The home of Birkenhead's original ratbag has been lovingly restored by a family who are searching for information on the character who built it. Rebecca Blithe pays a visit.
Frances Kluge heaves open one of two black double doors bearing the words "dining room" in a circle of frosted glass. We follow her through to a huge hall of a room with sarked, sloping ceilings and a picturesque view of Island Bay.
The Kluge family inherited a mysterious history with their 100-year-old house nestled on a knoll in Island Bay Rd. When they moved in three years ago the house was in a very rundown state. And they wondered why police cars frequently coasted up and down their street. "It turned out this used to be a known drug house," says Mrs Kluge. "We've been told it was a commune at one stage, too."
But before the druggies and many other owners, the 64sq m building was a tearoom and cabaret hall - a rowdy joint for sailors, locals and holidaymakers in the early 1900s.
Built by one of Birkenhead's first settlers, Fred Andersen, the century-old tearoom holds secrets about its maker that the Kluges are keen to uncover.
"From what we've heard, he sounds like a bit of a naughty guy," says Mrs Kluge of the alleged bootlegger, who arrived in Auckland from Denmark with his friend Soren Christensen in 1910.
Mr Andersen bought land in Island Bay and lived in a small shed on the property. Between growing masses of strawberries and brewing liquor, he built the tearoom where he played host to anyone in the area out for a good time.
In a nod to debauched days gone by, the Kluges have hosted a couple of their own parties in the tearoom, entertaining up to 150 guests at a time.
"We know Fred wasn't a churchgoer," says Mrs Kluge. "It was a dry area so he made his own liquor and would go and sell it to the sailors down in the bay. One of the old neighbours, who's now moved on, said they once saw Mr Andersen chase a trespasser up the street with a shotgun."
Mrs Kluge has also been told the kauri timber used to build the tearoom came from a demolished hotel on Queen St where the Dilworth building now stands.
"Apparently, Fred hopped in his boat and went around and picked up all the timber. There's no record that he paid for it. But most of what we know is hearsay, really," she says, extracting a flimsy wad of paper from a drawer. "This is it, this is all I know," she says, clutching the collection of archives from the North Shore City Council and a local newspaper.
Little has been unearthed about Mr Andersen, who has a reserve named after him. Among the few pages, Fred Andersen's name is highlighted as founder of the Island Bay Progressive League, established in 1923. An unnamed author recounting life in Island Bay mentions a Mrs Andersen.
"There is no mention of children anywhere, but we do know he left his land to a nephew," says Mrs Kluge. "I'm worried people who knew about him have died or are getting too old to remember. We'd like people to contact us and come for a drink and a chat about what they remember."
Right, said Fred
If you have any information on Fred Andersen and his wife, please email: flc@xtra.co.nz
Party man a mystery
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