Aviation pioneers' house for sale

A Hobsonville house that has close connections with New Zealand’s early civil aviation industry is for sale.

Mill House was originally built for aviation pioneers Doug and Audrey Mill. Known first as Windover, it was designed in the early 1930s by prominent Auckland architect George Tole in the Georgian revival style.

Mr Mill trained at the New Zealand Flying School in 1919 but, with few opportunities available for civil flying, took up law until 1927.

After he finished a refresher flying course in England, he decided to buy a DH 60 Moth, which was fitted with a Williamson Eagle aerial camera and he shipped it back to New Zealand, arriving in March 1928.

This sparked the resurgence of civil aviation in New Zealand and Mr Mill subsequently formed the Air Transport and Aerial Survey Company with his wife a year later at Hobsonville next to the government’s newly established Hobsonville Station. It was the first aerial photography business in New Zealand.

In addition, Mr Mill accepted De Havilland’s offer of its New Zealand agency. The imported aircraft were assembled at the family’s Hobsonville hangar, and it was a side of the company’s business that by 1934 had taken over from aerial photography work.

At the same time Mr Mill was operating his business, the construction of Hobsonville Station’s airfield, slipway, jetty and some buildings was under way. However, much of the work was halted at the station until the mid-1930s because of the depression.

By 1939 Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL), the forerunner to Air New Zealand had established a hangar at Hobsonville.

With the rapid expansion of the station, it became clear Mr Mill could no longer operate his business from Hobsonville. In what essentially became a forced sale, the house and grounds were sold to Defence and settlement was finally reached in 1940.

During World War II, the 512m² house housed Royal New Zealand Air Force trainees and the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and nursing sisters.

Wellington developer Willis Bond & Co acquired the house when it bought the land for the upmarket Sunderland subdivision – a mixture of new homes and refurbished former 1930s airforce houses – and has now put the five-bedroom, four bathroom property on a 4108m² clifftop site overlooking the Waitemata Harbour up for tender through Bayleys.

The property is described as being in good condition for its age but will require renovation to restore it to its former glory.  

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