PROPERTY OF THE WEEK: BOUTIQUE BYRON RETREAT WITH FIVE-STAR RETURNS
A design-led hinterland escape near Byron Bay blends luxury accommodation with serious income potential, as The Brooklet hits the market with a $20 million price guide.
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An exclusive slice of Byron Bay’s hinterland hospitality has entered the property chat.
The Brooklet is a boutique adults-only retreat hidden in the hills around 20 minutes’ drive west of the iconic beach town.
As a getaway, each of The Brooklet’s luxury cabins earns between $800 and $2000 a night, but as a prestige asset, the 47ha estate is expected to fetch more than $20 million through selling agents Kim and Angus Jones of Kim Jones & Co Real Estate.
With a stellar reputation as one of the region’s premier design-led accommodation venues, coupled with its enviable location just outside of Newrybar, the expansive retreat has been turning heads since it opened about three years ago.
Time Out Sydney recently gave The Brooklet a full five-star rating, describing it as a “ridiculously heavenly idyll”. Across all booking platforms, the rural escape has earned an impressive 9.6 out of 10 rating.
Elevated above the surrounding countryside and just down the road from the late Olivia Newton-John’s former retreat, Gaia, this one-time macadamia farm has sweeping panoramic views, total seclusion from neighbours, and a sophisticated level of finishes throughout the personal and communal spaces.
The architect-designed accommodation includes six black-clad self-contained villas alongside two standalone three-bedroom residences, each with its own private pool; The Farmhouse and a reimagined dairy known as The Bails. There is the potential for the next owners to expand upon the existing accommodation offerings, with DA approval for two more villas and an additional recreational space.
Additional wellness perks in The Barn include an infrared sauna, an ice bath, a mineral hot tub, a fully equipped gym, and a full tennis court. There is also a treatment room and meeting space.
The Brooklet Bar is set up for wine tasting with another warming fireplace for intimate gatherings.
Walking trails weave through the property, and organic gardens provide herbs, flowers, and produce for guests to take back to their accommodations.
Bonus infrastructure with the property includes a private helipad, EV charging capability, 270,000L tank water storage and a bore supply for self-sufficiency.
The Brooklet is approximately five minutes from Newrybar with its general store and cafe, eclectic boutiques and future new dining precinct. It is also eight minutes to Bangalow and about 20 minutes to central Byron Bay, its world-famous beaches and lighthouse, plus the Ballina-Byron Gateway Airport.
The Brooklet at 841 Fernleigh Rd, Brooklet is listed with Kim Jones & Co Real Estate with a price guide in the vicinity of $20 million.
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Completed in 2025 by Wolveridge Architects and S. Smith Builders, this extraordinary 51-acre Mornington Peninsula estate combines award-recognised architecture, genuine farming infrastructure and remarkable self-sufficiency.
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A long, winding driveway beneath mature gums provides the first indication that The Farm is not a conventional Mornington Peninsula country property.
Rather than immediately revealing the residence, the approach follows the contours of the landscape, moving through established woodland before the house emerges in a secluded clearing at 515 Tucks Road, Shoreham.
Completed in 2025, the five-bedroom estate has now been listed through Buxton’s James Redfern and Holly Longmuir with expressions of interest and an indicative price range of $18 million to $19.8 million.
At the upper end of that guide, the property could establish a new residential record for Shoreham. The existing benchmark has been reported at $16.5 million.
Set across approximately 20.64 hectares—or about 51 acres—The Farm is a contemporary interpretation of the Australian rural homestead, designed by Wolveridge Architects and constructed by award-winning Mornington Peninsula builder S. Smith Builders.
The property’s vendors, builders Vicki and Steve Smith, reportedly acquired the land through Smith Investments Australia for $4.2 million in 2019. They moved into the completed home in April 2025 and are now selling as they prepare to relocate to Portsea.
A farmhouse reduced to two buildings
Rather than allowing the estate to develop as a scattered collection of rural structures, Wolveridge Architects consolidated its principal functions into two carefully positioned buildings: the main residence and a substantial farm shed.
The structures face a broad central forecourt and sit within a larger composition of native woodland, productive pasture and views towards Western Port Bay.
It is an approach informed by the way Australian farms traditionally evolve, but made more deliberate. Instead of accumulated sheds and outbuildings, the property presents as a resolved architectural precinct.
