NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Property

Robyn Welsh: More than history revealed

By Robyn Welsh
NZ Herald·
13 Oct, 2017 04:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images

146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images

When, to make way for a new house, Aiden Craig and Tania Pearce demolished the century-old home they had lived in for eight years, they received an unexpected bonus. It came in the form of a hidden wad of $500 in 1970s banknotes.

"It just fell out of the wall, and that was what got me really interested in the history of the house," says Tania.

"Who would stash something like that in the veranda wall before it was filled in? Who knows where it came from?"

That stash added handsomely to the proceeds of the sale of the old roof tiles, windows, doors and courtyard pavers from the house, which they couldn't move off site in one piece because of the surrounding bush.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Somehow people got wind of the fact we were getting rid of it and they filled us in on some of its stories," she says.

Wagon wheels and horseshoes Tania found in the bush date back to the days when this property was a weigh station.

Toy cars and balls she also found tell something of the days when it was a home to recalcitrant boys from the city.

At one point, the house had been the one-room weekend bach of an Auckland city jeweller. One man told how he had sourced the kauri for his alterations.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"He was probably sad but he totally understood," says Tania, of the home's demise.

She and Aidan had intended renovating the house but when an engineer declared it to be "75 to 85 per cent rotten", they engaged Scott Jury of Jurado Architects to design their new home. Built three years ago, its "concrete and kauri" theme is much more than a nod to complementing an industrial vibe.

The bathroom vanities were built from old kauri floor joists. The kauri flooring comprises some from the old house that was re-milled and installed alongside matching swamp kauri.

146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images

The kauri cladding behind their wetback was once white painted weatherboards. "That was all there was that wasn't rotten," says Tania.

Outside, there is a textural timber imprint to the pre-cast concrete entrance above their entry deck and front door.

Inside, the kitchen breakfast bar features swamp kauri cladding and an old kauri table integrated into a stainless steel side bench where Robbie (15) and Hannah (13) do their homework.

"It is not a wet area. It is quite separate and it works really well," says Tania.

146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images

Separate bedroom/bathroom wings for the adults and children flank this central living area with floor-to-ceiling windows to views as far as the upper reaches of the Waitemata harbour.

Within each wing, large casement windows designed without corner pillars bring unobstructed, sheltered views into the bush.

The children's wing includes the deckside TV lounge and a laundry with external shower on the deck.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
146 Carter Road, Waitakere, Auckland. Photo / Fiona Goodall / Getty Images

On the opposite side, the master bedroom's en suite can be closed off to become a second bathroom, with its floor-to-ceiling backdrop of dense bush.

A separate office/guest area near the front door is close to a large storage cupboard designed for conversion into a stairwell down to the basement rumpus room.

The family are now off to dip into the outdoor Wanaka/Queenstown lifestyle.

On the web link

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Property

Property

Second time lucky: Young couple's squeals of delight after they buy real-life doll’s house

06 Jul 06:51 PM
Property

OCR twist: Will the Reserve Bank surprise homeowners on Wednesday?

06 Jul 06:20 PM
Property

‘Eight weddings and a funeral’ - School turned into giant family home

06 Jul 06:15 PM

Audi offers a sporty spin on city driving with the A3 Sportback and S3 Sportback

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Property

Second time lucky: Young couple's squeals of delight after they buy real-life doll’s house

Second time lucky: Young couple's squeals of delight after they buy real-life doll’s house

06 Jul 06:51 PM

They had missed out on their dream home eight months earlier.

OCR twist: Will the Reserve Bank surprise homeowners on Wednesday?

OCR twist: Will the Reserve Bank surprise homeowners on Wednesday?

06 Jul 06:20 PM
‘Eight weddings and a funeral’ - School turned into giant family home

‘Eight weddings and a funeral’ - School turned into giant family home

06 Jul 06:15 PM
'Expectation gap' dividing buyers and sellers in South Island's biggest city

'Expectation gap' dividing buyers and sellers in South Island's biggest city

06 Jul 06:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP