Grand mansion for sale after 135 years
An imposing Hawke’s Bay country mansion is finally up for for sale – 135 years after it was built.
Mt Vernon, located on the outskirts of Waipukurau, features a grand foyer, library, museum, five bedrooms and a circular kauri staircase.
Owner Richard Harding, whose family has owned the homestead for six generations, said he and his wife had done their dash and it was time to sell up.
‘‘You reach an age where it is time to move on. None of the children are interested in taking on the house. Two boys live in America, the girls are local, but have their own homes. We just think it is time to move,’’ he said.
Central Hawke’s Bay District Council lists the property as having a land value of $370,000, and a capital value of $620,000.
However, while Harding would not be drawn on an asking price, he said the rateable value shouldn’t be seen as a guide for potential buyers, as the property hadn’t been valued in years. ‘‘It has no bearing on its true value whatsoever.’’
His great-great-grandfather, John Harding, started farming in the area in 1848. In 1851, he took possession of the land where the house now sits. He called the property Mt Vernon, in homage of George Washington’s American homestead.
The house, which is now a category one listed building, was built in 1882, and has sheltered the family ever since. ‘‘Our children are sixth generation, so there is certainly a lot of history wound up in the house. [Selling] it has been in the back of our minds for a long time. We decided to wait until the children had left home and make our minds up then.’’
Offers for the house are being handled by realtor Andy Huntar, of Bayleys Waipukurau, who said there had been ‘‘considerable interest’’ in the property.
While relaxing by the pool, looking through the family’s museum or reading in the library are all benefits of buying Mt Vernon, cleaning its two floor spaces of 3000 square feet each is the downside.
‘‘If we have people through it’s seriously an all-day job. My job is cleaning the windows, I don’t do the rest of it,’’ Harding said.
Following the 1931 Napier earthquake, the mansion was badly damaged, so the family moved to a nearby property. It was left uninhabited until the early 1950s.
With the hallways soaked in history, and a family graveyard nearby, Harding hoped Mt Vernon would become home for another family.