Nature, reserved
In the Australian countryside south of Sydney sits Wombat Hollow, a unique 20-acre estate that feels part farmstead, part nature park. Its current owners share why they love it, as they prepare to leave for pastures new
“Wombat Hollow found us,” laughs Michael Yabsley, talking about the 20 acres of bushland and accommodation that make up the place that’s been his and his wife Susie’s ‘weekender’ since 1997. “We were visiting friends, Susie saw the property, and it all went from there. We’ve not done anything as spontaneously before or since.”
A former politician and member of New South Wales’ parliament, Michael, his wife and two children lived in central Sydney, but were drawn by Wombat Hollow’s pristine bushland and secluded location. “There were lots of boxes that it ticked,” says Susie. “Boxes we didn’t know we had. We went back to our friends and I didn’t stop talking about it. It was a lovely stone cottage with good proportions, on a river and a dam. There was a family over the fence with three boys the same age as our son. It was perfect.”
Michael and Susie were delighted to find the previous owners had taken great care to preserve the bush, only creating access roads, “which makes the setting feel very authentic and granular,” adds Michael. “Notwithstanding there are neighbours close by on both sides, it has an amazing feeling of isolation.”
Under their ownership the property has evolved, as the couple added ‘sheds’ across the site. “I’ve always had a shed fetish, somewhat to Susie’s alarm,” laughs Michael. “We took what were basically off-the-shelf sheds, put them onto concrete slabs and converted them.” Characterised by polished concrete floors, upcycled corrugated iron and feature fireplaces, the “result is much greater than the materials,” Michael says, as he describes how they came to be fitted out with an eclectic mix of agricultural and industrial “orphan artefacts”, carefully upcycled and curated to give them a new life.
It was a passion Michael then took one step further, setting up Wombat Hollow Lamps where, over the course of 12 or 13 years, these artefacts were saved from scrap and transformed into designer pieces. “We wanted to give a nod to past craftsmen, and to these objects which are things of beauty and have gone the distance,” says Susie.
This same deeply-held commitment to craftsmanship is evident in the renovations made to the main four bedroom, two- bathroom house and accompanying cottage. The work doubled the footprint of the original building, yet in a way that was sensitive to the environment. “It’s not a trophy property,” says Michael. “Everything’s very comfortable but the built environment and nature are in harmony with each other.”
Although the family used it as a place of escape from city life, the truth is, life followed them to the house – the expansive lounge and family areas made ideal spaces for gathering people. “We would host book launches and musical events,” says Michael, as well as the Wombat Hollow Forum, which brought people from all over the district.
Yet, what captured the Yabsley’s imagination 25 years ago is what still makes Wombat Hollow unique today. “I love being out in the bush a couple of times a day,” says Susie, describing the yellow-tailed black cockatoos, parrots and honeyeaters she often sees flying overhead, and the kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, platypus, and of course, wombats, on the surrounding land. “The sounds of the bush and that feeling of isolation without actually being isolated,” says Michael. “It’s the peace and serenity of the place that’s made it such an important part of our lives for so long.”
Wombat Hollow has a guide price of AU$10,000,000. To make an enquiry, please contact nathan.berlyn@au.knightfrank.com. Explore more properties for sale in Australia.
