Country Road pioneer Jane Parker lists Port Melbourne penthouse

Country Road pioneer Jane Parker lists Port Melbourne penthouse
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

A 500 square metre Port Melbourne full-floor penthouse has been listed by Jane Parker, who played a major role in the early years of the iconic Australian fashion brand Country Road alongside her brother, Stephen Bennett.

The Portside apartment at 124/1 Graham Street is being marketed to sell for more than $3.75 million at its November 21 auction.

It last traded at $2.9 million in 2005 having sold at $1.8 million in 2001. It was briefly listed in late 2010 with $4.5 million hopes.

The apartment offers four bedrooms, two living areas and an enormous terrace looking to the city skyline. It has three basement car spaces.

In 1974, Bennett was working for Thomas Wardle, a Flinders Lane fashion identity, when he borrowed $20,000 from his father-in-law.

He launched a range of shirts designed to cash in on the jeans boom. 

Country Road's original team consisted of Bennett, his former wife, Pam, and her sister (also a designer) Margaret McQueen.

They set up shop in Burwood Road, Hawthorn.

Designer Jane Parker joined a year later in 1975.

 

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

Editor's Picks