''It was sad to see the property go out of the family,'' he told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend.
The property was offered for sale using expressions of interest over $950,000
Tauranga historian Steve Vergeest has compiled a history of Mau Ngarongo and captured its beautiful interior features in photos.
He said the house was supposedly built by prisoners because builders were scarce in Tauranga at the time.
Pebbles that comprised the stucco exterior were made by mixing mutton fat and cement. When the mutton fat turned black the house had to be whitewashed.
''It is a virtual time capsule, complete with the original wallpaper and leadlight windows on oak external doors and internal sliding door room dividers,'' Vergeest said.
Plaster and beam ceilings feature throughout the house with oak picture rails, a meat safe, an internal pantry, a Methven domestic hot water boiler in the laundry, clawfoot bath and a cast iron toilet cistern with a pull chain.
''In its heyday, the property would have been grand,'' Vergeest said.
The interior of the front entrance and other rooms in the four-bedroom house featured three-quarter high wall panelling.
''An unusual feature is a small alcove off the main sitting room with a gothic arch style brick fireplace.''
Leadlights feature in the built-in wardrobes, with the master bedroom also featuring oak joinery and french doors that opened out to the large front porch.
Clive Tippins, a spokesman for the new owners, said the house would be demolished and six sections created on the 2500sq m site.
A person who wanted to buy and shift the house walked away after paying for a builder's survey.
''It really is rotting away.''
Tippins said the sections would be on the market about March next year. In the meantime, the beautiful features of the old house would be salvaged including internal joinery and leadlight windows.
The 1000sq m corridor of land that linked the Manley Grove South property with Cameron Rd was bought off the Nelson family estate by car dealer Tony Hammond to form part of a new and bigger yard.
Nelson said the plaster linings on the walls above the panelling were imported from Sweden and all the panelling was Oregon plywood from North America. The plasterboard ceilings were non-fibrous.
''This was cutting edge in 1922."
He said the borer meant it was an unsafe removal prospect.
''It would be likely to fall apart.''
The original 4ha property was subdivided after Mountfort's death in 1950, with ownership of the house passing to two spinster daughters. Nelson's father bought the house off the estate in 1981 when the last daughter died.
The loss of the 220sq m bungalow will make it the second significant house to disappear from Tauranga's history this year.
The last grand old house left in the heart of Tauranga's downtown was demolished earlier this year to make way for a development. The sale and demolition of the house in Durham St ended a 75-year link by the Cassidy family with the landmark house. It was in original condition with beautiful wood-panel interiors.
Edward Plumer Mountfort
- Born Dunedin 1862
- Arrived Tauranga 1922
- Organised construction of the first Gate Pa Anglican Parish hall
- Master of Ceremonies for many Tauranga events
- Involved in Tauranga citrus industry
- Died aged 88 in 1950
