Ex-Melbourne Rebels Rugby Club Owner Puts 19th-Century Mansion Back up for Sale

Former Melbourne Rebels rugby club owner Andrew Cox has put his notable 19th-century house in the Australian city’s Brighton suburb back on the market with a multimillion-dollar price cut.

The grand dame, a rare Italianate mansion called Narellan, was last on the market in April 2021—amid Melbourne’s on again off again series of strict pandemic-induced lockdowns. At the time, the 1880s residence had an ambitious asking price of A$18 million to A$19 million (US$11.88 million to US$12.54 million) but failed to sell. Now, with new listing agents, Gowan Stubbings and Will Maxted of Kay & Burton Stonnington, the house has a revised price guide of A$13.5 million to A$14.3 million.

Stubbings said the expansive six-bedroom house on 1,389 square meters on Moule Avenue, just streets from Brighton Beach, is priced to sell.

The home features a long list of ground floor entertainment spaces including an elegant entry porch.
Courtesy Kay & Burton Stonnington

“It’s certainly in very good company in the caliber of A$10 million up to A$50 million homes,” Stubbings said. “Brighton, like many of Melbourne’s elite suburbs, has seen several of its historic homes modernised and changed over the years, but Narellan is an icon for the area,”.

The home’s white Italianate Victorian facade is eye-catching, Stubbings said.

“It has such a majestic nature. You can see it being one of the original Brighton landmark homes,” he said. “When I walk up to the top of the turret and take in the views over Port Phillip Bay, it takes me back to another time and I can imagine the ships coming back towards the city.”

Cox, the former Melbourne Rebels Super Rugby club owner ,paid A$5.71 million for the estate in 2006, according to CoreLogic records.

New Zealand-born Cox now runs private equity fund Imperium Capital Group, a diversified investment company that acquires small and medium enterprises mainly in the tourism, hospitality and sports management sectors.

The house also belonged at one point to powerhouse employment website seek.com.au’s co-founder Andrew Bassat.

Cox declined to comment on the sale of the property, but it is understood that during his ownership the vast two-story house has been completely updated.“It’s been very sympathetically redone for its era,” Stubbings said. “People love the big ceiling heights, the large rooms and the natural light, but it’s the kitchens and bathrooms that give it a more modern feel. It all works incredibly well together, especially when you’ve got bathrooms spilling out onto the upstairs terrace, it’s just like a luxury hotel.”

“This home has been designed so that someone can just move in and enjoy it. There’s nothing more to do. They’ve modernised it beautifully to the way we live today. I just think they’ve nailed it,” Stubbings added.

The home features a long list of ground floor entertainment spaces including an elegant entry porch and foyer leading to a large study or library, a sitting room, formal dining room, an elaborate billiard room with bar, a combined living area and a contemporary kitchen. There is also a sunroom, gym, sauna and self-contained two-bedroom guest wing with a commercial-grade kitchen.

Upstairs are six spacious bedrooms, including a main suite with bay window, private balcony, walk-in wardrobe and ensuite plus access to the unique turret with sweeping views of Port Phillip Bay and city skyline. The upper floor also houses two additional living rooms and two more balconies.

Peter Sidwell and Andrew Cox of Imperium Sports Management after becoming owners of the Melbourne Rebels, in 1995. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Outdoors, the home is surrounded by landscaped grounds with manicured hedges, rose bushes, level lawns, an alfresco barbecue terrace with fireplace as well as a pool house with a bathroom and kitchen and pool.

The period home is a short walk from the beach with sought-after schools, popular boutiques and eateries nearby.

Australia’s hoped-for recovery in housing construction is losing momentum before it has had time to close the national supply gap.

Sales of new detached homes fell 10 per cent nationally in August, according to the Housing Industry Association’s survey of major volume builders across the five largest mainland states. It was the fourth consecutive monthly decline.

The fall was broad rather than isolated. Victoria recorded the largest retreat, down 27 per cent, followed by Queensland at 20.2 per cent, New South Wales at 17.5 per cent, South Australia at 10.8 per cent and Western Australia at 8.2 per cent.

Across the three months to August, sales were 19.3 per cent below the preceding three-month period and 7.7 per cent lower than the equivalent period a year earlier.

New-home sales matter beyond the immediate fortunes of volume builders. They are an early indicator of future starts: buyers sign contracts, finance is finalised, approvals are secured and construction follows months later. A sustained sales decline during the middle of 2026 is therefore likely to weaken commencements during 2027.

The slowdown reflects the collision of several pressures. Households have absorbed multiple interest-rate rises, reducing borrowing capacity and increasing the repayment cost attached to a new build. Established-home prices have softened in some markets, weakening the relative appeal of waiting through a construction period. Builders continue to face elevated labour and material costs.

The Reserve Bank’s August analysis showed new-dwelling construction prices increased 1.8 per cent during the June quarter and 5.3 per cent over the year. It attributed part of the pressure to oil-derived building products and other conflict-related costs.

Policy uncertainty can also cause buyers and investors to defer large commitments. But the precise contribution of any single tax or regulatory change is difficult to isolate from rates, confidence, land prices and construction costs. The HIA survey should be read as an indicator from large builders rather than a complete count of every dwelling sale.

The figures complicate progress towards the Housing Accord target of 1.2 million homes. The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council reported 308,000 completions since the Accord began and 244,000 dwellings under construction in the March quarter. Approvals and commencements had improved, but falling sales risk undermining the next wave.

For developers and governments, the warning is that planning approvals alone do not create homes. Projects need finance, viable construction pricing and buyers able to settle. If one part fails, approved supply can remain on paper.

Data box

National August new-home sales: Down 10 per cent

Three months to August: Down 19.3 per cent from the preceding three months

Year-on-year three-month comparison: Down 7.7 per cent

Victoria: Down 27 per cent

Queensland: Down 20.2 per cent

New South Wales: Down 17.5 per cent

South Australia: Down 10.8 per cent

Western Australia: Down 8.2 per cent

Ex-Melbourne Rebels Rugby Club Owner Puts 19th-Century Mansion Back up for Sale

The Italianate Victorian-era home, with six bedrooms and renovated interiors, is now asking A$13.5 million to A$14.3 million

New detached-home sales fell 10% nationally in August, led by a 27% decline in Victoria, raising concerns about construction starts in 2027.