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This four-bedroom house at 88 Raven Street, Camp Hill sold at auction for $895,000.

BEN Balderston was about to order coffee from a Stones Corner cafe before heading to the auction of 88 Raven Street at Camp Hill on Saturday when his phone rang.

Four kilometres away, Place Bulimba lead agent Joanna Gianniotis was trying to give away a bottle of French Champagne to the first person to bid on the four-bedroom worker’s cottage on 607sq m but no-one was taking the bait.

That had a lot to do with the fact that one of her star bidders wasn’t there.

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Auctioneer Paul Curtain outside 88 Raven Street, Camp Hill

“I thought the auction started at 10,” Mr Balderston said afterwards.

At 9.06am, and with nothing but a vendor bid of $800,000 and some creative talk passing from the lips of Place Bulimba joint-managing director and auctioneer Paul Curtain, the auction was paused.

While the crowd of 40 waited, a sales assistant called the absent bidder.

“How far away are you?” she asked.

The main front bedroom.

The investment property, which had been rented out for the past four years for $615 a week, was owned by a software engineer who was watching from the main front bedroom as Ms Gianniotis put down the bottle of champagne and started working the crowd to gauge the level of interest from the three registered bidders who were in attendance.

The rear deck.

“I thought it was about to be passed in,” the owner said.

Mr Balderston, a local investor who was interested in land banking the property, had abandoned his coffee and was racing down Old Cleveland Rd to get to the auction.

At 9.13am he arrived, brushing passed onlookers and registering to vote over the front fence just as Mr Curtain recommenced the auction after finally gaining a bid of $805,000 from a family of four who were looking to move closer in to the city.

The crowd had thinned to half by this time but those remaining saw a robust auction of 35 bids as the family struggled to shake their new competition.

Mr Balderston stands on the road after arriving at 88 Raven Street, Camp Hill. You can register to bid at any time before the hammer falls at an auction.

“There’s strong demand for bigger blocks,” Ms Gianniotis said after the auction. “ And a lot are first-home buyers recognising the value of the land.”

SEE WHAT ELSE IS FOR SALE IN CAMP HILL

At $895,000 the family bowed out of the auction and the property sold to Mr Balderston, but they did not leave empty-handed.

“I always give away a bottle of champagne to the first bidder at my auctions,” Ms Gianniotis said.

Champagne has been part of Joanna Gianniotis’s auction campaigns for 18 years.

Mr Balderston may have missed out on his flat white coffee but there was a bottle of champagne for him also as the winning bidder.

“Lucky I rocked up,” he said.

The house was one of more than 50 to go to auction across Brisbane yesterday.

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2/316 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove is due to go to auction this weekend.

Low interest rates, coupled with perceptions of a softer market due to the recession and COVID-19 conditions are inspiring young professionals to get off the rental roundabout or out of home and onto the property ownership ladder.

Agents are reporting higher numbers of buyers fitting this profile at apartments opened for inspections in the past few weeks.

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At the first open of 2/316 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove, Patrick Lang, of Belle Property Lane Cove, had 120 people through the front door – all socially distanced of course.

“It’s fantastic to see young professionals out there in their 20s and 30s buying property,” Mr Lang said.

“Money is so cheap and people are seeing that you can spend the same or a very similar amount each week on rent or a mortgage. They see rent as dead money.

“Bricks and mortar is becoming trendy again.”

And Lane Cove is shaping up as something of a hot spot, he said.

Last week he auctioned 8/557 Mowbray Rd, Lane Cove, a two-bedroom apartment with a price guide of $800,000.

It sold under the hammer for an undisclosed amount, understood to be well above the price guide.

The Pacific Highway apartment, which also has two bedrooms, has the same price guide and is due to go to auction on September 5.

2/316 Pacific Highway, Lane Cove.

Lane Cove has a median apartment sale price of $800,000, which represents a 12-month growth of 5.5 per cent.

Mr Lang said young professionals were mostly uninterested in buying apartments needing work or renovations, and were looking for trendy homes in boutique blocks or complexes with pools, tennis court and other shared facilities.

Some were either upgrading from a one-bedders or looking for their first home, and many were couples looking to form households together for the first time.

He said about 60 per cent of young buyers he was seeing at open homes and auctions were there with their parent or parents for moral and/or financial support.

“It really is good to see them out there and with less investors in the market, they have less competition,” Mr Lang said.

