Surfer Owen Wright emerges as mystery $5.1 million Byron buyer

Professional surfer Owen Wright has emerged as the mystery buyer of luxury beach villa building opportunity within the heart of Byron Bay.

It sits just under 300 metres from Clarke’s Beach.

The $5.1 million outlay was the fourth highest sale in the Byron Bay township over the year.

The Rip Curl ambassador bought the Daniels Street property on delayed settlement terms late last year.

Wright, a Culburra Beach-born South Coaster, is yet to lodge plans for any redevelopment, but a villa project seems likely.

Currently on the 1605 square meter site sits an elevated three-bedroom timber beach house built in the mid 1970s, with few ­updates, if any, since its construction.

It only occupies 175 square metres of its land holding.

The surf-enthusiast moved north to Lennox Head a decade ago when he was in his late teens.

Sister Tyler is also on the pro-circuit and is a two-time world champion surfer.

Owen has since become one of the country’s leading surfers. He nearly won a world title after two perfect 10-point rides to win an event in Fiji in 2015.

Days before the final event at Pipeline Masters even in Hawaii, Wright suffered a traumatic brain ­injury during a warm-up session.

During his recuperation from the career-threatening injury, Wright spent $765,000 on Ahimsa, a Berry district retreat.

He used the private one bedroom Brogers Creek home on 2.4ha as his refuge, calling it “a little slice of ­heaven”.

Having fully recovered, Wright recently sold the property for $1 million.

Wright, his partner, singer Kita Alexander, and their son currently own at Byron in a home bought in 2010 for $975,000.

The 1930s Federation home was architecturally ­­re-designed by Running Dog Design.

Alexander has just released a new single ‘Between You & I’.

The Byron Bay native penned the indie-pop jam about experiencing the hardest kind of love.

“One that is so strong, it almost breaks you,” said Alexander.

“I wanted this to be a hopeful ­anthem in the face of adversity.”

Byron Bay’s residential house price record was quietly set earlier this year when F45 gym boss Adam Gilchrist and Eli-May Havas spent $18.85 million on Wategos House, the longtime record holder of Vaucluse developer Danny Goldberg who paid $15.68 million in 2006.

Gilchrist and Havas are no ­strangers to the area, having ­married at the exclusive Rae’s across the road.

This article was first published in the Sunday Telegraph.