Denise and Greg Powell are dropping the hammer on a three-decade construction project, listing their Broad Bay hillside property as a 13-hectare medieval castle. The 310-square-metre home, originally purchased in 1992 for a standard build, evolved into a fortress of recycled bricks, turrets, and a secret basement dungeon.
The origin story is equal parts whimsical and stubborn. Greg Powell spotted a pair of three-metre-high wooden doors from a demolished Beaumont Catholic church and refused to build around a standard American-style design that couldn't fit them. When their first draftsman balked at the "castle" concept, the couple hired a recent graduate. The result is a structure that looks like a red-brick house until you notice the battlements added in the early 2000s.
The build was a physical ordeal. Greg and his father manually tossed hundreds of bricks onto scaffolding every night, a routine that gave Greg "amazing pec muscles" according to Denise. Inside, the living room anchors a light fitting salvaged from the Hermitage Hotel at Mount Cook, dragged over by trailer.
The property is back on the market via LJ Hooker Dunedin, having been pulled in 2024 after a family tragedy. Denise Powell, now 65, is "future-proofing" by moving to a smaller nearby plot. The house includes a hidden trapdoor in a hallway cupboard that leads to a storage space, a feature Denise used to test visiting kids with. No child ever took the bait.
The Dunedin City Council values the estate at NZ$1.6 million. Geraldine Hermens, the listing agent, markets it to families or retired farmers seeking space. The next buyer gets the castle, the dungeon, and the 13 hectares of Broad Bay garden.