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The facade at 3 The Avenue, Ocean Grove

THERE’S restorations and renovations and then there’s this magnificent offering on the Bellarine Peninsula.

Broome Cottage, circa 1890, has been gloriously restored and transformed into a classic stately home that’s sitting pretty on a sprawling 1066sq m property at 3 The Avenue, Ocean Grove.

The incredible home is listed with a price guide of $3.3m, and in this story the historical aspects are just as interesting as all of the aesthetics.

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“The history is a big talking point, it’s such an iconic house, one of a kind” said Bellarine Property, Barwon Heads agent Ben Roberts.

The original cottage on the site was built for Geelong merchant Thomas Hawkes and the property’s tennis court, which no longer exists, was frequently used by David Cup tennis player Jack Hawkes and his contemporaries.

A Heritage Victoria citation also states Gladys Bell, who donated the first boats to the Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club, instigated construction of the present home in the early 1930s.

Fast forward to the present owners.

They saved the landmark property from the wrecker’s ball seven years ago, and have spent the past few years restoring the grand two-storey residence, although grand almost seems an understatement.

With expansive views over the Barwon River estuary, Ocean Grove beach and the Surf Coast, almost every room guarantees a sensational view.

This beautiful living zone would be hard to leave.

The double-height entry makes a statement, so too the bluestone paved sunroom with epic views towards Geelong beyond the adjoining lawn.

The entry certainly makes a statement.

Many original features, including the timber balustrade on the staircase, crystal cut glass door knobs, brass push plates, open fireplaces and decorative cornices have been retained.

But there’s plenty of luxe modern features, starting with the open-plan living zone that has parquetry flooring.

And, the designer kitchen has a modern feel, with stone benchtops and a marble-look splashback with Siemens appliances and a Vintec wine fridge.

Plenty of room for grazing platters here.

Living, eating and viewing large.

The house has three living areas and six fireplaces, while the main bedroom has a private balcony.

Such a grand sense of living space.

The study gets a river vista and there’s even a room for the coats.

Parents will love retreating to the expansive main bedroom.

Outside is like a private oasis and offers plenty of options to entertain, including a spotted gum deck facing the estuary to the west.

The Spotted Gum deck has a west-facing estuary vista.

Mr Roberts said the five-bedroom, four-bathroom house was in a league rarely seen on the Bellarine Peninsula.

“It’s hard to buy in Ocean Grove in a prestigious street like The Avenue with a home like that, the block size and the uninterrupted views,” he said.

“Here, if you are lucky enough, you can be in a premium street in old Ocean Grove, within walking distance of the shops.”

Extras include gas ducted heating, ceiling fans and alarm system.

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Auctioneer Stu Benson at a Kenthurst property that sold for $620,000 over reserve.

You’d think it would be an extreme buyer’s market but Sydney home sellers netted some surprisingly high results at auction this week given the current economic climate.

Housing experts said the sales were a warning that a so-called “September cliff” characterised by a crash in prices was looking increasingly unlikely.

There were close to 780 auctions scheduled for the week, roughly a quarter more than last week and 32 per cent more than over the same week last year. About two thirds were expected to be a success for the vendors – in line with last week’s auction clearance rate.

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Among the standout auctions was for a waterfront home with a private jetty and yard that backs directly onto Dolans Bay in the Sutherland Shire. It sold under the hammer for $4.43m.

The multi-level, four-bedroom house on a 1644sqm block on Port Hacking Rd went to market with a $4m-$4.4m price guide and sold near the vendor’s reserve.

The view from the Dolans Bay property on Port Hacking Rd.

Three bidders registered with McGrath selling agent Murray Cole but the offers were initially slow to get started. The auction opened on a vendor bid of $3.7m.

Retired vendor Brian Norman was reported to be ­“ecstatic” with the result. The buyers were a family from Gymea.

Mr Cole said bidding was “fast and furious” once it got going. “In this price bracket, the market is solid,” he said.

“There are lots of people wanting a nicer home and they’re happy to spend the money … there is a bit of pent up demand because there were almost no (listings) during the lockdown period. Buyers are now a bit more used to, a bit more comfortable, with the restrictions.”

Auctioneer Andrew Cooley calls bids on a Lilli Pilli house that sold for $2.31m.

The sale comes hot on the heels of a spate of high sales in the Sutherland Shire — last week a new auction record was set for the region when a Burraneer house sold for $7.1m.

The strong demand continued down south this week when a five-bedroom house on Immarna Ave in nearby Lilli Pilli sold for $2.31m, $130,000 above reserve.

