Earnscleugh Castle, a slice of Central Otago pioneering history, is for sale.

The homestead near Clyde, last purchased seven years ago, is an eight bedroom/three-bathroom manor, complete with two kitchens, a snooker room and multiple large entertaining parlours.

Bayleys Cromwell Agent Renee Anderson said there had been interest from all over New Zealand in the property she called a 'restoration project'.

"We've had more than 150 enquiries and a lot of viewings, people have flown from all over."

Renee said that as an alternative to reinvigorating Earnscleugh Station Homestead, there was also the opportunity, subject to appropriate council consents, to reconfigure the residence as a high-end commercial accommodation provider – with a potential target market of big spending cyclists riding the incredibly popular Otago Rail Trail just a few kilometres way.

"With the right owner, its future potential in whatever format, is sure to contain another chapter of colourful stories."

The stately two-storey residence, built in the early 1920s, has a Historic Place Category 1 listing.

It was designed by architect Edmund Anscombe who also worked on the University of Otago's clocktower building.

The homestead was commissioned by Central Otago pastoral entrepreneur Stephen Spain who took control of a rabbit-infested sheep station in the early 1900s.

Business-minded Spain contained the rabbit problem by shooting thousands of rabbits, before canning them for the European export market.

With the sizeable proceeds generated from his rabbit export business, including deliveries to troops fighting in World War One, Spain commissioned English-born architect Edmund Anscombe to design Earnscleugh Station Homestead.

The homestead contains features from the 1880 -1920 era, including rectangular windows divided into smaller rectangular panes; windows with ornamental stone or brick detailing and lintels, a symmetrical façade, bay windows, wings coming off the main living area, a flat parapeted roofline and doors enclosed within classical framing.

Earnscleugh Station Homestead was never fully completed to Anscombe’s designs as the Great Depression of 1929–1933 impacted on Spain’s ability to fund the project.

In 1940, Stephen Spain’s reign at the homestead passed on to his feuding sons, who inhabited the deteriorating building for almost a decade.

However, the battling brothers despised each other so much that they built a brick wall through the centre of the homestead in order to minimise contact with each other.

The split resulted in the creation of two kitchens, which remain evident at the property today, albeit in modernised versions.

The secluded park like grounds include out buildings, a two storey stable compound, work shed and an inground swimming pool. PHOTO: Supplied

Now the homestead and surrounding 22.1-hecates of land at 754 Earnscleugh Road, Alexandra is on the market, the deadline sale date is March 17.

Bayleys salesman Gary Kirk said that while the former grand manor was habitable, it needed substantial refurbishment to return it to its former gracious state.

“The mansion truly reflects a by-gone era in New Zealand’s history… hence its protected status by Heritage New Zealand.

"By their definition, there is literally nothing like this home available elsewhere in New Zealand,” Gary said.