Parnell: Landmark living

VICKI HOLDER checks out an historical Parnell gem.

Once referred to as "the big house on the hill", it was part of the famous Brookside Estate, which was home to Major Henry Matson. He was 60 when he married the beautiful Isabel, who was 18-years-old. The only daughter of Baron de Thierry who arrived on the Nimrod with her father in 1837, Isabel tragically died in 1850. Matson later took another young bride, Amelia Buckland, who brought the home back to life.

Apparently, in the 1860s Brookside was quite the society gathering place. Sheltered on the Parnell ridge beside the Domain, guests came to be entertained, enjoying the harbour views reaching to Wynyards Pier in Official Bay, which is now long gone.

The home that now stands on the large property was built for the Oswald family in the 1920s, and it has all the hallmarks of a fine residence of that era. Beautiful leadlight windows, barrel-vaulted ceilings, herringbone trusses and log fireplaces contribute to a welcoming vintage ambience. Set in a private woodland with views of the Auckland War Memorial Museum, the city and harbour, it is incredibly private and peaceful, despite bustling Parnell village being only 100m away.

The property is entered through a pretty garden path overhung with cherry trees. A painting of the Parnell domain footbridge by Albin Martin in the Auckland City Art Gallery shows a young phoenix palm at the entry to Brookside, which is now a towering presence at the top of the garden. Another tree, a large puriri, was noted in an early book about Auckland between 1840 and 1865.

The house opens from a timber-panelled entrance hall. Well-connected living areas provide an easy, modern flow between the dining room, kitchen-family area and the lounge.

The dining room is an exquisite space with red walls. A tall, arched, leadlight window lifts your gaze up to a gently curved ceiling that makes you feel like you are in a ship's cabin.

Next door, the kitchen has been modernised to blend with the older style of the interior. The fridge-freezer is integrated behind tongue-and-groove cabinetry painted pale moss green. Between two tall cupboards, an Ilve oven provides contemporary convenience and a timber-topped island bench doubles as a breakfast bar.

No window treatments are necessary at the windows opposite, for there are no neighbours in sight. A leafy outlook could trick you into thinking your were in the middle of the country.

The family area steps through to the lounge, a nicely proportioned room featuring a handsome, white, timber fireplace beneath a shaped chimney. French doors inset with simple leadlighting open to a balcony that runs the length of the house.

Timber floors continue right through the house along the hallway into three bedrooms. Two smaller children's bedrooms each feature delightful leadlight windows and the master bedroom is light and airy, opening to the balcony.

Tastefully designed to complement the original flavour of the home, a new bathroom is filled with natural light from three leadlight windows that still have their original ripple glass. A cupboard in an adjacent bedroom was converted into a spacious shower. Art Deco-style porcelain fittings are complemented by traditional Perrin & Rowe chrome fittings and tessellated tiles on the floor, which were fashionable when the home was built.

Downstairs, a large billiard room with strengthened timber floors makes a wonderful work-from-home space. However, it could be re-incorporated into the main part of the house along with the fourth bedroom and bathroom, which are functional but in a state of disrepair.

Beautifully preserved, this remarkable character home and its large subdividable section offer all sorts of options for the future.

Vital Statistics

ADDRESS: 13 Birdwood Cres, Parnell.

FEATURES: Original, well-preserved 1920s home on large, private, subdividable section; three bedrooms and a fourth that needs work; dining room; lounge opening to balcony; new bathroom and another that needs work; billiard room; city and harbour views; three open fireplaces; timber floors; timber joinery; leadlights; carport; zoned Res 7a.

SIZE: Land area 1067sq m.

AUCTION: 4.15pm, December 14, on site (unless sold prior).

AGENTS: Russell Birkinshaw and Sharman Hunt, Harcourts. Ph 520 8106 bus; Russell 0274 969 211 mob; Sharman 021 979 440 mob.