A landmark Bendigo home with gold-rush origins is welcoming buyers inside, offering grand period rooms, an iconic opera room and expansive gardens in one of the city’s most tightly held streets.
A Bendigo home that began life as the town’s original gold-rush post office is now testing the outer limits of Victoria’s regional property market, as a once-in-a-generation estate prepares to challenge the city’s residential price record, again.
The landmark 72-78 Barkly St property has hit the market with a $4.75m-$4.95m price guide, making it the most expensive home ever offered for sale in Bendigo, just weeks after the city’s previous benchmark was reset.
It comes after Bendigo’s residential price ceiling was smashed earlier this month, when a hilltop Sedgwick estate sold off-market for $4.35m, redefining the city’s prestige market and setting a new high-water mark for central Victoria.
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Buxton Bendigo director Matt Leonard said properties of this scale and provenance were extraordinarily rare in Bendigo, where many of the grandest period homes remained tightly held for decades.
“In this case, the current owner has held the property for 35 years,” Mr Leonard said.
Set on more than half an acre in what has long been considered Bendigo’s dress circle, the estate sits within walking distance of the CBD, View St arts precinct and the city’s major cultural institutions, a combination Mr Leonard said was almost impossible to replicate.
The stone residence showcases grand proportions and period detailing, reflecting its mid-1800s origins and later architectural additions.
The celebrated opera room features soaring ceilings, ornate detailing and proportions designed for unamplified musical performance.
“To have this level of landholding, in this location, so close to the arts precinct and the city centre, is extraordinary,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly significant parcel of land in one of Bendigo’s most tightly held pockets.”
But it is the home’s history that has stopped buyers in their tracks.
A substantial portion of the residence began life in the mid-1800s as Bendigo’s original Sandhurst Post Office, built at the height of the gold rush when the city was one of the wealthiest settlements in the British Empire.
French doors open the opera room to the front veranda, allowing the space to expand for large-scale entertaining.
An underground wine cellar provides climate-controlled storage beneath the historic residence.
When Bendigo outgrew the building, it was dismantled and relocated brick by brick in the 1860s, a feat of ambition and engineering that would be virtually unthinkable today.
After its relocation, leading gold-rush architect William Vahland was engaged to expand and transform the structure into a private residence, imprinting the home with the architectural gravitas still evident today.
The Buxton Bendigo director said one of Vahland’s most celebrated additions was the vast opera room, designed specifically for unamplified musical performance and renowned for its near-perfect acoustics.
“It’s one of those rooms that looks incredible in photos, but nothing prepares you for walking into it,” Mr Leonard said.
A long central hallway runs through the heart of the home, highlighting its scale, original brickwork and polished timber floors.
One of the bathrooms features gold tapware and contemporary finishes, updated in keeping with the home’s European influence.
“The room’s scale and proportions give it great flexibility, allowing it to function as both a formal entertaining space and a venue capable of hosting major events.
“You could clear the room entirely and host a large function, a party, even a wedding, the space can comfortably host around 100 people.”
Despite the headline-making price guide, Mr Leonard said the buyer pool was not limited to locals, with early interest coming from metropolitan, interstate and international purchasers.
“You should never rule out a local buyer,” he said.
The stone facade sits behind established gardens, offering privacy while reflecting the home’s historic significance.
Original fireplaces remain a feature throughout the home, adding warmth and heritage character to multiple rooms.
“But the reach we have today means the buyer really could come from anywhere.”
He said the value proposition shifted dramatically when viewed through a metropolitan lens.
“If this home were located in certain Melbourne suburbs, you’d easily be talking $10m-plus,” he said.
“When you consider the scale of the residence, the landholding and the historical significance.”
The kitchen’s integrated dining area sits beneath statement lighting, creating a casual space for everyday meals and entertaining.
A green-toned sitting room provides a relaxed living space with garden outlooks and soft natural light.
Adding to the home’s modern appeal is a fully detached two-bedroom cottage, originally used as stables and now converted into a private residence overlooking the gardens and central fountain.
With multi-generational living increasingly shaping buyer demand, Mr Leonard said the separate dwelling added rare versatility.
“It allows potentially three generations to live on the one property while still maintaining privacy and independence,” he said.
The kitchen combines stone benchtops with premium appliances and extensive cabinetry designed for modern family living.
“That’s incredibly important for today’s buyers.”
Whether the Barkly St estate ultimately resets Bendigo’s house-price ceiling remains to be seen, but its arrival has already pushed the city into uncharted territory.
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