It sounds like the sale of the century - 10 years ago Charles and Janet Hedges bought a house and two shops on 0.6 hectares for just $15,000.
In the next few days it's possible someone will get an even better deal when abandoned land is flogged off; the pair's only concern is they don't want their town, Ohura, over-run. Not that there's much chance of that. Demand is not high for plots of land in this part of remote King Country - it's flood-prone, with no cellphone coverage and three-quarters of an hour's drive from the nearest town.
Ohura doesn't exactly scream location, location, location. Rather, it resembles a ghost-town; a shell of its former self; the population dropped by a quarter to 165 in the last Census. But that was part of the appeal for the Hedges, who moved from Hamilton 10 years ago after Charles saw an advertisement in the local paper.
That $15,000 later and a home and prime retail space was theirs. They're putting it to use in a type of his 'n' hers retail arrangement - Charles stores his collection of odd-looking bicycles and 1950s motorbikes in his shop and Janet turned hers into a second-hand shop, called Janet's.
She opens every Saturday, or on request, although requests can make her grumpy, Charles says. Charles, 74, was sick of Hamilton and wanted enough room to pursue his love of tinkering in peace and quiet.
"My husband saw in the paper this place called Ohura. So we came down," says Janet. "Me and my grandkids took one look at it and oh gee! Charles fell in love with it." They're key components of the town, though moving was "a shock to the system".
The former bus company manager keeps herself busy weaving and running the Ohura Residents Society. She gets to town in Taumarunui usually about once a fortnight and goes to Te Kuiti once every one or two weeks to sell her weaving. Charles is content not having anyone around. "I wouldn't like to live anywhere else. I don't really have a routine - I just do what I want." They do, however, notice the numbers dwindling, but if moves by Ruapehu District Council work, that could reverse. Why? Tenders have just closed on the latest round of abandoned land sales, where the council sells off land on behalf of owners who don't pay their rates.
Council deputy chief executive Peter Till says it's the third abandoned land sale in three years. Twenty-three properties throughout the Ruapehu district are abandoned, 10 of which are in Ohura. The last time, 10 properties didn't even meet the reserve price, even though one section sold for $400.
This time, the council has lowered the tender reserve and is trying again. The council does not own the land, it's just allowed to sell it. Although the money goes to the owner, usually it's swallowed up by outstanding rates.
"In most cases, people write to the council saying they don't want to pay their rates and are abandoning their land," Till says. Over the next week, the council will decide who wins tenders and will get in touch with the winners. They don't have to pay any of the rates owing - it's not so much getting the money back but getting a good ratepayer for the future, he says. Many of the bids come from the town's residents.
"If you're the person next door, there's a very good reason for buying a bigger section and getting to control your neighbourhood." Till says, from memory, a three-bedroom home in Ohura sold for $10,000 in the last few years.
"That was a liveable house. The problem is, they don't come with a job." And that's no small problem. There's not a lot to attract anyone to the town. There has been talk of a new coal mine opening by the end of the year, but the mine prospectors have been saying that for years now. With nothing to reverse the trend, could the town disappear altogether?
"I think there's a danger," says Till. Ohura is the town that even the Forgotten Highway forgot. Heading west from Taumarunui on that scenic stretch of road, you turn off on to a narrow trail that carves its way through fog-ridden valleys which seem scooped out of the hillside. No sign welcomes you to Ohura. Just two wide, mossy strips of tarseal and a handful of abandoned buildings scattered along the roadside like broken teeth. Some abandoned sections can be seen from the main road, Ngarimu St.
One abandoned on Kereru Rd lies in disrepair among the weeds, a broken-down Subaru Legacy keeps it company. The house itself has seen better days. The paint's peeling and vines grow from within the weatherboards. Moss and branches all but hide the purple leadlights looking out on to the sagging deck. It would make the perfect setting for a horror film.
Neighbour John Farnham says the owner died and the family didn't pay the rates. "I'd be surprised if that place went for more than $10,000. Basically, they're not worth anything." It has a CV of $30,000 and annual rates of just over $1600.
