Towering cypress trees are among the greenery that leads towards the front gate at 380 McGrath Road, Bass.
A Gippsland homestead that was formerly one of the nation’s foremost Simmental cattle studs is moo-ving into the market.
The six-bedroom home at 380 McGrath Rd, Bass, set on 32.37ha, has been in the same family for four generations and hosted movie star Rex Harrison, high society figures and Australian political heavyweights.
However, Phoebe Dubar said she and her sisters – granddaughters of the couple who built the property’s main house in the 1950s – have decided to sell the property for another family to enjoy.
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Ms Dubar said that when My Fair Lady actor Harrison visited the farm, she was aged about six or seven years old and “obsessed with Doctor Doolittle” – another of his famous roles.
American heiress and philanthropist Margaret Dulany “Peggy” Rockefeller, a breeder of Simmental cattle, also visited the farm along with former prime minister Malcolm Fraser and Democrats founder Don Chipp, who was a close family friend.
Ms Dubar said her parents, plastic surgeon father Williams Wilson and mother Loretta Little, encouraged their children to plant hundreds of trees at the property – two gums planted by the Frasers are named “Malcolm” and “Tammy”.
The main house was built in the 1950s but has been upgraded since.
Four generations of the same family have enjoyed the homestead.
Ms Dubar said her Dad, whom she lovingly described “pretty eccentric”, decided to buy a half-share in a helicopter during the 1980s.
A grass expanse at homestead where all the famous guests landed is still known as “The Helipad”.
Ms Dubar said she had “magic memories” of visiting the homestead during summers while growing up, including playing tennis, horseriding, camping in the garden and canoeing.
The exterior of the homestead.
Audrey Hepburn with actor Rex Harrison in film My Fair Lady.
Chisholm & Gamon property selling agent Kainen Schrape said the property has attracted plenty of interest from interstate buyers and “Melbourne seachangers and treechangers”.
Mr Schrape said that while the homestead was updated in the 1980s “it has still kept its country charm”.
He said the property's unique features included its Bass River frontage and outlook to the hills.
Mr Schrape said it took about 90 minutes to drive from the homestead to Melbourne's CBD.
Expressions of interest in the property will close midday April 7.
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