Morning Star Estate hits market for $30m-plus
The picturesque Morning Star Estate on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula has been put on the block by long-time owner Judy Barrett with the property, featured in the Kath and Kim movie spin-off Kath & Kimderella, expected to sell for more than $30 million.
The main mansion on the property, a former boys’ home run by Franciscan friars that has been stunningly renovated, is nestled in rolling hills overlooking Port Phillip Bay at Mt Eliza. The estate also houses a boutique accommodation centre, a restaurant and an events venue.
The entire estate has been drastically overhauled by the Barrett family over the past 20 years. The property has 12ha of pinot, chardonnay and cabernet grapes, but is perhaps best known for its 75,000 rose bushes, one of the state’s largest collections.
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The 63ha estate could be expanded to capitalise on the demand for short-stay accommodation, with plans in place for a luxury 72-room hotel to complement the existing 20-room hotel for guests enjoying the vineyards or one of the regular concerts.
Manicured gardens at Morning Star Estate lead to the edge of Port Phillip Bay.
Selling agent CBRE has tipped significant interest from a broad range of potential buyers.
CBRE national director Mark Wizel says the estate was expected to be one of the year’s most sought-after offerings following last year’s sale of Mornington Peninsula’s Moondah Estate to New Zealand-listed Ryman Healthcare for $37.5 million.
“Morning Star Estate is a flagship holding in one of Victoria’s most prestigious locations,” Wizel says.
“It is incredibly rare for properties of this scale to be presented to the market and we anticipate the sale will attract an unprecedented level of international and domestic interest.”
The estate sits on the eastern shore of Port Phillip Bay and also includes an orchard.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
