KEY POINTS:
71 MILTON ROAD
MT EDEN
SIZE: Land 688sq m, house 117sq m.
PRICE INDICATION: CV $630,000 but expected to sell around $700,000. Auction 1.30pm November 12 unless sold prior.
INSPECT: Sat/Sun 12-12.40pm or by appointment.
ON THE WEB: www.barfoot.co.nz/99065.
SCHOOL ZONES: Mt Eden Normal, Balmoral School, Auckland Girls', Epsom Girls, Mt Albert Grammar.
CONTACT: John and Sue Elgar, Barfoot & Thompson, ph (09) 360 2323, John 0274 773 442, Sue 0274 445 703.
FEATURES: Built in 1942, this three-bedroom weatherboard home with observatory at rear is on the market for the first time. Single garage below plus separate single garage/workshop in large backyard.
When Harry Williams was 5 years old, he asked his mother whether clouds passed in front of the moon or behind it. In his 50s he built New Zealand's largest privately-owned observatory off the back of his home in a quiet Mt Eden street.
Harry died this year at the age of 96, much-admired among astronomy circles and responsible for turning many a layman's head over the years.
His 1940s home is nice but remarkably normal-looking until you notice the strange dome-topped structure above its rear profile. Daughter Jean Lane remembers people asking: "What's that thing from out of space in your backyard?"
And sociable Harry was always happy to show interested parties through.
His children are sure his passion for astronomy helped him live so long, surviving wife Bea by 20 years. Jean says her mum would worry about him catching a cold on a winter's night, because he'd never wear a jumper outside and always had his sleeves rolled up.
But he never seemed to. Harry continued to stay up till the wee hours in his lovingly-built observatory until he was 92.
The pride and affection is obvious when Jean and siblings Robyn Lane and Ron Williams talk about Dad and his exploits.
Harry was an electrician but did a lot of original astronomical observation, wrote papers published by the Smithsonian Institute, worked with Nasa and was the Curator of Instruments at the Auckland Observatory for nearly 30 years.
He built his own huge telescope (no longer at the property) which relied on a mirror he'd spent years grinding from an old ship's porthole and revealed stars many, many light years away.
But astronomy had nothing to do with his introduction to Milton Rd. He was friends with the Charlton brothers who lived on the other side of the road from his eventual home.
Whenever he stayed with them their mother would give him daughter Bea's bed and send her to sleep on the covered veranda. Jean says in the end Bea gave up and married him.
He bought the newly-built two-bedroom home at No. 71 knowing Bea would love being down the road from her mother. The couple added a third bedroom in the late 40s and Harry completed the observatory in the early 70s.
The home has street appeal and its enduring weatherboard construction, large section and native tongue-and-groove floors brim with potential for a future family.
Its covered front porch opens to an entrance foyer. The lounge has a wood-burning fire with glossy brick surround, there's a separate dining room, plus three double bedrooms.
The kitchen, bathroom, toilet and laundry are all in the same vicinity, offering versatility of space for refitting.
The office to the observatory is attached to the house but can be reached from outside by going across the elevated patio.
A large aperture in the observatory's upper dome of curved wooden panels opens easily. If future owners aren't stargazers, suggestions for the observatory's future use include spa pool room or office.
There's a single garage under the house plus a separate garage with side workshop in the large backyard, where once stood a stone stable for the local farmhouse.