56 Buchter Rd, Batesford, home to one of the Geelong region’s oldest surviving homesteads, has sold after 157 years in the same family.
A piece of Geelong history with one of the region’s oldest surviving buildings has sold for the first time in more than 155 years.
The remarkable Lawrence Park homestead, one the banks of the Moorabool River, is one of the oldest surviving in Victoria, having changed hands twice since it was originally built in 1845.
It’s now has passed to a fourth owner and Charles Stewart, Geelong selling agent Andrew Rice said he can’t wait for the chance to come back see how they take on the homestead.
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The 108ha farming property at 56 Buchter Rd, Batesford, has sold after the campaign handled by Mr Rice, along with Elders conjunctional agents Peter Lindeman and Rob Rickard.
The property was originally listed for sale two years ago, before being relaunched this year as a conjunctional listing.
Mr Rice said he couldn’t disclose the price, which fell within the $3.75m to $4.1m price guide.
Historic records show multiple generations of the Hill family have held ownership of the 108ha farming property since their ancestors bought it in 1867 for 5913 pounds.
The 108ha property has Moorabool River frontage.
The Moorabool River meanders along the boundary of the property.
The two-storey house, which includes a later wing added in the 1860s, features a gabled roof and eastern veranda overlooking the rolling fields and the Moorabool River beyond.
The lower level compromises five bedrooms, two sitting rooms, a kitchen/meals area and bathroom, all still functional.
An ornate timber staircase leads to the first floor featuring some of the homestead’s most original rooms.
“It’s a fantastic location and beautiful size,” Mr Rice said.
“Where do you get 268 acres in Batesford? River frontage, history so there is all those components to the sale.
The house is still habitable after almost 180 years but needs work.
“But I think a lot of people realised they loved it, but there’s a lot of work to be done on the house. The vendors understood that.”
The home’s commanding position offered a great outlook, with established gardens and nearby shedding a bonus.
Dry stone walls line section of track down to the fields of wheat, but records of everything from crops to grazing and viticulture at the property point to multiple potential future income streams.
Mr Rice said a caretaker had been looking after the house, while a sharefarmer had been working the paddocks.
The meandering driveway skirts fields of wheat.
“A really lovely Geelong couple bought it. They’ve got farming interests, so there’s going to actually farm the property,” he said.
“But what I’m really excited to see is what they do over the next few years because they’re actually going to do up the house.”
That carried a lot of weight with the vendors, Mr Rice said.
“They thought to have someone that is going to appreciate it, and then put some hard work and probably a lot of money into it, you still maintain that historic link,” he said.
“Of all the historic places that are all sold over the last 35 four years, the bulk of them are in pretty poor shape. But the pleasing thing is most people who buy them, they do them up.
“And you go and see them in four or five years and say my god, this is set for another hundred years.”
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