Tarraleah: Behind the scenes of an $11.2m deal
Tasmania’s former hydro village Tarraleah has sold for $11.2m. Picture: Supplied
HYDRO Tasmania has bought Tarraleah for $11.2m, a remote village built to house Hydro workers in the 1930s.
More recently, the 147ha award-winning estate has been a tourist and events destination featuring luxury accommodation.
Sold by property representative Ed McKay from Peterswald for property, No.150 Oldina Dr attracted global interest.
“The majority of inquiries were from within Australia, including quite a number of Tasmanians, and a few international inquiries,” he said.
“Two of the internationals — tourism-based operators who were interested in the brand Tasmania — had serious interest in the property, and came to visit it.”
Historic Tarraleah. Picture: Supplied
The first stage of the Tarraleah hydro-electric power scheme in central Tasmania was opened in 1938. Image shows Hydro commissioner Mr W.E. Maclean and the Governor-General, Lord Gowrie.
Mr McKay knows Tarraleah inside and out, having spent weeks there over his time working with vendor Julian Homer on the property’s future.
He said in every business, relationships are key.
“I have been working with the owners for several years, and we have had the opportunity to spend a lot of time getting to know the property and its mechanics,” he said.
“With a property of this size there is a lot to learn, from when the pub or lodge is open right down to the nitty-gritty details like how the water supplies feed into the buildings or where they come from.
“All of these things are important when talking to a potential buyer about their point of view on what the future of the property could be.”
Tarraleah.
Tarraleah.
Months before Tarraleah hit the market in mid-January, work on how to market the property was undertaken.
“Defining the target audience was an important part of the campaign,” Mr McKay said.
“Tourism, adventure tourism, educational institutions, and specialists in conference and weddings were the audiences we concentrated on.
“It was vital to engage them. As you can imagine, there is not really a time when people are just sitting around thinking ‘we need to buy a whole town in Tasmania’.
“From a marketing perspective, the question was, how do we get this in front of people?
“Online portals like Real Commercial were pivotal, alongside partnering with REA Group in the use of specialised targeted marketing across its affiliate platforms — this gave us much greater reach.
“We were able to assess things like age, wealth or profession, and attract traffic to the campaign.”
Tarraleah.
Tarraleah.
A Hobart-based social media specialist also worked on the project.
“Together we targeted specific postcodes around Australia to ensure we were putting Tarraleah in front of the right people,” Mr McKay said.
“We also have a proprietary software package that works with our marketing materials to measure engagement with the asset.”
Tarraleah.
Tarraleah.
As part of the marketing materials, Peterswald built a 3D tour of the whole site, including its many buildings across some 8500sq m.
“The 3D tour of the village allowed interested buyers to walk from building to building, and outside around the village,” Mr McKay said.
“It was quite an undertaking, it took two days to complete.
“This was powerful for boardroom-level executives, allowing them to make a decision around visiting the site.
“Before they booked a flight, they could get a feel for the condition of the buildings, what the accommodation style was like, or the vast size of the property.”
Tarraleah.
Tarraleah.
The sale of Tarraleah attracted multiple offers, and the $11.2m sale figure came within Mr Homer’s expectations.
Without doubt, selling a property of this magnitude ranks as a career highlight for Mr McKay.
“For me, it’s not just the overall value of the property, but also being a part of it remaining in Tasmanian hands for future generations,” he said.
“That is something the owner wanted if possible and something we are proud of. It was a privilege to be part of the campaign.”
Tarraleah.
Tarraleah.
