Alfred Deakin’s Point Lonsdale house for sale – realestate.com.au

The historic Point Lonsdale home of Australia’s second Prime Minister Alfred Deakin is for sale despite a long-running campaign to bring it into public hands.

The Grade II listed house called Ballara, meaning resting place, was designed and built during Deakin’s second term as Prime Minister in 1907 and became an important retreat where he would read, write and develop political ideas.

His wife Pattie designed the native gardens and erected the Point Lonsdale War Memorial on the site, which has been passed down through descendants and is now preserved by ten brothers and cousins.

But in recent years some had tried to sell their stake in the 1.68 hectare estate, sparking a long-running campaign to take Ballara into public hands.

But VCAT set a deadline for the campaign to save the property after one of the owners applied for a sales order.

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Alfred Deakin’s Ballara home in Point Lonsdale Alfred in the Ballara garden with his grandson, Wilfred Brookes Photo: supplied

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The Grade II listed house called Ballara became an important retreat where Deakin would read, write and develop political ideas.

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The property was valued at $8 million, but great-grandson Tom Harley said $4 million has been raised through pledges from local people, family members, the Borough of Queenscliffe and philanthropic supporters, with an understanding of an equal Commonwealth commitment required to secure the property for community use.

Mr Harley said an agreement has been reached with Deakin University to manage Ballara for the community, while the family will also establish a $500,000 trust to support future maintenance.

The property is for sale with a price estimate of $7.5 million to $8.25 million, with expressions of interest closing on December 9.

Elsewhere Geelong agent Peter Lindeman said the property is of exceptional national, cultural and environmental significance.

“This estate, offered for the first time in 117 years, embodies the rare harmony of heritage, nature and heritage.

“Owning Ballara means becoming a custodian of a story that is woven into the fabric of our nation,” he said.

The property was valued at $8 million, but great-grandson Tom Harley said $4 million has been raised through pledges from locals.

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The 1.68 hectare scale of the property is one of the last original bush blocks.

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Mr Lindeman said the walls quietly house the echoes of conversation, contemplation and nation building.

“Ballara is more than a home; it is a living chapter in Australia’s history, designed by Alfred and Pattie Deakin as their coastal retreat and place of reflection.

Within the rooms, the original furnishings, artwork and photographs remain as they were left, preserving the essence of Deakin itself, Mr Lindeman said.

The 1.68 hectare scale of the estate is one of the last original bush blocks in the Point Lonsdale township, which Mr Harley feared would be lost.

Mr Lindeman said the native garden contains she oaks, grass trees, moonahs and tea trees, protects heathlands and rare orchids, provides a living museum of coastal flora and is a precious remnant of the Bellarine heath.