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They purchased the 2-hectare plot of land on State Highway 5 in 1990 when it was just a house surrounded by farmland (opposite what would later become Hukarere Girls College).
Over the next few years they added a large barn, kennels, an amazing lavender farm and a cafe.
“It was the largest lavender farm in the country at the time,” Marks said.
They grow 23,000 lavender plants and use the barn as a shop and distillery, producing hundreds of litres of lavender oil each year, with a large tent on either side for guest accommodation and a cafe.
“It’s really a tourist event, with tour buses often coming out to pick up all the interesting tourists.”
Max and his wife, Liz, said they have fond memories of those years, including hosting Art Deco events.
“They’ll bring out all the vintage cars — which is great,” Max said at the Art Deco Festival with his Charlie Chaplin Impersonatorexplain.
“We (also) sponsor the Winter Decorative Arts Festival, and we are one of the two or three drivers that have helped to grow the Winter Decorative Arts Festival.”
He said it was “really sad” to see how drastically their old house had changed after the hurricane.
Liz said she remembers people driving down State Highway 5 slowing down and taking in the sights and smells.
“When the flowers are in bloom, people always roll down their car windows when they pass by.”
The lavender farm was eventually demolished and the property changed hands several times in the 2010s.
Katrina Harris’ family bought it in 2019 and established the doggie daycare center, adding a daycare center for about 30 dogs to the existing kennels.
“Everything was going great, and then the hurricane hit,” she said, adding that the nursery was completely washed away.
Fortunately, there were no dogs in the nursery during the flood, only six dogs in kennels, which were rescued and moved to nearby homes.
Harris and her husband John, who have five people and nine dogs, survived the flood despite neck-deep floodwaters.
No one lives on the property now. After the flooding, the property was rated Category 3 and a few weeks ago the house was demolished as part of the Category 3 acquisition process.
“Everything changed overnight,” she said of the current scene.
“Our venue is so perfect and beautiful, it’s like a park.
“Now it’s so ugly, so sad. We were only there for three and a half years, but Max and Liz grew it.”
Harris has since opened a dog walking business, Doggy Treks, in Napier and her family have moved on with their lives.
Harris’ sister owns most of the Eskdale estate, apart from the land around the demolished house, which is owned by the council, but she is unsure what to do with the land – including the striking red barn – in the future.
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a journalist based in Hawke’s Bay, covering a range of topics including business, local councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He previously worked for News Corp Australia.
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