Yep, those are the wheels. Wow, even looks like the side of my garage, I was confused for a moment
I like the way you say 'only 15's, not chrome, nothing special'... Of course they're special, they're proper Alfa wheels!

Having chrome 18" wheels doesn't make them special - at least not in my mind...
However I'm with you in that I wouldn't pay $1200. I paid SteveNZ just $650 for four 15" converted-to-98pcd wheels with good 195/45 tyres.
I bought a set of lowering springs in South Africa (local brand, Koenic with a 'c') for just NZ$120. However, your 'compressed' idea sounds reasonable. I think that would leave the rate of the spring unaffected, so they should still work with standard shocks. You might like to get a second opinion on your shocks if you're in doubt about them, though. Repco sells Munroe Reflex (also Autolign) at a reasonable price.
As I said somewhere else, the Uno is designed to carry up to five people across rough, paved Roman roads. You can probably lose about 50mm off the height and still have a tolerable ride, since I wouldn't exactly call the standard Uno ride quality 'luxurious'...
Where in Auckland are you?
-Alex