100 years of family history as lakefront idyll goes to market.

A 34-hectare lakefront “slice of paradise”, lovingly created over many decades near the picturesque South Island township of Wanaka, is on the market for the first time in over 100 years.

Barn Pinch farm (and the Olive Grove wedding venue also on the property) has panoramic views over Lake Wanaka and Ruby Island and offers a peaceful idyllic vibe, privacy and seclusion in one of New Zealand’s most desirable holiday destinations.

It is, believes Phil Gilchrist, from Prime Real Estate, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure one of the most desirable properties in New Zealand, tightly held by the same family for generations: “It is a prime, elevated oasis and seldom is a property of such character and beauty available.

“Barn Pinch is within walking distance of the township, and overlooks the lake, Ruby Island and mountains beyond. With approximately 630 metres of waterfront, it’s just a magical property. The house sits right at the very top with spectacular views.”

“What makes the listing unique is that, for starters, it’s 34 hectares and is right on the township boundary with outstanding views. The house sits right up on the edge. To build a new property like that with such a view would be difficult. However, with Barn Pinch, the house is pre-existing, making it easy for a future owner to do something with the property.

“The house itself was built as a family retreat in the 1970s, as a holiday home. The brief to a Mason & Wales architect was it must house 20 people to sleep. The gardens are the result of a lifetime of planting by the late owner, Jill Blennerhassett. Gardening was her passion, and, over the years, she just continued planting trees. You can see the result of that now which is something very special. It’s a park-like setting.”

Barn Pinch is only seven per cent classified as an outstanding natural landscape, which Gilchrist says is beneficial: “Just across the road it is zoned as such, which makes it more difficult to build or develop.

“So there is significant potential for future development. A block of land this size, so close to the township and mostly outside the outstanding natural landscape protections, makes it favourable for a future subdivision.”

“Being so close to Wanaka, I believe that the property will see an exponential increase in value over time – and in time, I would expect it to be developed into smaller lots.”

Olive Grove has hosted many famous weddings over the years and future owners can decide to continue with the business, or not, he says: “It’s away from the house so doesn’t affect privacy.”

The location – on the fringe of the picturesque Wanaka township, an hour’s drive from Queenstown Airport with a choice of ski fields, vineyards, walking and cycling trails – is only part of its attraction. It has a unique family back story, steeped in the history of the area.

Jill Blennerhassett inherited the property from her mother in the early 1970s. Jill, together with her late husband, Dr John Blennerhassett (both died in 2022), spent many years developing Barn Pinch and converting it from a campsite to a cherished family holiday refuge complete with a house, swimming pool, tennis court and park-like surrounds.

It was originally part of a much larger Wanaka Station (which Wanaka is named after), bought by Jill’s grandparents Sir Percy and Lady Lucy Sargood in 1912. Well-known philanthropists of Dunedin, the Sargoods established a successful warehouse and importing company and made many enduring gifts and legacies in their lifetimes.

Jill Blennerhassett tells the story in her memoirs, with beginnings in the 1930s when, during boarding school holidays, she would go to stay with her grandparents and help around the station with the farm manager, her uncle Bill Macpherson.

It was the start of a life in which she became besotted with planting trees, collecting farm artefacts, driving tractors – and her family. Her handiwork is everywhere at Barn Pinch, the result of her decades-long labour of love in creating her slice of paradise after inheriting her grandfather’s love of planting. Her first effort was 150 chestnut trees followed by walnuts, pine nuts, almonds, macadamia and hazelnuts.

There are pockets of fruit and nut trees, a grove of olives, gardens of roses and flowering cherries, stands of Douglas firs and eucalypts, a stand known as the 100 Acre Wood after AA Milne’s fictional forest inhabited by Winnie-the-Pooh.

For non-cropping varieties she chose oaks, eucalyptus, macrocarpa, larch and pine: “Later, quince, pear, apples, grapefruit, mandarins, lemons then a lovely and flourishing olive grove,” she wrote in her memoirs.

When a friend suggested they use the olive grove as a wedding venue, they jumped at the chance to start a new business – and this was in 2012 when the couple were nearing their 80s. After their deaths, the reluctant decision was made to sell this amazing property.

Barn Pinch has a two-bedroom main home and an outer bunk house with four bunks, a double bed and bathroom in each of two rooms. There is a separate garage with an office on top, a separate two-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage, an implement shed with a workshop, pool and tennis court.

For more information go to: primewanaka.com/listings/residential_sale-4066792-wanaka/