Historic heritage Freemantle home on the market

The numbers 8 8 8 gracing the facade at Fremantle’s former Trades Hall aren’t a mark of the historic building’s address, or even the year of construction.

The digits are a nod to the labour movement’s motto of eight hours work, eight hours rest and eight hours leisure. It’s a symbolic welcome to a heritage home with a big story to tell and plenty of space to work, rest and play.

Few residences capture the spirit of a city quite like 6 Collie St, in Fremantle’s vibrant West End. Since its foundation stone was laid in 1901 by Western Australia’s first Premier, Sir John Forrest, the period property has lived several colourful lives.

Originally the headquarters of the trades and labour movement, the 701 sq m site was sold for $21,000 in 1968, when it became a popular music hall. By the early 1980s, it had been turned into a landmark restaurant known as Zorba the Buddha, operated by the Rajneeshee – aka the controversial Orange People.

Then the block became Club Le Maschere, a high-society Italian restaurant and bar, made famous after the America’s Cup win, when, in December 1986, it even earned a glowing review in the LA Times. Later, the two-storey building served as a convention centre until it was transformed into one of Fremantle’s most iconic private residences in 2009.

The Collie St home last sold in 2022 for $5.5 million, but is now seeking new custodians. Michael Harries and Kat Goddard of Ray White Dethridge Groves have listed it via an expressions of interest campaign, expecting in the “high $7 millions”.

Beyond the marble-floored portico, arched niches still display the workers’ organisations that once filled the hallowed halls. The remainder of the home, however, has been transported into the 21st Century through a sophisticated interior makeover.

At ground level, there is a ballroom-sized multipurpose workspace framed by tall curved windows, intricate pressed tin ceilings, stately bookcases salvaged from the old Battye Library, a kitchenette, and a bathroom. The vast space flows out to a private courtyard with sheltered seating and a sculptural pond.

Across the hallway, the main bedroom features a fireplace and a palatial ensuite with a freestanding tub. The same floor also houses two more bedrooms, a media room, and a laundry room.

Upstairs, via a meticulously restored sweeping jarrah staircase, the primary living level is a grand open-plan lounge and dining zone with cathedral-style ceilings. The contemporary commercial-grade kitchen features a large butler’s pantry and two work islands.

Additionally, there is another bedroom with an ensuite, an internal deck with a plunge pool overlooking Esplanade Park, plus three Juliet balconies.

In total, there are four bedrooms, with the possibility of a fifth, artwork lighting systems, CCTV security and alarm, climate control, electronic blinds, and off-street parking for three cars.

Sitting across the road from the Esplanade Hotel, this rare residence is also within walking distance of Bathers Beach, museums, galleries and sought-after restaurants.

The unique heritage home at 6 Collie St, Freemantle is for sale via an expressions of interest campaign with Harries and Kat Goddard of Ray White Dethridge Groves.

The Sydney developer-builder, which typically retains its projects, is offering 54 residences off the plan on Spencer Street, with prices starting at $3.9 million.

HSN Property Group has launched Maison Jolene in Rose Bay, giving buyers a rare opportunity to purchase off the plan from a developer-builder that has spent more than two decades building a predominantly build-to-hold portfolio in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. HSN values that portfolio at $4 billion.

Located at 2–16 Spencer Street, Maison Jolene comprises 54 residences, including house-sized two- and three-bedroom apartments, sub-penthouses and penthouses. Prices start at $3.9 million, according to HSN, with many residences designed to capture views across Rose Bay, Sydney Harbour and the city skyline.

James Nixon, head of projects at The Rubinstein Group, is handling the sales campaign alongside agency founder Gavin Rubinstein. He says the launch is an unusual opportunity for buyers who have followed the developer’s work.

“HSN is renowned for building entire projects and rarely selling a single apartment to the open market, so Maison Jolene really is a first for potential buyers who have been following the brand across previous projects,” Nixon says.

HSN worked with architecture practice MHN Design Union and interiors studio The Unlisted Collective on the development. A rhythm of arches and deep-set openings gives the building its presence on Spencer Street, while the residences are positioned to make the most of natural light, privacy and outlook. Landscaping frames the arrival and carries through to the shared outdoor spaces.

“Maison Jolene was conceived to bring a touch of European elegance to Rose Bay, drawing on the understated charm of Mayfair and the romance of Paris while remaining grounded in the relaxed character of Sydney’s eastern suburbs,” says Rafi Assouline, founder and director of HSN Property Group.

The apartments were designed with established Rose Bay downsizers in mind. Large kitchens, generous storage and flexible living areas are intended to ease the move from a family home, with layouts that can also accommodate families and professionals looking for more space in an apartment.

The shared amenities are designed as an extension of those homes. Residents will have access to a lounge, private dining room and landscaped alfresco entertaining area. A wellness retreat brings together a magnesium pool, cold plunge, sauna, steam room and heated stone recovery bench, alongside a gym and dedicated space for Pilates and yoga.

Inside the apartments, the curves of the façade recur in the cabinetry and balustrades. Custom wall sconces, tapware and patterned parquetry sit alongside carved marble basins, hammered-glass shower screens and recessed stone niches. Timber veneer wardrobes have leather-clad drawers, while an Art Deco-inspired motif appears in the raised ceiling detail, joinery and built-in velvet bedheads.

“Maison Jolene is at once contemporary and old world, with custom-designed parquetry flooring and an art deco-inspired motif juxtaposing with the curvature of the arched facade, balustrade and internal cabinetry,” Assouline says.

The kitchens bring several of those ideas together in a sculptural, bubble-shaped island. Assouline helped design and engineer the curved form and personally selected the marble, which is bookmatched so the veining mirrors across adjoining pieces.

“With each of our projects, I look for symmetry in design,” he says. “Crafting the apartments is like solving a puzzle of one thousand pieces; one little detail wrong could mean the picture doesn’t translate correctly once it’s finished.”

HSN will develop and build Maison Jolene, overseeing the project from design through to construction. The family-owned company says it has delivered more than 270 homes, has 200 apartments under construction and has a 100 per cent completion record.

“As a private, integrated developer-builder, we maintain close control over every stage of a project,” Assouline says. “We see our projects as collaborative partnerships with our architects, interior designers and specialist trades with whom we have refined a very unique aesthetic, to ensure every detail is considered for those who will live there.”

For Nixon, the developer’s involvement in both design and construction is part of the pitch to buyers. “The attention to design excellence, combined with HSN’s proven track record in delivering ultra-high-end developments, ensures a level of rarity and enduring quality seldom seen in today’s market,” he says.

“To purchase an HSN property is to acquire a property that will not just hold its value but stand the test of time as a timeless piece of Sydney real estate.”

The Spencer Street address puts residents close to Rose Bay’s village cafés and restaurants, foreshore walks and ferry service, with beaches, golf courses and schools nearby. Maison Jolene is now selling off the plan through James Nixon and Gavin Rubinstein.

Historic heritage Freemantle home on the market

A landmark Trades Hall reborn as a grand private residence, 6 Collie St blends century-old heritage with bold contemporary luxury in the heart of the West End.