New Zealand couple turned abandoned school into home; now asks over NZ$595,000

For years, an old school sat quietly on the edge of Tokanui, a small township in Southland. Then Ian ‘Hippy’ Rogers and his wife, Sue, arrived. They took one look at the school and saw something most people didn’t.

The couple knew the neglected property had the potential to become a home.The school at Quarry Hill first opened in the late 1800s, although the building the couple bought dated from 1958. It closed in 1993, and subsequent owners had done little with the property.In 2017, when the couple arrived, hedges had swallowed much of the site. But they weren’t ready to give up. They invested a couple of years in turning the school into a home.

Now, the property is on the market for enquiries over NZ$595,000, according to a report by Trade Me Property.

Two ways of looking at a ruin

When the couple first laid eyes on the dilapidated building, they saw two things. Sue saw what it could become, while Ian saw the work it would take. Sue admits the decision required some persuasion.“I wouldn’t say we agreed instantly. It was more a wife nagging,” Sue told the outlet.Ian laughs when he remembers it. “She was looking at it, going, ‘This will be wonderful’, and I was looking at it, going, ‘Look at the work involved’.”

Before they knew it, they were looking at a long-abandoned schoolhouse, a derelict outdoor swimming pool and changing rooms that were almost swallowed by the hedges.Sue had always wanted to renovate a school, although she admits people look at her strangely when they discover her day job. She’s a school principal. “We’d been looking for something unusual. We liked renovating, so my random idea was to find an old school in Southland.”

Renovation begins

Before any walls could be touched, the couple had to clear the land. Thirty years of hedges, weeds and wildlife had taken over the half-hectare block. They worked with Invercargill builder Craig Brown, and the school was stripped back to its framing. New insulation was installed, and most of the windows were retrofitted with double glazing. Luckily, the building’s structure was in good condition. “Structurally, it was already about 90 to 95% sound,” Ian said.A new 9.6-metre beam was installed above the kitchen and lounge to support part of the rear wall and a small extension. They reused original materials wherever possible.

A school that still feels like one

Sue wanted the house to retain its past. “It had to feel like a fun school,” she said. She chose the colour palette, giving the school a bold and quirky look. “It’s still got the character and the history of the school within the building.”Some original details survived the renovation. For instance, a giant chalkboard hangs above the bed, and the cubby holes where generations of students once left their school bags are still there.

Pool turns into chalet

Another part of the renovation was the pool, which was badly damaged when the couple bought the property. It had to go. “It could have become a nursery, a big glasshouse or a veggie garden,” Sue added. But they kept coming back to a beach-themed chalet that could serve as short-term accommodation. The main building took about three years to finish. The one-bedroom retreat inside the former pool came later.

The renovations cost the couple an estimated NZ$250,000. That figure excludes their own labour and is slightly higher than Sue’s initial estimate.The property is now listed for enquiries over NZ$595,000 through JJ Morgan at Bayleys. The couple is ready for their next project, and Sue already knows what she doesn’t want. “Not an old school!” For now, she is done with schools.