They stood for years as haunted relics of forgotten wealth – opulent homes left to the ravages of time.
And now some of Australia’s most mysterious abandoned mansions are finding new life, their crumbling facades sold for eye-watering sums in a wave of resales – often at jaw dropping prices.
The sales have often followed protracted legal battles and shifting market dynamics, with each home holding a story of fortunes lost and discarded dreams:
FORBIDDEN CITY, PERTH
A compound of two sprawling Chinese-style mansions in the Perth suburb of Banjup served as one of Australia’s most intriguing abandoned mansion sites before selling late last year for about $4 million.
A Chinese-style mansion in Perth was left abandoned when the owner went overseas.
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Works on the ghostly 4.48 hectare site known as the Confucius Mansion were started in 2014 and were halted in 2017 before the property could be fully completed.
The 80-room compound was never occupied and the buildings were left unfinished after the billionaire owner returned to China for family reasons.
With an architectural style reminiscent of the Forbidden City in Beijing, the massive estate fell into a state of disrepair in the years after.
Images from 2024 showed weeds growing across the once grand courtyards, giant empty rooms and a neglected green pond.
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The two residences were never lived in prior to the sale last year.
The home was intended to feature multiple large conference halls, dozens of bedrooms with ensuites, several kitchens, study areas, a library, multifunctional theatre and a grand event hall.
Materials were imported from China to ensure authenticity. One of the buildings was adorned in red and yellow brick – for luck.
It is understood the original owner lavished over $1 million on a rose garden at the site, which has died. Statues originally intended for the site were also reported to be stolen.
The residences have a combined floorplan of 80 plus rooms.
The home is reportedly known to some locals as the “Confucius Mansion”.
The property sold to a Melbourne-based cultural group.
The new owners, a Melbourne-based cultural group with Chinese ties, allegedly plan to restore the property and repurpose it as a cultural centre.
GRAFFITI-LADEN RELIC ON SOUTH COAST
Perched on the NSW South Coast, the Minnamurra Mansion, located in the suburb of Dunmore, stands as a testament to unfulfilled ambition.
The sprawling estate, despite its potential, was never completed.
The Dunmore homestead pictured in 2024.
Work on the centre was two-thirds complete when construction stopped in 2009 after the companies of the property’s then owner went into receivership.
The mansion then set empty in the years after, later becoming a magnet for graffiti artists and vandals. A once grand indoor pool is today slimy green from algae.
The home has been on and off the market over the last six years but has not sold. It was listed in 2022 for $6 million to $6.6 million. The price was later reduced when the home was relisted in 2023, with the price dropping to about $5 million.
The pool area has seen better days.
The Dunmore home came with DA approval for a resort.
The property comes with development approval for an “eco resort,” offering a glimmer of hope for its future revival.
GRAND NORTH SHORE ESTATE
In Sydney’s upper north shore, a grand estate known as Dunrath in West Pennant Hills, has remained eerily vacant for nearly a decade.
Sold for a staggering $42 million in 2015 to Toplace, the building arm of beleaguered developer Jean Nassif’s company, the mansion has since been left to nature’s devices.
Dunrath, a mansion in West Pennant Hills. Picture: Hornsby Council
Photographs posted to social media reveal vines creeping over its facade and interiors gathering dust, painting a picture of forgotten grandeur.
The sprawling estate was once owned by Francis de Groot, the rogue horseman who infamously cut the ribbon with a sword at the Sydney Harbour Bridge opening ceremony in 1932.
De Groot originally built the property at Bellevue Hill but at the point it was due to be demolished he transported it brick by brick to the leafy West Pennant Hills and renamed it.
The sprawling property at one time included two adjoining lots used for the housemaid and gardener’s residence – a total land size of about 20,000 sqm.
MELBOURNE ZOMBIE HOUSE
An abandoned mansion for sale in Melbourne suburb Cockatoo, described by the agent as “perfect” for filming a zombie apocalypse film, has a guide of $1.1 million to $1.2 million.
The mansion has attracted a lot of attention online.
The once-stately, four-level mansion has become infamous among locals for its deteriorated condition.
It was originally built for a couple from Eastern Europe who lived on the site for years but never finished the build. The couple later sold the brown mansion.
A subsequent owner had intended to transform the site into a farm, but their plans never came to reality and the home has sat largely empty in recent years.
The Cockatoo mansion has some serious ink work.
It was reported to have attracted the interest of a motorcycle club when it was for sale a few years ago and was briefly leased out to an entertainment company for a paintball event.
MOSMAN HOME LEFT EMPTY FOR DECADES
Morella, an eerie yet grand abandoned mansion perched on Sydney Harbour in the affluent suburb of Mosman, was listed for sale last year with a jaw-dropping $9.6 million to $10.5 million price via an expressions of interest campaign. It later sold for about $8m million.
The crumbling estate, long considered one of the city’s most mysterious relics, had become dilapidated after decades of neglect.
The Mosman home once hosted high society before it was left vacant for decades. Picture Rohan Kelly
The home had been listed initially with expectations of up to $10m. Picture Rohan Kelly
The sale marks the end of a long chapter for the harbourside property, which has stood empty for more than 25 years, slowly deteriorating behind rusted gates and overgrown gardens.
Once a symbol of wealth and grandeur, the sprawling home has instead become a ghostly landmark with a faded facade and shattered windows.
The sandstone mansion has heritage listing and was built by Eric Nicholls of Burley Griffin architectural fame in 1939. It hosted the cream of society back in its day and was featured in Australian Home Beautiful magazine.
Included in the sale was an approved development application for a four-level house on the foundations of the old mansion.
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