On Kiwi St, another house sits on its abandoned site, but this one looks to be in slightly better nick. Nailed to the lone skeletal tree in the front yard is the frame of a tree-hut.
A discarded trampoline lies to one side. There are still kids' bikes in the garage. Neighbours Lionel Wellington, 66, and Sue Riley, 57, say a woman lived there with her children. The unpaid rates built up and she tried to sell it for $3000-$4000 but with a stipulation - the back rates had to be paid. With the house remaining unsold, the family left to make a go of it in Taumarunui and now Sue and Lionel have a bid in on the house, but won't say how much they're offering. It's not their first foray into the abandoned land market. It has a CV of $40,000 and rates of about $1600.
Last year Riley bought the abandoned section on the other side of her house for $1000. It's not uncommon - every time some land comes up for tender, a mini game of Monopoly is played in Ohura, the residents trying to out-bid each other to extend their empires. The Hedges, though, are happy with their lot and aren't looking to expand.
They warn it's not simply a matter of fronting up with the purchase price and that there is a fair bit of solitude. "It's got a bit dear with rates and that รข€" people can't afford their rates," Janet says.
"The only thing going is the club. That's the heart of Ohura - the cozzie club." And as the pallid sunlight gives way to the fog, that's where the residents of Ohura end up. The place is huge - large enough to squeeze in the town's population three times over. Most of the tables and pool tables are covered over with sheets, the 50th birthday parties which attract large crowds increasingly uncommon.
A deer head mounted above the door wears a hat. Behind the bar are other bare essentials: Chef catfood and toilet paper. Handles of beer start at $2.50. A huge noticeboard is a forest of public notices. In front of it, a huddle of men in beanies and bush gear occupy one of the tables. Ainsley Wereta is one of them. The 42-year-old moved to Ohura about six months ago from Taihape to look after his grandparents. He says a three-bedroom rental costs between $80 and $100 in the town. He picks up shearing work or labouring to keep his family fed.
"It's good as, I love it. "There's a bit of hunting here, a few pigs and deer." His three children, aged between 8 and 11, make up more than a quarter of the school's roll. Wereta drinks with woodcutter Rob Dickinson, 55, who moved in five years ago to get away from his mortgage: "I own a house and I'm happy". "Anyone can live here if they want but no one wants to. They want to live next to the Westfield shopping mall and the McDonald's. "People say 'you poor thing'. But really we're lucky. I just don't want anyone else living here."
But people did live there once. Lots of people. The council's property contracts supervisor, Denny Moynihan, grew up in Ohura, the third generation of coal miners in the town. He moved to Taumarunui about 20 years ago when the mine closed.
"I sold my five-bedroom home with two sections for $30,000, 20 years ago. "That's the attraction - low value houses. But you've got to be prepared to live there." He says growing up in the town was excellent - the town had its own council and rugby team. There were about 400 students at the primary and secondary schools there, whose parents worked the farms and coal mines in the area. But the mines shut and the smaller farms were bought out, shrinking the local labour force.
Instead of hosting small pockets of on-site workers, large farms would bring in teams of contractors who would sweep through the place in a few days, moving on to the next small town. The effects can be seen 30 years on, with Ohura on the verge of disappearing off the face of the earth. Almost anywhere else in the country, land going for a four-figure sum would most likely be a typing error and would inspire a flood of investors.
Not in Ohura. Location, location, location - the cliche holds true no matter where you are.
By Kieran Nash | Email Kieran 5:30 AM Sunday Jul 24, 2011
Charles Hedges has space to spare in Ohura. Photo / Janna Dixon
Sunday 24 July 2011
Saturday 23 July 2011
My Auckland: Sandringham
Arna Martin tells Catherine Smith what she loves about living in her neighbourhood.
Jeff Kennedy and Arna Martin with their daughter Lucy. Photo / Natalie Slade
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Jeff Kennedy and Arna Martin with their daughter Lucy. Photo / Natalie Slade
Arna Martin has lived in Sandringham for seven years with her husband, Jeff Kennedy and daughter Lucy, 3. She runs her graphic design business from home and has recently set up an online children's clothing business, Lula, with fellow Sandringham resident Sheridan Miller.
