David Murray calls time on his Hunters Hill peninsula retreat after 26 years

Former Commonwealth bank chief and one-time Future Fund chair David Murray and wife Stephanie are downsizing but their trophy home doesn’t come cheaply.

David and Stephanie Murray at their Hunters Hill home in 2009.

The former Commonwealth Bank chief and Future Fund chair, David Murray, and wife Stephanie are cutting their ties with Sydney’s salubrious Hunters Hill peninsula, listing their estate in Stanley Road after more than a quarter of a century of ownership.

“Lyndcote” on a double block with waterfront access is expected to fetch a price in the mid to high $30m range.

The Murrays purchased 7 Stanley Road in 1999 for $3.3m and added 9 Stanley Road six years later – hiring TKD Architects to amalgamate the properties.

The couple has declared they’re selling as they are downsizing.

“There are fewer than 10 properties in Hunters Hill of this size,” said marketing agent Adam Ross of McGrath, who is selling the property via an expression-of-interest campaign with McGrath’s Matt Ward.

Lyndcote started as a single property at number 7 and was joined to an adjoining one six years later.

The property, which is one of the largest to hit the market on the Hunters Hill peninsula market in years, has a tennis court, swimming pool, boat shed, jetty, and boat pen.

“This is the full package,” Mr Ross said. “But the garden is the hero.”

The peninsula, 9km from the Sydney CBD, is home to a variety of corporate titans including the former Leightons boss Wal King, as well as former politicians such as one time federal treasurer Joe Hockey. It is also home to the Obeid family, whose patriarch, Eddie Obeid, was a former minister in the NSW Labor government, and is now in Long Bay Jail.

David Murray was chair of the federal government’s Future Fund from 2006 to 2012. Picture Mike Batterham

The Murrays’ six-bedroom house is on a 4564sqm plot and has five bathrooms and parking for five cars.

Stephanie Murray, who also had a career in banking and senior executive roles, said the couple was downsizing “because there’s just the two of us and our dog”.

“It’s been like living in your own private garden. You could be anywhere. Generations of families have been raised in this home,” she said.

“It’s not a slick modern home, it has soul. You walk in and feel its warmth. Everything is top end; we haven’t scrimped on anything. It’s romantic, it has charm and everything functions.

“It’s heartbreaking to leave but it’s just too big for us now.”

The Hunters Hill property has a grass tennis court and swimming pool among its many features.

Mr Murray started his career as a teller with Commonwealth Bank in 1966, and went on to spend 39 years with the bank – 13 years as CEO.

“Lyndcote’s previous owners (the late regional newspaper magnate) John and Kate Armati trusted us to continue on with the love and care of the property,” Mrs Murray saids, adding that the Armatis went on to purchase one of Hunter’s Hill’s largest estates, The Haven.

Originally published as David Murray calls time on his Hunters Hill peninsula retreat after 26 years