000 on renovations in 1989.
"He only wore singlets, shorts and bare feet, and would garden in the nude," adds his other daughter Deena. "But when he spotted a carpet he liked in Westminster Abby he sourced it in New Zealand and had it laid throughout the house, not minding that it cost $200 a metre."
Narelle and Deena loved their father for his eccentric ways, and for his devotion to the house he owned for the last 25 years of his life.
The land has remained in two titles since its subdivision in the early part of last century. One lot was originally owned by a school teacher called Percy Skinner, the other by a dairy farmer called Maria Cossey who claimed she was a princess in the French royal family, and sometimes went by the name De Guise. She had the homestead built in 1929.
In 1956 New Zealand forestry founder Sir David Henry bought the homestead, and two years later the vacant lot beside it, combining it into one property. Barrie acquired the property in 1980 and lived there largely on his own, his young daughters visiting at weekends as they grew up.
His 1989 renovations included an 88sq m garage for some of his eight cars (five Mustangs, a 1963 Thunderbird, a big-block Corvette and a vintage Mercedes) and work to make the house's front entrance even more grand. Narelle says he sent his builders and masonry experts down to Alberton House to copy that historic home's elegant frontage.
You approach the house through an arbour draped with bougainvillea, past a formal garden that includes a giant rewarewa and a liquidambar resplendent in autumn colour. You then ascend a staircase past a classically-styled water feature. Inside the front door you can turn right into the formal dining room. The elegant leadlighting used in the French doors leading into the room, the bay window looking into the garden and in the built-in cabinetry is repeated throughout the house, and reveals the quality of workmanship that has gone into the home.
Back in the hallway, a compact oak-panelled lift will take you to the top storey, and a large safe remains behind cupboard doors.
The formal lounge is warmed by a gas fire, and opens through another set of leadlight French doors into an internal spa pool room. With a rimu-sarked ceiling and enough space for a miniature grand piano, this room is one of Barrie's extravagant and whimsical touches.
The kitchen is striking in black and white, and looks out to the rear garden and a large puriri tree.
Upstairs is a large sitting area opening onto a deck, with a breathtaking view stretching from Waterview, across the upper Waitemata harbour to the Waitakeres and around to the Chelsea Sugar Refinery. Bedrooms either side of this space open onto their own balconies to share the outlook.
And there's another eccentricity - a ladder pulls down from the sitting room ceiling to take you up to a secret door, which leads onto an even higher deck. Here the view widens to include Huia, Rangitoto, the city and Mt Eden.
"It's a wonderful spot to sit with a glass of wine as the sun's going down," says Narelle.
Since Barrie's death his cars have been distributed through his family - Narelle proudly drives the red 1969 Mustang Mach 1 Fastback. Barrie's brother Forrest Cardon, who set a land speed record on Muriwai beach on one of their single-cylinder motorbikes, looks after their remaining collection of six six-cylinder models.
But the time has now come to let Barrie's beloved house go.
"He always kept it spotless and nothing for the house was too much trouble," says Deena. "This was his palace."
VITAL STATISTICS
BEDROOMS: 4
BATHROOMS: 3
GARAGES: 5
SIZE: Land 3238sq m in two titles (zoned res 3b), house 295sq m approx.
PRICE INDICATION: CV $2.67 million. Auction June 23.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 3.15-4pm, or by appointment.
ON THE WEB: www.bayleys.co.nz # 44565
SCHOOL ZONES: Gladstone Primary, Mt Albert Grammar.
CONTACT: Patrick McCarthy and Karen Spires, Bayleys, ph 309 6020 bus, Patrick 027 233 3988, Karen 027 273 8220.
FEATURES: Stately home built in 1929 on the slopes of Mt Albert, with 180 degree views west and north. Four living areas, including an internal spa pool room. A lift, and a secret ladder to the top balcony. Park-like grounds with a summer house in a private rear setting.
