Mysterious house on the hill in Auckland's South Head demolished as new owner reveals plans

An empty house which stood decaying on a hill in Auckland's South Head for years has been demolished after a recent sale to a local family.

The house, which was within Tupare Estate on Kaipara Lake Rd was wellknown to locals due to its mock-Tudor design, gargoyles and the mass of pigeons who dwelled within the property.

According to QV, in 2021, the 260 square metre house with two hectares of land was worth about $1.75m. A couple who lived in the area bought the house already in a dilapidated state in 2011.

According to the old owners, the house had been moved to the site from the more central suburb of Ōrākei in the early 1980s.

Homeowners on neighbouring properties described the house as an "eyesore" that attracted hundreds of pigeons to the area along with vandals and squatters.

"It looks like rubbish," one said, "It's ugly and ruins the beautiful views."

The house was listed for sale in November 2023, by Ray White agent Jasmine Sergeant, but it wasn't until September 2024 that the house finally sold.

The new buyer of the house and land, Mark Heine said his daughter and son did horse riding near the house and they would often drive past it and wonder about its story.

"We always thought it ws really weird," Heine said, "and then recently we decided we wanted to buy in the area and saw it was up for sale."

"When we went to view the house and stood on the hill the view was just beautiful."

While Heine said the house was beautiful, it had been "completely taken over" by pigeons inside and it wasn't salvageable.

"My wife chose to go inside the house to have a look but I chose not to - she said the stench was overpowering and the floor was covered in a thick layer of pigeon poo.

"It's been pulled down and we're hoping to build a four-bedroom family home on the land with a stable for some horses too."

Neighbours on Kaipara Lake Rd had been relieved to see the house sold and demolished, Heine said, and the family had purchased the land for "just north" of $1 million.

"The vendors demolished the house as part of the settlement agreement with us and it was gone within 30 minutes.

"They said they wanted to get it done fast with little fuss before the neighbourhood caught on and all came to watch."

Heine said he wasn't sure why the couple who owned the house previously decided to sell after more than 10 years.

"There will be some pigeons in the area now looking for a new home."

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