The Sell: ‘Forging ahead’ with reno helping Edwina Bartholomew after cancer diagnosis

Sunrise’s Edwina Bartholomew and husband Neil Varcoe are ‘forging ahead’ with a Carcoar boutique accommodation project as it helps keep her mind off her chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Channel 7 Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew says her Carcoar boutique accommodation project helped to keep her mind off her chronic myeloid leukaemia, since she received the diagnosis in July.

The mother-of-two and husband Neil Varcoe are “forging ahead” with the project, while taking “life at a slower pace”.

“Our renovation has been a beautiful distraction and will continue to be in the months to come,” she said.

Edwina Bartholomew and her husband Neil Varcoe are renovating an old pub in the NSW town of Carcoar. Picture: Facebook

Their Carcoar holding, to be known as Saltash Farm, is 8500sq m, with the hotel premises dating back to the 1840s. Picture: Facebook

Bartholomew advised the 7News website her condition could be treated with a daily tablet and she would be “completely fine” if she looked after herself.

Purchased early last year for $1m, the approvals for the NSW Central West property came only after 18 months of planning hurdles.

Sunrise presenter Edwina Bartholomew. Picture: Justin Lloyd

The couple’s purchase came after a $2.58m sale of their Dulwich Hill home in March last year. They already had another side hustle with their $600-a-night Warramba, Glen Alice, farmhouse.

Their Carcoar holding, to be known as Saltash Farm, is 8500sq m on Naylor Street, with the hotel premises dating back to the 1840s.

Starting in October, the Studio Esteta-designed project will be in stages, with the main heritage guesthouse, then three guest cabins and a house, then a pool and a long pavilion for functions at a much later stage.

The town, set 3½ hours from Sydney, ranks as the third-oldest settlement west of the Blue Mountains. It is a “new chapter for the town that time forgot”, Bartholomew enthusiastically suggested on her purchase.

Edwina Bartholomew and her husband Neil Varcoe. Picture: Facebook

Blayney Shire mayor Scott Ferguson told realestate.com.au it would be the “renaissance of Carcoar”, and praised the couple for putting together the most comprehensive development application he had seen in 25 years.

BURGESS OFF TO UK, BUT IT’S NOT GOODBYE TO SHIRE

Departed South Sydney Rabbitohs player Tom Burgess, who has signed up to the Super League Club Huddersfield on a three-year deal, isn’t saying goodbye to Sydney.

He’s signalled he and wife, model Tahlia Giumelli, won’t be selling their Sutherland Shire home.

They will instead be seeking a tenant for the Woolooware property, which has four bedrooms plus a study.

Burgess, 32, who was the last of the Burgess brothers to pull on the red and green, advised his plans when speaking to the media ahead of his 249th and final game.

Tom Burgess and Tahlia Giumelli will be renting out their Cronulla family home as he heads overseas with a three-year UK contract. Picture: realestate.com.au

They bought the Woollooware home for $1,282,500 in 2021, then started work on its makeover. Picture: realestate.com.au

They lost 28-36 to the Sydney Roosters on Friday night but Burgess scored a try and a goal conversion.

“I’m renting my house out so I’m not selling it,” he advised.

“I’m leaving my house up for rent so if anyone wants to rent a house in Cronulla …” Burgess told reporters earlier this week.

“I’ve made a home for myself here,” he said as he reflected on his time since migrating in 2012.

“I’m definitely not sailing off. I think that’s where our base is now, over in the Shire. We’ve got kids now, we’ll be coming back for sure.”

Houses in Woolooware typically rent for $1297, reflecting an annual rental yield of 3.1 per cent. PropTrack puts the median four-bedroom house rental at $1550 a week, with 27 leased over the past year.

Tom Burgess and Tahlia Giumelli. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Burgess said a return to the Rabbitohs was “definitely on the cards”. But Burgess doesn’t see himself in a head coach role like his brother Sam, head coach at Super League club Warrington Wolves.

The couple, now with three children, married in 2022, having met in 2016.

They bought the Woollooware home for $1,282,500 in 2021, then started work on its makeover. Tahlia created an Instagram account for the renovation, Building With The Burgesses, which quickly gathered 7000 followers.

The couple welcomed their first child, Sophie, in 2019 when they were living at Little Bay. The current home was bought after the birth of their second daughter, Elodie, in 2020. Their son Alfie was born last month.

Tom, the last of the Burgesses to get on the property ladder in Sydney, is the joint-youngest of the four brothers, along with his twin George.

FORMER TV CHEF FINALLY GETS BITE FOR COOKING RETREAT

Former television chef Pete Evans and his wellness advocate wife Nicola have secured an offer for their Northern Rivers cooking retreat, which was listed in January.

The Byrrill Creek rainforest property consists of a main house plus seven cabins, which they have run as Evolve Sanctuary.

Former television chef Pete Evans and his wellness advocate wife Nicola Evans have secured an offer for their Northern Rivers cooking retreat which was listed in January.

