• A 2.5ha estate on Motuarohia Island, once visited by Queen Elizabeth II, is for sale.
• The property, marketed by Andy Dalton, is expected to fetch $10 million or more.
• The estate features a homestead, extensive native plantings and a thriving bird population.

An island home that once hosted Queen Elizabeth II has hit the market for sale with expectations of nabbing a buyer with $10 million or more to spend.

The 2.5ha estate on Motuarohia Island, in the Far North, is on the market for the first time since 2009.

Known as “Eagles on Motuarohia”, the estate comes with a traditional homestead and is one of only six properties on the private island, which overlooks Cooks Cove and is 5km from Russell.

Murray, the vendor, who wished to keep his surname private, told OneRoof the late Queen had visited the property and had even done some housework while there.

The three-bedroom homestead once hosted Queen Elizabeth II during one of her visits to the region.

Queen Elizabeth during a tour of New Zealand in 1970. Photo / Getty Images

“A guy called Mike Alexander bought it in the 1970s and planted 280,000 trees, then DoC [the Department of Conservation] gave him three kiwis. And from that everything blossomed,” Murray told OneRoof.

“He won an environmental award, so the Queen came to the island and spent the day at the house and she did the dishes. Yep, Queen Elizabeth did the dishes.”

Murray said he bought the property in 2009 at a mortgagee sale. He had been a chief executive at one of the country’s top 30 companies but abandoned his career after visiting Tane Mahuta, New Zealand’s largest known living kauri tree, in the Waipoua Forest.

“I thought there’s more to life so I thought I’d buy an island,” he said.

His partner Joey’s connection to the area goes back even further: she and her late husband had owned a neighbouring property on Motuarohia 40 years ago, just after it was subdivided by Alexander.

Joey sold her Motuarohia property a couple of years ago and the couple are now looking for a new adventure somewhere different. “Let’s have another experience in life because I’m in my 70s, I survived a bout of cancer,” Murray said.

Murray estimated he had planted some 70,000 native trees since 2009, including 120 pōhutukawa trees, and highlighted the island’s booming bird population, which includes the nearly extinct white head and the descendants of the three kiwi sent to the island in the 1970s.

The view from the property is stunning.

The kitchen where the Queen reportedly did the dishes.

“I said to Mike before he died, ‘I’ll look after the island and make sure it’s enhanced under your vision.’ I’ve left this place better and that for me is key,” he told OneRoof.

“We’re sitting on our beach right now, and there are dolphins. When go home and have a beautiful meal, we’ll sit outside and the kiwi will come out. They’ll take a bug out of your hand. It’s pretty special.”

The house still has Alexander’s wood panelling and stone fireplace, and the kitchen where Her Majesty did the dishes, although Murray ripped out and rebuilt the upper floor, which houses bedrooms.

Barfoot & Thompson agent Andy Dalton (yes, THE Andy Dalton who captained the All Blacks for one of their most successful runs in history) is marketing the property for sale by negotiation.

He told OneRoof that he’s not exaggerating when he calls the estate “a piece of paradise”.

“It’s just sensational and that $10 million price point makes it exclusive.”

Dalton said nearly half of the inquiries about the property had come from overseas. “It’s a mix of expats and Americans. I don’t know whether Mr Trump is having an impact on that. But we’ve also got local interest – it’spretty well known.”

In his advertising, Dalton said the property had 360-degree views of the Bay of Islands.

“Eagle’s owners have worked with and hosted DoC, Project Island Song, the Massey University Kiwi conservation management and students, the Auckland Zoo and other conservation programmes for biodiversity on the island ... An island caretaker resides on-site to care for the common areas and is available for individual owner needs,” he said.

– 205 Motuarohia Island, Russell, Far North, is for sale by negotiation