Northcote Pt: Time and tide

Original character features and memories of yesteryear abound in this pocket of history on Northcote Pt.

Traditional features can still be found at every turn, from the meat safe in the pantry in the kitchen (right) to the leadlighting and curved bay windows (below).

Alan Maxwell was born at Te Arotai in 1926, when the bungalow had 180-degree views of the Waitemata and a bridge across the harbour was a far off dream.

Nearly 80 years later he is selling his family home at Northcote Pt. Pohutukawa have grown tall across the road, shielding the view to which the house's name alludes - Te Arotai means toward the tide, or to watch over the tide. But the trees also brake the westerly wind, and present their own glorious outlook every Christmas. The massive arch of the bridge Alan's father told him would one day come reaches down behind the house.

While the North Shore boomed as a result of the bridge, the pocket of historic houses in which Te Arotai sits has changed little. It and several of its neighbours are listed by the North Shore City Council as buildings of historic importance, and cannot be altered without resource consent. The three-bedroom bungalow has not been structurally altered since the day it was completed in 1922. In the pantry there is still a little cupboard which opens both inside and out to the back porch. Alan remembers the bread man delivering bread to the cupboard each day, and his mother leaving money for him at the end of each week. Another cupboard opens what was once the meat safe, where the house's kauri weatherboards give way to wire mesh.

A 3.5m stud shows off the home's gorgeous rimu architraves, skirting boards and ceiling cross-beams. Even the built-in wardrobes are lined with rimu. Nearly all the windows are leadlighted, and Alan says his mother was particularly proud of the stained glass inside and beside the front door. The original fireplace in the lounge still works.

The bathroom has been modernised, and the kitchen has a new benchtop and electric oven, but otherwise the rooms have retained their original feel, including their generous proportions. The house sits on a 809sq m section, which cannot be subdivided, and is a blank canvas waiting for a gardener's vision. The London plain trees lining the road next to the house provide a leafy backdrop, and a cicada chorus in high summer.

Alan's father, who was involved in the kauri gum trade and then moved into building supplies, died in 1958, but his mother stayed on at Te Arotai until her death in 1985. Alan has held onto the house for sentimental reasons, even though he has lived overseas since 1949. He gained a PhD in physics at the University of Manchester, and has worked at Harvard university in the US for many years as a professor of radio astronomy (much of his work has been in measuring the intensity of solar flares and their effect on Earth). But after trouble with tenants in Te Arotai last year, he has decided it is finally time to let the place go.

"I remember going to Northcote Primary school as a boy, and I revisited there when I came back last year," recalls Alan. "If we wanted to go to town we used to catch the ferry. When I started attending Mt Albert Grammar I would then catch the tram from the downtown ferry terminal to St Lukes."

Alan's cousin, John Maxwell, grew up in the house next door, and recalls spending hours around Northcote Pt, swimming and launching boats off "the gold hole" - a tiny beach no longer than a living room at the bottom of Alma Rd. Sulphur Bay was nearby. Both were lost when the bridge was built.

"But the bridge had to come," recalls John. "If you had to take the car to town you had to drive for hours around a gravel road through Coatesville and down the other side of the harbour. It was awful."

John later picked up on the benefits of the bridge and subdivided the family farm at Mairangi Bay. Maxwellton Dr stretches from the top of the ridge, where the cowshed used to be, almost to the beachfront.

The cousins have been in touch over the sale of the last family home of their well-known North Shore family.

"I was sorry about selling it," says Alan, "but I no longer wish to be burdened with tenants. It's time to hand it on."

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 17 Queen St, Northcote Pt.

FEATURES: Three bedrooms; one bathroom; classic bungalow features in rimu and leadlight glass; historic features such as a meat safe and bread delivery cupboard; open fireplace.

BUILT: 1922.

LAND AREA: 809sq m.

AUCTION: March 5. CV $490,000.

AGENT: Grant Thorrington, Harcourts. Ph 0274 731 035 mob; 477 0848 bus.