"I'd lived all around Grey Lynn before this, but we used to drive across to the Spice Invaders on Sandringham Rd - it was such a cool name and it felt real. Now it's called the Khyber Spice Market but it still has the best spices.
"We'd looked at houses in other suburbs, but when we came in and saw this house we knew it would be perfect. This area is so family-friendly and we get a backyard and off-street parking for less than [you would pay in] Grey Lynn. There are nice wide streets with trees. A few streets are lined with feijoa trees, so you can go around the neighbourhood and pick them: the council has an initiative to plant fruit trees along streets so people can pick from them.
"Sandringham is so easy for transport with the trains just up at Kingsland, and Jeff can take a bus at the end of the street to the university where he works, He'd never take a car.
"It's really multi-cultural here - our neighbours are Tongan, the shops are Somalian, Indian, French, Iranian, you just get that lovely mix.
Article continues below
We can get the best samosas at Khyber Spices and the chana masala (chickpea curry) is made fresh every day - we fill the freezer, it's dinner for under $10.
"There's a nice mix of young families here. Lucy goes to the Sandringham kindy, and there's the Plunket group and Edendale School within walking distance.
"My neighbour over the road has started a school orchard - she's really green-fingered and answers all my questions. She's got a vege collective where people swap their produce and go to each other's houses. We have a vege garden and my grandparents from Albany tell me things grow so well here because we have volcanic soil which is easy and rich.
"Jeff is a total cricket-head and he just loves walking up to Eden Park in the summer, that's his favourite thing. We walk across to Mt Eden and climb to the summit - you can just cut through the streets and you're at Mt Eden Rd or Balmoral Rd. We're only a 20-minute walk from Kingsland too.
"I like being so close to everything - we go to our favourite wine bar there, it's hidden away. There are great parks for Lucy - Gribblehirst is quite green and lovely and has a flying fox, or there's a little playground at the corner of Sandringham Rd and one by Good Shepherd School."
Arna and Jeff's picks
* Satya South Indian Cafe: 515 Sandringham Rd, ph (09) 845 8451.
The best south Indian food - the dahl puri are divine with potatoes and coriander.
* Voila Cafe: 573 Sandringham Road, ph (09) 846 8393
It's French so does great crepes plus savories, bread and pastries. It's very busy down there because they do good coffee too.
* Cut & Style: 533 Sandringham Rd
Jeff reckons this barber shop is the hub of the community. It's run by Iranians and they are the friendliest people. No appointments and $10 haircuts.
* Khyber Spice Market: 528-530 Sandringham Rd, ph (09) 815 2307
We'd come over from Grey Lynn for their spices and the samosas are only $1.50 and freshly made.
* Urban Flowers: 27 Sandringham Rd, Kingsland, ph (09) 849 4036
The owner does the most fantastic, different things with flowers - she's still worth getting to through all the roadworks around Eden Park.
* Papa's Pizza: 61 Sandringham Rd, Kingsland, ph (09) 849 4501O
pposite Eden Park, it's going to be madness there when the World Cup crowds find out about it. They do wholemeal bases and the most divine toppings. We'll walk up there and sit in the back garden.
* Winehot: 605 New North Road, Morningside, ph (09) 815 946
Not strictly Sandringham, but since we're a dry area this corner of Kingsland is ours. It's French, with a fantastic selection of wines, and you drink from the proper wine glasses without stems. People don't know about it, as it's tucked in a block of shops near the florist and a Thai restaurant.
* Capitol Cinema: 610 Dominion Rd, Balmoral, ph (09) 623 2000.
We can walk through the side streets to get to this and it's just been refurbished. This is how a cinema should be - all grand, with curtains and good films, and you can buy wine or coffee to take into the theatre.
By Catherine Smith | Email Catherine
Jeff Kennedy and Arna Martin with their daughter Lucy. Photo / Natalie Slade
Expand
Jeff Kennedy and Arna Martin with their daughter Lucy. Photo / Natalie Slade
Arna Martin has lived in Sandringham for seven years with her husband, Jeff Kennedy and daughter Lucy, 3. She runs her graphic design business from home and has recently set up an online children's clothing business, Lula, with fellow Sandringham resident Sheridan Miller.
