What we Offer

 On site we have an English style manor with Helipad access in the front yard and manicured lawns and Gardens with a Tennis Court next to the carpark, separated by a hedge. Inside, the Manor comprises of 11 Fireplaces with various types of mantles, rooms include, Library, Study, Formal Dining Room, two Kitchens, one with an AGA stove, the other is a Caterers kitchen, Sitting Room, Grand Piano and Gin cart in main Foyer,  8 Bedrooms, Large open Grand Staircase. Squatter double door entrance, Wine Cellar, Sauna, Armoury, High ceilings and very wide hallways.  

SERVANTS QUARTERS

The Servants quarters comes with its own kitchen, dining room, Lounge and bedrooms and a private staircase to service the main house. It Harks back to a time when servants were necessary to manage such a large Home,  but can also double as a separate three bed , double story apartment as well.

 The Patio nestles off the study via two sets of large double doors and is accessible from the sitting room as well as the study.  With a Large flagstone floor and a couple large brick columns supporting a roof some 7 meters above, the patio has a pair of Juliet balconies overlooking the gardens from a bedroom and the main upstairs hallway. A mobile smoker and BBQ station compliment the wooden patio setting. A perfect place to sit, talk , eat and drink with a huge 200 year old Peppermint Gumtree in the background. 

 The stunning Botanical Gardens are very rarely open to the public. The last time was in 2015. The Gardens are rated amongst the top 10 most significant privately held Botanical Gardens in Australia. The gardens hold a number of trees that have National Trust register protection. It was created over 100 years ago and was populated with species from around the globe. Most notable are the Rhododendrons, these are among the most diverse range of colours in Australia and were gifted from the original/first cut, collection of the "Rothchilds Family"  from America. The garden has large Glenns and Dells surrounded by a myriad of garden beds and walkways. We have Stone , Gravel , Earth and Moss pathways. There are canopy's large enough to walk and film under. There are also a series of ponds, lakes and waterways. Fern surrounded ponds with water sculptures, a sitting waterlock surrounded by a bluestone apron and walkway with sundial and sculptures under the canopy of a huge oak tree. A grove of large Japanese Maples, and a Stand of Bishop Pines. A cultural dead, sculptured tree trunk with protected Aboriginal markings dominates a grassed lawn area (Dell).

We are currently restoring an old Aviary we found covered and overgrown in the Centre of the gardens and it will eventually hold an assortment of birds, worth to note however, is that we have around 70-80 species of rare and significant wild & local birds that live freely within the garden grounds. Wander a bit further down and you will discover the House Lake, with a dingy to go rowing, then you can stop at the gazebo to enjoy a Chicken and Champagne Lunch on the banks of the lake. Something different from every angle and aspect of the garden.  

 At the House in front of the main doors looking over the car park,  towards the helipad area is a formal pair of Exotic Rose Beds with cuttings from around the world. As you step down towards the post and rail wooden fence and gates you will see a matching pair of Vegetable Gardens. The drop in the front garden is historical as your lead to the “HA HA” wall. This is the curved section of fencing lowered down about 2m so the squatter could stand in front of his home and look out over his land without the fence or plantings obstructing the view.

Along the library side of the house, we have topiary bushes shaped to create peace and harmony while you read. This is complimented by Tuscan topping walkway leading back to the carpark one way and out to the manicured lawn the other way.

Head out through the Dinning Room and you will find two raised Brick Garden Beds, these get regularly rotated to bring life and colour to the house in general and is best viewed from the upper floor bedrooms.

Large Oak, Pine and Gum trees are up lit around the house to provide a special ambiance at night.

As you track into the house car park from the driveway you will pass a pair of Sequoia Trees, while there are more on the property, these two are quite majestic as they dominate the surrounding Area.

There are two long driveways that access the property. One for the formal entrance and the other for daily and commercial access (deliveries etc) both of these driveways are lined with Gums , Oaks and Pine trees. They have been fitted with up-lights and are activated when the Automated security gates are opened. They come on in sequence, much like a stepped light show inviting you to travel along the driveway to the house or campsite. Same thing happens via secreted sensors on the way out..

  This is quite a feature in it’s own right. It surrounds the house and the Botanical Gardens (10 Acres). It is built from Iron Wood and is completely Mortice and Tennon jointed. Not one nail or screw was used to build the fence, the only metal used is for the hinges. Even the gate latches are timber slide tenons through mortice wedge posts. The craftsman that built the fence took just over two years to complete his work. You can see the hand made cuts on all the rails. If you try to cut it today with a chain saw you would only blunt the blades. This fence was made with six sets of gates to allow maximum access to the botanical gardens and its various features. Many many great photos have been taken on the fence and surrounding oak trees, to see the autumn colours and leaf beds is something to inspire and uplift.

Potting Room, Wood Storage, Garden Storage, Storage Area.  

This building is a very old but serviceable out building made from split weatherboards and heavily worked corrugated iron roof. All sound and weatherproof. It sits about 60 meters from the main house, screened by two garden beds. The building itself has lush gardens surrounding various parts of the shed. The exterior of the building is a very old worn out patina.

THE POTTING ROOM

The potting section is one room, has its own entrance a small fireplace and window and stone floor. The walls are single skin walls (similar to QLD style) open studwork on inside. It was used to film a music video.

WOOD STORAGE

The Wood Shed is much the same with long side open to access the wood, earth floor and exposed roof structure.

