<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/skymark-group">Skymark</a>'s boutique Cronulla development Solis has secured a 10-year Latent Defects Insurance policy through Resilience Insurance, providing buyers of the 16-residence building on Ewos Parade with structural and waterproofing protection that extends a decade beyond the building's completion.

Currently under construction and due for completion in late 2027, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/solis-cronulla-8-ewos-parade-cronulla-nsw-2230">Solis</a> is one of a small number of new developments in the Sutherland Shire to carry Resilience LDI coverage, a distinction that carries increasing weight as buyer confidence in the off-the-plan sector continues to be shaped by how developers stand behind their product.

Latent Defects Insurance, which entered the Australian market in 2022 when Resilience Insurance was approved to offer the cover, protects buyers against major structural or waterproofing defects for ten years post-completion. Unlike traditional statutory warranties, it operates as a first-resort policy, if a covered defect arises, the insurer responds directly, without the buyer needing to pursue the builder or developer through a lengthy claims process.

Resilience Insurance CEO Corey Nugent has noted that the product addresses something fundamental to the new apartment market.

"The overarching feedback from prospective buyers in the new development space is that they want more confidence and assurances around the quality of the build," Nugent says.

"Resilience Insurance Latent Defects Insurance not only gives them complete peace of mind for 10 years, but it shows the developer they are buying from is standing by their product."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370898]

For Solis, the Resilience LDI policy adds a meaningful layer of accountability to an already considered project. The development comprises nine two-bedroom and seven three-bedroom residences, including one dual-level three-bedroom apartment, across a five-storey building on Ewos Parade, positioned between Shelly Beach and South Cronulla.

Garden apartments connect directly to private landscaped courtyards, while upper-level homes capture beach views to the east from level four and above.&nbsp;

All 16 residences include at least one balcony or courtyard, and select apartments on the upper floors feature bar areas and secondary flexible living spaces.

Hiba Sander, Managing Director of Skymark, says Solis offers a rare balance, nestled between the quiet beauty of secluded beaches and the lively charm of South Cronulla's esplanade.

"It's a place to choose your pace and live gracefully, seaside'," Sander says.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370900]

The architecture, designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ida-design-group">IDA Design Group</a>'s Michael Trinh, draws from the natural erosion patterns of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/cronulla-nsw-2230">Cronulla</a>'s sandstone headlands, translating the organic forms of the coastline into soft curves, pavilion-style massing, and a material palette chosen for longevity in a salt-tinged environment.&nbsp;

Textured natural stone, soft renders, and timber-look battens reference the tones of the surrounding cliffs, while the building has been oriented to maximise natural light and passive ventilation, with primary living spaces facing north and east to capture morning sun and sea breezes.

"At Solis, our aim was to create architecture that feels quietly confident, grounded in natural materials like stone and timber, and elevated by light and landscape," Trinh says.&nbsp;

"The buildings are designed to sit gently within their coastal surrounds, with expansive glazing and abundant greenery creating a seamless dialogue between inside and out."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370897]

Interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/hot-black">Hot Black</a> carry the same material language through to every room. Kitchens feature integrated Gaggenau appliances, sculpted stone benchtops, and Lo &amp; Co joinery, while bathrooms feature natural stone, timber, and brushed metal finishes.&nbsp;

Hot Black Founder and Design Director Sophie Safrin describes the intent as one of considered restraint: "At Solis, every detail has been thoughtfully considered to create a timeless coastal retreat, calm, refined, and effortlessly liveable. From natural finishes to seamless indoor-outdoor flow, Solis offers a quiet elegance that's deeply connected to its surroundings.

The landscape, designed by Julian Brady of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/sitedesignstudios">Site Design Studios</a>, treats green space as an integral part of the resident experience rather than an afterthought.&nbsp;

"Gentle curves and layered native plantings mirror the ebb and flow of the ocean," Julian Brady says, "creating a serene connection between architecture and place."&nbsp;

Coco Republic has provided bespoke furniture packages tailored to the project's coastal palette.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150499 project_image_fid=370899]

Skymark has an established track record in the Sutherland Shire, with a portfolio spanning Cronulla, Woolooware and Burraneer that includes Isla, Sylva, Bask, Shells, Sula and Mist. Securing LDI on Solis reflects a broader shift in how the developer is positioning its buildings to buyers, at a time when Resilience Insurance expects the policy to become mandatory in New South Wales by 2028.

Sales at Solis are launching soon through Ray White Projects, with an official event scheduled for 11 June. Enquire for more information.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150499]

Joel Robinson

Skymark takes out 10-year Resilience Insurance LDI at Solis Cronulla

Investors may soon find themselves with fewer reasons to buy established property and more incentives to look towards the new apartment market.

Proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions would see new and off-the-plan apartments retain access to the tax benefits, while established properties would miss out, creating a clear advantage for buyers purchasing newly built housing.

The policy direction aligns with what many developers have been saying for several years. Australia needs more housing supply, and governments are increasingly looking for ways to encourage investment into new stock rather than existing homes.

The challenge for investors is that suitable product is becoming harder to find.

For much of the last decade, one-bedroom apartments were the cornerstone of investor demand. They offered a lower entry price, strong rental appeal, and were a common feature across most apartment developments.

Today, the development pipeline looks very different.

Across both New South Wales and South East Queensland, developers are increasingly targeting owner-occupiers and downsizers, delivering larger two, three and four-bedroom apartments in response to changing buyer preferences. While one-bedroom apartments still exist, they now form a much smaller portion of many new projects.

That shift has created a shortage of investor-friendly stock, particularly in well-located projects close to transport, employment hubs and lifestyle amenity.

At the same time, rising apartment prices have pushed many new developments beyond the reach of traditional investors. On the Gold Coast and across South East Queensland, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find new apartments priced around the $1 million mark, particularly those offering strong rental fundamentals and long-term growth prospects.

We've rounded up four new apartment developments where investors can still secure a foothold in the market for around $1 million or less.

<h2 data-end="1140" data-start="844">Flourish Soleira</h2>

<h2>Priced from: $1.07 million</h2>

Popular Palm Beach developer Sherpa is soon to officially launch its newest local apartment development, Flourish Soleira.

The one-bedroom apartments in the building were only offered to first home buyers rather than investors, and all of those have been snapped up. The two-bedroom apartments will start from $1.07 million, and the three-bedrooms, still a good investment given the popularity of Palm Beach for owner-occupiers, starting at $2,045,000.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150017 project_image_fid=370964]

Flourish Soliera will comprise 153 apartments across two buildings, connected by a skybridge, the first ever delivered in the suburb.

