Sir Peter Jackson expands property empire with purchase of school campus in Miramar

Film-maker Sir Peter Jackson’s property empire continues to grow, with the purchase of a school campus the latest addition to his multi-million-dollar portfolio.

Property records show Jackson and partner Dame Fran Walsh purchased the former site of Miramar Christian School in December last year.

The couple are understood to have paid $5.48m for the nearly 3000m2 site, millions more than its recent rateable valuation of $1.74m.

The property, on Camperdown Rd in Miramar, is next door to Wētā Workshop.

Jackson and Walsh hold a 60% share of Wētā FX, whereas Wētā Workshop is owned by Sir Richard Taylor and his wife Tania Rodger.

Sir Peter Jackson has purchased a nearly 3000m2 former school campus beside Wētā Workshop in Wellington's Miramar.

The property is held under a new company named C Road HC Limited, understood to mean Camperdown Road Holding Company.

The Miramar Christian School vacated the site last year having outgrown the campus.

The school is currently undergoing a rebranding which includes building a new larger campus on Broderick Road in Johnsonville and changing its name to Wellington Hills Christian College.

Wellington City Council said it is not yet aware of any consent applications or plans Jackson has for the site.

The former Miramar Christian School campus on Wellington's Camperdown Rd was purchased by Sir Peter Jackson for $5.48m late last year. Photo / Ethan Manera

The Herald reported in 2023 that Jackson’s property portfolio had grown to an estimated $350m.

It includes a number of lots on the Miramar peninsula, including the once-controversial Shelly Bay site, as well as warehouses in Upper Hutt, rural residences in Masterton, BATS theatre in Wellington, and an $8.5 million Queenstown holiday home and estate.

Jackson’s also had a long-held interest in the land above Shelly Bay, Watts Peninsula, although it’s future is yet to be decided.

Scenes for most of Jackson’s movies have been filmed in Shelly Bay, and the wider area provided the backdrop for his 2005 version of King Kong.

Part of the land Jackson owns at Shelly Bay. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Last year the Lord of the Rings director spent $105 million buying a large piece of land near the city’s airport in Lyall Bay.

When the purchase hit the headlines in August 2024 it was the year’s biggest land deal.

Wellington City Councillor Tim Brown was quoted at the time as saying Jackson had been interested in that land for about “15 years” because of his plans to build a film museum.

Jackson’s property moves also caught the attention of Miramar Peninsula locals later in the year when he demolished a quaint 1910s waterfront home valued at $2.5m to develop a garden for the property he owns next door.

That house was one of 12 he owns on the same street.

The billionaire’s Shelly Bay plans are the latest to be made public, with consent documents showing he plans to create a museum and exhibition space there, as well as residential accommodation in a historic building.

Representatives for the couple did not respond to requests for comment on the purchase of the campus.

Jackson and Walsh are said to hold a net worth of $2.6b, ranking fifth on the NBR’s rich list.

Ethan Manera is a New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist with Newstalk ZB and is interested in local issues, politics, and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz.