Memories are made of this in Devonport

14 Takaranga Rd, Devonport, Auckland. Photo / Ted Baghurst

14 TAKARUNGA RD CHELTENHAM, DEVONPORT

5

1

1

SIZE: Land 1080sq m, house 180sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: CV $1.7 million. Auction June 23 (unless sold prior).

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 2.15-3pm.

ON THE WEB: bayleys.co.nz/101667209

SCHOOL ZONES: Devonport School, Belmont Intermediate, Takapuna Grammar.

CONTACT: Victoria Bidwell, Bayleys, ph 021 947 080.

FEATURES: Charming 1886 villa on the slopes of North Head in an extremely sound condition, with most of its original features intact. Presently configured with five bedrooms, this historic home owned by one family for the past 55 years is a blank slate awaiting its next transformation.

Back when Tom and Clyde Cumming were growing up on the slopes of North Head, the whole of Devonport was a child's paradise but their little neck of the woods was, to their eyes, the best of all.

Clyde remembers how wheeling their boat down Macky Ave to launch it from Cheltenham Beach was a regular event and how the beach and Devonport Domain at the end of their street were just extensions of their backyard.

"We just roamed all over this area ... sports-mad and active. Cheltenham Beach was such an important part of our growing up," he says. "We didn't go up North Head as it was Navy land and very overgrown but everywhere else we considered as ours."

And although the boys might have felt they owned the neighbourhood, their parents, Doug and Lennie Cumming, certainly owned the heritage villa with its return verandas, slate roof and distinctive turret (complete with century-old graffiti) in which they grew up.

From 1946 to the time of Lennie's recent death at the grand old age of 95, the house was a family home, surrounded by its gently sloping 1080sq m fruit and flower-filled garden that Lennie loved. "It was what kept her young," is her daughter-in-law Susie's opinion. "That and her friends of all ages who were always popping in. I've known this house ever since I joined the family and it's always had this lovely feeling about it. Lennie and Doug always kept such a welcoming house."

Clyde points out the bedroom at the front of the house which he shared with Tom until leaving for university. "It's what you did in those days. We thought nothing of it, and anyway Aunt Mabel had one of the others and Dad had what he called his office. We called it the junk room. You wouldn't believe what we found when we finally cleared it out. He would never allow anyone in there. That's why there's still scrim on the walls."

Lennie and Doug always used the other front bedroom with its views over the garden, and two smaller bedrooms led off the wide hall towards the rear of the house behind the "office". Around the right angle in the hall is the only bathroom, and beside that is the utility room, complete with little hatches at ankle height to allow coal and rubbish to be passed in and out. Across from here is the large formal sitting room and, beyond that, the dining and sunroom where the family spent much of their time. Every room has high battened ceilings, ornate fireplaces and wide-boarded kauri floors under the carpets. Uncommon for a house of this vintage, the general layout towards the sun and the gardens is unusually embracing.

Not long after the time Clyde thinks the family actually moved in, architect Vernon Brown was commissioned to modernise this back area and as a result it includes 50s-style windows, an original light fitting and the paint scheme nominated at the time.

Even the adjacent galley kitchen has remained unchanged since it was installed. "It's surprisingly user-friendly," says Susie. "Everything's to hand, although I suppose it's not what somebody today might want."

And herein lies the question. Completely liveable as it is, this wonderful house is without a doubt a little bit tired and ready for a transformation. Even Clyde wonders what will be done to it. "I know it will be changed. I just find it hard to see how, perhaps because for me it's always been like this. It has a heritage that deserves to be celebrated but it also needs to fit the needs of a modern family. Whatever happens though it will always be a fantastic family home in a wonderful neighbourhood. It'll be interesting to see what happens."