True to Sherpa's booming Flourish brand of apartment projects, Flourish Soleira will have extensive rooftop amenity across both buildings including a&nbsp;wellness centre with gym, work from home, yoga, pilates, a&nbsp;heated pool, private dining rooms, pizza oven and barbecues, basketball court, and golf simulator.

<h2>Corallo, Palm Beach</h2>

Priced from: $841,500

Nearby Flourish Soleira is Changfa Group's beachfront-inspired Corallo development. They still have some one-bedroom apartments remaining, priced from $841,500.

The 105-apartment project on Palm Beach Avenue is otherwise dominated by larger two and three-bedroom residences, many of which are aimed at owner-occupiers and downsizers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112194 project_image_fid=808]

For investors, the appeal lies in Palm Beach's continued transformation from a laid-back beachside suburb into one of the Gold Coast's most sought-after residential markets. Residents at Corallo will be within walking distance of Palm Beach's surf beaches, the recreational amenity of Tallebudgera Creek, and the increasingly popular collection of cafes, restaurants and boutique retailers along the suburb's central dining precinct.

<h2>Corner House, Stones Corner</h2>

<h2>Priced from: $880,000</h2>

One of only two Brisbane apartment developments to make the list with prices under $1 million is DeMartini Fletcher's Corner House development in Stones Corner.

One-bedroom apartments start from $880,000 within the 88-apartment development, providing investors with exposure to one of Brisbane's most established inner-south locations.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149098 project_image_fid=330594]

Stones Corner has long been supported by strong tenant demand due to its proximity to major employment and education destinations. The suburb sits less than five kilometres from Brisbane's CBD and is within easy reach of the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Greenslopes Private Hospital, Queensland Children's Hospital and several university campuses.

The project's location within a walkable urban village environment, surrounded by retail, dining and public transport infrastructure, continues to attract both professionals and healthcare workers seeking accommodation close to work.

Parkdrive Apartments, Chermside

Priced from: $749,000

The most affordable apartments across Brisbane's new and off the plan market are in Chermside where developer AusDev is selling one-bedroom apartments from $749,000, and two-beds from $929,000, at its recently launched Parkdrive development.

The development is strategically positioned in one of Brisbane's largest employment and retail precincts, placing residents within easy walking distance of Westfield Chermside, The Prince Charles Hospital, St Vincent's Private Hospital Northside and the suburb's major bus interchange.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152125 project_image_fid=363782]

Already under construction and scheduled for completion in early 2028, Parkdrive benefits from Chermside's ongoing evolution into Brisbane's northern metropolitan centre. The suburb continues to attract significant public and private investment, supporting population growth and underpinning long-term rental demand.

For investors focused on yield and tenant depth, the combination of healthcare, retail and transport infrastructure within close proximity provides a strong foundation for occupancy and rental performance.

Investors to turn to new apartments after Federal Government changes spark hunt for Queensland's best $1 million apartments

A mix of Gold Coast locals, fly-in, fly-out purchasers from Sydney and Melbourne, and Brisbane-based families has driven early sales success at Broadbeach's newest apartment tower, Lumara.

The 26-level project, a joint venture between builder-developer 5Point Projects and Bourke Projects, comprises just 37 luxury residences and is attracting a buyer profile that is looking for exclusivity, above the most amenity-rich suburb on the Gold Coast.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150454 project_image_fid=364156]

Jamie Bourke, Director of Bourke Projects, says every buyer secured so far intends to use Lumara as a lock-up-and-leave residence, combining holiday use with the ability to work remotely when required.

“The size of the apartments, both half- and full-floor options, and the different zones within the floorplans, lends itself perfectly to dedicated home office setups and multi-generational family holidays,” Bourke says.

That flexibility has become a key drawcard for affluent buyers seeking a second residence on the Gold Coast without sacrificing the ability to conduct business away from their primary home base.

The absence of holiday letting within the building has also resonated strongly with purchasers.

“This type of buyer doesn't need to generate holiday rental income,” Bourke says. “They're paying for exclusivity, privacy and certainty around who their neighbours are.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150454 project_image_fid=366491]

The strong demand comes amid broader shifts in the high-end apartment market following the Federal Budget announcements in May.

“We were already seeing strong enquiry from high-net-worth buyers, but that has only accelerated since the policy changes,” Bourke says.

“A lot of those buyers are looking to place more capital into premium lifestyle assets rather than investment-grade stock that has been targeted by the Federal Government.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=150454 project_image_fid=366486]

Designed by Cottee Parker, Lumara adopts a slender, sculpted form with an emphasis on natural materials suited to its beachfront setting. The architectural approach draws on coastal influences, with a palette of stone, timber and concrete selected for durability and the ability to weather over time.

Apartments are limited to three and four-bedroom configurations, with a maximum of two residences per floor through the mid-levels and a selection of full-floor and dual-level homes in the upper levels. All apartments are oriented to the north to maximise natural light, cross-ventilation and views across the ocean, city skyline and hinterland.

A two-level amenity offering is positioned high within the building on levels 20 and 21, conceived as a sky wellness retreat. Facilities include a magnesium pool, spa, sauna and steam rooms, alongside more social spaces such as a private dining room, resident lounge, workspaces and outdoor barbecue areas integrated with landscaped greenery.

The uppermost levels are reserved for larger-format residences, including several full-floor homes and a dual-level penthouse with its own private wellness features and recreational spaces.

&nbsp;

To give buyers confidence, 5Point and Bourke commenced construction ahead of the apartments launching to the market, a sure-fire way to prove they mean business, and the building will be delivered. They are targeting a 2028 completion date.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=150454]

Locals, interstate holiday makers, drive early sales at Lumara, Broadbeach's newest luxury apartment tower

Often when it comes to purchasing property, the biggest barrier to entry is the deposit. Buyers of established homes typically aim for a 20 per cent deposit to avoid the added cost of Lenders Mortgage Insurance, while most property transactions require around a 10 per cent deposit when contracts are exchanged.

The off-the-plan market works differently, with buyers typically paying a deposit during construction and settling the balance upon completion. As completion approaches at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/fabbrica-fitzroy-369-gore-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">Fabbrica Fitzroy</a>, developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/pace-development-group">Pace</a> is making it easier for buyers to secure a residence through a deposit-matching incentive. Purchasers need only contribute a five per cent deposit*, with Pace matching the remaining five per cent.

