Grand old homes go up for sale

By MIKE MATHER in Rotorua
Two of Rotorua's well known landmarks are on the market.

Kerslake Estate in Glenholme and Highfields in Lynmore are both steeped in rich history and intrigue.

Highfields was designed and built in about 1944 by Noel Cole, who also designed and constructed Moose Lodge on the shores of Lake Rotoiti.

It was built as a holiday retreat for Sir Ernest Davis, a philanthropist and former mayor of Auckland in the 1930s.

Among those who holidayed there were film actress Vivien Leigh, British politician Sir Stafford Kripps and royalty in the form of Lord Louis Mountbatten.

The house was used for entertaining on a grand scale and there are many tales of large gatherings while seven servants were retained to keep the house and grounds prepared for impromptu parties.

A brewery baron, Sir Ernest was the director of Hancock and Company with his brother Eliot and for a time was the owner of about 200 pubs in New Zealand, including Rotorua's Grand Hotel.

Sir Ernest was also a big name in racing circles and the stables on the five hectare property were home to 1954 Auckland Cup winner Arawa and the 1957 Great Northern Guineas winner Tawhiao.

Highfields has been home to several owners since Sir Ernest's death in 1962 but fell into disrepair.

For the past five years it has been home to Tony and Marlene Baker, who have worked hard to return it to its former grandeur.

The 3243sq m property is on the market for $635,000 through Coopers Real Estate.

Kerslake Estate on Wylie St also has a lot of personality attached to it.

It is commonly known as the "ghost house," because of its similarity to homes seen in films such as The Amityville Horror or Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

Its true history is not as supernatural, though no less fascinating.

The house was purchased and brought over from America in the 1930s by Mr Prentice A Kusabs, who was more commonly known as Arthur. It was completed in about 1938.

While the home's skeleton is constructed from totara sourced from New Zealand, the cladding, roof and other features were all brought over from America, or used American concepts - a combination which makes the home unique. It is filled with cubbyholes, crawl spaces and secret passages.

Mr Kusabs went on to become the mayor of Rotorua from 1942 to 1947, a time when much community effort was going toward World War II. This meant his grand plans to build a swimming pool, summerhouse and tennis court beside the house were never realised.

In the early 1950s the property became one of the first to have a thermal bore put down, a big affair which attracted everyone who was anyone in Rotorua to the drilling ceremony.

The home was sold in 1970 to the Kerslake family and this is only the second time it has come up for sale.

Although some of the land has been divided off over the years, the size of the section means it remains one of Rotorua's largest, at 3733sq m, set on two titles.

The Kerslake Estate is being sold through Harcourts Real Estate and is set for auction on November 21.