Four bidders registered with agent Dax De Traubenberg of Abode Property and 16 offers were made. Auctioneer Andrew Cooley received an opening bid of $1.9m. All the bidders were local families.

In the northwest, 20 bidders turned up for the auction of an acreage in Kenthurst and the strong competition pushed the price $620,000 over the reserve.

The Robson Rd property that sold in Kenthurst.

The 2.3ha property with 74m of frontage on Robson Rd had a $2.1m reserve and sold through LJ Hooker-Dural for $2.72m.

Auctioneer Stu Benson received offers from 10 of the registered bidders but said the bids came at a frantic pace, with some making offers simultaneously. There were a total 32 bids. “This was a prime ­example of why should set your reserve at the consensus of buyer feedback — we had six people bidding above our reserve because the home was still in their budget,” he said.

The property included an old cottage but most of the interest was from buyers wanting to replace it with a modern home. “It will almost certainly be rolled over,” Mr Benson said.

The Putney property on Regent St sold at “land value”, the agent said.

A house on a prized 835sq m block in Putney sold for $2.81m, $310,000 over reserve, after attracting 35 bidders — a price the agent said represented “land value”.

Selling agent Joseph Mazar of Ray White-Ryde said nearly all the interest in the original-condition Regent St house was from buyers hoping to knock it down.

The winning bidders would be replacing the three-bedroom house with a modern luxury home, he said.

“It offered great potential,” Mr Mazar said “There was a mix of buyers who wanted to build duplexes and others with different plans … we were expecting a good turnout but not like this.”

The Regentville house from 1840s was well-preserved.

Further west, a Sandstone home in Regentville built in the 1840s as a workers’ cottage sold at auction for $1.49m.

The house on Bundarra Rd had been in the one family for more than a century and the original interior was largely intact — including the lime wash walls.

“It was like a museum,” selling agent Joshua Cassells of Starr Partners said, adding it was a high price considering the strict heritage restrictions. “You’d have to be careful with any changes,” he said. The reserve was $1.42m and seven bidders registered for the auction.

The sellers had respected the history of the home and kept it in excellent condition, Mr Cassells said. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime sale.”

The Macquarie St house.

In the inner west, a modern-style five-bedroom house on Macquarie St in Chifley sold for $2.641m – $141,000 over the reserve. McGrath selling agent Marnie Seinor said there was a lack of similar stock and this pushed up the price.

The post Sydney auctions: surprise sales results suggest bumper market ahead for spring appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Chris and Mary Prior sold their Leichhardt home at auction. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

An inner west couple “nervous” about selling their house in the middle of a recession were left with reason to celebrate after their property sold at auction for $100,000 more than they hoped.

Leichhardt residents Mary and Chris Prior had set a reserve of $1.2m for their two-bedroom house on Roseby St but sold under the hammer on Saturday for $1.3m.

Fourteen buyers registered to bid with selling agency Adrian William and nine raised their bidder cards during the auction.

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“It was an excellent result. We were really surprised,” Mr Prior said. “We were nervous given the economic climate but more people came than we thought and it went beyond what we hoped. We’re super happy.”

The couple moved into the home seven years ago and did a renovation, including a kitchen upgrade and the addition of a back deck.

Auctioneer Clarence White dropped the hammer at $1.3m. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“When we bought it, the whole backyard was just concrete and mostly old carport,” Mr Prior said, adding they would be renting while they contemplated their next move.

Selling agent Adrian Tsavalas said the auction was moved forward a week due to the strong interest.

“A few months ago it was the opposite,” he said. “Agents were moving auctions back because there weren’t enough bidders … this is a healthy sign of what’s to come for spring.”

Most of the bidder interest was from first homebuyers – many of who recognised the opportunity to get value in the current market, Mr Tsavalas said.

“Before, first homebuyers were saying they were happy to wait until prices fell. There’s more stability in the market, more certainty, so the buyers are more willing to engage now,” he said.

There was a crowd of about 50 people at the auction spread across both sides of the street.

Auctioneer Clarence White had to wait a minute before receiving the opening bid of $1.05m. The next offers went up in a mix of mostly $25,000 and $10,000 increments, with $1000 increases at the end.

The final price was a surprise, Mr White said. “It was apparent there was universal appeal for the home, but other good properties have not received as much interest.

“The market is very patchy. Homes you’d expect to sell well don’t and others end up getting a very high result. There’s no strong pattern to what properties are selling well and what aren’t.”

