Estate with links to 'The Man From Snowy River' listed in the Victorian High Country

There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around that a luxurious estate with strong links to the Australian movie The Man from Snowy River has been listed for sale. 

Known as Mount Skene Estate, the property is owned by Geoff Burrowes, who produced the cult film in the early ’80s.

The two-storey property at 215 Powers Road, Merrijig, includes a five-bedroom home and 222.5 hectares of land. Agents expect it to garner offers between $7.5 million and just over $8 million.

While Burrowes produced the movie, his family estate also sits on land near that used as a backdrop in the film, which starred Australian actors Tom Burlinson, Jack Thompson, Sigrid Thornton and the late US actor Kirk Douglas. 

It was based around the poem of the same name, The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Paterson.

Burrowes has a long history in Australian film, producing a number of movies in the 1980s and 1990s, including the sequel The Man from Snowy River II. He also produced the cult movie Anzacs as well as Backstage, which starred the late US singer, songwriter and actress Laura Branigan.

He and his wife Kerri have owned Mt Skene Estate for around 40 years, building the current home in the 1990s. But after four decades on the property, the couple are ready to move on and sell to its next custodians, Abercromby’s Real Estate Armadale director Jock Langley said.

Mr Langley said the property had been bought by the Burrowes from a grazier and turned into the estate, which boasts a cattle farm and even pet peacocks,

Burrowes had based himself at the property while both Snowy River movies were being filmed and the home was designed with help from a designer who also worked on The Man from Snowy River, Mr Langley said.

The home has a modern kitchen and bathrooms, and lots of windows through which to enjoy the breathtaking views of Mount Buller, Mount Timbertop and the surrounding high country. Those views change during the year, offering snow-capped scenery in the winter, Mr Langley said.  

The home includes dual studies for hard-working couples, is hydronically heated and has perfectly manicured gardens, he added.

It is only around a two-and-a-half-hour drive from the outskirts of Melbourne.

Mount Skene Estate is being sold through an expressions-of-interest campaign, open until December 14.