"I'd lived all around Grey Lynn before this, but we used to drive across to the Spice Invaders on Sandringham Rd - it was such a cool name and it felt real. Now it's called the Khyber Spice Market but it still has the best spices.
"We'd looked at houses in other suburbs, but when we came in and saw this house we knew it would be perfect. This area is so family-friendly and we get a backyard and off-street parking for less than [you would pay in] Grey Lynn. There are nice wide streets with trees. A few streets are lined with feijoa trees, so you can go around the neighbourhood and pick them: the council has an initiative to plant fruit trees along streets so people can pick from them.
"Sandringham is so easy for transport with the trains just up at Kingsland, and Jeff can take a bus at the end of the street to the university where he works, He'd never take a car.
"It's really multi-cultural here - our neighbours are Tongan, the shops are Somalian, Indian, French, Iranian, you just get that lovely mix.
Article continues below
We can get the best samosas at Khyber Spices and the chana masala (chickpea curry) is made fresh every day - we fill the freezer, it's dinner for under $10.
"There's a nice mix of young families here. Lucy goes to the Sandringham kindy, and there's the Plunket group and Edendale School within walking distance.
"My neighbour over the road has started a school orchard - she's really green-fingered and answers all my questions. She's got a vege collective where people swap their produce and go to each other's houses. We have a vege garden and my grandparents from Albany tell me things grow so well here because we have volcanic soil which is easy and rich.
"Jeff is a total cricket-head and he just loves walking up to Eden Park in the summer, that's his favourite thing. We walk across to Mt Eden and climb to the summit - you can just cut through the streets and you're at Mt Eden Rd or Balmoral Rd. We're only a 20-minute walk from Kingsland too.
"I like being so close to everything - we go to our favourite wine bar there, it's hidden away. There are great parks for Lucy - Gribblehirst is quite green and lovely and has a flying fox, or there's a little playground at the corner of Sandringham Rd and one by Good Shepherd School."
Arna and Jeff's picks
* Satya South Indian Cafe: 515 Sandringham Rd, ph (09) 845 8451.
The best south Indian food - the dahl puri are divine with potatoes and coriander.
* Voila Cafe: 573 Sandringham Road, ph (09) 846 8393
It's French so does great crepes plus savories, bread and pastries. It's very busy down there because they do good coffee too.
* Cut & Style: 533 Sandringham Rd
Jeff reckons this barber shop is the hub of the community. It's run by Iranians and they are the friendliest people. No appointments and $10 haircuts.
* Khyber Spice Market: 528-530 Sandringham Rd, ph (09) 815 2307
We'd come over from Grey Lynn for their spices and the samosas are only $1.50 and freshly made.
* Urban Flowers: 27 Sandringham Rd, Kingsland, ph (09) 849 4036
The owner does the most fantastic, different things with flowers - she's still worth getting to through all the roadworks around Eden Park.
* Papa's Pizza: 61 Sandringham Rd, Kingsland, ph (09) 849 4501O
pposite Eden Park, it's going to be madness there when the World Cup crowds find out about it. They do wholemeal bases and the most divine toppings. We'll walk up there and sit in the back garden.
* Winehot: 605 New North Road, Morningside, ph (09) 815 946
Not strictly Sandringham, but since we're a dry area this corner of Kingsland is ours. It's French, with a fantastic selection of wines, and you drink from the proper wine glasses without stems. People don't know about it, as it's tucked in a block of shops near the florist and a Thai restaurant.
* Capitol Cinema: 610 Dominion Rd, Balmoral, ph (09) 623 2000.
We can walk through the side streets to get to this and it's just been refurbished. This is how a cinema should be - all grand, with curtains and good films, and you can buy wine or coffee to take into the theatre.
By Catherine Smith | Email Catherine
My Auckland: Mt Albert
Kay McFarlane and Michael Holmes have lived in Mt Albert for 10 years with their sons Tom, 14, Samuel, 5, and Oscar, 4. They run their business, Michael Holmes Premium Eyewear in High St and Newmarket. They tell Catherine Smith what they love about their neighbourhood.
