Buyers rush unusual Anakie home with gold mine by the back door

A secluded Anakie property with a 170-year-old mine just a few steps from the back door proved a fine prospect for treechangers.

Buyers have struck treechange gold after scoring an unusual home with a mine just metres from the back door.

As local legend has it, the historic shaft dates back to the Brisbane Ranges’ gold rush days when prospectors tunnelled into an Anakie hillside after the discovery of a nugget there in the 1860s.

Selling agent David Villarosa said the gold mine wasn’t key to the $1.38m sale of the secluded 10ha bushland retreat.

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The mine was a big attraction for vendors Mark and Cathy Saxton, whose kids Isabella, 4, Will, 5, and Charlotte, 1, love playing down there. Picture: Ian Currie

It makes for the perfect wine cellar.

But he expects it will be a cool feature for the Melbourne treechangers to share with family and friends.

“It was just a really good balance of everything. You had the bush setting, you had that beautiful flat area through the middle that was really usable,” Mr Villarosa said.

“Often with bush blocks you have that bush setting but you haven’t got any usable land that kids can play on and you can actually host hoards of people when you have them over.

“The goldmine was certainly a plus but I don’t think we had any buyer that was interested because of the gold mine.”

“The think the buyers liked that it was a nice cool wine store and, of course, the added benefit when you’re in a high bush fire area of having somewhere to go in the event of a fire.”

The four-bedroom house is set in a valley with pristine bushland.

The use of natural materials like timber floors and jarrah posts reflects the surrounding environment.

A Jindara wood heater warms the living area.

With a permanent temperature of 15 degrees, the mine has most recently served as a wine cellar for vendors Mark and Cathy Saxton.

The prospect of exploring the underground feature helped attract 60 groups to 380 Lynch Rd, Anakie, during the expressions of interest campaign.

“I would say of those 60 groups probably 20 of them were at the pub and thought let’s just go for a look,” Mr Villarosa said.

“But the other 40 had some really genuine interest and it sort of got people thinking is it a weekender? Could we live here? And the people that have bought it will be their primary residence.”

How’s the serenity?

Wake up to treetop views in the main bedroom suite.

Views over the surrounding bushland are a highlight of the three-storey house, which promotes self-sufficiency through a solar array, batteries, an orchard and vegetable garden.

Stargazing from the private balcony is on the cards in first floor parents’ retreat, while downstairs another north-facing deck is geared for entertaining with an outdoor kitchen.

There’s three living areas on the main level, including a open-plan hub featuring jarrah posts, exposed timber beams and an updated kitchen.

Originally published as Buyers rush unusual Anakie home with gold mine by the back door