Historic 1907 Mt Macedon estate, Sefton returns to market

The Sefton estate at Mount Macedon is back for sale, unquestionably spring's finest garden offering across the nation.

Built by the Baillieu family as a summer holiday home in the early 1900s, the 8.8 hectare English garden was laid out with obvious influences of the Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens directors Baron von Mueller and W. R. Guilfoyle.

The estate includes a 910-square-metre seven bedroom 1907 Tudor-style mansion, complete with a billiards room and a glass atrium sitting room. It was designed by the architectural firm Sydney Smith and Ogg. A four-green nine-tee golf course, tennis court, croquet lawn, heated outdoor swimming pool and helipad are surrounded by Capability Brown style gardens.

It has been listed by Gribbles Pathology founder Wallace Cameron who bought it through Keatings Real Estate for a then record $8,175,000 when buying it from the Fosters Group which had a reserve of $4.62 million. The Baillieu's sold in 1968 for $65,000 to the mining companies, CRA and North Broken Hill which sold to Fosters in 1983 for $475,000.

In 2010 Sefton was withdrawn from sale after being offered for about $12 million. JP Dixon has the listing.

This article was first published in the Weekend Australian Mansion Australia property section.