Empire Capital's Simon and Paula Herbert have put their waterfront Herne Bay home on the market. It's expected to sell for more than $50 million. Photo / Herald composite
Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, Rich Listers’ home goes on the market; NZ’s first female Samoan KC on inspiration and imposter syndrome.
After recently purchasing an apartment in Monaco, Rich Listers Simon and Paula Herbert have decided the time is right to sell their multimillion-dollar Herne Bay home.
Listing the Cremorne St estate this week with Wall Real Estate, the home is expected to reach more than $50 million.
That’s close to double what the Herberts paid for it when they bought it in March 2018 – at the time, it broke records as the highest-selling property of the year at $27.5m.
Real estate agent to the ultra-wealthy, Graham Wall, who is managing the sale for the Herberts, tells Society Insider, “this is undoubtedly the best luxury home available in New Zealand today, on the country’s most valuable street”.
Wall says the private waterfront estate, which has expansive views of the Waitematā harbour, has undergone a “masterful transformation” under Paula’s direction.
“She is a visionary whose talent for reinterpreting homes has become a signature of her style.”
Paula’s previous reinvention of her and Simon’s Remuera Rd residence sold for $26 million in 2017, which Wall says set a new benchmark in curated luxury, with Paula massively enhancing the value of the grounds and home.
“Her attention then turned to one of the most prestigious addresses in Auckland on Cremorne, where she took the property right back to its concrete bones and breathed new life into an already iconic home, layering it with the kind of detail, scale, and sophistication only she can deliver,” says Wall.
The Herberts, who are the founders of Empire Capital and owners of Hobsonville, Bayswater and Pine Harbour marinas, New Zealand data centres, and substantial interests in publicly listed companies, are now based predominantly in Monaco, so have decided to put their Herne Bay home on the market.
The couple have just welcomed a new baby daughter, Sienna, into their family, after a lavish baby shower on their yacht in Monaco.
They are keeping their multimillion-dollar waterfront Bay of Islands compound.
“It’s a rare opportunity to own a property where timeless architecture meets inspired design,” says Wall.
Set on an expansive 2810sq m of land, with 1075sq m of internal living space, Wall says the estate is “a true feat of scale and design”.
The gated and completely private estate is spread across two residences on three levels, which encompass six bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, and four distinct living areas.
The main house offers four bedrooms and nine bathrooms, while an expansive guesthouse at the rear of the estate has two bedrooms to provide refined comfort for family or guests.
Outdoors, a manicured lawn stretches from the expansive patio, which features multiple entertaining zones, an outdoor cinema, a resort-style pool, and a landing-ready lawn for helicopter arrival. The house has consent for two take-offs and landings per week.
Wall says the property borders Cremorne Beach, with a boathouse/gym that offers waterfront workouts by the sea.
Inside the residence, Wall says Paula has created an underground bar and wine cellar, complete with a dramatic dining table and multiple fireplaces, which have set the stage for unforgettable evenings over the Herberts’ eight years there.
“Every space reflects Paula’s passion and style,” says Wall. “She doesn’t just renovate; she reimagines how we live.”
Wall believes the Herne Bay housing market is set to explode since the Government announced an exemption to the foreign buyer ban, introduced in 2018. Overseas-based investors with an Active Investor Plus residency visa will be able to buy or build one residential property valued at $5m or over.
Wall says he and his sons, Ollie and Andrew, who both work with him at Wall Real Estate, are relishing the chance to market the Herberts’ home and are expecting offers well north of $50m.
Last year, they sold a Spanish-style villa on Marine Parade for just over $24m to Zuru billionaires Nick and Matt Mowbray. The house has since been bowled and is undergoing an extensive rebuild.
In 2020, Rich List property developer Kurt Gibbons and his wife Makere bought a home on Marine Parade for $23.5m.
After extensive renovations, the house went on the market last year, with expectations it would sell for more than $40m.
It was sold in April this year for a yet-to-be-disclosed sum.
Tiana Epati has become the first female lawyer of Samoan descent to become a King’s Counsel.
“[It’s] the highest professional acknowledgement one can receive from the profession and judiciary combined,” Epati tells Society Insider.
“To be one of the first Samoans [to become a KC] is proof there is a place for all of us in Aotearoa New Zealand in the legal profession.”
It is the latest career achievement for the 50-year-old Gisborne-based barrister and mother of four, who has already had a stellar rise through the ranks.
In 2019, Epati became the fourth woman and the first person of Pasifika descent to be president of the New Zealand Law Society.
In that same year, respected legal website LawFuel voted Epati Lawyer of the Year.
“The biggest challenge was actually being the first president to give birth while in the role,” says Epati.
Epati’s fourth child Ngarangikahiwa was born exactly at the halfway point of her presidency, during the Covid lockdown. She says there was no precedent for former presidents taking maternity leave.