Michael Holmes and Kay McFarlane on Mt Albert Domain with their sons Oscar, Samuel and Tom. Photo / Dean Purcell
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Michael Holmes and Kay McFarlane on Mt Albert Domain with their sons Oscar, Samuel and Tom. Photo / Dean Purcell
I grew up in Mt Albert, but Michael is from Yorkshire. We did London and then Michael showed me horrendous parts of England so we'd really want to come back to New Zealand.
When we needed to come back to Auckland for our business 10 years ago, we went househunting and looked everywhere - I wasn't about to come back to Mt Albert. Then we found the perfect house with a big section, lovely streets of trees and it was so peaceful and close to the city. So we fell into this area again, really.
For us it's about fantastic neighbours, we get on so well, it's not a cafe society. It's an exceptional community, there are kids all around, everyone picks up each others' kids.
When someone's sick or something there'll be a knock on the door with help, meals, taking the baby for a walk. It's like the 1950s, but in a good way; a lot of people in other places don't even wave to their neighbours.
It's a great community for the kids, you know all the families of the boys, the high school kids can all walk to St Lukes for the movies, or to meet up at the food hall. They ride bikes to their friends' place - it's a real community like that. Mt Albert Grammar is a fantastic school, there's a lovely sense of caring, the kids are divine, there are fantastic teachers who all care, and a principal and deputy who are really visible.
And Tom's really happy, he can roll out of bed and be at school in three minutes - he's timed it.
The little ones love the farm at the school, we take them in the weekends to feed the lambs or chickens or sit on the tractor. For the little ones, Bright Beginnings is inspired. It's just opposite Rocket Park, which has served generations of kids, or there's Fowlds Park which is safe for kids.
There's always something on the mountain - the kids called it Dragon Mountain, ever hopeful, but we've been hunting dragons with no luck. We did see the army on exercise up there, but again, sadly, no weapons. The Mt Albert Aquatic Centre wave pool is only a few minutes away, it's good for lessons for the little ones or a meeting spot for Tom and his mates.
Our bit for being green is that we have only one car - Michael rides to work, into Newmarket. The most unlikely spot for a cafe is Cosset, right next to Pak'n Save. Rowan and Kelly both do divine vegetarian, dairy- and gluten-free food and they love the kids.
We'll go to the Pyrenees French deli opposite Rocket Park or the dairy, which is still old-fashioned with icecreams and $1 bags of sweets. Sol Rose is a good Italian. There's great Chinese on Mt Albert Rd and for Indian we head into Sandringham Rd. Michael is the foodie, so he'll bike to Nosh on Dominion Rd or the Westmere Butchery.
It really is a country town in the middle of the city, it's so lovely when you work in busy parts of town to come home to the smell of mowing lawns, the streets of old villas - it takes you back to your childhood. We walk up the mountain and we say to each other, "This is a beautiful city." We don't ever forget that.
Kay and Michael's picks
Mt Albert Grammar School Farm, 40B Alberton Ave, Mt Albert. A slice of farm life with bookable guided tours for groups. Contact the farm manager on (09) 846 0796 or email lamper@xtra.co.nz
Mt Albert (Owairaka Domain), 27 Summit Dr, Mt Albert
Cosset Cafe, 1087 New North Rd, Mt Albert, ph (09) 846 0655
Pyrenees the French Deli, 756 New North Rd, Mt Albert, ph (09) 846 8561
Bright Beginnings Early Childhood Education Centre, 32 Wairere Ave, Mt Albert, ph (09) 846 5733
Rocket Park, cnr New North Rd and Wairere Ave, or Fowlds Park, 50 Western Springs Rd
Mt Albert Aquatic Centre, 38 Alberton Ave, Mt Albert, ph (09) 815 7005
By Catherine Smith | Email Catherine
Michael Holmes and Kay McFarlane on Mt Albert Domain with their sons Oscar, Samuel and Tom. Photo / Dean Purcell
Expand
Michael Holmes and Kay McFarlane on Mt Albert Domain with their sons Oscar, Samuel and Tom. Photo / Dean Purcell
I grew up in Mt Albert, but Michael is from Yorkshire. We did London and then Michael showed me horrendous parts of England so we'd really want to come back to New Zealand.