Mr White said this was probably the result of varying degrees of confidence from buyers.

“There’s plenty of buyers who are active, but not everyone sees value the same and no one is sure where prices will be in six months’ time.”

The Leichhardt sale was one of about 780 Sydney auctions scheduled for the week – a 32 per cent increase on the volume of auctions recorded at this time last year, CoreLogic data showed. Last week, 66.1 per cent of auctions cleared, up from 62 per cent the week prior.

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29 Monash Avenue, Underbool is on the market for an affordable $60,000.

Buyers from far and wide are scrambling to secure a house listed for the price of a luxury car in a town renowned as “the gateway to the Pink Lakes”.

The three-bedroom house in Underbool, in Victoria’s northwest, had attracted about eight offers since hitting the market with a $60,000 asking price, Burns & Co Mildura agent Ian Miers said.

It also accrued more than 10,000 views on realestate.com.au to be one of Victoria’s most popular listings of the past week.

Mr Miers said the price point had clearly been attractive, with Melbourne’s median house price a whopping 12.5 times higher at $750,000, according to realestate.com.au.

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Buyers from across Victoria, and interstate, have made offers on the home.

The property is 12.5 times cheaper than Melbourne’s median house price.

The 29 Monash Avenue property also occupied a substantial 1244sq m block — three times the average lot size in Melbourne’s greenfield estates.

“(The house has) a lovely big backyard, 11ft (3.35m) ceilings, and a fair bit of charm and character about it,” Mr Miers said.

“It has a magnificent old slow-combustion stove in it — if I pulled that out, I could probably sell it for $3000-$4000.”

An old slow-combustion stove is a standout feature.

The quaint kitchen.

A big backyard is a selling point for the home.

Among those in contention for the property were buyers from Canberra and bushfire affected Gippsland town Cann River looking to move to Underbool, which had a population of just 215 at the time of the latest census.

A “beekeeper chap from down near Winchelsea” in the Surf Coast Shire was also in the mix, Mr Miers said.

“They’re from all over the place,” he said.

“And with the COVID-19 situation in Melbourne, the last three properties I’ve sold, in Ouyen, were all to people escaping Melbourne.”

The Underbool Hotel is also up for grabs.

The pub hasn’t operated for about two and a half years.

Mr Miers said Underbool was a farming community that offered a “lovely lifestyle” near the famed Pink Lakes and Murray River, with plenty of good fishing and camping spots nearby.

The town itself had a local store, a primary school, and a pub that was also on the market.

The century-old Underbool Hotel has a $170,000-$187,000 price guide, and has also attracted a couple of offers.

“It’s the only hotel in town and it hasn’t operated for about two and a half years,” Mr Miers

“The locals would love to see that open up again.”

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samantha.landy@news.com.au

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Valentino, Eric and puppy Pepper recently moved from Melbourne into their new home in Torquay’s Quay 2 estate. Picture: Peter Ristevski

The COVID-19 pandemic has extended many Melburnians’ search parameters to include the coast or country, as more homebuyers seek space and affordable housing.

New realestate.com.au data reflects a 58 per cent increase in demand for regional Victorian properties in the past year — nearly four times the growth of metro demand

Inquiries on regional listings also jumped 77 per cent in that period.

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Jan Jac is Victoria’s most in-demand regional area. 10 Camrose Court is on the market there with a $3.3-$3.5m price tag.

National regional housing values have held firm throughout the coronavirus crisis, dropping just 0.1 per cent between March and June, according to CoreLogic’s latest quarterly regional review. Home values fell 2 per cent in the capital city counterparts.

Ballarat boasted the country’s strongest selling conditions, with a typical home changing hands in about 30 days with minimal discounting, the research showed.

CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless said buying regionally presented both advantages and risks.

“On the positive side, housing prices tend to be lower, providing a more affordable entry point to the market,” he said.

“(Plus,) population densities are generally lower, which is something that might be even more appealing as we move through this pandemic. And in many examples, regional areas will offer some lifestyle advantages, either via the location’s proximity to the coastline or wide open spaces.”

Mr Lawless said on the downside, regional economic conditions could be more volatile, so buyers should be wary of areas that relied heavily on a single industry for economic success.

24 Meakin Street, in hotspot East Geelong, is on the market with a $1.2-$1.3m price guide.

Suburbs in Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula dominated realestate.com.au’s top 10 list of Victoria’s most in-demand regional areas — a result chief economist Nerida Conisbee said was no surprise.

