Welcome to Shrublands, a 42-room, eight-figure mansion for sale in Melbourne

A who’s who of Melbourne has gathered at this heritage-listed mansion over the decades since it was built in 1863. From political dignitaries to philanthropic figures, the grand property that is Shrublands in Canterbury has played host to some of the city’s finest events.

Now a new buyer has the chance to indulge all their entertaining whims at this prestigious address.

With a total of 42 rooms, including nine bedrooms each with an en suite and private sitting area, Shrublands is set up as a private home as well as a business centre and wellness retreat.

The current owners, who purchased the property in 2003 when it was in a state of disrepair, have spent more than $10 million carefully restoring the landmark mansion to its former glory.

“You can’t underestimate the amount of energy and time that has been poured into the restoration,” says Jock Langley, director of Abercromby’s Real Estate.

“It’s been renovated, restored and extended from the ground up with no expense spared.

“They’ve done everything possible really to modernise and rejuvenate it to bring it up to 2020 standards.

“And because it’s a large-scale property, it’s not something that can be done overnight. So, it’s taken a long time and they have carefully considered their extension and their restoration and have been very sympathetic to the house.”

Designed by Melbourne architect John Flannagan, the original part of the house is a two-storey brick and stucco Italianate-style mansion. This sits over a bluestone cellar, which is now occupied by a theatre room, wine cellar, home gym and billiards room.

In the 1860s, Shrublands was surrounded by acres of orchards and pastures. Coaches would arrive at the elegant circular driveway centred on a vintage fountain and be met by a sweeping bluestone staircase.

Today the mansion is located on Canterbury’s “Golden Mile” and the entrance, still in its original condition, sits at the rear of the property.

The original part of the house accommodates formal sitting and dining rooms, complete with ornate ceilings and chandeliers.

The mansion was extended to the western side in 1889 with another Melbourne architect, William Wolf, adding Tuscan and Ionic pilasters to match those Flannagan installed on the loggia.

In 1926, then owner John Hindson donated Shrublands to the Church of England and it became the St John’s Home for Boys until 1996. Developers purchased it in 2002 in the hopes of converting it into townhouses and apartments, but the community protested against their plans.

In 2003, the developers sold it to the current owners, who began their painstaking improvements. Their work has seen the addition of a board room, large commercial kitchen and huge dining room that flows out to a heated piazza with inbuilt kitchen and fireplace.

In a seemingly never-ending list of features, the property also has an indoor pool with an inbuilt wine fridge, 10-car garage with an additional living or storage area, and a caretaker’s residence with a two-car carport.

Shrublands is surrounded by 6500 square metres of beautiful landscaped grounds with three heritage-listed trees, a tennis court and feng shui designed water features throughout.

The impressive magnitude of the property makes it an attractive option for a mixture of buyers, says Langley.

“I’m actually finding there’s renewed interest from the corporate sector in wanting to buy large properties where they can host events,” he says.

“So, I can imagine that a buyer like that can see the unique benefits that Shrublands has to offer.

“We also felt an embassy or consular official may look at the property with the same sort of vision of being able to utilise the premises for events.”

Very few original mansions of this calibre still exist in Melbourne.

Of comparable status is Stonnington Mansion, on Glenferrie Road in Malvern, which sold for a reported $52.5 million in 2017 to an Asian buyer.

“Since the Stonnington Mansion sale, it’s the most significant property to hit the market in my opinion and it’s certainly the most unique property to hit the market in Boroondara,” Langley says.

“It’s of such a scale, there’s not a lot of properties like it.”

The property is being sold in conjunction with RT Edgar Boroondara’s Nick Walker.

This feature is part of a Domain Prestige Deluxe package.