Oriental Bay landmark for sale

Historic villas in Oriental Parade rarely come on the market – if they change hands, usually it happens privately.

The owner of this colourful, landmark villa next to the ‘‘Seven Sisters’’ has been living in Oriental Bay for 23 years, and says he often gets people at the door asking if he would like to sell.

And now he is. Peter Cullen says he will be ‘‘very sad’’ to leave but he needs to downsize. ‘‘It is too big for me, and it is getting beyond me to manage it.’’

Originally, the house was one of nine in a row designed by leading architect Joshua Charlesworth – the smaller ‘‘Seven Sisters’’ plus two larger houses, one of which was for himself.

‘‘That house was demolished and was replaced by the Clifton Towers apartment block,’’ says Cullen. ‘‘This is the other large house and this one is protected.’’

Charlesworth also designed the Wellington Town Hall in 1904.

Cullen says his house, which was built in the 1900s, was divided into three flats in the 1950s.

It is still in three flats, one on the ground floor and two on the upper level.

‘‘There is a lot of history associated with the house. I know, for example, that the Bridges family lived here, and three sons went off to war. One was injured at Gallipoli and died shortly afterwards, another was killed at Passchendaele, and the third was gassed and returned home.’’

The house retains most of its original features, including stained glass windows, rimu woodwork, high ceilings and sash windows. The original tiled fireplace also remains.

Nearly all the rooms in the three flats have close views of the harbour. Clearly, the location turns heads. ‘‘The house is just opposite the end of the beach,’’ says Cullen. ‘‘When I come home at night in summer, I ... head over the road for a swim. And yet this is close enough to town to walk.’’

The property has been listed by Ann Curtin of Bayleys Wellington Residential, who says a buyer might like to convert it back to a family home, or leave it as it is.

The 210-square-metre house is on a 377sqm site, and has a CV of $3,300,000. It is for sale by tender, closing on November 20.

The blue and yellow villa at 186 Oriental Parade dates back to the early 1900s. It has come on to the market for the first time in more than two decades.

The red-tiled fireplace, rimu woodwork and decorative cornices are all original.