“Regional Victoria has been doing well for a long time,” she said. “In the past three years, the region that has had the strongest price growth (nationally) is Hobart, followed by Geelong. “There has been a renaissance in Geelong — young people have moved in, done up houses, and so there has been urban renewal in those areas.”

Ms Conisbee said the spike in regional interest was in part thanks to COVID-19 and a societal shift towards living a more relaxed lifestyle. Working from home and, as such, having less of a need to live close to the city was another big factor.

“People will return to the office. But there will be a difference in how often, and that does extend the opportunity to live in regional areas,” she said.

Intrapac Property townhouses in Torquay’s Quay 2 estate have been popular with Melbourne-base buyers.

Intrapac Property chief operating officer Max Shifman said metro Melbourne’s stage four restrictions had pushed even more people to look at “(getting) out of the big smoke”.

Inquiries for Intrapac’s Quay 2 development in Torquay are at peak levels. And since the strict lockdown laws came into place, Melbourne buyers had outweighed local inquiries, Mr Shifman said.

Working from home during COVID-19 allowed Valentino and Eric to move to Torquay. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Eric, 27, and Valentino, 38, (pictured) recently purchased their first home: a two-bedroom townhouse in the Quay 2 estate.

The couple had planned to use the property as an investment while continuing to rent a one-bedroom Melbourne apartment to be close to their jobs in the city. But instead, they moved in two months ago due to COVID-19.

“We got the indication working from home could be long term, so we took the leap of faith and moved in,” Eric, who declined to provide his surname, said. “The next question is, do we move back to Melbourne (post coronavirus)? Ideally, we would love to stay.”

Eric said the “silver lining” of COVID-19 had been the chance to move regionally, be close to the ocean, and have enough of space to work at home and adopt their puppy, Pepper.

He encouraged other buyers who enjoyed a quieter, more laid-back lifestyle to consider a regional move.

VICTORIA’S TOP 10 MOST IN-DEMAND REGIONAL AREAS

1. Jan Juc

2. East Geelong

3. Aireys Inlet

4. Bellbrae

5. Geelong West

6. Newcomb

7. Belmont

8. Manifold Heights

9. Newtown

10. Wallington

Source: realestate.com.au

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The North Adelaide property at 47 Archer St used to be a pub but has been transformed into a home. Supplied: Clique Creative.

If it’s history you’re after, you’ll find it in spades in this North Adelaide home – once a favoured spot of young revellers in its former life as the Dover Castle hotel on Archer St.

Louise Guthleben and Simon Williams bought the home at 47 Archer St 10-and-a-half years ago, attracted by its location, history and grand scale.

“It came on the market on a Friday afternoon and we bought it on the Monday,” Ms Guthleben says.

“We just fell in love with it immediately.

“The thing that mattered most to us was the location – here we can be seated at Adelaide Oval within an eight-minute walk.

“I love to walk everywhere, my husband works in the city and walks there every day.

“Those parks out the front – I walk everyday and I go out the front door and I never know which direction I’m going to head.

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The owners bought it more than a decade ago. Supplied: Jonathan Kissock.

It used to be the Dover Castle hotel. Supplied: Jonathan Kissock.

It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Supplied: Jonathan Kissock.

“O’Connell St has two great supermarkets, there are two great pharmacies nearby, I walk to the library and the post office – it’s such a great location.”

Naturally, a home of this age, particularly one that used to be a pub, comes with a few stories.

“I love the history of it,” Ms Guthleben says.

“It was built in 1850 and it just grew in pieces over the years.

“The last major reno – prior to it being converted to homes and divided – was in 1911 by architect Kenneth Milne who did the Adelaide Oval scoreboard, and he did a lot of pubs.

“The irony is, I don’t drink.

“My cousins used to drink here and Simon had been here, but every time you tell someone you live in the old Dover Castle hotel, people tell you fantastic stories about these epic nights here.

“Also, because I’m a music teacher, when you read that Bon Scott used to play in our parlour, it’s amazing to me.”

Despite many older homes feeling dark or cold, the couple say theirs is anything but.

“This house is incredibly light, the sun just streams through and it has huge ceilings so it feels doubly spacious,” Ms Guthleben says.

“And the rooms are huge – the master bathroom was originally one of the then pub’s eight upstairs bedrooms, so it’s massive.

“The beer windows were added in the 70s.

“I first thought ‘how am I going to be able to live with these windows’, but the colours they fill the room with is incredible.”