The offer comes as Pace unveils a completed display apartment and townhouse, now available for inspection by appointment ahead of the project's Spring completion.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371009]

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/winwood-mckenzie-architecture">Winwood Mckenzie</a> and landscaping by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/acre">Acre</a>, Fabbrica draws on Fitzroy’s industrial and manufacturing history, incorporating references to the former Argyle Shirt Factory and Life Savers Confectionery Company that once occupied the site.

The development comprises 85 residences, spanning low-maintenance apartments through to larger-format townhouses with private street access and double lock-up garages, a relatively uncommon offering in Fitzroy’s higher-density apartment market.

Pace says the project has been designed to appeal to buyers seeking inner-city convenience without sacrificing space, flexibility, or amenity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371016]

Inside the residences, Winwood Mckenzie has focused on adaptable layouts and integrated detailing, with features including custom joinery, and concealed storage solutions. The material palette leans into warm, tactile finishes intended to complement the building’s industrial architectural language.

Fabbrica’s rooftop amenity is a key part of the project offering. Spanning around 800 sqm, the communal rooftop includes a private dining room, communal kitchen, lounge spaces, work-from-home zones, and outdoor dining areas overlooking the Melbourne CBD skyline.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371017]

Landscape architecture studio Acre has introduced a layered rooftop garden designed to soften the urban setting while creating a more communal environment for residents.

The Fitzroy location also positions residents within walking distance of Brunswick Street, Smith Street, parks, cafés, galleries, and public transport, while remaining only minutes from Melbourne’s CBD. The project has an enviable Walk Score of 96.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=139552 project_image_fid=371025]

Pace, which is also delivering the project as builder, has developed more than 100 projects across Melbourne over the past three decades. The vertically integrated approach has become increasingly common among developers seeking greater control over construction delivery amid broader market pressures affecting the apartment sector.

The strikingly contemporary Gore Street development is now around 70 per cent complete, with purchasers expected to move into their new homes in Spring 2026. A limited number of residences remain available under the current deposit match offer.

*Conditions apply in relation to the deposit match offer.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=139552]

Pace offers five per cent deposit match at Fabbrica Fitzroy ahead of Spring completion

Sydney developer Hyecorp's roots on the Lower North Shore stretch back three generations, and that deep understanding of the market continues to shape where and how it develops today.

From high-rise towers to boutique apartment projects, the family-run developer has built its reputation by focusing on a part of Sydney it knows intimately. Founded by Michael Abolakian in the early 1990s, Hyecorp is now led by his sons Stephen, Troy and Patrick.

Stephen Abolakian, joint managing director alongside Troy, has spent more than two decades in the business, overseeing development, planning, finance, marketing and sales.

Abolakian says the developer's disciplined focus on where it chooses to operate has been, and continues to be, one of Hyecorp's greatest strengths.

“We know the buyer profile exceptionally well,” Abolakian says.

“The demographics between places like Willoughby, Chatswood, St Leonards and Roseville are very similar. There are nuances between suburbs and projects, but culturally and from a buyer perspective, there’s a strong overlap.”

That buyer has historically been overwhelmingly owner-occupier driven.

Unlike many Sydney apartment developers that have traditionally relied heavily on investor demand, Hyecorp’s projects have typically attracted downsizers, upsizers, rightsizers and family owner-occupiers seeking long-term homes rather than short-term investments.

“Historically, investors have been a much smaller portion of our demand profile,” Abolakian says.

“We design for owner-occupiers. We don’t design for yield, we design for comfort, amenity, family living and long-term usability.”

That philosophy extends well beyond apartment layouts.

From landscaping and communal gardens to shared amenities and circulation spaces, Hyecorp’s developments are designed around how people actually live, something Abolakian believes has become increasingly important in Sydney’s apartment market.

“There was probably a period where having an approved project in market was enough,” he says.

“There wasn’t as much competition and if you built it, buyers would come. That’s no longer the case.”

“There’s more supply in the pipeline now, particularly with TOD precincts and low and mid-rise reforms opening up opportunities across Sydney. Buyers have more choice, so if you get the product wrong, they’ll simply go elsewhere.”

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110379 project_image_fid=311393]

The shift has forced developers to become more sophisticated in how they approach apartment design, particularly as owner-occupier expectations continue to rise.

For Hyecorp, that means thinking beyond who the buyer is today and designing for who they may become in five or 10 years' time.

“People buying now often aren’t moving in for several years,” Abolakian says.

“You might have a young couple buying today, but by the time they move in they may have children, older children, or changing lifestyle needs. You’ve got to think about how families evolve.”

That thinking also shapes Hyecorp’s approach to amenity, which positions wellness at the forefront.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149594 project_image_fid=362634]

While resort-style facilities have become increasingly common marketing tools across Sydney apartment developments, Abolakian says the challenge is ensuring amenities are genuinely usable and appropriate for the scale of the project.

“If amenities are done right, they can materially improve the living experience,” he says, adding however that if you&nbsp;overdo it or get it wrong, you can end up with facilities nobody uses that simply create ongoing strata costs.”

That balance is something Hyecorp is aiming to strike with projects like Roseville Avenue, one of the group's upcoming Lower North Shore developments, which Abolakian describes as bringing a resort-style living experience into a metropolitan setting.

“It’s about creating something that feels special without being excessive,” he says.

“Good gardens, quality apartments, thoughtful amenity. Creating that resort feeling in a metro location.”

<img alt="Hyecorp" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="13c4c0f3-b1b7-44cf-9344-0b3d1d07797a" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-06-02%20at%2012.14.57%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=9OLWjyj2bYkDV35F78WJnyMSPfc2bJ2z" />

The focus on owner-occupier product comes as Sydney’s apartment market continues to navigate a difficult development environment.&nbsp;For Hyecorp, maintaining an in-house operating model across construction, sales, marketing and development management has become increasingly important in navigating that environment.

“We’ve always believed in keeping a lot of the process in-house,” Abolakian says.

“It creates efficiencies, but it also creates quality control. You can make faster decisions and ensure the end product stays aligned with the original vision.”

Despite the challenges, Abolakian believes demand for quality owner-occupier apartments across Sydney remains strong beneath the surface, particularly across established Lower North Shore suburbs where downsizers continue to seek new housing options close to existing communities.

“There are definitely people waiting,” he says.

“Once some of the broader uncertainty settles, whether that’s the global environment or some of the local economic noise, I think the right projects will perform very strongly.”

Hyecorp currently has three residential developments on the market across Sydney’s Lower North Shore.&nbsp;Audrey, St Leonards, positioned opposite Newlands Park, is nearing completion and preparing to welcome its first residents, with the project now almost sold out.

