7 Corroboree Park

Ainslie ACT 2602

The weatherboard form a light ochre, teamed with pale eucalypt, colours of Provence, pitched warm terracotta roof, the one art deco chimney in the precinct. A large open terrace bathed in northern light, the parklike front garden dotted with olives, crab apple, lavender, pink, white, mauve and red roses, artichokes, more reminders of Provence and the Mediterranean, a gardenia that bears more than a thousand flowers each summer.

The large, rounded corner block reads more like a country estate than a town house hard by the enticing urban centres of Braddon and the CBD. This address is coveted for its quiet, famed parkland steeped in Walter Burly and Marion Mahoney Griffin's original garden city dream.

See a letter to the current owners from the Queen Mother just before she passed away in 2003, confirming her unheralded tour of this cottage the day after she and the future King opened the new Federal Parliament May 1927. Room by room she went, opening every door.

See the hundreds year old Corroboree tree from here too, a yellow box, sitting central within the shady park with its barbecues and tennis courts. When Scottish shepherd Ainslie arrived on the Limestone Plains with his small flock for aspiring pastoralist Robert Campbell, this tree stood amongst a small stand, watered by a spring on Mount Ainslie. Ainslie camped there, with the indigenous guide assigned to care for the country he was passing through. All else around was then mile upon mile of wildflowers. An ancestor of residents at Number 3 Corroboree Park told of seeing corroborees around this ancient tree, into the 1870's.

'Branxholme' is famous across the years for fighting to protect the Corroboree Tree, hosting parties, picnics, performances, midwinter Christmas dinners, welcoming 500 children on Halloween to 'do a trick or treat', a leader in retrofitting for climate sensitive housing. Everywhere the nuances of love and community connection.

High ceilings, picture rails, timber sash windows, original pine and hardwood flooring speaking to the charm of another era. Walls teeming with subtle colour and texture - hand painted finishes, a papering of architectural drawings, the quality of light somehow perfect for each chosen artwork. New updates blend seamlessly with old, all imbued with a warm modern country ethos, exemplified in the huge kitchen with its classic AGA cooker, convivial vibe speaking of comfort, gathering and sharing, halcyon days built on simple comforts. The large old table merging to easy lounges, spilling to a large alfresco deck, to the ramp and the back gardens.

A mix of spaces grand and intimate create a forever feel, accommodating the changing whims and moods of life. The front room with slow combustion fire and sunshine. The master that drinks in colours of the front garden, the adjacent large dressing room, could accommodate an ensuite bathroom. A hallway to a trio of bedrooms, centred around a playroom cum library. Adjacent, a family bathroom with huge French bathtub, walls hand-painted to mimic tiles, sky blue and yellow, more borrowing from Provence.

On the other side, tucked behind the open plan kitchen, a large office opening onto a sheltered portico giving onto the front garden, looking onto the park. Sunshine enlivens stained glass; this space and its anteroom could easily be a self-contained apartment.

The back garden of layered spaces deck, courtyard, green lawns, raised vegetable gardens, potting and storage sheds, giant bay tree, crab apple, fig. Behind a large silver-trunked cherry tree grown from a cast pip, a private studio apartment. Architectural drawings paper walls one side: a retreat for the Dalai Lama on the shores of Lake Burly Griffin, an eco village at Mossy Point, plans for the National Arboretum.

features.
.flexible home in heritage precinct
.lovely blend of old & new
.nestled on loop street encircling parkland, basketball & tennis courts, children's playground & community halls
.enormous corner block, mature trees & plantings, vintage style trellis at front awaiting low hedge - lavender, rosemary
.private driveway off Higgins Crescent to gated carport
.polished original wide timber floorboards
.high ceilings, picture rails, original timber doors & windows
.north facing living room
.open plan kitchen, dining & living area, spilling to back deck
.grand kitchen, step-in-pantry, large AGA cooker, induction cooktop, LG dishwasher, water filtration system
.Bose surround sound system, extending outdoors
.powder room
.north facing master bedroom
.adjacent dressing room (can support ensuite)
.three additional bedrooms
.playroom/library, garden access
.large home office/bedroom to front garden
.family bathroom, bathtub, double shower
.electric ducted zoned AC throughout west wing
.RC split system to open plan areas
.solar array, insulation, double glazing, western side awning
.internal laundry
.self-contained garden studio
.large, raised vegetable garden, tank water

details (approx)
EER: 1.5
Land size: 1,077m2
Living size: 210m2
Land rates: $6,947.07 pa
Land tax: $15,174.50 pa (investors only)
Land value: $1,410,000 (24)
Year built: 1927