Classic Kiwi bach on the market for $2.2m

The fibrolite bach in Onetangi. Photo / Megan Clark

One of the last classic Kiwi baches on Waiheke Island - owned by the same family for 45 years - has been put on the market for the first time.

The fibrolite bach, built in the early 60s on The Strand at Onetangi, is one of the last survivors from an era before multi-million dollar beach homes became a common sight on the island.

Now, the cute, white two-bedroom bach on an 835sq m section facing out to sea is up for sale at $2.2 million.

The bach was built by the father of the present owner, who asked not to be identified.

"It's been loved all right," he said. "I can remember holding up the fibrolite sheets for my dad when he was building it. I have grown up there."

The owner said his father bought two sections on Waiheke for about £1200. At the time, he joked, you could win a section on Waiheke as second prize in a pub raffle.

"It's changed a bit. It used to be a step up from a camping ground.

"There are still no traffic lights and no McDonald's. But now there are very, very rich people in baches.

"There used to be a row of families we used to knock around with.

"We had happy family days there, fishing, canoeing and sailing... It's one of the richest memories as a kid you can ever get."

He said he would be sad to part with the bach which had been a holiday home for three generations of his family. But he had reluctantly decided to sell to "help my kids out".

He did not expect the bach to be preserved by the new owner. "But we're buying another place. We'll never leave the island. It's in my blood."

Daniel Burrill from Matthew Smith Real Estate said the bach was one of the last of its kind on Waiheke.

"It's one of the best properties on the island. So many have been developed now. The whole island has changed a lot in the past five years," Burrill said. "The old Waiheke is still there, but it's a real mix."