By KATHERINE HOBY
If director Peter Jackson's Wairarapa home is finished, he has not yet put out the welcome mat for neighbours.
Jackson has been having a rural homestead at a large property in Matahiwi, near Masterton, completely renovated for more than a year now.
The circa-1900 home appropriately sports two towers
- the second film in his Lord of the Rings trilogy is called The Two Towers.
It is also said to boast a lift, swimming pool, formal dining room and, of course, a giant home cinema. The swimming pool had a large spa room attached with a starry night ceiling effect.
Rumours in Masterton suggest the house is either completed, or nearing completion.
Wairarapa tradespeople and building supply companies have done well out of the lavish project, but no one is talking.
A man who works at Masterton builders M B Brown confirmed it had been the head contractor. He did not want to be named.
Builders from that firm had hired sub-contractors for the project and worked at the property for about 12 months, up until March this year, he said.
A confidentiality clause in the trade contract prevents those employed on-site from talking about the work at the property. The man said Jackson was "a very private man and his home is a private matter".
One woman said her company had supplied a lot of plaster products to tradesmen working on the project. "Everybody with a trade seems to have been involved to some extent," she said.
"And it seems like everyone has been looking for an excuse to go up there and take a peek, but it's pretty tight security, I understand."
A woman, who also did not wish to be named in case Jackson did not use her firm for future work, said the home might be near to completion.
She said that near the end of last year a convoy of about 15 vehicles - vans, trucks, stationwagons and utes - would head up to the property each day. But there was less traffic coming and going now.
She said Jackson had chosen to use a lot of local tradespeople, and because of that, locals felt protective of him.