“Thankfully, Dame Jacinda Ardern was Prime Minister [at the time] and that made it acceptable to cart a newborn around Parliament and Wellington,” Epati says. “Without her, I don’t think I would have been able to continue in the role and go on to advocate for better access to justice.”
Epati says that in the end, all her career “firsts” paled in comparison to the demands of continuing her work while being sleep-deprived and breastfeeding Ngarangikahiwa.
Now 4, Ngarangikahiwa is due to start school in November. Epati’s other children are Umuariki, 17, Kura, 14 and Renata, 29, her step-son whom she helped raise from a young age.
Epati and her husband of 20 years, fellow lawyer Matanuku Mahuika, are both barristers at Bankside Chambers, which has a distinguished record. Many of its members are King’s Counsels, and a number of former members have served as Justices of the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Epati says juggling their work and parental responsibilities requires their partnership and the support of “a village”.
“We have whānau support from Matanuka’s family, and then my mum, Trish, will fly in from Māngere to look after the children, where my calendar clashes with Matanuka’s.”
Epati’s work at Bankside primarily deals with serious crime and regulation, doing both defence and prosecution work, and acting as independent counsel to assist the court.
“My love of the law probably stems from the constant challenge of meeting the complexity of the human condition. It is not perfect, but we strive every day to make it better.”
Epati, 50, grew up in Samoa. When her parents separated in 1985, her Australian mother, Trish, decided to start over in New Zealand and raise Epati and her brother Mana in Auckland as a solo mother.
Her father, A’e’au Semi Epati came to New Zealand in the early 1990s and, in 2002, became New Zealand’s first Pasifika judge. The impact of his success is not lost on her.
“Dad was always an inspiration,” Epati says. “He grew up in the villages of Saleimoa and Falealupo and did not learn to speak English until he was around 16, and then only because he won a scholarship to study in New Zealand.
“He went on to study law at Otago University and became a lawyer who was well known for helping people.
“He worked on a case which went all the way to the Privy Council on citizenship rights for Samoans and cases involving customary norms conflicting with a Western legal system.”
Epati attended Auckland Girls Grammar and says the friendships she formed there still mean everything to her.
One of her closest friends is acclaimed film producer Chelsea Winstanley, who Epati met when they were 13.
After Epati became a KC, two weeks ago, Winstanley shared on Instagram she was proud of her friend breaking through barriers of racism, sexism and classism.
Epati counts herself lucky, saying there was always an expectation within her family that she would go to university. She says that’s not always a given for many Māori and Pacific people, or those who grow up in poverty.
“The privilege of expectation meant I was destined for higher education,” Epati says.
In 1999, during her final year at Auckland University, Epati was inspired when Dame Sian Elias became the first woman Chief Justice.
“She had this incredible background of working on various Treaty-related cases for the New Zealand Māori Council and was one of the first women, along with Lowell Goddard, ever to be appointed King’s Counsel,” Epati says.
“[I looked] to her as a beacon of hope that I had a place in the legal profession...she remains one of my legal heroes.”
Twenty-six years later, Epati is herself a legal hero to many newcomers entering the profession, yet she says she has often suffered from imposter syndrome and felt like she didn’t belong.
“Sometimes, I still feel that way,” she says.
She hopes that anyone who feels like an outlier, an imposter, or not fitting the mould will know that hard work, effort and sheer determination can get you further than you could ever dream.
“My advice to the new generation is to have the moral courage to keep believing and dreaming big, even when it’s hard.”
Fashion on the field
Breast Cancer Cure and Eden Park made history last Tuesday, launching the charity’s ninth Tees for a Cure campaign with the stadium’s very first on-field runway show.
About 150 guests were treated to a behind-the-scenes experience starting in the iconic venue’s home changing rooms - a space usually reserved for the All Blacks. Twenty-five T-shirts by 25 well-known Kiwi designers, including Trelise Cooper, Zambesi, Karen Walker, Kathryn Wilson, Kiri Nathan and Adrian Hailwood, were displayed in the 25 player cubbies, while attendees were treated to canapes and a selection of New Zealand wines.
Guests were then led onto the hallowed turf, where 75 models, including Lorraine Downes, showed off the styled designs on a 20-metre pink runway.
DJ duo the Sweet Mix Kids and up-and-coming Kiwi pop artist, Pat Piasta, warmed up the crowd, which also heard from BCC ambassadors Petra Bagust and Wilhelmina Shrimpton, before they walked the runway alongside fellow ambassadors Nerida Jantti, Antonia Prebble, and Lou Heller.
The launch also coincided with the start of breast cancer awareness month, with Breast Cancer Cure aiming to sell 5000 of the designer tees through its website in the hope of raising enough money to fund up to four new breast cancer research projects.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.