IT WAS the ultimate getaway for Sydney’s rich and famous more than a century ago and is now up for grabs for around $1 million.
Spanning 93.56ha in Faulconbridge, in the lower Blue Mountains, Eurama Castle Estate is made up of 15 lots and holds the remains of Eurama, a grand manor that was built in the early 1800s.
Referred to as a ‘castle,’ the rundown and uninhabitable dwelling is the only one of many homes built on the expansive parcel to still exist.
The historic land and surrounding lots were owned by Sir Henry Parkes and Sir James Martin early on.
In 1882, Sydney solicitor Andrew Hardie McCulloch paid 13,000 pound in total to purchasing the land and build his country-style house and tower.
“The land was a playground for the rich and famous of the time,” said selling agent Jonathon Crisp from Chapman Real Estate Springwood.
“The history is the (most exciting) part of it with who has been there; the premiers, the ‘Father of Federation,’ kings and queens,” he said.
Despite the house being in ruins, there are standing slabs of its original sandstone walls and established trees wrap around it. A portion of the gully that met an ornamental lake, used for small sail boats is still there.
“There are still two swimming pools there that were cut into sandstone and there is a man-made dam from possibly 100 years ago,” Mr Crisp said.
More recently, a machinery shed was added to the site.
The property will go under the hammer on August 15 and is expected to sell for a cool $1 million.
The asking price for this sweeping acreage compares to suburbs closer to Sydney, such as Darlinghurst, where apartments are fetching well above the million-dollar mark.
The median house price in Faulconbridge is $521,500, according to the latest figures by CoreLogic RP Data.
Mr Crisp said 50 contracts had been issued and there was strong interest from a range of buyers, including developers and people who might rebuild a private residence on site.
“We have had calls from around the world, mainly China, and then the next best interest has come from all over Australia, from Western Australia to the Sunshine Coast,” he said.
The house was originally referred to as Weemala, an Aboriginal word representing an expansive view, and Mr McCulloch changed the name in 1907 to Eurama, a Greek word, with a similar meaning.
“It is really quirky.”
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