Old chicken coop was once a much loved home to family of 10

Tuesday, 7 July 2026

* A derelict 1910 cottage on a 3035m² section in Tokoiti, Clutha, has hit the market, offering buyers a rare chance to restore or redevelop a property with more than a century of history.

* The home was once a family house where eight children were raised before later becoming part of a chicken farm, and has since fallen into disrepair, with little remaining beyond its original layout and fireplace.

* Despite the cottage's condition, the section includes a portable cabin, septic tank, well and water tank, sits just minutes from Milton, and is being marketed as an affordable opportunity for someone wanting space and a rural lifestyle.

To say the building at 1 Black St, in Tokoiti, Clutha, has seen better days is a real understatement. It's hard to imagine now, but the decrepit shack was once a much-loved and cared-for family home, where eight children were raised.

There's not much evidence of that left now - just an old fireplace and what would have been built-in cupboards on either side. There aren't even any interior walls.

'When you get in it, you can see the layout[of the house],' says Harcourts real estate agent Irene McKechnie. 'It had a long drop at one stage, which has been removed, thank goodness. So it was pre-plumbing.'

Built in 1910, it's not clear who the original owner was.

The last living resident, Ian Carr, is now in his 90s and remembers growing up there with his five brothers and two sisters. He told McKechnie his parents bought the property when they were in their 20s.

Sadly, he has no pictures of the property when they lived there.

'They didn't bother so much back then with photos. It was their home and they just got on with living.'

His parents bought the 3035m² property off a man named Jimmy Shanks, who owned all the land around the section. The house was already there.

When Ian's parents died, his older brother took it over and the family moved out. In 1965, Carr's brother applied to turn the section into a chicken farm.

No one except the chooks ever lived in the house again. The Carr family sold the section to its current owner in 2021.

He's put a little portable cabin on the land, with a septic tank. There's no water to the section, but there is a well and a 10,000-litre water tank. McKechnie thinks the section could be hooked up to the town supply if you wanted to build a more substantial dwelling on the property, but that would need some research from prospective buyers.

'We did have power onto the house until we had the big storm in October. The powerlines were running through the big macrocarpas. But there's a smart meter there.'

While the Tokoiti township is quite small, it's just a three-minute drive to Milton, where there are shops, restaurants and access to SH1. The property is about 20 minutes from Balclutha and 45 minutes from Dunedin.

While it is out of the way, the section isn't isolated.

'There are newer houses springing up all around Tokoiti, so it's not isolated in any sense of the word. At three-quarters of an acre, it's not really a lifestyle block, but it's enough to have your chickens and a couple of pet sheep.'

The neighbouring section is also for sale, so it might be possible to live out your lifestyle block dreams if you bought both.

'You could put a tiny home on it,' says McKechnie. It would suit someone 'that just wants a bit of space around them'.

With a CV of $170,000, the vendors are asking $250,000 for the property and its vintage old cottage-coop.