Mosman's Dame Marie Bashir lists unofficial 'government house' for $9.1 million

Former NSW governor Dame Marie Bashir has listed the waterfront Mosman home she long shared with her late husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, following her downsize to the historic Astor building overlooking the Royal Botanic Gardens last year.

The move is somewhat of an irony for the second-longest serving governor of NSW because for most of her 13 years in the job she chose not to live in the job’s official residence, the 1836-built Gothic Revival-style mansion Government House, but instead stayed on at her “unofficial government house” on Shellbank Avenue.

The former Mosman local carried the formal title Her Excellency Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir, Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor of NSW until her retirement in 2014. It’s an impressive moniker, and was a good match for Sir Nicholas, himself no slouch in the decorated stakes either being a former Wallaby captain, Lord Mayor of Sydney and chairman of SBS, to name just a few of his achievements before he died in 2018.

Indeed, Dame Marie would have been the longest-serving governor, but after 13 years in the role opted to retire because, she said at the time, she would conclude her term around the anniversary of World War I so as not to exceed the longest term of Sir Roden Cutler, who is a great hero of hers.

The couple’s Shellbank Avenue home was situated inside the Cremorne boundary when they bought it in 1968 for $57,000 from yachtie Gordon Reynolds. And what was a 1930s P&O-style house was rebuilt in 1985 into what is now a three-level residence with harbourfront pool, formal and informal living rooms, library and five bedrooms.

Harriet France, of Sotheby’s International, has the exclusive listing with a guide of $9.1 million.

Wilson’s sister act in Birchgrove

Rebel Wilson had no sooner off-loaded her Gladesville investment apartment this January for more than $800,000 – up from $740,000 she paid for it five years ago – than her buying skills were called upon at the auction of a delightful Birchgrove cottage.

The two-bedroom house – only a couple of blocks from Wilson’s own $3.76 million waterfront house – scored a handful of registered buyers before a crowd of about 30 onlookers when she managed to knock out the somewhat hesitant competition with a $1.36 million bid.

Soon after Amy White, of LJ Hooker Balmain, said the star of the Pitch Perfect comedy movies was only bidding on behalf of a friend, who turns out at settlement to be a close friend indeed, better known as her sister Liberty Mair.

Mair’s purchase comes a year after she sold her Macquarie Park townhouse for $845,000.

Record hopes in Warrawee

The Warrawee mansion Bremon is hoping to reclaim its upper north shore record thanks to the bullish $17.5 million to $18.5 million guide it now carries care of Black Diamondz Concierge’s leading lady Monika Tu.

This is the grand eight-bedroom residence with tennis court, pool and cinema on 6400 square metres that held the record at $11.5 million after bankrupt former billionaire Jerry Ren bought it in 2010.

That changed in 2018 when Ren’s former-wife Xia Kong sold it for $11 million to interests linked to Wilson “Shoe King” Xue, and the historic Gordon property Mandalay sold for a new high of $14.5 million.

Wilson – a former honorary advisor of Beijing-linked lobby group Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China – quietly off-loaded his Mosman mansion late last year for $20 million, copping a loss on his $23.7 million purchase a year earlier.

But expect no such discounts on Bremon. New interiors, roof, landscaped gardens and high-end finishes throughout are expected to rejuvenate its values accordingly.

A united approach in Randwick

The Randwick home of former rugby union player-turned-director of rugby at Joeys Andrew Blades and his interior designer and property stylist wife Nickey goes under the hammer on February 26.

The Dangar Street residence has been rebuilt from the ground up to a design by Nickey’s design outfit Blades and Co since the couple bought it in 2013 for $2.1 million. What was a single-level house with two bedrooms is now two levels with four bedrooms, separate living rooms and a swimming pool.

James Keenan, of Ray White Double Bay, was telling the more than 50 groups who filed through it last weekend that it had a guide of $4.6 million.

Same same, but different in Double Bay

Philanthropist and chair of the Nature Conservancy Robert McLean and his wife Paula are swapping their Ercole Palazetti-designed penthouse in Double Bay for another atop the nearby Chancellor building.

Settlement records show the former head of consultancy McKinsey & Company paid $8 million for the home of the late Patricia De Lorenzo, matriarch of the haircare products family, after a sales campaign run by Sotheby’s James McCowan.

The purchase comes as McCowan kicks off the campaign to sell the McLeans’ apartment atop the Duetto landmark building at a February 22 auction.

McCowan was keeping schtum on the apartment’s guide, but records show they paid $4.35 million for it new in 2010.

Happy Feet co-writer gets itchy feet

After almost 30 years living on the top floor of Darlinghurst’s art deco Weybourne building, Warren Coleman, co-writer and co-director of the Oscar-winning animation Happy Feet, and long-time partner, renowned artist Therese Kenyon are looking to move to the inner west.

Warren, who worked on both Happy Feet movies with George Miller, is currently developing a number of projects with Steve “Sandman” Abbott, including the adaptation of Linda Jaivan’s novel The Infernal Optimist.

The minimalist offering returns to the market for $1.05 million ahead of a February 25 auction through Donna Burke, of Bickmore-Hutt Realty.