Hyecorp has also recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/celine-chatswood-37-archer-street-chatswood-nsw-2067">Celine Chatswood</a>, an architectural tower, while continuing to deliver&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/juliet-roseville-64-pacific-highway-roseville-nsw-2069">Juliet Roseville</a>, a more boutique scale of development with just 34 apartments.

Why Hyecorp continues to back Sydney's Lower North Shore apartment market

Rural

<html><body>
Selena Mazuran, from the FBI Fashion College, has listed her colonial stone farmhouse Stannix Park at Wilberforce in NSW's Hawksbury.
The convict-era homestead dates back to the pioneer settler William Hall and his wife, Dinah, who got a 1839 land grant.
It was Max and Lorna Hatherly who commissioned heritage architect Ian Stapleton to oversee its restoration in the late 1980s. Max was a professor of metallurgy.
Selena Mazuran bought it from them in 2009 for $1.225 million, then adding 2300 square metres of adjoining land in 2012.
The 20-hectare lot on plains between Currency and Howes creeks, now comes with pool, separate studio and stables, and chapel at <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://www.bresicwhitney.com.au/#!/buy/8940" target="_blank">103 Stannix Park Lane</a>.
It has been listed for 10 May auction with $2.2 million plus hopes through BresicWhitney agent Walter Burfitt-Williams.
The Georgian estate was for William Hall who had arrived in Australia in 1810 as a missionary aide to the Reverend Samuel Marsden. It combines a sandstone coach-house and residence, a rare combination reminiscent of its early English derivation, although Title Tattle sees the latest marketing says it's French Colonial.
The steep 55-degree pitched roof is of jerkin head design.
Title Tattle seems to recall the coach-house has a keystone dated 1839 with the initials H.H., presumed to be Henry Hall, William Hall's son.
Hall also had a large house in Sydney on the corner of Pitt and Liverpool streets. 
Stannix Park is one of 20 colonial stone farmhouses in the Hawkesbury Valley.
</body></html>

jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Selena Mazuran, of FBI Fashion College, lists Stannix Park, Hawkesbury Valley colonial farmhouse 

<html><body>
Billionaire Joe Lewis has taken his stake on the Australian Agricultural Company’s share register to 23%.
Suggesting he ultimately wants control of Australia’s biggest beef producer, the Bahamas-based British currency trader – who owns English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur - was the major backer of AACo’s $299 million capital raising in August last year, when his holding stood at 13.5%. 
Lewis can next increase his stake by an extra 11.6% on 1 September, then potentially commanding almost 35% of the register, the Australian Financial Review has suggested. 
Employing around 430 staff, <a href="https://www.aaco.com.au" target="_blank">AACo</a> has 18 owned cattle stations, five agisted properties, two owned feedlots, five external feedlots, and two owned and two external farms located throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory, covering approximately 6.9 million hectares with around a 676,000-head cattle herd.
Last year it sold subdivisions of its Goonoo aggregation, including Adelong, in Central Queensland for $23 million. It also sold Brighton Downs Station, passed in at Elders auction for $10.25 million, for $11.75 to the neighbours of the 420,000 hectares (1.04 million acres) station near Winton, the Britton family.
Last October it added the former RM Williams Agricultural Holdings properties, La Belle Downs and Welltree Stations southwest of Darwin paying $27.1 million through a Colliers marketing campaign for the properties, with a carrying capacity of between 20,000 to 25,000 adult cattle, but were sold bare of cattle. The 100,000 hectare properties will make up 1.6% of AACo’s total land holdings. 
Labelle Downs and Welltree are close to Tipperary, totalling 3,434 square kilometres, which AACo operates under a long-term lease.
AAco's largest shareholder, South East Point, is controlled by the Bahamas-based UK <a href="https://www.tavistock.com/overview/" target="_blank">Tavistock</a> group headed by the aggressive investor Joe Lewis whose stake recently overtook AACo's other major shareholder, the Malaysian-Middle Eastern Felda-IFFCO consortium with a 16.9% stake, given Felda-IFFCo did not take up its entitlement in the September 2013 capital raising.
Tavistock has been on the share register since 2011. 
Other smaller shareholders are David Dixon and Catherine Ramm, Anthony Maurici, Neasham Holdings and Catholic Church Insurance, according to its 2013 annual report. Elders and Peter Holmes à Court are no longer among the 7200 shareholders.
The Australian Financial Review reported when the former AACo chief executive David Farley was departed in July last year, bush rumours started that Lewis wanted to break AACo apart and grab the cash from selling off its land and cattle assets. But AACo chairman Donald McGauchie, the former National Farmers Federation boss, staunchly denied the rumours.
Those rumours have been denied many times by the Tavistock company too.
“We have increased our holding in AACo as a measure of our belief in the company and its endeavours to build a grand and integrated supply chain,” a spokesperson told the AFR earlier this month.
Lewis' total wealth is estimated at $4.2 billion, and he is listed as the 308th richest person on Forbes 2013 List of billionaires. Forbes reports that Lewis is the ninth wealthiest person in the UK, though he spends the majority of his year working from his luxury yacht.
Lewis is the main investor in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavistock_Group" target="_blank" title="Tavistock Group" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Tavistock Group</a>, which owns more than 200 companies in 15 countries. 
Dr. Shehan Dissanayake has been Tavistock's representative on the board as a non-executive director of Australian Agricultural Company Ltd since April 2012. He is a senior managing director and member of the board of directors of the Tavistock Group, the privately held investment company. 
Before joining Tavistock Group in 2002, Shehan was a managing partner of Arthur Andersen.
<div class="page" title="Page 1">
<div class="layoutArea">
<div class="column">
Jason Strong, the AACo ’s general manager marketing, was been appointed managing director and chief executive officer in January while in March Troy Setter, the company’s chief operating officer, felt for a job at rival, Consolidated Pastoral Company. 
AACo owns roughly 1% of Australia's land mass. It was in 1824 that AACo was established as a land development company with the assistance of the British Parliament's Crown Grant of 1,000,000 acres in the Port Stephens area of the Colony of New South Wales.
</div>
</div>
</div>
In 1831, due to the unsuitability of the initial land grant at Port Stephens, a portion of it was exchanged for 101,000 hectares at Warrah on the Liverpool Plains and 127,000 ha on the Peel River, which was to eventually become known as Goonoo Goonoo. Shorthorn bulls were imported from England to develop the company herds.
The company, in its move north selling subdivisions of its southern estates which helped to finance the purchase of Headingly at Urandangie in Queensland in 1916 and Avon Downs in the Northern Territory in 1921.
In 1948, the geographic and enterprise diversification that the company was hastened with the purchase of Rockhampton Downs in the Northern Territory and South Galway in the Channel Country.
In 1950, AACo purchased Brighton Downs on the Diamantina in and, assisted by the Korean War Wool Boom, moved into the East Kimberley region, purchasing the properties Auvergne, Newry, Argyle Downs and Ivanhoe.
In 1963, the company purchased Wrotham Park in North Queensland. However, a period of rationalisation in 1979 saw the sale of the Kimberley Group and the purchase of the renowned Brunette Downs on the Barkly Tableland.
It was 1985 which saw the end of a 160-year ownership with the sale of Goonoo Goonoo on the Peel River which allowed the company to purchase of properties in the Gulf of  Carpentaria, Gregory Downs, Canobie and Dalgonally. In 1987, another Gulf property, Wondoola, was purchased after the sale of Caldervale.
The purchase of a further breeding station, Austral Downs in the Northern Territory followed in 1994. 
In 1996, the New South Wales property, Windy, the last vestige of Warrah, was sold, after a continuous period of ownership spanning 165 years.
</body></html>

