Gough Whitlam’s Home Sells Prior To Auction
The former Australian Prime Minister’s Cabramatta home set to be preserved.
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Intent on preserving a part of Australian political history, former NSW Labor Premier Barrie Unsworth has led a team to purchase the Sydney home of late Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
Sold for $1.15 million (prior to auction), the achieved price was $400,000 above a guide of $720,000 – $750,000.
Resting at 32 Albert Street in the south-western suburb of Cabramatta, the property was purchased by the Whitlam Heritage Home Fund – a public company established by Mr Unsworth, Gough’s son Nick Whitlam, NSW Labor president Mark Lennon and Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey.
The Fund is focused on the restoration of the property to its original state and its preservation as a historic site, one which will eventually open to the public.
“The main thing is we have acquired it for posterity,” said Mr Unsworth in a recent interview.
Whitlam lived in the four-bedroom house for 22 years, from 1956 to 1978. The property played a central role in various political moments, including Whitlam’s historic 1972 federal election win for Labor, which came after 23 years of Liberal leadership.
Whitlam served as Prime Minister of Australia from 1972 to 1975.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
The four-bedroom home “blends historic architecture, soaring open-plan living spaces and every possible contemporary comfort”
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A unique home on the outskirts of London within a former chapel that had a starring role in the hit TV series “Call the Midwife” is on the rental market for £39,000 (US$48,568) per month.
The four-bedroom home was carved out of St Joseph’s Missionary College, which, founded in 1871, trained young Catholic priests to work as missionaries abroad, according to listing agency Dexters.
Before its conversion to a lavish private residence, the college’s chapel had a starring role as nursing convent Nonnatus House in the first two seasons of the feel-good BBC show, which focuses on a church-funded midwifery in the 1950s and 1960s, based on the bestselling memoirs of Jennifer Worth, a former London nurse.
When the historic college was sold for redevelopment in 2013, and production of “Call The Midwife” transferred to a studio set, the chapel—along with the rest of the building—was born again.
Dexters
Still going by the apt moniker of the Chapel, the home is the centrepiece of the site, which is now a gated development known as St Joseph’s Gate, said Dexters, which brought the home to the market in late February.
The home spans almost 10,000 square feet and “blends historic architecture, soaring open plan living spaces and every possible contemporary comfort,” said Andy Christophi, director of Dexters Finchley.
The chapel’s nave is now the dramatic heart of the home, complete with a 45-foot high vaulted timber ceiling.
The vast open-plan area—which also has columns and gothic-style arches—has a handcrafted kitchen, temperature-controlled wine storage, a curved living area with Victorian windows and enough space to easily host 30 at a dinner table, the listing said.
Above, a mezzanine bedroom has been constructed to appear as though floating above the main living area below.
The home also has a gym, a spa area with a sauna and steam room, and a media room.
“Perfect for a family that loves to entertain, its use as a filming location…makes it particularly iconic, and means you’ll never run out of dinner party conversation,” Christophi said.
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
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