When we needed to come back to Auckland for our business 10 years ago, we went househunting and looked everywhere - I wasn't about to come back to Mt Albert. Then we found the perfect house with a big section, lovely streets of trees and it was so peaceful and close to the city. So we fell into this area again, really.
For us it's about fantastic neighbours, we get on so well, it's not a cafe society. It's an exceptional community, there are kids all around, everyone picks up each others' kids.
When someone's sick or something there'll be a knock on the door with help, meals, taking the baby for a walk. It's like the 1950s, but in a good way; a lot of people in other places don't even wave to their neighbours.
It's a great community for the kids, you know all the families of the boys, the high school kids can all walk to St Lukes for the movies, or to meet up at the food hall. They ride bikes to their friends' place - it's a real community like that. Mt Albert Grammar is a fantastic school, there's a lovely sense of caring, the kids are divine, there are fantastic teachers who all care, and a principal and deputy who are really visible.
And Tom's really happy, he can roll out of bed and be at school in three minutes - he's timed it.
The little ones love the farm at the school, we take them in the weekends to feed the lambs or chickens or sit on the tractor. For the little ones, Bright Beginnings is inspired. It's just opposite Rocket Park, which has served generations of kids, or there's Fowlds Park which is safe for kids.
There's always something on the mountain - the kids called it Dragon Mountain, ever hopeful, but we've been hunting dragons with no luck. We did see the army on exercise up there, but again, sadly, no weapons. The Mt Albert Aquatic Centre wave pool is only a few minutes away, it's good for lessons for the little ones or a meeting spot for Tom and his mates.
Our bit for being green is that we have only one car - Michael rides to work, into Newmarket. The most unlikely spot for a cafe is Cosset, right next to Pak'n Save. Rowan and Kelly both do divine vegetarian, dairy- and gluten-free food and they love the kids.
We'll go to the Pyrenees French deli opposite Rocket Park or the dairy, which is still old-fashioned with icecreams and $1 bags of sweets. Sol Rose is a good Italian. There's great Chinese on Mt Albert Rd and for Indian we head into Sandringham Rd. Michael is the foodie, so he'll bike to Nosh on Dominion Rd or the Westmere Butchery.
It really is a country town in the middle of the city, it's so lovely when you work in busy parts of town to come home to the smell of mowing lawns, the streets of old villas - it takes you back to your childhood. We walk up the mountain and we say to each other, "This is a beautiful city." We don't ever forget that.
Kay and Michael's picks
Mt Albert Grammar School Farm, 40B Alberton Ave, Mt Albert. A slice of farm life with bookable guided tours for groups. Contact the farm manager on (09) 846 0796 or email lamper@xtra.co.nz
Mt Albert (Owairaka Domain), 27 Summit Dr, Mt Albert
Cosset Cafe, 1087 New North Rd, Mt Albert, ph (09) 846 0655
Pyrenees the French Deli, 756 New North Rd, Mt Albert, ph (09) 846 8561
Bright Beginnings Early Childhood Education Centre, 32 Wairere Ave, Mt Albert, ph (09) 846 5733
Rocket Park, cnr New North Rd and Wairere Ave, or Fowlds Park, 50 Western Springs Rd
Mt Albert Aquatic Centre, 38 Alberton Ave, Mt Albert, ph (09) 815 7005
By Catherine Smith | Email Catherine
Saturday 2 July 2011
With its waterfront view, grown-up waiters, worldly wine list and specials like Bluff oysters seemingly on tap, EURO Restaurant & Bar is a place for showy fun. I’ve had extremely pleasant long lunches here and a few raucous late night trips which may have involved pizza . . .
“Away from usual bustle at the bar and on the terrace, the dining room allows a sense of spaciousness intimacy . . .
“We happily perch and get just the right amount of friendly, but non-intrusive chit-chat from behind the bar, before our waiter seats us and offers the kind of informative menu explanations that give me confidence to turn over our wine choices to him . . .” Excerpts from NZ Herald review by Janetta Mackay, Jun 2008.
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