Billionaire Joe Lewis adds more Australian Agricultural Company shares in his knapsack

<html><body>
No sale yet for Namatjira, former champion surfer Wayne Lynch's Victoria coastal family haven.
The surfing icon Wayne Lynch is selling the Great Ocean Road, which sits about halfway between Anglesea and Airey's Inlet at Urquhart Bluff.
Married to Lindy with two children, Jarrah and Merinda, <a href="https://www.hayden.com.au/view.cfm?OID=6486901&amp;tp=432_view" target="_blank">Namatjira</a>, has been in the family for 35 years. 
But Lynch, who works for surfwear brand Patagonia, is apparently considering a move to the NSW north coast of NSW.
The three-level house with expansive coastal views sits on 4.45 hectares of protected natural bush at 765 Great Ocean Road. There is a three bedroom house plus separate three-bedroom bungalow.
Marius Tekin, of Hayden Real Estate, has had it listed for $3,995,000 since January this year.
</body></html>

Surfing champion Wayne Lynch lists Angelsea and looks north

<html><body>
<div class="story-intro">
The London-bound former foreign minister Alexander Downer and wife, Nicky have listed Brampton House, their Adelaide Hills ­family home for 17 May auction.
He is set to become Australia's high commissioner to Britain, a job his father did in the 1960s.
Brampton House is named after the Derbyshire town where Mrs Downer was born.
<a href="https://www.toop.com.au/details.asp?id=17367" target="_blank">Toop &amp; Toop agent Arabella Cooper</a> is expecting $1.2 million plus for the five-bedroom, ­two-bathroom home set on four hectares where six cross bred Dorper sheep kept the grass down.
 
{qtube vid:=gABj61eVUrw}
The one-storey house, 20 minutes up the South Eastern Freeway from Adelaide, has a pool, tennis court and spring-fed dam.
There are views north-east over the Onkaparinga Valley.
</div>
The Downer's found the land at Mount George in 1988 while living in Macclesfield.
They are empty nesters as their four children no longer live at home. 
</body></html>

London-bound Alexander Downer lists Adelaide Hills acreage home

<html><body>
An unidentified cashed up Europe-based buyer - thwarting the nascent trend of Asian buyer interest in the Southern Highlands - has secured Chain of Ponds before this weekend's scheduled auction.
The property is the matrimonial farm of Sydney businessman farmer Peter Holmes à Court and his former wife, Divonne, who now lives in Saanen, Switzerland where the children are schooled.
It had been set for 26 April auction with $6.3 million plus hopes through <a href="https://www.mcgrath.com.au/buy/acreage-rural-mittagong-nsw-2575/194333/?searchID=38671885" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">McGrath Bowral agent Anne Stone</a> and <a href="https://www.mcmillanrealestate.com.au/property-details/property-details?id=2237" target="_blank" style="line-height: 1.3em;">Howard McMillan from McMillan Real Estate Bowral</a>.
The sale price has not been revealed but Title Tattle is aware of $6 million plus offers.
APM reported Sydney vendors notched up a 78% Anzac Day weekend clearance rate, up on the 73% rate on the same weekend last year, with the highest recorded sale being 229 Prices Circuit, Woronora at $1,610,500.
With the wonderful autumn rains, Chain of Ponds presented picture perfect in the auction marketing, <a href="/news/gardens-mudrooms-grand-gates-private-lakes-and-fire-places-southern-highlands-trophy-home-requisites">as Property Observer columnist Margie Blok recently noted</a>.
The property is currently run as a beef breeding and fattening property on a large scale for the Southern Highlands but could easily be transformed into a high class horse stud. 
Occupying 145 hectares on Old South Road, the property has a six-bedroom residence renovated by Luigi Rosselli Architects.
It is set in extensive gardens designed by landscape luminary William Dangar.
At the western edge of the house paddock, Dangar planted acacias, hakeas and eucalypts all species endemic to the local area to form a screen for privacy and wind relief.
With potential for subdivision into three separate lots, Chain of Ponds is six kilometres from Mittagong and 11 kilometres from Bowral.
The Holmes à Courts oversaw the planting of 5,000 native trees linking the property with surrounding national parks. The property is well irrigated with 12 dams and the Chain of Ponds creek.
Title Tattle is aware of several trophy home sales over recent months, the most noteworthy being The Chase, on Oldbury Road at Sutton Forest through Bill Carpenter from W. McI Carpenter &amp; Associates at Bowral. The Chase, the historic trophy property, <a href="/news/malaysian-tycoon-teo-ah-khing-from-china-horse-club-snaps-up-historic-the-chase-at-sutton-forest">was bought for $5.8 million by the Malaysian horse racing tycoon Teo Ah Khing</a>.
It had been put to December 2013 auction through Bill Carpenter inconjunction with Campbell-Jones Property agent Angus Campbell-Jones. Last traded at $5.2 million in 2011, the 40 hectare property was offloaded by John Starr, a real estate franchise tsar of Sydney’s western suburbs.
Patchway on Ranelagh Road, Burradoo also sold in January to locals for about $4.2 million. It was the home of Lyn Wilson and her engineer husband Ken who Title Tattle recalls supplied steel fabrication for the Olympic Stadium at Homebush.
Still no settlement details on <a href="/news/gai-and-robbie-waterhouse-tipped-as-dunsinea-mittagong-cattle-farm-buyers">Dunsinea, the 40 hectare Mittagong, Southern Highlands NSW trophy property that has been sold for about $4.95 million</a>.
All the locals reckon that champion horse trainer Gai Waterhouse is their new neighbour, along with her extended family. Apparently the Waterhouses are thinking of selling their Clifton Gardens home and buying a Sydney apartment.
Dunsinea has views over the bushland of the Nepean State Conservation Forest. 
It was sold by Mark and Rosie Mitchell who developed the holding from the ground up after returning from the UK in 2002. They first tried to sell in late 2008 with $7 million plus hopes, then more recently with a $5.25 million asking price through Sam Triggs from Meares and Associates and Michael Maloney from Richardson and Wrench Bowral.
Set on the northern fringes of the Southern Highlands, Dunsinea comes with modern ‘rammed earth’ five bedroom sandstone home.
<a href="https://www.randw.com.au/1066175/" target="_blank">Dunsinea</a> is surrounded by 100 acres of rolling grazing land, some 15 kilometres from Bowral.
The house is srrounded by its green and white garden, complete with 10 metre heated pool and all weather tennis court. There is also a guest cottage.
The main residence boasts 300mm - 450mm thick walls and 10 foot high ceilings.
Title Tattle recalls Margie Blok, after inspecting the home in 2008, noted it had been meticulously built with classic architecture.
"The house has superb proportions, solid sandstone walls, stone verandas and custom-made Georgian-style windows with double glazing. Inside, the rooms have 3.6-metre-high ceilings and polished stone floors, which are heated for winter warmth," she wrote.
"The front door opens to a wide central hallway with two guest bedrooms, a bathroom, a guest toilet and a study on the left. Opposite are the formal sitting and dining rooms.
"At the end of the hall is a central pavilion with a television room and a large family living-dining area with an open-plan kitchen. Off this is another kitchen (for caterers or food preparation) with a coolroom and cellar," Margie Blok told her readers.
Its formal dining room was subsequently included in the ‘Best 50 Rooms’ by House and Garden magazine.
The pasture was marketed as ideal for cattle grazing with the property fattening 40 to 50 steers year round. Title Tattle gathers that would translate accomodating around 20 horses, as is.
It had been for sale on and off for several years, even attracting the fleeting attention of the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his wife, Therese. 
</body></html>

