Don Bradman's Bowral springs to life for prestige buyers

WANDER down Shepherd Street in Bowral in the NSW southern highlands and you can see the picket fence where a tiny three-year-old Don Bradman posed for a now famous photograph when his family first moved in.

It was at this same house at number 52 that Bradman honed his cricket skills, playing imaginary test matches by repeatedly whacking a golf ball with a cricket stump against a course of bricks that supported the family’s backyard water tank.

The recent painstaking restoration of the Bradman’s childhood family home is typical of Bowral. It is a town steeped in history and made beautiful by its distinct seasons that have left it flush with tulips at this time of year.

“At spring time, Bowral is looking its best,” says Damien Grace of Raine and Horne Southern Highlands.  “In old Bowral you’ve got some 180, 190-year-old beautiful homes.”

Grace says Bowral offers a slightly slower lifestyle and a sense of community   “without that disconnect from Sydney”.

“You can get down to Canberra quite easily, you’re 40-50 minutes to the south coast and you’re an hour and 20 minutes to Sydney,” says Grace.

The Sydney CBD is about 120 kilometres from the heart of Bowral via the M5 and 147 kilometres via the M7.

Di Dixon, the principal of Belle Property Bowral, says life is easy in the town. “It’s a seriously wonderful lifestyle destination,” she says. “People smile at you and people say hello when you go out walking. It’s just lovely.”
One of the biggest residential sales in Bowral in past 12 months was The Rift, a 10-bedroom mansion at 8-10 Carlisle Street, which traded for $5 million last October and settled in February.
The renovated Italianate manor, which has nine bathrooms, was sold by Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate Ken Jacobs to Paul and Janet Ottaviano and their five children from Sydney.

Many other prestige sales this year have fallen into the $2 million – $3 million range.

The Ottavianos are one of many families moving to the town seeking a less-pressured pace of lifestyle for their children. The area also attracts retirees who appreciate the cooler climate.

When Dixon moved to Bowral 22 years ago there were two cafes in town. That has grown to more than 10.

“We’ve got all sorts of different foodies’ outlets and beautiful award-winning restaurants, it’s totally changed,” Dixon says.

John Ross, a sales agent with Drew Lindsay Real Estate, says road upgrades have made Bowral much more accessible from Sydney in recent years and have attracted many well-known people to buy weekenders in the broader Southern Highlands area.

“Anyone who is anyone has got properties … down here – from Alan Jones at 2GB to Gai Waterhouse to some of the top lawyers, financiers, corporate chiefs and entrepreneurs,” says Ross.  “There are some very prestige properties down here… and I mean the most beautiful, wonderful properties.”

41 Centennial Road, Bowral
Expressions of Interest, price guide $4.5 million
5 bedroom, 5 bathrooms, 3 car spaces

Pack your walkie talkie – you might need it to communicate from one end to the other of this huge 650 square metre home set on a  sprawling 6540 sqm block. Features include hydronic heating, double glazing and a chef’s kitchen and butlers pantry packed with European appliances. There are marble fireplaces and the swish spa pavilion has a steam room, shower facilities and kitchenette. 

The large main bedroom suite offers a dressing room and the fourth bedroom also has a separate access, making it a perfect private retreat for visitors. 

Agent: Drew Lindsay Real Estate, 02 4861 2799

16 Kimberley Drive, Bowral
$3 million +
5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 3 car spaces

Nature lovers, welcome to your paradise. Caercuabrit has an extensive native garden designed and planted by Angus Stewart of Gardening Australia fame. Along with 4000 native plants of its own, the modern, country-style home also backs onto a nature reserve.

The property itself is designed with the environment in mind. High ceilings help to keep the temperature comfortable in summer while double-glazed windows, oriented to the north to catch the winter sun, help to retain the heat during cooler months.  

There is also a 105,000 litre underground concrete water tank, which supplies the property’s automatic sprinkler system.

Agent: Raine & Horne Southern Highlands, 0457 555 011

29 Merrigang Street, Bowral
$2.3 million
5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 car spaces

Considering it was built in about 1876, Cedar House offers a surprisingly large amount of living – 460 square metres. In the heart of Bowral, the home has an impressive entry hall with soaring ceilings and Kauri pine flooring. The property boasts an east wing with two large bedrooms, playroom and a family bathroom and a west wing with a bedroom, ensuite and separate living area.

For winter, there is a mudroom connected to the laundry and ducted zoned gas heating.

Agent: Belle Property Bowral, 0412 692 916