FOR SALE BY OWNER · HERITAGE-LISTED HOME

64 Papanui Street
Tokoroa

The Walsh Rhyolite House — a protected 1940s heritage home, hand-built from pink rhyolite stone found only around Tokoroa. Four bedrooms, sun-filled open-plan living, and a huge ground level with room for four cars, a workshop — and your next big idea.

4Bedrooms
220m²Floor area
827m²Land
4 carsBasement garage
Asking price$579,000
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Why you'll love it

Built solid. Made for family.

Some houses are built to a budget. This one was built to last — walls of hand-cut pink rhyolite stone, hand-laid stone steps, and the kind of space new builds simply don't give you anymore.

One of a kind

Built from hand-cut pink rhyolite — the council lists it as the only known building made of this stone. Protected heritage, HH-27.

Open-plan & sunny

Kitchen, dining and lounge flow together, wrapped in big timber windows that pull in light all day.

The basement

Two side-by-side garages, each 11.7m long — up to four cars — plus a workshop and a store room, with internal stairs.

Covered stone verandah

A sheltered flagstone verandah for morning coffee — rain or shine.

827m² of land

A big, flat, fenced back lawn with a kids' playhouse. Room for pets, veggies and summer BBQs.

Warm character

Exposed timber beams, arched doorways and a copper rangehood — modern comfort with real soul.

The potential

A whole extra level, waiting for your idea

~89m²

That's the ground level alone — two garages 11.7m deep, plus a workshop and a store room, with internal stairs up to the house. Most homes in this price range don't have a space like this at all.

Park four cars. Build a boat. Run a business. Or turn part of it into something that pays you back.

Both garages, side by side
Both garages, side by side
Garage 1 — 11.7m deep
Garage 1 — 11.7m deep
Garage 2 + roller door
Garage 2 + roller door
Workshop
Workshop
Store room
Store room
🛏️

Guest suite or Airbnb

Renovate part of the ground level into a self-contained studio with its own entrance from the driveway.

👨‍👩‍👧

Family flat

Space for grandparents or teenagers — close to the family, with their own space.

🛠️

Workshop / business

A trade base, home studio or storage business — with room for vans, tools and stock.

🚗

Car & boat lovers

Four cars under cover, plus room for the boat, the bikes and the project car.

Why short-stay works here

Right in the middle of the North Island

  • 🛣️ On State Highway 1 — the main road between Auckland, Hamilton and Taupō. A natural overnight stop.
  • 🌋 Rotorua · Taupō · Waitomo — Tokoroa sits right in the middle of this famous triangle.
  • 🚣 About 45 lakes within an hour — fishing, boating and bike trails all around.
  • 💰 Low buy-in — a big home for far less than Rotorua or Taupō prices.
Big back lawn

Virtual walk-through

Walk through the house

Press Next → to walk from the street, through the front door, into every room. Or press Auto-play and just watch.

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3D house model

See the whole house at once

Drag to walk around the house. Pinch or scroll to zoom. Tap Main floor or Lower floor to lift the roof and look inside.

☝ Drag to rotate

Built from the measured floor plan and photos. Furniture, windows and heights are for illustration.

Floor plan

Two levels. Real measurements.

Redrawn from the measured floor plan. Room sizes are as measured; drawing simplified and the two floors are shown at their own scale. Total floor area 220m² (council record).

Photos

Every corner

Kitchen and ground-level (garage, workshop, store) photos have been digitally decluttered (personal items removed) to show the space.

Protected heritage · District Plan HH-27

The Walsh Rhyolite House

In the 1940s, a local man named Reg Walsh cut pink rhyolite stone by hand in his own workshop — and used it to build this house. Pink rhyolite is a volcanic stone found only around Tokoroa.

Today the council's heritage record lists it as the only known building made of this material. It's protected in the South Waikato District Plan as heritage item HH-27, recommended through public consultation and confirmed by a Heritage New Zealand advisor.

HistoricAn important example of building with rhyolite
ArchitecturalA house built from rhyolite stone
RarityThe only known house of its kind
IntegrityCondition rated “Good”
1925–35

Pine forests are planted around Tokoroa.

1940s

Reg Walsh hand-cuts pink rhyolite in his workshop and builds this house — before the mill town arrives.

1947

NZ Forest Products starts building a whole town around it to house Kinleith mill workers.

1954

Kinleith mill officially opens. Tokoroa grows past 20,000 people by the early 1970s.

Today

Listed as heritage item HH-27 — a protected piece of Tokoroa's story you can live in.

Pink rhyolite stone walls of the house
Every pink wall you see is hand-cut rhyolite stone.
Stonework like this would cost a fortune to build today.

The walls, the retaining walls and the sweeping curved staircase are heavy stone, cut and laid by hand. Ask any stonemason what that much stonework costs now — it's craftsmanship that simply isn't built into new homes anymore.

And it can't be copied: the council lists it as the only known building made of this stone.

Cut stone wall and curved stone staircase

Pink rhyolite wallsHand-cut stone, found only around Tokoroa.

Curved stone wallHand-laid stone with a sweeping turn.

Flagstone verandahNatural crazy-paving stone floor.

Arched doorwaysClassic 1940s curves.

Protected for the future

✓ Officially recognisedListed in the South Waikato District Plan as heritage item HH-27.
✓ ProtectedA heritage home like this can't simply be knocked down — its character is here to stay.
✓ A story to ownThe only known house of its kind. Something no new build can ever offer.

Read the official heritage record: South Waikato District Plan — HH-27 Walsh Rhyolite House.

Location

Quiet street. Centre of the North Island.

Minutes from Tokoroa's town centre — schools, shops, parks and cafés close by. And you're right in the middle of the best of the central North Island.

Waitomo Rotorua Taupō Hamilton ↑ (SH1) Tokoroa 64 Papanui Street 📍 Open in Google Maps
🏫

Schools, shops & cafésJust minutes to Tokoroa town centre.

🛣️

On State Highway 1Tokoroa sits midway between Hamilton and Taupō.

🌋

Rotorua · Taupō · WaitomoTokoroa sits right in the middle of this famous tourism triangle.

🚣

About 45 lakes within an hourPlus Lake Moananui reserve and Cougar Park bike trails in town.

🌲

Forest & farm countryFresh air, big skies, and room to breathe.

The numbers

Everything at a glance

Property details

Asking price$579,000
Bedrooms4
Bathroom1 + separate toilet
GaragingBasement, up to 4 cars
Extra spacesWorkshop · store room · scullery · laundry
Built1940s · hand-cut pink rhyolite stone
HeritageDistrict Plan HH-27 (Walsh Rhyolite House)
Floor area220m²
Land area827m²
District + regional rates≈ $4,569 / year
ChattelsRangehood, dishwasher, electric stove, security cameras, smart system

What would it cost me?

Slide to see a rough weekly mortgage repayment.

Approx. per week
Loan amount

Estimate only. Talk to your bank or mortgage adviser for real numbers.

Buying direct

Talk straight to the owner

No middle-man

Ask anything and get honest answers from the people who live here and know every corner.

Flexible viewings

Weekdays, evenings or weekends — we'll fit around you.

Simple process

Bring your own lawyer and building inspector. We'll make it easy.

Book a viewing

Come and see it for yourself

Photos don't do the stone and space justice. Call or text anytime to arrange a viewing.

Call or text Siwoo
021 0855 1156
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Email
to.siwoo@gmail.com
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64 Papanui St · Asking
$579,000
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