Fly to Let investors waiting to make a bid on the former home of legendary climber Sir Edmund Hillary in the exclusive neighbourhood of Remeura on New Zealand’s North Island, could be thwarted by a local history group.

The Remuera Heritage Society is racing against time to save the property and turn it into a museum for the nation to enjoy before it goes to auction which is imminent.

Famous for being the first man to conquer the world’s highest mountain, Sir Edmund Hillary actually made his living from the more modest profession of bee keeping.

Born and brought up in Auckland, Sir Edmund climbed mountains all over the world, including in the Alps and the Himalayas.

Sir Edmund had his share of personal tragedy. His first wife Louise and their daughter were both killed in a plane crash in Nepal in 1975. In one of his books, he wrote that he contemplated suicide but later recovered and married the wife of his close friend Peter Mulgrew, who died in the Air New Zealand DC10 Erebus crash in 1979.

Following his death last year, the Remeura home, which he built in 1957 and lived in for more than 50 years, was put onto the market.

The home, which is bursting with Sir Edmund’s mementoes collected from all over the world and has views across the water to Rangitoto Island, is valued at £672,000.

But, the Remuera Heritage Society is worried that the relatively modest home will be sold to a private buyer.

Remuera Heritage President Terry Sutcliffe said the Auckland City Council, Auckland Regional Council, the Government and funding groups like the ASB Trust should devise a rescue package to pay for the purchase.

He said: “The house could become a museum and be used as a residency by people associated with Sir Edmund and his Himalayan Trust and Remuera Heritage could become the custodians and manage the home.

Not everyone is keen on the idea of a Hillary museum though. Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Chris Finlayson said that financial help to buy the house ‘would not be a priority for this Government,’ and Sir Edmund’s daughter Sarah said that it would be ‘impractical to use it as a museum and that it would not fit in with her father’s ‘proactive approach towards people.’

• Overseas property investors are being offered a 30 percent discount on the last remaining properties on the five star Turquoise resort in Turkey. Prices from £66,000 have now been slashed to just £49,693 for a two-bedroom apartment. This price is fixed in Stirling to avoid currency fluctuations.

Turquoise is a beachfront location in the peninsula resort of Bodrum on the Aegean Sea. A professional rental system is already in place with contracts to tour operators and online booking agencies.

Facilities include an aqua park and a 9-hole golf course which pitches anticipated rental yields as high as 8 or 9 percent.

Turkey claims its tourist industry is breaking records year-on-year rising from 9.75 million visitors in 1998 to 30.9 million in 2008.

Turquoise, which is 15 minutes from Bodrum’s International Airport, has a unique cable-car ride to the resort’s private beach where there is a bar and an array of watersports.

On-site facilities range from communal pools including a heated indoor pool, an aqua park, fitness centre, Spa, 9-hole short golf course, open air cinema and tennis, volley and basketball courts.

The development has a range of homes from luxury apartments to villas with private gardens and all properties have Tuzla Lake or mountain views.

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