Homegrown international cricket icon Travis Head snaps up controversial foothills home in Mitcham for $3.05 million
South Australian-born sporting sensation Travis Head has purchased an opulent foothills home in Mitcham, formerly owned by a Chinese millionaire who planned to demolish the property to build a French Chateau.
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Travis Head’s sporting career may be on pause due to COVID-19, but that hasn’t stopped the homegrown international cricketer from buying one of the state’s most luxurious and controversial homes.
According to Land Services SA documents, the Gawler-born batsman – who has represented Australia at Test, One-Day and T20 level – and his girlfriend Jessica Davies are the new owners of 48 Carrick Hill Drive, Mitcham, a property which only a year ago had been earmarked for demolition to make room for a French Chateau.
Records show the 1000sq m house on 7000sqm land - and once owned by bankrupt winemaker Andrew Garrett - settled on March 27 for $3.05 million after three months on the market.
Head, 26, already owns houses in Tennyson and Kidman Park.
The Advertiser has sought comment from Head directly and through the South Australian Cricket Assocation.
Selling agent Stephanie Williams, of Harcourts Williams, said she had been banned from revealing the identity of the purchaser, but said had sold to “a high profile local”.
She said both the vendor and purchaser were “happy” with the sale.
“We’ve had interest from all over the world, a mixture of local, interstate and international buyers,” Ms Williams said.
“It is undoubtedly one of the most breathtaking panoramic views anywhere in South Australia and an extraordinary land holding.
“You feel like you’re somewhere else in the world with those spectacular views to the sea, the CDB and along the plains.”
Head’s rise to international stardom has been swift, becoming South Australia’s youngest-ever first-class captain in 2015 and since then debuting for Australia in all three formats, before being handed the Test vice-captaincy alongside Pat Cummins last year.
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Aussie captain Tim Paine in March also named the dashing left-hander as one of his possible successors once his tenure ends.
While the nation’s cricketers have so far avoided much of the financial impact from coronavirus seen across other sporting codes, on Sunday former Test skipper Mark Taylor suggested that would soon change and he had “no doubt” pay cuts were imminent.
Head remains contracted to the Redbacks and also Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League, the latter he captained to the title in the 2017/18 summer.
Head’s new foothills home made headlines last year when Mitcham Council approved a development proposal by Chinese multi-millionaire Nicho Teng who planned to flatten the four-bedroom property in favour of a French Chateau.
Residents opposed the proposal on the grounds it was “non-compliant” and “an utter waste”, leaving Mr Teng, head of developer the Greaton Group and a leading sponsor of Port Adelaide Football Club, to reconsider his lifestyle needs.
He subsequently relisted the 0.74ha property in October last year, after purchasing the property for $3.2 million in April 2018.
