End of an era as Red Barn prepares to close its doors

They say all good things must come to an end, but it will still be a very sad day for local antique lovers when The Red Barn in Warkworth closes its doors after more than 40 years.

The Matakana Road landmark’s redoubtable owner, Margie Hetherington, is now in her eighties and has decided, albeit somewhat reluctantly, that now is the time to finally step back, slow down and retire from the business.

Fans of antiques, collectables and vintage items still have time to explore the store and find a bargain or two, however, as she will be open most days until the end of August.

It’s not just the eclectic selection of china, glass, furniture, tools, kitchenalia and vintage clothing that will be missed – it’s Margie herself and the stylish way she displays her finds.

She has a designer’s eye for dressing a room and customers often come away with as much inspiration as they do artefacts for their home décor.

Don’t let that give you the idea that she is simply some kind of stylist selling pretty things, though. As many long-time locals will remember, Margie spent most of her time for many years stripping and polishing furniture in the workshop at the back of the barn, and making, mending and restoring items has always been an important part of the business.

She and her husband Rob bought the property in 1976 and opened the Red Barn up in 1981. At the time, it was a run down 30-hectare farm with a house from 1865 that needed a lot of work, and they lived in a caravan at the start.

“I’m a farmer’s daughter, so when we moved in, I said to Rob, you’ve got to get out and do your fence lines,” she says. “So, I used to make a flask of hot water and take some tea bags and we’d go out for the day on the Massey Ferguson and we both worked putting fences in until we were ready to run stock.”

The couple discovered they had an old hay barn right at the back of the farm and decided to move it closer to the house for use as an implement shed. However, it wasn’t long before Margie had other ideas.

“I’d had a few people come and say ‘do you do restoration work?’, as I used to do a bit when we lived in Mairangi Bay,” she recalls.

“We started to buy old furniture and do it up and then it just grew like a mushroom. We had amazing support from local people and it all went from there.”

She and Rob a trained coach builder and a natural at construction, made a formidable team for many years, making furniture from scratch or fixing up customers’ items. Margie used to trawl farm clearance sales for old unwanted items and she became known far and wide as a first class fixerupper.

“Often I used to get up in the morning and find an old chest sitting outside, or a couple of old ladders, people just used to drop them here for me,” she says. “Sometimes I never knew who the donor was – there’d just be a note saying, For Margie – enjoy!”

In the 1990s, Rob and Margie ran a series of successful antiques fairs at Mahurangi College.

“We’d have 14 stallholders, they all came in at 4pm on Friday and worked their butts off to get ready, then we’d get them fish and chips, beers and a cask of white wine,” she says. “They’d work all day Saturday, come to dinner at our place, party for hours, then do it all again the next day, until we packed up at 4pm on Sunday. It was a great weekend.”

John has been a local solicitor and identity for nearly 40 years. He has overseen the legal aspects of many land developments within every council district north of Auckland. He has had many dealings with all of the councils and continues to do so.

He values relationships with clients which can require a special insight into the future needs of growing families. Out of all these relationships comes vital information that he utilises to assist clients on their way.

Sandy has been working with John for the last 8 years and she will be full time in the Warkworth office, except Tuesdays. Sandy can be contacted by calling our Warkworth office, 09 973 3665.

Following Rob’s death in 2000, Margie picked herself up and carried on with outside help for the literal heavy lifting and repair work, while continuing her restoration work and adapting to changing trends, such as shabby chic and Frenchpainting.

Over time, the barn and sheds filled with a diverse and often quirky collection of antique and collectable items for sale along with the furniture, including a number of specialist lines, such as oil lamps, glassware and Margie’s treasured Royal Winton floral patterned china.

Sadly, much of that will need to be sold now, as she winds down the business and prepares to down-size and retire. She says she has loved every minute in the Red Barn and treasures the many friendships she has made over the years.

“People have come from the Hibiscus Coast, Warkworth, Wellsford and Whangarei. I just want to thank all the local people and all my customers,” Margie says. “I hope they come and visit before we close.”

The median age of New Zealanders increased from 35.9 years in 2006 to 38 years in 2013 and 37.4 years in 2018. Older adults will make up an increasingly larger proportion of the population over the next 20 to 30 years. Stats NZ estimates that by 2028, the number of New Zealanders aged 65 years or older is likely to hit one million. While reaching the magic 65 means retirement for many, one in four people aged 65-plus is still in paid employment and an estimated 40 per cent of people aged 65 and over have virtually no other income besides NZ Super. Another 20 per cent have only a little more. For those who have left the workforce entirely, the novelty of finding time on their hands can be a challenge. We asked two retirees for their views on retirement and how they made the transition …

Wendy Hawking ONZM

Former head of the Rodney Health

Charitable Trust Wendy Hawking says it would have been too much of a shock to have gone from working 60 hours a week to nothing, so she chose to retire gradually. In fact, at 80, she still does 20 hours a week for the health trust helping to manage its rental properties, which fund its charitable work.

Retirement is about having time

When she first retired, she got involved with the fundraising campaign for hospice’s Tui House in Warkworth and other charitable causes.

“When you’re working fulltime, you have to fit community work and family life around your working life,” she says.

“When you retire, you have the time to choose what you spend your time doing. I was especially looking forward to having more time with grandchildren and I’m now able to spend time with the people I want to be with.”

Wendy says the luxury of having time is what she loves most about retirement.

“My advice for retirement is to make sure you have goals and things to fill your day. If you’re not busy, you’ll become a boring old fart that no one wants to visit. You need to be able to discuss more than your bowel movements with your children and grandchildren!”

She says that providing you have your health, retirement is fun.

“I’ve also learned how to live very simply. I’m currently living in a one-roomed cottage on a farm, with the kitchen, living room and bedroom all in one room. I have a very good veggie garden, a lovely German Shepherd pup called Bella and a simple wardrobe. And next week I’m off on a road trip, with Bella, to Coromandel.

“Enjoying retirement is all about your attitude.”

Dave Johnson

Dave was a professional photographer on the North Shore before retiring about 12 years ago. He and his wife Anne moved north to Snells Beach “to escape the busy city life”.

“We were looking for somewhere quieter where we could relax and slow down,” Dave says. “Snells Beach was perfect because we were still close enough to visit family in Auckland, but away from hustle and bustle.

“When I thought about retirement before I retired, I did worry a little about getting bored. But by the time it came time to retire, I was ready.

“Anne and I spent the first five years catching up on all the things we’d never had time for before. We bought a caravan and I don’t think there are many places in NZ we didn’t visit. We also did some overseas trips including our first cruise.

“We were actually pretty busy.”

As time went by, Dave says he started to find things to do. He had put his cameras away when he retired, but then he started taking photos again “for fun”. He says joining the Men’s Shed in Warkworth was a good decision.

“It put me in touch with a group of guys who had compatible interests. I think this is particularly important for men because often our social life is closely intertwined with our working life so when work stops, it is easy to become isolated. The Men’s Shed does a great job of filling that social gap.”

Dave encourages people coming up to retirement not to look at it with trepidation. “See it as an opportunity to do things you’ve not had time for before. Find things to do that you enjoy and be open to trying new things.”