The Henrys' new home on Waiheke Island. Photo / Supplied
The Henrys' new home on Waiheke Island. Photo / Supplied
All Blacks coach Graham Henry has bought himself the perfect summer present - a multimillion-dollar waterfront house on Waiheke Island.
The homestead, on Church Bay Rd, sits on 2.02ha of land and has seven bedrooms, three bathrooms, beachfront access and an outdoor spa pool.
Bayleys agent Clive Lonergan, who soldthe property to Henry, said the property was likely to get a lot of use during the summer: "I think it's going to be used as a family holiday home."
Henry, along with his wife Raewyn and Marie and Matthew Henry, paid $2.25 million for the property, which has a capital valuation of $1.76m.
Henry was reluctant to discuss his latest real estate purchase. "Well, me and Raewyn think it's nice."
Lonergan said Henry was a pleasure to do business with: "It's alright - I've worked with him for about a year."
Henry, a former school principal, should feel right at home: His new house was formerly the home of the Blackpool school principal and overlooks Schoolhouse Bay.
Lonergan said the property was the opposite of a McMansion: "It's absolute waterfront, and there's a lot of history with it."
It was originally the Waiheke Native School schoolhouse and built in 1909 with kauri and matai flooring.
Additions over the years have included a self-contained, two-bedroom apartment built over the double-garage and decks.
Hopefully the All Blacks coach will have better luck on Waiheke than with his Auckland city property in St Heliers.
Their home on Cliff Rd, with panoramic views of the Hauraki Gulf, has previously been on the market.
Graham and Raewyn bought the property in 2002 for $1.41m, and it has a current capital valuation of $3.82m.
However, the street had been subject to stabilisation problems, and the Auckland City Council had undertaken work to repair huge cracks.