Peter and Divonne Holmes à Court sell Chain of Ponds, Mittagong for bullish $6 million plus

<html><body>
The Prince of Wales stables at Fingal in Tasmania remain listed for sale with a $145,000 asking price.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-tas-fingal-112656971" target="_blank">The Tasmanian heritage listed building adjoined the Prince of Wales Hotel</a> which burnt down in the 1920s.
Set on the island's north east, the colonial sandstone stables date back to the 1840s.
William Augustus Solomon was the licensee in the 1870s.
"The Prince of Wales stables are a fantastic link with our Tasmanian heritage," the Roberts Longford agents David Headlam and Jeff Carins note.
The 170 square metre at 57 Talbot Street, Fingal is an untouched example of colonial craftsmanship with the unrestored property coming with cobbled floors, horse stalls, feedbins and with a feed loft upstairs. There's also small stable hands accommodation.
"Truly a project in the view of Grand Designs," the marketing says. The 3,845 square metre property comes with a separate two room timber cabin, ruins and a winter creek.
The property has been listed since late 2010 with no change in its asking price.
</body></html>

The Prince of Wales stables, 1840s Tasmanian heritage sandstone stables

<html><body>
Land which was part of bushranger Ned Kelly's family farm has been listed for sale in Avenel, north-east of Melbourne.
Paul Bongiorno, of Mansfield Real Estate, is selling three blocks of land.
<a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-residential+land-vic-avenel-200850143" target="_blank">They were part of a 40 acre dairy farm rented by the Kellys from 1864 to 1867</a> at £14 a year to the landlady Elisabeth Mutton.
Each of the three 2.02-hectare blocks - located at Lot 2, Lot 3 and Lot 4 Hovell Street - is listed with a $225,000 asking price.
<img src="/images/2014/04/22/avenel-april-22-two.jpg" alt="">
Town water and power is available on sites at the corner of Ewings Road.
Ned was born at his father's farm on the southern slopes of Mount Fraser at Beveridge before going to Avenel. 
<img src="/images/2014/04/22/avenel-april-22-one.jpg" alt="">
One of the strongest links with the Kelly clan is the Avenel pub, near Hughes Creek where the 11-year-old Ned jumped into a deep waterhole to save the life of young Richard Shelton.
Ned's father, John (Red) Kelly, is buried in Avenel cemetery after he was killed by an alcohol  at the age of 46, leaving his wife, Ellen with seven children under 13. His death, in December 1866, meant his widow then moved to Greta to be closer to her family. She married a second time and lived at Greta until when aged over ninety years she died at Wangaratta Hospital in 1923. 
"The deeds of the Kelly gang when they were outlawed in 1878, naturally caused great excitement at Avenel, especially among their old schoolmates and friends of the family.
"No one would hear a word against them, considered that the Kelly’s boys were victims of circumstances which drove them to desperate deeds," <a href="https://maps.bonzle.com/c/a?a=p&amp;p=176&amp;d=stories&amp;story=1967555288" target="_blank">one amateur historian noted</a>.
The former mayor of the Shire of Strathbogie, Robin Steers formerly owned 60 hectares with some of the land near Jessop's Bridge on the town boundary which was where the Kelly house used to stand.
William Henry Mutton and his wife, Elisabeth, were immigrants, who had arrived at Melbourne, in the ship, Lady Loch in 1846 from Cornwall. He was 24 when he arrived in Avenel with his bride Elizabeth Locke, of the Jersey Islands, who was of French descent.
They had initially settled in Seymour, soon after their arrival in the colony, but had suffered losses in disastrous floods, deciding to move further north along the Old Sydney Road to Hughes Creek, on the Avenel  Run, where the government was offering Crown land for sale in 1849.
Mutton also opened a blacksmith’s shop, the first business in the township, and later opened a general store.
</body></html>

