The decision to sell the home that's been in her family for 70 years was heart-breaking for Cheryl McLeay.

Cheryl McLeay outside the 14th Ave home she's put up for sale.

Her family's three-bedroom house at the end of a 14th Ave cul-de-sac is an original piece of Tauranga's history and the home of a well-known family since 1943.

It's currently on the market and Cheryl, who lives in Auckland, this week visited the home to collect her family's possessions – left after her mother died two years ago.

Albert and Gwendoline Rawiri, both iconic characters in their own right, purchased 227 14th Ave for about £36,000.

Albert was a keen musician who toured the country playing guitar. Cheryl and younger sister Linda remember the myriads of musicians who used the house as a pit-stop during national tours.

'It was the household of musos, so when people came on tour everyone stayed there and created havoc. All the bands of that era came through that house.”

Albert was also a guitarist in the National Jazz Festival.

'Dad is in all those pictures, because he could read music, guitarists couldn't in those days, and being Maori on top of it.”

But it was mum Gwendoline, or Gwen, who ruled the roost, says Cheryl.

Gwen ran the couple's takeaway restaurant The Ship's Tavern on Harrington St.

'She was very well-known in Tauranga as one of the first woman to own a business.”

Cheryl standing in the same quaint kitchen she grew up watching her mother cook in.

She was also an avid hockey player, playing for the Bay of Plenty and later becoming a patron for Hockey BOP, and vice president of NZ Hockey Association.

'Hockey was her life,” says Cheryl, who is giving many of Gwen's hockey paraphernalia to Hockey NZ.

Gwen died August 2012, leaving an estate to her daughters so large it's taken Cheryl two years to deal with the home.

Having made a life in Auckland, and Linda living in Australia, Cheryl says she saw no other choice than to sell.

'It's going to be hard, but I know it's got to go.”

Cheryl would love to see the home kept as it is, but knows there's a slim chance.

'All the gardens are still there and if they were looked after, we never bought any fruit or veggies. But realistically, I guess a developer will buy it. It is the 21^st Century and this is what they're looking for.

'It's time for someone else to make their memories.”

Eves Realty salesperson Julie Parkinson says while overlooking Judea, with water views, the house on a 981m2 section is perfect for a developer, or anyone who loves bringing old bungalows back to life. It is to be auctioned September 18.