A restored Georgian homestead hits the market for the second time in 165 years

• Owners: Darryl Gordon and Simon Milner 
• Address: 467 Jamberoo Road, Jamberoo
• Type of property: A restored Georgian house
• Price: $6.5 million

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467 Jamberoo Rd, Jamberoo NSW 2533

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Interior designer Darryl Gordon fell for Terragong about seven years before he actually came to own the grand Georgian house. 

Trawling “an obscure, amateur historical real estate website [that] I don’t even think exists anymore”, as he liked to do, the old house struck him as being a “rare gem”.

Then, in 2014, when he and partner Simon Milner were thinking of leaving Sydney and Milner suggested they could perhaps move to the countryside and open a bed and breakfast, Gordon saw his chance. 

“I jumped back on[line] to see if it was still available and funnily enough the listing was still there,” he says. “I sent it straight to Simon and said, ‘Here’s one I made earlier!’ ”

Built in 1858 by John Marks, an Irish immigrant farmer, Kiama mayor and NSW parliamentarian, the property, mid-way between Kiama and Jamberoo to the north-west, had been in the family for seven generations when the adult children of late matriarch Agnes Marks decided to put it on the market.

It was in a poor state and protected by a daunting 345-page heritage conservation management plan. Milner was worried, but Gordon was euphoric. 

“We walked through, and I came out the other end and I think the blood had drained from my face – the size of the place and the amount of work we were taking on – but Darryl was just so excited.”

As it turned out, the conservation management plan proved beneficial as it outlined which renovations would be deemed invasive by the local council, and which would be supported. In a matter of weeks, the couple’s drawings had been approved. 

Gordon jokes that they carried out 160 years of maintenance in 12 months.

The place was replumbed and rewired, rotted timbers were replaced and stone foundations that had dropped as much as 40 centimetres in places were eased into line.

Their builder grew up in Jamberoo and played football with the previous owners, so he threw himself enthusiastically into the project.

Gordon says restoring Terragong came with a great sense of responsibility, not just because of the interest of the original family (some of whom remain close neighbours) but also that of the wider community.

Everyone knows the two-storey landmark, and many have had wedding and high-school formal photographs taken on its huge staircase. 

But committing to live at the property full-time engendered local approval, as did the couple’s considered approach to renovating. 

“We involved as many local people as we could in the actual process as far as trades and skills,” Gordon says. “So, I think they soon realised it was all about trying to enhance and save the house rather than trying to turn it into something it wasn’t.”

The old floor plan was mostly left untouched, except for en suite bathrooms being added to four of the existing bedrooms with hospitality in mind, and the tired kitchen annexe being replaced by a larger farmhouse kitchen with adjoining living and dining space. 

“The character of the house comes through,” Gordon says. “It hasn’t been restored to the point where everything looks sharp and sparkly and crisp; it does have that lovely mellow sense of age about it.”

Gordon’s interior decoration is a charming blend of old and new, indulgence and a well-lived-in cosiness.

In homage to Terragong’s original owners, a Marks family portrait hangs outside one of the guest bedrooms, while traditional high ceilings, marble mantle pieces, rich wallpapers and beautiful antique light fittings provide the Georgian-era bed and breakfast experience.

Modern bathrooms with deep, claw-footed baths and breakfasts cooked in the contemporary kitchen, with fresh eggs from the resident chickens, add enjoyment.  

In the garden, where lush lawn and spectacular Moreton Bay figs, magnolias, Norfolk and bunya pines, planted as early as 1870, give way to 4.8 hectares of pasture, Gordon and Milner have added a swimming pool and a bountiful kitchen garden. “A lockdown two project,” Gordon says.

The 1820s slab hut now serves as a pool house and can seat 18 guests for dinner. 

What began as weekend accommodation quickly grew to include small weddings and private parties, although it was important to the couple that Terragong remained predominately their home. 

“Pretty early on we were approached by couples who had grown up in the area and always admired the house,” Gordon says. “We were getting people regularly saying, ‘If we book the house for the weekend could we get married in the grounds?’

“We limited ourselves to a dozen or so in a year because, at the end of the day, it was a home; we weren’t living in an event centre.”

After seven years as the top-rated hosted accommodation in Illawarra, it’s time for Gordon and Milner to leave behind the old house they rescued.

“She’s good now for another 50 or 60 years,” a satisfied Gordon says.

“I’m aware Terragong is not going to appeal to absolutely everyone but for someone who likes this sort of thing it is a real gem, so I’m quite confident that someone will fall for it like I did, and that may take some time – hopefully not seven years!”