Ned Kelly family farm land offering at Avenel

<html><body>
Renowned Musk Farm has been listed for sale by May 31 onsite auction through the Pat Rice &amp; Hawkins agency.
Selling agent Matt Childs anticipates the Musk Farm cottage on 1.2 hectares will <a href="https://www.realestateview.com.au/Real-Estate/11-school-road-musk/Property-Details-buy-residential-7025401" target="_blank">fetch $1 million plus</a>.
A 30 hectare farm lot in the acclaimed Daylesford, central Victoria district is also expected to fetch $550,000 plus.
Interior designer Stuart Rattle and cattle farmer Michael O'Neill, partners for 16 years, paid $93,000 in 1998 with a $76,000 mortgage, for what was to become their expanded renovated Musk Farm masterpiece.
The 32 hectare property started as a derelict garden overun with blackberries. 
But taking their inspiration from the English Arts and Crafts movement of Edwin Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll, the couple set about its restoration starting with the planting of hydrangeas outside the 1880s old school house.
It would end with the garden divided into 14 distinct garden rooms, joined by interconnecting walkways, and separated by large clipped hedges, English Box (Buxus sempervirens) and viburnum (Viburnum spp) and Ligustrum vulgare (Privet). It shone even in winter.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/17/musk-farm-april-17-eight.jpg" alt="">
Source: Facebook
Title Tattle gleans Stuart Rattle had been reluctant to buy the property when he and good mate, Paul Bangay undertook their first inspection drive-by.
It looked like a municipal park with too much asphalt, but returning at twlight Rattle sensed the opportunity and he was always of the later opinion that the home was best in late afternoons. 
It was a compact cottage after installing lower ceilings and its paintwork created the rich, moody and broody feel that he had once seen at florist Kevin O'Neill's Mount Macedon retreat.  
The English kitchen comes with oak cabinetry made by craftsman Kim Moir.
The cottage had the potential of the nearby pastures acquired for Michael O'Neill's passion, a herd of British White cattle he set about to save when the once common breed shrunk to only 400 breeding cows in Australia.
With their white coats, black noses and long black eyelashes, the cows stood out on the green hill that dominates the expanding holding, which was bought in 2003. The beef was sold to top restaurants, such as the Lake House in Daylesford, and through farmers' markets. Michael came from a long line of vets in Ireland's County Cork. The farm lot comes with pine plantation, a character filled barn, hay shed, cattle yards, chicken coop, small orchid and a terraced vegetable garden. 
Visitors were very welcome at Musk's regular garden open days. Title Tattle recalls Pixie Skase was a devotee. There was the reminder of her in the pair of Hermes ashtrays with Islamic motifs. Susan Bittar, the Arthur Anderson accountant, had Rattle decorate her Georgian home among the many commissions by Melbourne's prominent families.
But before the hydrangeas were at their peak last year, Stuart Rattle was found dead in his burnt-out two storey Malvern Road, South Yarra apartment on December 9, 2013.
It was in his abode at the back of his shop, an infill concrete box with mansard roof which Nerida Piggin once described as a soothing spacious retreat. It had been built by his builder father, Ken with intricate coffered ceiling. Rattle often said he was following in the footsteps of other designers, like Nancy Lancaster from Colefax and Fowler and Coco Chanel who also lived above their shops.  
Within four days police charged his partner, Michael O'Neill, with his murder after a suspicious fire, alleging that he killed him through asphyxiation five days prior at the city apartment.
O'Neill remains remanded in custody due to return to court on June 5 for a committal mention hearing.
Stuart Rattle, who grew up on a farm at Wakool, saw himself as one of Australia’s leading interior designers, the sole designer within his company supported by skilled artisans who transformed inspiration into reality.
But he maintained he was not there to impart his own style – "my focus is always to bring out my clients."
"A home should represent who lives there," he believed. And at Musk the whole house certainly evolved around the Aga stove.
"Interiors are above all sophisticated and highly attuned to each client’s lifestyle and personality."
But for Rattle scale, proportion and elegance transcended the current trends as he endeavoured to construct timeless spaces with an emphasis on comfort and restraint. In July 2012, a custom-designed furniture range was launched by Rattle in collaboration with Mortice &amp; Tenon.
Before his death he'd just finished refurbishing the drawing room at Musk Farm, after the ornate plaster ceiling arrived in four large panels. Then there was the Watts of Westminister birds wallpaper. The antique fire mantel was sourced in London. The Mulberry Floral Bouquet fabric on the sofa and some antique Persian blanket cushions. Brunschwig &amp; Fils 'Argonne Lampas' fabric on the Gainsborough Chair.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/17/musk-farm-april-17-one.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/17/musk-farm-april-17-five.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/17/musk-farm-april-17-six.jpg" alt="">
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/17/musk-farm-april-17-seven.jpg" alt="">
Source: Facebook
In May last year the Governor of Victoria, Alex Chernov, and Mrs Chernov, on an official visit to Hepburn Shire, popped in to see the farm. (pictured below) Only last November the late interior designer and his partner proudly opened Musk Farm to the public to raise money for further restoration of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens in nearby Daylesford. Stuart had been a very active supporter of the Botanic Gardens, repairing and restoring its rustic cascade, the Victorian Fernery and its irrigation works.
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2014/04/17/chernov%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
 
Source: Facebook
But within three weeks he was dead. His partner Michael O'Neill awaiting trial for his alleged murder. Their assets were subsequently frozen, by Supreme Court of Victoria order, and only able to be sold with the court's approval. Katrina Lewin, one of Rattle's sisters, has been appointed interim administrator of his estimated $4.2 million estate.
<img src="https://www.urban.com.au/images/stories/2014/02/21/crop-feb-21.png" alt="crop-feb-21" width="470" height="291">
  School Road at Musk has just the six properties. All up Musk has around 130 properties, once described by The Age as a sleepy blip on the map.
Barcaldine House, at 238 Dairy Flat Road with 15 hectares and a 60-square-metre homestead, was perhaps the most known given its cellar door operations. 
The hamlet's last celebrity sale was in 2006 when the television personality and interior designer Tonia Todman sold the four hectare farm which she bought in 1998 to use as a weekender with partner Michael Dowding. They refurbished in a style that Todman described as "French provincial meets New Hampton via Daylesford". 
Todman's four-bedroom house with Castlemaine stone fireplace was surrounded by a stone-fruit orchard and a small olive grove plus nut trees, a vegetable garden and plantings of herbs, roses, lavender and bulbs on soil classed as chemical-free. The Todman property at 90 Currys Road was listed with Morley Real Estate who were quoting $730,000-plus, and secured $660,000.
 