The principal residence spans approximately 638 square metres. Its defining feature is an inverted radial roofline supported by a visible grid of ironbark posts and beams.
The roof rises towards the tree canopy and open sky, lending an unexpected lightness to a house of considerable scale. Blackbutt cladding, extensive glazing and timber detailing further soften the relationship between the building and its surroundings.
Wolveridge Architects describes the property’s location as Bunurong country and credits Jerry Wolveridge, Laura Tindall and Jessica Corbett as members of the project team.
The Farm was shortlisted in the New House Over 200 Square Metres category of the 2026 Houses Awards and in the Living Space category of the 2026 INDE Awards. Its published architectural photography is by Jack Carlin.
Designed around the landscape
Throughout the house, long internal sightlines and carefully framed openings maintain a connection with the surrounding gums, paddocks and distant water.
The central living, dining and kitchen space sits beneath soaring timber-lined ceilings. A monumental fireplace formed from Dromana granite anchors the room, while a second wood-burning fireplace serves a more intimate living zone.
The kitchen combines stained Tasmanian oak cabinetry with Austral Dream Dolomite and Pilbara Green Dolomite surfaces. A suite of Swiss V-Zug appliances supports its practical role, while a temperature-controlled, timber-lined wine cellar provides a dedicated space for collectors.
Belgian French oak flooring, Swiss wool carpet, Eco Outdoor stone paving, brushed-nickel fittings and extensive custom joinery continue the natural, materially rich palette.
A sheltered internal courtyard introduces northern light into the centre of the floor plan. Conceived as a protected garden within the wider landscape, it provides an outdoor space removed from the property’s more exposed rural environment.
The architecture repeatedly shifts between those two conditions: the openness of a large rural holding and the security of carefully protected interior and courtyard spaces.
A resort within a working estate
The Farm’s lifestyle credentials extend well beyond its principal living areas.
A fully tiled 14-metre swimming pool and adjoining spa sit within landscaped surrounds, creating a private resort zone connected to multiple outdoor entertaining spaces.
The grounds include indigenous planting, native woodland and productive pasture, together with approximately 591 metres of frontage to Stony Creek.
A separate 216-square-metre farm shed, fencing, cattle infrastructure, water systems and multiple access points ensure the estate has genuine rural capability. This is not merely a large house styled to resemble a farm.
Technology has been integrated throughout the property via a Control4 system governing lighting, climate, security, gates, blinds, irrigation and pool functions. The house also includes hydronic heating, zoned reverse-cycle airconditioning, motorised window furnishings, monitored security, video intercom and Starlink connectivity.
Its sustainability infrastructure is similarly substantial. More than 235,000 litres of water storage is paired with a 70-panel, 30.8kWp solar system, Tesla Powerwall battery storage and electric-vehicle charging.
The result is a house capable of delivering the comfort and automation expected of a contemporary trophy residence while maintaining a high degree of self-sufficiency.
That balance may be The Farm’s greatest achievement. Despite its scale, luxury finishes and extensive technology, the residence does not attempt to overpower its setting.
Its architecture instead directs attention outwards—to the tree canopy, the cattle in the paddocks, Western Port Bay and the changing conditions of the surrounding landscape.
For buyers seeking a private Mornington Peninsula estate with architectural credibility and room for a genuine rural life, The Farm represents one of the region’s most compelling new offerings.
The Farm at a glance
- Address: 515 Tucks Road, Shoreham, Victoria
- Property type: Acreage/semi-rural estate
- Price guide: $18 million to $19.8 million
- Sale method: Expressions of interest
- Bedrooms: Five
- Bathrooms: Five
- Parking: Five cars
- Land: Approximately 20.64 hectares or 51 acres
- Residence: Approximately 638sqm
- Farm shed: Approximately 216sqm
- Architect: Wolveridge Architects
- Builder: S. Smith Builders
- Completed: 2025
- Pool: Fully tiled 14-metre pool with adjoining spa
- Creek frontage: Approximately 591 metres to Stony Creek
- Water storage: More than 235,000 litres
- Energy: 70-panel, 30.8kWp solar system with Tesla Powerwall storage
- Selling agents: James Redfern and Holly Longmuir, Buxton Mornington Peninsula–Flinders
- Listing: View the live property campaign
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