Plan for saving Ed's house up in air

Terry Jarvis owns the mansion on the left and bought Sir Ed's house (centre) for removal so he could expand his garden. Photo / Herald on Sunday

The future of Sir Edmund Hillary's home looks shaky, after an apparent breakdown in communication between its new owner and the man who wants to move it to a new site on the Kaipara Harbour.

Mountaineer Graeme Dingle had planned to take the Remuera house off the hands of new owner Terry Jarvis - who lives alongside it and wants it gone.

Mr Dingle had intended to spend up to $150,000 moving it to a bush property he and wife Jo-anne own at Whakapirau, which they wanted to let the Hillarys use for holidays.

Mr Dingle said Sir Ed's house would sit alongside an existing cabin.

The area has Hillary-family significance as Sir Ed's ancestors migrated to the Kaipara Harbour in the 1800s.

But in an email yesterday to Prime Minister John Key, Kaipara Mayor Neil Tiller and those involved in the removal, Mr Dingle said he had "all but given up" on moving the house, after losing contact with the owner.

Mr Jarvis - Sky Television's co-founder and a former NZ cricketer - bought the property at 278A Remuera Rd in March for $1.9 million so he could extend his own garden.

He had offered the house back to the Hillary family but they were unable to take it.

After facing a public outcry over the property's fate, he offered to give it to a worthy cause to benefit the community.

Mr Dingle said Mr Jarvis had expressed interest in the idea of moving the house to Kaipara when it was pitched to him in April, .

But Mr Dingle, who has already spent thousands preparing for the shift, said he had not heard back from Mr Jarvis.

He had been able to speak to him directly only twice since March and felt he was being "fobbed off".

"It has been very hard to actually get any meaningful dialogue," he said.

"I don't feel very well treated by him. Clearly he has other plans. I can't force it any further. If he had decided the plan was a good one, I guess he would have gone ahead and taken it. But I don't think that's the case.

"I'm still hanging on by my teeth but I don't have much help."

Mr Dingle said he had spoken with real estate agent Graham Wall, who bought the house at auction on behalf of Mr Jarvis, but had not managed to get any clear answers.

Sir Ed's daughter, Sarah Hillary, said yesterday that she and brother Peter supported Mr Dingle's plan.

"Nothing's happening, which is very sad. There were a whole lot of ideas and Graeme's was at the forefront of those."

She said the last contact she had had with Mr Jarvis was in August when he emailed to say "other parties" were interested in the house. He did not reveal who they were.

"I think he felt we'd given over our rights by not taking it ourselves, but Peter and I are not in a position to take on a house."

Mr Jarvis did not answer calls yesterday and his real estate agent said he did not have the authority to speak about the plans.