</body></html>

Musk Farm, the Stuart Rattle, Michael O'Neill garden estate listed for auction

<html><body>
Throsby Park, one of Australia's most significant homesteads, has finally become available for long-term leasehold in the NSW Southern Highlands.
It is a 74 hectare Sutton Forest estate, just one kilometres east of Moss Vale, <a href="https://www.kenjacobs.com.au/1511374/" target="_blank">with </a><a href="https://www.kenjacobs.com.au/1511374/" target="_blank">colonial Georgian homestead, the 183</a><a href="https://www.kenjacobs.com.au/1511374/" target="_blank">4 Throsby Park</a>.
The 27 room house comes with beautiful Australian red cedar joinery, polished hardwood floors along with the charming entry with fluted pilasters. 
Its large bay windows frame country views.  Conceived as a cottage orné or picturesque verandahed bungalow, it was probably to the design of colonial architect, Mortimer Lewis.  
The estate comes with other historic buildings including stables, piggery, mill, barn, chapel and tennis pavilion. 
Throsby Park House has undergone a sympathetic restoration including reinforcing the roof, underpinning, repairs and rewiring.
It is best known for its riding school which was established in 1934 and run by Del Throsby for many decades until her death in 2006. There were five generations of Throsby's living there through the years.
Undoubtedly one of Australia's oldest and most picturesque country mansions, Throsby Park was built on 1,000 hectares of land granted to Dr Charles Throsby by governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1819, reputedly the earliest land grant outside the County of Cumberland. Throsby had no children and lived in a weatherboard cottage on the holding. The current homestead was built by his nephew, Charles (1798-1854) whose wife, Elizabeth Broughton resulted in 17 children and many descendants.
Throsby Park homestead was also leased to notable tenants, establishing the Southern Highlands as a prestigious holiday destination. In 1868 the Earl of Belmore, and Governor of NSW (1868-72) took it as a summer retreat for his wife, Lady Belmore who found the Sydney summers oppressive. In 1872 the homestead was leased to Frederick Barker, Archbishop of Sydney and then the Fairfax publishing family in 1891.
The property was the subject of an 1836 painting by distinguished 19th century artist Conrad Martens which was picked up by the philanthropic Caroline Simpson Library &amp; Research Collection. 
<img src="/images/2014/04/17/thorsby%20park%20april%2017.jpg" alt="">
View of Throsby Park by Conrad Martens, c1836. Caroline Simpson Library &amp; Research Collection, Sydney Living Museums L2005/7
Of course the Southern Highlands has always been closely associated with the English landscape. It was Governor Lachlan Macquarie who noted in 1820 that the Throsby Park district was particularly beautiful and rich, "resembling a fine extensive pleasure ground in England".
The long mooted leasehold offering will involved a requirement for continued restoration work implementing a 100 plus page conservation manual compliance.
The Historic Houses Trust has engaged agents, Ken Jacobs and Darren Curtis at Christies International on the 40 year leasehold offering. Apparently the costs of upkeep were steadily growing, so continuing as a house museum, was no longer an viable option.
The Historic Houses Trust became the owner of Throsby Park in 2010, after it was transferred from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which owned the site since 1975. It is a true trophy home listing.
<img src="/images/stories/flagtitletat.jpg" alt="flagtitletat" width="25" height="34" style="font-size: 14px; margin: 5px; float: left;">
Back in 2008 <a href="https://www.kenjacobs.com.au/71479/" target="_blank">Glenfield, the Georgian colonial residence at Casula </a>deemed to be the most important Sydney metropolitan house surviving from the Macquarie era, was put up for lease by the Historic Houses Trust.
Dr Charles Throsby, the naval surgeon on the Coromandel, magistrate member of the Legislative Council and explorer, had built the house in 1817, naming it after his birthplace near Leicester in England.
On his death in 1828, the convict-built residence was left to his nephew Charles Throsby, who was responsible for building the 1834 Throsby Park residence in the Southern Highlands.
<img src="/images/2014/04/17/casula%20april%2017%20one.jpg" alt="">
Glenfield remained in the family until the 1920s, when it was sold to the Leacock family.
The restored 14-room residence with lawn tennis court, orchard, privy, two-storey stables and a former dairy, is on 1.3 hectares on Leacock Lane.
It was something of a miracle that it survived at all, given the long vacant house was under threat from damage, vandalism, theft and termites.
At a cost of about $1.8 million, it has been restored on a reduced holding since being bought in 2002 for $1.8 million from the Leacocks when it was on 5.5 hectares. It's location hampered the offering's worthy pedigree.
Despite it's initial 2008 offering with a variable long-term lease basis with a single up-front payment, it took many years before its actual sale because of understandable buyer hesitation towards leasehold heritage.
It finally sold as freehold for $1.225 million last year to the French family.
<img src="/images/2014/04/17/casula%20april%2017%20two.jpg" alt="">
</body></html>

Historic vice regal Throsby Park offered by NSW Historic Houses Trust as Southern Highlands leasehold

<html><body><div id="description" class="stackItem">
The Hayes Prison Farm, Kilderry, has been listed for sale at $3.35 million.
The property was converted into the Hayes Prison Farm by the Tasmanian government as a minimum security facility during the 1960s.
It has been <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-mixed+farming-tas-hayes-7529911" target="_blank">listed by Peter Wade at Robert Real Estate</a>.
The former Hayes Prison Farm comprises 595 hectares, of which 218 hectare will be protected under a conservation covenant.
The balance land, some 379 hectares, is considered prime agricultural farming land. 
The property has numerous buildings located on it, including barns, dairy and various others, plus the gaol 70 cell block and administrative buildings associated with the prison.
The state government-owned Derwent Valley farm, decommissioned in late 2012 after the last 40 prisoners were moved to Risdon Prison, was briefly speculated as being potentially a detention centre for asylum seekers.
The farm near New Norfolk allowed prisoners to be rehabilitated through learning agricultural skills.
Low-security inmates milked the cows in the 20-stand dairy and grew vegetables and tomatoes in a large glass hothouse.
They produced and packed frozen vegetables in a purpose-built kitchen and coldroom for Hobart nursing homes and hospitals.
The land held a 800-megalitre River Derwent water licence suitable for stone fruit, cherries, vineyards, and market garden.
"Over the years the farm has been recognised for its excellent dairy herd, extensive market gardens, grazing sheep and wool production, cattle and processing of vegetables," the marketing says.
The Hayes Prison Farm offers exciting and somewhat different opportunities," Peter Wade said. 
</div></body></html>

Rural

Editor's Picks

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News

Rural

Editor's Picks

Receive the latest news stories to your inbox

Have something to contribute?

Developments

New apartments

New townhouses

News