World of possibilities
An English couple made a quick decision to buy this versatile home, writes Catherine Masters
Marion and Rod Graham’s love story began in Africa 50 years ago and is still going strong in Torbay. The English couple are in their late 70s and are relatively new arrivals in the country, though Marion was here years ago for her OE.
Back in 1962 she was working on tobacco farms in the South Island. “Before the wineries you had tobacco,” she says. She loved New Zealand but went back to England then headed off again to explore Africa.
Rod was already there, working in what was then Rhodesia ( Zimbabwe now).
He had answered an ad in the Daily Mail for the British South African Police, though he points out that the job had nothing to do with South Africa.
He and Marion met in the city of Bulawayo, fell in love, and 10 weeks later were married.
Back in England, they applied to come to New Zealand but changed their minds.
Decades went by, but when their daughter Veronica decided to emigrate here they decided it was also time so packed up their house and moved as well.
“We had a beautiful home in England and we just gave it all up to be with our daughter,” says Marion.
They have no regrets because they have a New Zealand granddaughter now and a house they love, only a few minutes by foot from Long Bay beach.
Marion says they make instant decisions about houses.
With this one, they immediately knew where they would put their furniture that was being shipped from England: “A 40- foot container and then a 20- foot container followed it,” says Rod.
Marion says: “We fell in love with the house and we’re still in love with the house now.”
What they liked were some of the features that made them feel at home — an English- style
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19 GILBERD PLACE, OLDE TORBAY SIZE: PRICE GUIDE: AUCTION: INSPECT: SCHOOLS: CONTACT: ON THE WEB:
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enclosed porch, the bedrooms upstairs and the living downstairs and the space in the formal lounge which was perfect for their dining table.
They also loved the location — it’s quiet and private, with the beach accessible by a track at the end of the cul de sac.
Buses are handy and the shops are a few steps up the road at Torbay — there’s a chemist, a doctor, a dentist, a Four Square — everything you could need, says Marion.
On the ground floor of the house is the formal dining area and a formal lounge. This leads around to a large, open plan kitchen and an informal dining and living area, all of which opens out to the private backyard — and they point out a second driveway just for the boat.
Behind the kitchen is the “inner hallway”, which leads to the laundry, with a bench, and the dryer and washing machine behind cupboards.
A music/ reading room along the hallway could be a bedroom, and a door leads to the garage, which they have lined and say could be used for more accommodation.
Upstairs there are three more bedrooms, including a large master bedroom which has an en suite, a walk- in wardrobe — and this room has its own balcony with a view to the sea.
It’s nice to sit on the balcony in the summer, or to read a book in the sitting area in the bedroom — and every morning Rod takes Marion a cup of tea in bed, just as he has for 50 years.
The north- facing house was first listed in 1996 and they bought it in 2004.
While they love everything about their home, they have decided it’s time to down- size and are heading to a retirement village in Albany.