The cellar often attracts guests. Supplied: Jonathan Kissock.

The property even has the old windows still. Supplied: Jonathan Kissock.

The couple have made some changes to the home, but have left it largely alone.

“We re-did some of the structural timber work and re-did the kitchen,” Ms Guthleben says.

“I wanted an Arts and Crafts style kitchen because the ceiling in the main living room is classic Arts and Crafts style, and I’d visited a lot of those homes in the UK, and it ended up being a really functional kitchen with plenty of storage.

“We haven’t really done anything substantial to the property aside from that because nothing needed fixing because the home is so solid, with no cracks, and nothing ever needed fixing.”

The home – set over two levels – has three bedrooms, a spacious open-plan kitchen, dining and living area, a courtyard and a spacious and versatile cellar.

“The cellar is amazing and people gravitate towards that,” Mrs Guthleben says.

“If we have people over to stay and have too many people for bedrooms, they just sleep in the cellar.”

The couple say they’ve loved the home, which could be perfect for a family, or those looking for a convenient lock-up-and-leave lifestyle.

“We don’t really own this home, we’re just holding on to it and looking after it for this moment in history,” Ms Guthleben says.

“We feel like we’re custodians and we are so lucky, honoured and privileged to have lived here in such a fascinating place.”

The post North Adelaide’s former Dover Castle hotel hits the market as a historic character home appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Artist Bibi Barba has partnered with Link Housing to showcase the No Place Like Home exhibition:Justin Lloyd

While the world is despairing over this pandemic and self-isolation, leave it to much-loved artist Bibi Barba to add some light and positivity.

The renowned Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist has joined community housing provider Link Housing to launch its first virtual online gallery.

The exhibition will showcase artworks, including video, poetry, sculptures and photographs reflecting the theme No Place Like Home. As a patron of the event, Bibi is excited about the artworks that have been produced for the event, which will go live on September 1.

“As an artist of 35 years, I sit on different boards to critique art — I know good art when I see it,” she says.

Having studied law at UTS and liaising with Indigenous artists to protect their work, Bibi is frustrated by the influx of fake art on the market.

“I had my work ripped off by someone in Poland and we’re allowing fake art that is made in Bali to be shipped here. Aboriginal stories that are thousands of years old are passed off as commercial art — they have no connection at all to community,” she says.

“I want to focus on art that is wholesome and authentic.”

Something to remind Bibi of her mother. Picture:Justin Lloyd

Ceramic bowl:

This is mum’s (artist Lorna Morgan) first pottery piece. I have it on my shelf in my kitchen so she’s always close to me, even though she’s just a phone call away

Therese Ryder artwork

Therese Ryder artwork:

I bought this in Alice Springs and I just love the ghost gum tree in the front and the MacDonnell Ranges at the back. Therese is related to Albert Namatjira.

Woven basket from Bula’bula Arts

Woven basket:

I went out to country about five years ago and purchased this at Bula’bula Arts. There was a beautiful dark twirl in the middle, but the dye has faded a bit. It’s just so beautiful.

Rock from Mystery Bay where Bibi’s grandmother was born

Rock:

This is from the Tilba Tilba. My (paternal) grandmother was born at Mystery Bay (on the NSW far south coast). My sister and I visited the area and took a piece of rock with us to connect us to country.

Banksia jar:

This also came from Tilba Tilba. I purchased this from an arts and craft shop. It had eucalyptus oil poured into it, so it not only was from country, but it had the smell of country too.

Pieces gifted to Bibi from her grandmother, Doreen Barba

Perfume bottle with porcupine quill:

This is so very elegant and came from my grandmother Doreen Barba’s collection. It’s a beautiful old perfume bottle from the 1930s or so. The porcupine quill belonged to my grandmother and it’s another lovely reminder of family.

Artist Bibi Barba at home with her favorite things, in Kirribilli, today. Picture:Justin Lloyd

Earrings:

I bought these in The Strand Arcade. I wanted something to remind me of water, so I was drawn to the turquoise. I also love silver, so they were a perfect match for me. I wear them everywhere.

Bibi’s own artwork on a silk canvas

Oyster Dreaming on silk canvas:

I designed this based on the Kirribilli oyster shells which are embedded in the rock face. It’s such a beautiful piece. It’s in silk canvas, which I invented.

50th birthday present

Cushion:

This was a gift from a friend for my 50th birthday. It’s such as special gift that they bought in Darwin and fits in perfectly with the feel of my place.

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