GARDEN STORAGE

This is built into the side of the building and is open on two sides with mesh screens and large garden plantings along the mesh, ledge and brace door entrance, this has all the same elements of the rest of the wood shed and is used to hold hoses ,sprinklers etc, however it’s also home to our own family of wicker people. The farm’s history has a large American influence and we have an old hand built wicker family of mum, dad, two teenage and two small wicker scarecrows. Pretty cool.

STORAGE ROOM

This has a pair of large V jointed sliding doors on old metal roller wheels approx 6m x 2.5M opening the area inside is around 10M x 8M and has the same characteristics of the rest of the building. Old style switchboard and Flagstone floors. 

    For a different aspect of the bushland / Australian forest vista, we have built a small predominantly wattle and gum forest, to compliment the native forest at Five Mile Creek. We have carved through wattles that form a cave appearance , blocked to the sky, and curved tracks to get you turned around. Subtle for a walking tour but capable of taking the ATV’s through if needs be. The differing vegetation puts you miles away from each other but in reality, they are only a couple hundred metres apart. And again all the usual critters live there as well. 

     This is a creek that runs through  the property for a couple of kms. As it runs through the farm, some parts resemble a barren landscape, other parts have water holes, an old timber bridge, and can project as a dry creek bed or a rambling water course. Back towards the house, it transforms to a vista of Australian bushland. While the area is home to Kangaroos, Koalas, Echidnas, Sugar gum gliders, Platypus, Foxes, Possums, Wombats, Cockies, Rosellas, Finches and many more nocturnal animal’s, access to this area is unrestricted and easily accessed. As you move along the bush track you will find a traditional working iconic "Southern Cross" style windmill. Huge fallen trees and native forests surround this area.  

The Camp Site has an old bushman’s shack with veranda around two sides. It’s built very much to resemble turn of the century Australiana. Around back it has an outback shower on a raised deck where you can “Tub Up” while watching the sun rise in the east. From the hand built windows, to the tin roof, veranda posts and the exposed beam structure, all were sourced on the farm from fallen trees, old sheds and fence posts.

Looking down from the hut you look over a circular Amphitheatre, and flat deck with it’s rock shoulders sloping down to meet the dam below. Surrounding a large 2m fire pit in the middle. Quite the sight in full flight, built in a natural bowl allows for Range shooting, archery and many other sports due to a natural skyline rim that presents to an unobstructed horizon.

Just below the fire pit is a large fresh water dam that holds Bass for fishing or you could put in our Little Skiff for a sail around. If that’s not what you are after, there are a pair of bush water slides off to the right of the campsite a 20M one for the kids and a 40M one for the big kids as it’s built into the side of the hill it’s easy to miss, but when the 100mm ring main water supply kicks in it’s pretty hard to miss.

So whether it’s a BBQ , Drinks around the fire, blowing off steam by shooting, archery or swimming its all there. And as this area has gas, water, electricity and flood lighting all discreetly available, you can throw a band up on the back of the old hay trailer and put on a shindig for a couple of friends or a couple hundred people.

 We have 14 Dams on site, all of them have names and every dam has a different vista, size and feature particular to that dam. For example, we have,

The “Resort Dam” it’s a large dam, large enough to have three small islands on it, wild life abounds, nesting birds, swans, reeds, trout, a couple of beach areas, a large dead tree trunk protruding out. Quite often the cows will swim out to the islands to calve and graze in the summertime, we keep a canoe there to check on the islands health.

Another dam is “The Tussock Dam”, this is a typical farm size paddock dam high shoulder to the back of it and the front half spills out flat on to Tussock grasses in a large triangular fashion, in the winter this area fills like a marsh land and provides a spawning area for trout, so a fine fly fishing location.

The “Kangaroo Run“ dam is a smaller and extremely neatly circular dam with an inner ring of reeds within the dam, it sits at the bottom of the hill and has a strong shoulder at the rear and spoons the water run off from above easy to see into from anywhere in the paddock.

“Pretty Tree” is a pretty little dam, nestled beside a very rare, large Black Gum, low set dam with trout and strong reed for native fauna, good spot for a bushy lunch break.

The “House Lake” sitting within the Botanical Garden, is a truly timeless lake. It is heavily forested around three sides and the fourth side is a groomed and manicured lawn with a gazebo. It could be a throwback to the 18th century or fit in easily with 2020. its big enough to row around and small enough to be able to see the flora surrounding the lake. We are looking to build a small, period type pier in the future.

The Bluestone water Lock, is about the size of an average house, it also sits within the confines of the botanical garden. It has a significant bluestone paved area surrounding the lock, with a stone wall at one end, statues and a sundial. To complete the vista all this sits under the canopy of a large 100+ year old Oak tree.

So many different waterholes with varied features and aspects.

 We are able to offer a location that has an Australian outback feel within 45 minutes of Melbourne CBD. Great access to the Manor House and inside the house making filming very easy. Large car park easily fits 8-10 service trucks for quick & effective load in – load out actions. As well as 9 other large points of access on the ground floor via 2.6M high double doors. Many of the large external trees around the house have secreted up lighting for night ambiance.

The setting / house can move easily from 19th century early settlers, through to 21st century opulence with a minimum of alteration.

The property in general has a very sophisticated security system, and we will not talk publicly about this aspect. What we will say is that there are many cameras hidden throughout the property to ensure the privacy of any of our high profile guests. Visual surveillance, tracking capabilities, virtual trip wires throughout the entire property and other features ensure prying eyes and curious visitors are quickly identified and dealt with. While these are only some of our security measures we will leave it at that.