Rocky road to renovation

Silverdale's Stoney Homestead has been saved, but money is needed to help turn it into a desirable destination. Hayley Hannan reports.
"Is the possum in there?" grins John Law, staring at Stoney Homestead.
"Do you want to take a photo of the possum?" he asks our photographer. "Let's go find the possum."
A wide-eyed marsupial is the single tenant of the historic Stoney Homestead, an 1886 weatherboard house sitting plum in the middle of the Millwater development (see box).
The dilapidated homestead made headlines last year when it was saved from demolition.
It has a main building, the former home of Major Henry Butler Stoney, three smaller buildings and surrounding gardens. It's now destined to become a community hub; rough plans outline restoring the buildings as a cafe, gallery and community centre and upgrading the gardens for functions.
It's a bit hard to imagine the building in all its glory. The Stoney is in a rough state. We venture behind the boarded up windows to find abandoned chattels: a tipsy washing machine, broken chairs. A single torch beam guides us under low door frames over dirt, mouldy carpet and crunchy rat poo.
Mr Law, formerly Rodney's mayor, is the chairman of Stoney Homestead Trust, the group formed to oversee restoration at the site. The developer, WFH Properties, is carrying out external work costing $240,000 as part of the settlement agreement.
The trust is looking to fund the remaining work. Mr Law estimates it will take $1.2 million to restore the buildings to building and earthquake standards. "And you can't do it with sausage sizzles," he says.
The trust has applied to Auckland Council for $550,000, to be handed out in instalments over five years. Mr Law plans to raise the remaining $650,000 through organisations such as the ASB Trust.
A sum of $50,000 is needed urgently to dismantle the chimneys, lift the building on to 30cm piles and to record the structure before it rots away, he says. "It's rapidly declining. If we don't do something now, we are only going to be able to burn it."
Julia Parfitt, Hibiscus and Bays Local Board's chair, agrees the site is well worth preserving. "It's something that's really valuable in an area like Silverdale, because these houses now are few and far between and they really give a sense of place shape."
Ms Parfitt says the board is "championing" the homestead, and has met the Auckland Council heritage department and the development contribution specialists to discuss the site.
Milling around
Millwater is a northern Auckland development of 3000 homes for around 10,000 residents. A mix of low, medium and high-density homes will be built over the next decade on more than 300ha of former farmland. The development includes 50ha of business and commercial areas, schools and recreational services. The land lies between Silverdale and Orewa.