The Gisborne Club was wound up in 2003. The building remained on-site after it was bought by a Gisborne property development company. The club's heritage Category B historic classification meant the core of the building had to be retained.
Seeking a new family home and cognisant of the building's heritage past and importance to the area, Gisborne couple Tony Robinson and Kaye Foreman bought the building in 2012 for $1 although only a 50-cent deposit was ever paid.
The developer was happy someone else was prepared to relocate the club off-site at their cost.
“Kaye and I were looking for a large home for our blended family and ‘the club', as we call it, seemed perfect,” Tony said. “We had a vision for what it could become.”
A mammoth relocation operation was done by Hawke's Bay house moving firm Brittens. The ornate Victorian building was cut into five pieces and carefully transported to its new countryside address on Gisborne's periphery before being reassembled.
“We can still remember when the main upper floor was being lifted into place on the back of one of the trucks and it began to oscillate before it was reinforced with support framing for the journey,” Kaye said.
Once relocated, the building was remodelled into a six-bedroom/two-bathroom family home on 5156 square metres of land.
Former Gisborne Club member Rod McCulloch, who fondly remembers playing snooker at the club after work, recently took a look at the restored home.
“There are a number of things we could recognise,” the 83-year-old said. “They have done a wonderful restoration. It certainly brought back memories.”
Mr McCulloch said the club, which operated a strict “no tie, no entry” dress code, was popular among shopkeepers in the city centre, as well as local solicitors, accountants and stock agents.
“They used to join the club to get to know the local people.”
Gisborne Herald former chief reporter John Jones, who wrote a history of the club, remembers activities were often based around its expansive snooker room, the main bar or the Woodward Lounge, which was named after lawyer and president Keith Woodward.
“Drink-driving laws had a big effect on the club. Membership fell and members were happy to accept a purchase offer from Dean Witters, who wanted the land as part of his plans to prevent The Warehouse opening in the central city.”
The club-cum-home at 153 Valley Road is being marketed for sale by auction on June 10 through Bayleys Gisborne.
The grounds around the home have been extensively landscaped and feature a lake and island, orchard, pergola and peaceful reflection pool.
One of the original club's billiard rooms, with its rimu board and batten 7.5-metre-high raked ceiling, has been converted into the home's dining room and lounge.
Staying true to the building's roots, a three-quarter-sized billiard table sits in the middle of the family room.
The home's front door is the Gisborne Club's original front door, complete with lettering and decorative edging.
A second, smaller billiard hall relocated on to the end of the home provides a huge two-car garage and laundry.
Its original polished kauri floorboards were reused for the main hall flooring upstairs, which has a Juliet balcony at the end of it.
Each of the two levels of the home, which are connected by a majestic switchback staircase, has three bedrooms.
Kerry Low, of Bayleys Gisborne, said: “Many people in Gisborne will have wondered whatever happened to the former Gisborne Club all those years ago.
“And now the love and passion which went into remodelling the property into a family home can be seen.”
Scott Hannah, of Bayleys Gisborne, said the house had been lovingly remodelled and restored over 10 years.
“Now it's ready for a new owner to add the finishing touches. We're all eagerly waiting to see what the final chapter has in store.”
