70s character home 'an island' amid Hamilton's newest subdivision

Tuesday, 23 May 2023

A character home will be one of the few of its vintage nestled amongst a multi-million dollar housing development taking shape in the suburb of Peacocke.

Richard Pirrit remembers basking in the freedom of living in a rural four bedroom, two bathroom, 70s style character home.

The property was an “oasis of calm” where his family felt out in the country while being a stone's throw away from the central city.

The family home had “stood the test of time” for five decades.

But over the next 30 years this had changed as development in Hamilton turned from suburbs marching north at the other end of the city, to filling the once un-developed southern end of town.

“Growing up [in Peacocke] was spectacular,” Pirrit said.

“The house has changed very little since it was built. It still feels contemporary in many ways.”

Ferrida Curwood and Husband Craig Deadman now live in the Pirrit family home which Curwood describes as a “Scandinavian take on the 70s”.

Built around 1975 the spacious 5 acre Peacock property sits amongst fields of grazing animals.

Pirrit’s late father and mother purchased the section “over the road” which added another 13 acres.

Curwood and her husband, who were both former farmers, felt right at home as vast lifestyle blocks were becoming fewer in urban centres.

“It’s an old house, but its character filled…the unique design is quite special and one of the things that makes it quite different is the passage that has all windows down one wall which makes it longer, but also makes it really light and offers great views,” Curwood said.

Cream walls, dark chocolate-coloured furnishings and vintage furniture decorate the interior of the home while a spacious back garden and swimming pool sit at the rear of the house.

“The house was architecturally designed under instruction by mum and dad and in my opinion they did a great job,” said Pirrit.

“Dad was very passionate about trees and planted many over the years. This has led to it being a real oasis of calm.”

Looking out towards the horizon, a beige wooden fence separates the Pirrit home from the modern multi-million dollar Peacocke project taking shape in their backyard.

The development was turning “one of Hamilton's largest greenfield areas” into sprawling neighbourhoods.

It was becoming more obvious that the landscape of Hamilton was evolving, Curwood said.

“We’re completely surrounded by construction in 360 degrees…it’s like an island,” she said.

“It makes it a busy place to be so thank goodness there’s some green and some large trees and a bit of paddock space.”

Hamilton city council was looking to create new communities over the next 5, 10, 20 and 30 years.

Over the years the city had gradually spread north, but developments were now looking South.

“Hamilton is growing, and we need to develop new neighbourhoods and communities for future Hamiltonians,” Council said in a statement.

“By 2035, we expect Hamilton to increase by more than 50,000 people which means we will need at least 18,000 new homes across our city.”

With the subdivisions would come a new bridge, main roads, parks and strategic water, wastewater and stormwater networks.

Now well underway, the Peacocke project was the third development to be constructed after Rototuna and Rotokauri.

The suburb was set grow, becoming busier and more populated.

Many of the original character homes that surrounded their property had disappeared in the process, Pirrit said while new suburbs were etching closer.

“We knew that things would eventually change, however, we’ve had nearly 50 years of living in a rural paradise…our house may still have some time yet,” he said.

“Things were always going to head south at some point for Hamilton and the time has now come.”

Curwood said “there’s already been massive changes” since the project began, but she understood the advantage of the city expanding sooner rather than later.

She hoped there could be a balance in order to preserve the “good quality rural land” that Hamilton is renowned for.

“We feel really lucky to live here,” she said.

“There’s a lot of intensification happening already…I hope amongst all the development that developers look at buying places that already have large sections and keep some land un-developed.”