Is the Bass Coast Victoria's most overlooked and undiscovered coastal destination?

There can’t be too many places where you can enjoy breakfast while lapping up spectacular views over the Southern Ocean, spend the day trackside at a Grand Prix, then watch the world’s smallest penguins heading home as the sun goes down. And that’s just on Phillip Island.

The Bass Coast local government area extends from Phillip Island in the west, north to Jam Jerrup and east to Inverloch.

There are seaside towns and hinterland villages, top surf breaks and walking trails, a rich history of timber milling and coal mining and a growing number of wineries, breweries and farms to visit.

Phil Hanley, an agent with Alex Scott, says much of the region is still relatively undiscovered.

Hanley says buyers can choose between the buzz of Phillip Island, coastal properties or small acreage offering postcard views and a more peaceful way of living.

Improvements to the Bass Highway have made the region, which sits 120 kilometres from Melbourne’s city centre, more accessible.

Sue Coglin has been coming to the Bass Coast since she was a child, spending holidays at the family beach shack in Inverloch. Today she lives on a farm in Ryanston.

“It’s a magnificent part of the world, it’s just so beautiful,” she says. “In the hills it’s incredibly tranquil and peaceful and the rural views are just lovely but you’ve also got beautiful wineries and eateries close by.”

A renovator with 20 years’ experience, Coglin looked for a local project to tackle and found our feature property, Bimbadeen, two years ago.

“I try to find dwellings with a lovely feel and a bit of bone structure and then bring life back to them,” she says. “When I started restoring it the local farmers dropped in and each of them gave me a little story about the property.

“They told me it was originally a miner’s cottage. Then a musician did an architectural renovation in the 1970s, installing huge sloping pieces of glass, a magnificent open fireplace and structural beams.”

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Coglin says she wanted to keep all the good parts of the home and improve on them, making the most of the “exquisite setting and views over Western Port”.

The result is what Hanley describes as an “industrial Port Melbourne reno” in the Woolamai Hills.

“I think I’ve turned the home into something really functional,” says Coglin. “Because it’s only an hour from Melbourne I felt it would appeal as a quirky upmarket weekender, it’s so close to Philip Island with all the attractions there.”

Top home in the area

Photo: Supplied

Set high on the Woolamai hills, Bimbadeen at 270 Trew Road in Woolamai embraces an impressive palette of raw materials. 

Polished concrete floors, mud brick walls, barn-style timber doors and exposed timber and steel beams come together to create a unique and eye-catching aesthetic. 

Photo: Supplied

There are soaring ceilings, travertine bathrooms with views and two kitchens with pressed metal features, plus a terrace and established gardens.

Phil Hanley has set a price guide of $1.5 million to $1.65 million.