The two-storey Marshall Cottage was built by farmer William Teal Marshall in 1866 during the gold rush era on his 128-hectare farm known as Meadow Bank Farm.
Since Marshall sold the property when he moved to New Mexico in 1881, it has changed hands many times and the farmland around it has been carved up.
The picturesque category three heritage-protected cottage still remains on the prominent lakefront position at the western end of Lake Hayes after it was subdivided into a 10369sqm section in the 1980s and has been used as a permanent home.
Luxury Real Estate salesperson Terry Spice said it was a unique opportunity and while they would be gauging buyer interest, the price expectation of about $6m was based on historic land sales within the basin for the premium sector and the fact there was a resource consent. The resource consent has been granted for a 972sqm building on a 600sqm concrete platform with services already in place to build a three-bay garaging and two-bedroom apartment above.
The current owners purchased the home for $1.1m in 2012, OneRoof records show.
"That consent they’ve done is incredibly valuable. We are seeing and hearing of people spending one to two years getting these consents signed off, done and in place."
Spice said it was extremely rare to find such an old property, especially in such a good condition due to it being well looked after over the years. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home has schist walls and interior features reflecting its 160-year-old history.
"It’s [the cottage is] a throwback to the earliest day of Queenstown, being for the 1860s when the area was originally settled."
Even now people would recognise it when walking the popular lakeside trail and probably not realise just how old it was, he said.
"It’s an aspirational area of Queenstown, given the long sunshine hours, the proximity to Lake Hayes, Arrowtown, and Frankton and the lifestyle nature of the properties."
Current owner Kathleen O’Sullivan said people always commented on how beautiful the cottage was, adding "everybody knows it".
"There’s just not other waterfront properties around Lake Hayes that don’t have a highway behind them or have 160m or width of waterfront."
Under their ownership, they painstakingly stripped back the white concrete plaster on the outside to reveal the original stone walls.
When the couple bought it for what she described as an "absolute bargain" after the GFC, they had planned to live in one property and have a second property for their adult children to live in. This is why she thought it would suit an extended family wanting two dwellings or someone wanting to run a boutique lodge.
They are selling due to a change in direction, but O’Sullivan would miss the peace and quiet away from any road noise and the view of the wetlands.
"I’m going to miss the evenings watching the birds over the wetlands and light on the mountains in the evenings ... it’s quite magical in the evenings."
The original fireplace in the lounge was also one of her favourite things in the house, while the original lintels, walls and even some old wallpaper in some of the cupboards gave a glimpse into the cottage’s rich history.
Meanwhile, another piece of the district’s history has this week sold in a highly competitive auction for $1.62m after eight registered bidders and 33 bids were placed. The former St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Hawea Flat, was deconsecrated in the 1980s and converted into a one-bedroom home.
Harcourts agent Eamon Young said the unique property, which was also a category two heritage-protected building, had attracted double the amount of interest they would usually have on a standard house in that area.
Young said most of the buyers already owned property in the area and were looking for their next home. He was unsure of the new owner’s plans and whether they had bought it just for the church or for its potential to subdivide it and build another house at the front.
And a three-bedroom, one-bathroom Wanaka home crafted with natural materials repurposed from a renovation of the historic Cardrona Hotel was snapped up ahead of auction for $1.38m.
The property on Meadowbrook Place, in Wanaka, was owned by former Cardrona Hotel owner Rosemary Jones.
Family members, who were managing the sale on behalf of Jones, agreed to an offer ahead of the planned March 13 auction, NZ Sotheby’s International Realty agent Sheryl Alty said.
"We had good interest, but the vendors were happy with this offer. It took some of the stress away from the sale process."
Jones and her late husband Eddy owned the hotel from the 1980s and when she moved on from the hotel, she took with her leftover renovation materials that no one wanted. The materials had been incorporated into the kitchen and living area of the home.
The historic twist was of particular interest to most of the groups that came through the home, Alty said. "A lot of people like to have a story to a property, rather than just your generic slap-up spec home."
They also loved the established gardens and the location.
"The Meadowstone neighbourhood, within which this cul-de-sac sits, has always been a popular neighbourhood because you can walk to the lake, and you can walk to town."
The new owners planned to do some work on the property, including adding double-glazed windows before they moved in.
