Style for Mr Gandar

Press, 21 April 1979, Page 5

Style for Mr Gandar

From KEN COATES in London New Zealand’s High Commissioner - designate (Mr L. W. Gandar) will live in style at a fashionable London address, 43 Chelsea Square, just off the famous Kings Road. In a few months he wiil move into the three-stor-eyed house bought by the Government early last year for about $|M and "extensively renovated for another $300,000, While this might sound like very expensive real estate to New Zealand taxpayers, who are footing the bill, New Zealand House officials say that compared with other ambassadorial residences in London, the Chelsea Road house is a reasonably good buy. It is a very good situation, and has been substantially refurbished. The retiring High Commissioner (Sir ""Douglas Carter) and Lady Carter, will move soon to the Chelsea address. “I don’t think it would be fair to ask a new appointee to move into a house that has not been lived in for some time,” said Sir Douglas. For the last six years High Commissioners have lived at 11 Frognal Lane, West Hampstead, about eight kilometres from New Zealand House in the Haymarket, central London.

The Chelsea Square residence has the advantage of being only 4km away.

The Frognal Lane house will be sold.

The High Commissioner’s neighbours will be bankers, city businessmen, and a film producer. The house, built in 1936, is not old by London standards, but had to have wiring, plumbing, and other services renewed. Built for a lifestyle far removed from that of contemporary New Zealand, and England, the spacious home was bought complete with a servants’ hall and a butler’s pantry from the 73-year-old widow of a merchant banker, Mr W W. Schroder. It had nine bedrooms, a wine cellar, a strongroom,

and box room. Paper was peeling from the walls of some rooms which had not been lived in for years. The top floor could only be reached by a narrow stairway at the rear. Extensive interior reconstruction has continued the main stairway up another floor, and a large skylight above it has been added. The bedrooms have been reduced to four guest rooms, a master bedroom, and a basement flat for a married couple. There is a staff of three. Perhaps the most imposing New Zealand residence was in Cornwall Terrace, overlooking Regent’s Park. Owned by the

Crown, its future became uncertain, the High Commissioner had to leave, and then squatters moved in. Sir Douglas leaves London with no illusions about New Zealand having to “fight every inch of the way” to retain markets in Britain. He does not favour a more aggressive policy. He predicts a dramatic change in trade patterns in three to five years which, he says, will be to New Zealand’s advantage. When he returns. Sir Douglas, aged 71, will retire from his Waikato farm to live “in town” — which town he is not sure.