Historic waterfront Williamstown estate Mandalay for sale after 80 years

“Iconic” is a word that gets tossed around more than your dirty laundry on spin cycle but sometimes it really is the only word that will do, especially when referring to Mandalay, a landmark 168-year-old Williamstown house that’s back on the market after 80 years.

Described as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for buyers, Mandalay, at 24 The Strand, is one of a few remaining homes on Williamstown’s premier waterfront street that remain untouched.

$6,300,000 - $6,930,000

24 The Strand, Williamstown VIC 3016

4

1

2

View property

The house, with its original facade and faded scars of lush green climbers from decades gone by, is set on a rare and sprawling 1363 square metres of land and has been held by three generations of the Molyneaux family since 1945.

However, after 80 years, the family believes now is the time for Mandalay to enter a new chapter.

Built in 1885, Mandalay was first owned by Captain George Molyneaux, who sailed the world before he joined the Port Phillip Pilot Services, where he served for 27 years.

“Captain George Molyneaux was a master mariner, a sailor, who came out to Australia from England,” says Tim Molyneaux, one of the home’s current owners and George’s grandson.

Tim says his grandfather met his grandmother, Emily, and bought Mandalay in 1945.

“George stayed in the house right through his married life, raising his sons there, and his grandsons and granddaughter – we kind of grew up there,” Tim says.

Tim says the house was the hub of lively neighbourhood activity, with local kids playing together in the gardens on the weekends and after school.

The home’s original decor, much of which is still intact today, was styled by Emily and features George’s collection of nautical artefacts.

Tim says not much has changed in the home, and it is almost preserved exactly how he remembers it as a child.

“It really is a time capsule; you could go in, and it could really be the turn of the last century,” Tim says. “It is probably like walking through an old museum or something in some ways, with nautical artifacts and old furniture from the period.”

The heart of the home is the formal sitting room with a fireplace (“that still churns out a lot of heat”) and French doors that open to a verandah that overlooks Hobson’s Bay.

“We would have drinks out there on a summer night and just look out over the bay with the big magnolia tree in the front garden flowering through the warm months,” Tim says.

George lived in Williamstown until he passed away at 97. Tim fondly remembers his grandfather as “a local identity” and loved the stories he would tell the family about his life on the sea and his adventures.

Following his grandfather’s death, Tim’s father inherited the home and lived here with his daughter, who cared for him until he passed at 98 in early 2024.

Now, 80 years on, 24 The Strand is on the market.

After much deliberation, Tim and his two siblings have decided it’s time for their much-loved family home to find its next owners.

Listing agent Joanne Royston of Ray White Williamstown says the property has been the talk of the town, with curious locals able to catch a glimpse of the historic home’s interiors for the first time (thanks to the carefully documented listing photos). Inspections are by appointment only.

“Most of the locals certainly are very familiar with the home’s exterior,” she says. “It’s behind quite a high fence line and an established garden … you can just see the facade from the street because it’s all the way back on the block, so there’s been lots of curiosity.”

For interested buyers who have toured the home, Royston says it’s the original details, heritage legacy and restoration opportunity that has them getting their ducks in a row to make an offer.

“The main buyers that are interested are families looking to fully restore, renovate and own one of the most significant homes in Williamstown,” Royston says.

The two-storey, four-bedroom Georgian-style house sits on a generous 1363-square-metre parcel of land with waterfront views and original ornate details that could be plucked straight out of the interiors of your favourite BBC 19th-century period drama.

“It’s certainly one of the most significant blocks available on The Strand, and the only one of that size with access off another street and not via a laneway,” Royston says.

Tim and his siblings hope the house is bought by “someone who really cares for it and gives it a new lease of life”.

The price range for 24 The Strand is $6.3 million to $6.93 million.