Heavenly Creatures bach on the market

A Banks Peninsula bach used by Hollywood A-listers Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey while they were filming Heavenly Creatures is on the market.

The home at 12 Puari Rd in Port Levy, Banks Peninsula, hosted the Oscar-nominated film's director Sir Peter Jackson and cast members, oneroof.co.nz reported.

The biographical film about Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme was shot in the area in 1994. 

Based on the notorious Parker–Hulme murder case, Heavenly Creatures examined the relationship between the two teenage girls, which led to the premeditated killing of Parker's mother Honora.

The film follows the girls from their first meeting in 1952 to when they carried out the murder in Christchurch on June 22, 1954.

Pauline's relationship with her mother was hostile and the film showed them fighting constantly.

It ends with Juliet and Pauline bludgeoning Honora to death with a broken piece of brick in an old stocking.

Pauline and Juliet's real life trial was a sensational affair, with speculation about the girls' possible lesbianism and insanity. They were convicted on August 28, 1954.

The teens were too young to be considered for the death penalty, so they each spent five years in prison.

The homeowner told OneRoof she remembers Jackson knocking on her door one morning to ask if he could bring Winslet, Lynskey and two other cast members to the house which was used by the Hulme family.

It has a deadline sale of January 16, 2025. The bach sits on a large 1214m² section and has an RV of $580,000.

The owner told OneRoof she remembers “Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey" looking inside and asking whether Juliet and Pauline slept in the beds.

“They were psyched up for the movie and they were bouncing up and down on the beds.

“My late husband liked to say that Kate Winslet was in his bed. That was his favourite thing to say.”

Jackson decided not to film at the property because he couldn’t get the camera gear past a large macrocarpa hedge planted after the 1954 murder to stop people from peering inside.

But the owner's old motorboat did feature in the film.

“We think we are famous because our boat was in it," the owner told OneRoof.

She recalled how helicopters landed in the yard to take the stars up the hill.

“It was an absolute big thing [for the bay]," she told OneRoof.

She and her husband bought the bach in 1984.

“We saw the sign, had the money and bought it. It’s the best thing we have ever done,” she said.

However, the owner’s husband died earlier this year, meaning the trip to the bach had become more difficult.

“It’s sad that it’s got to be sold, but my husband died and I just can’t get there anymore,” the owner told OneRoof.

Raine & Horne agent Kristian Danholt told OneRoof the property has already attracted interest.

Twenty-seven groups attended the first open home.

“There’s been a lot of people that have looked at this property over the years. They’ve seen it as the property to have because it’s a waterfront on freehold," Danholt told OneRoof.

It is being sold “as is, where is” and has not been used regularly for about 10 years.

It will be sold fully furnished, Danholt said.

“Everything is pretty original. It just needs a lot of tender love and care.

“I would not be surprised if it is bought by someone who already has a house over in Banks Peninsula. I’ve had a lot of enquiries in the Lyttelton Harbour area.

“So far everyone who has come has said it is cute. A few have said they would flip it.”