Former Paua House for sale again

BY SAM MCKNIGHT

The Bluff house made famous by the late Fred and Myrtle Flutey and their paua collection is on the market again, reviving the debate on what could be done to mark their memory.

It has been three years since the Marine Pde house was controversially cleared of its shells by the Fluteys' grandson, Ross Bowen, who then gave them to the Canterbury Museum on a 10-year loan.

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt said there could be merit in trying to generate community backing for a tribute to the Fluteys' memory.

It was an idea worth taking to other community leaders to see if it was feasible to replicate the old collection at the house, or start something new, he said.

A lot of the attraction was "Fred and Myrtle" and he was not sure if that could be easily reproduced, Mr Shadbolt said.

One of the Fluteys' daughters, Gloria Henderson, who lives next door, said she supported the idea that the community could find some use for the property.

It could even be transformed into a Flutey-themed information centre, which Bluff was in dire need of, she said.

There was no need for an exact replica to capture the essence of the original, she said.

Regardless of what happened, the people living at the house would be sorely missed, she said.

"They're lovely people."

One name the real estate agent can cross of his list is the Canterbury Museum which has the Flutey's collection.

Museum director Anthony Wright said the museum had no plans to load the house on a truck and make it part of the exhibition.

"We couldn't possibly accommodate the entire house." He said the museum already had a near perfect facsimile of it.

Southerners visiting the exhibition have begrudgingly admitted it was an accurate reflection of the real thing, he said.

And it was continuing to prove popular with visitor numbers topping the 250,000 mark last month, Mr Wright said.

"People still appreciate one of the great New Zealand stories."

Harcourts Real Estate Agent Steve Weir said the vendors had committed to selling the property at auction on April 14.

However, the only remnant of the paua house was its shell, with the owners having made significant cosmetic changes, he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News