And he did - he just failed to tell his wife.
When she found out about the eye-catching home, she hit the roof.
“I used to travel up and down the country quite a bit, and I saw the house being built,” McKenzie told OneRoof.
“It was designed by Tom Taylor, who was a sculptor and a professor of architecture at Canterbury University. I think it was his dream to design something like this.
“I bought the house and then it took me a couple of weeks before I had the courage to tell my wife Lesley I'd bought it.
"We had a beautiful home on Fendalton Rd, and she wasn’t very happy with me. But I talked her into coming out here for a year. I bought it half finished and then completed it and did extensions.”
It is now the time to move on. The property has been on the market. The deadline sale closed on Tuesday.
It has been popular with sports groups, horse riders, and a wide range of other visitors. The entire property now has 12 bedrooms between the main home and barn.
Said McKenzie: “We've had FBI agents here, and Ghost Hunters International. We even featured in a Bollywood film.”
Daughter Brigette said her mother ran fundraising events at the property, political party get-togethers, and provided free accommodation to families in need after the Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes.
“It has been the most wonderful, happy family home that anyone could ever have,” McKenzie said.
“We'd have a party planned for 50 and there’d be 500 coming through. It was pretty full on. They even had to call the police once.”
“They were pretty rugged, but they were good guys. They used to labour for me on different sites, so I’d give them a ring and say ‘I need some security’.”
Sadly, Brooke lost his wife a year ago and his youngest daughter to cancer three months ago, and has decided it’s time for his next chapter.
Once the home is sold, the 78-year-old is taking an extended break on the Gold Coast to think about what his next chapter in New Zealand will be.