The 7.9ha listing by JET Real Estate agent Tania Sheppard advised the property was “a leader in wellness tourism with a strong cashflow”. It can accommodate 17 people.

“Seldom do profitable retreat businesses with significant landholdings such as Evolve Sanctuary change hands,” the marketing noted.

The property was offered with the potential to establish a new business or to enter into a rental arrangement with Evans to continue operating the retreat.

There’s a $1750-a-weekend men’s wellness retreat scheduled for later this month. It offers ice baths, red-light treatment, a float tank and an infra-red sauna.

There has been no price reveal on the pending sale.

Pete Evans. Picture: Nathan Edwards

The couple paid $1m for the Mount Warning Forest hideaway in 2020, then updated the property, located 66km northwest of Byron Bay.

There were over 11,000 page views on realestate.com.au during its marketing.

The Evanses won’t be exiting the tiny enclave of just under 40 properties as they have owned next door since 2021, when they spent a record $1.75m to secure the 72ha Gunjal estate with its five-bedroom home.

There have been just the two property sales over the past 18 months at Byrrill Creek, including one offering set in the multiple-occupancy community of Pretty Gully. It was one of the 14 shares in the 84ha estate.

The couple exited Sydney after Evans was dropped by Channel 7 from My Kitchen Rules, which he had hosted for 11 years until 2020. They sold two Malabar homes for a combined $6m when heading north.

GEM OF A HOME STILL LOOKING FOR BUYER

Despite competitive bidding, the latest Dover Heights property gem of jewellers Tarik and Zena Kaddour, of House of K’dor, failed to find a buyer at its onsite weekend auction.

The bidding stalled at $12m for the lavish five-bedroom, five-bathroom residence with three-car garaging on Military Rd.

Celebrity jewellers Tarik and Zena Kaddour of House of K’dor are auctioning their Dover Heights home. Picture: realestate.com.au

Agents Cae Thomas, Alan Fettes and Elliott Placks had signalled they had interest at $12m on its champagne launch last month.

The Kaddours bought the 569sq m holding for $5,325,000 in June 2021.

It was the latest project by the couple after they sold on nearby 21 Rodney St for $9.9m in 2022, having bought the site for $3.6m in 2020.

The Military Rd offering was designed by Stanton Architects and built by Asiel Construction.

Zena and Tarick Kaddour. Picture: Christian Gilles

It has huge windows capturing the Bondi Junction skyline from the ground floor and Harbour Bridge views from its second floor.

Apparently jewellery is their inspiration in their designs.

“It’s all about letting in more light to allow the sparkle,” Zena told the Wentworth Courier.

Jessica Dunlop, the founder of the fashion boutique Coco & Lola, has yet to find a buyer for her Dover Heights home, which had been scheduled for midweek auction.

The Oceanview Ave home had a $7.8m to $8.25m guide from Thomas.

Meanwhile settlement has revealed Gong Cha bubble tea queen Lili Shi as the buyer of the record-setting Portland St home at $16.8m, sold by Shack Homewares owner Lance Shofer and his wife Julie.

MOGUL HANDS OVER FINGER WHARF $12.5M

Billionaire steel tsar Sanjeev Gupta and wife Nicola have spent $12.5m on an apartment at the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, which will be handy bolthole should their ambitious $10m renovations to their Italianate mansion Bomera, in Potts Point, get the go-ahead.

The historic Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf.

The purchase paperwork was registered this week for the apartment, which was redundant to broadcaster John Laws’ needs.

Of course, it was the Sunday Telegraph’s Annette Sharp who sussed out the off-market deal back in June, although her sources underestimated the price when suggesting it was around $10m.

Sanjeev Gupta, head of the GFG (Gupta Family Group) Alliance, poses for a photograph during an inte. Picture: Ben Stansall/AFP

Gupta spent another $1m on a marina berth as apparently he’s bringing his yacht from Europe.

The Guptas’ proposed nearby Bomera alterations involve the construction of basement garaging with vehicle access via Cowper Wharf Rd, plus construction of a new lower-ground level that will accommodate guest rooms and a pool. There will be a sauna, spa, yoga room, cinema and a whisky room.

The historic Wylde St home was purchased for $34m in 2019 by the Bomera corporate trust fronted by Aremob Pty Ltd (Bomera spelt backwards) and directed by ANDE + Co lawyer Nitij Pal.

Gupta ­arrived in Australia in 2017, acquiring the Whyalla steelworks near Adelaide.

NICE RETURN ON HOLIDAY HOME

The five-bedroom South Coast holiday let belonging to the family of Nick Kyrgios has taken just over a week to find a buyer.

The Turross Heads home was listed through LJ Hooker agent Garry Robertson, who was seeking $1.3 million.

It last sold for $583,000 in 2017 when bought by Kyrgios Family Holidays, a company co- owned by the tennis player.

During the ownership, the two-level home was spruced up for holiday letting.

SETTLING FOR A LOWER SCORE

The childhood home of cricketing great Don Bradman has seen its price hopes dashed again, with listing agent Samuel Lindsay still at the crease.

The agent was initially chasing $3.1 million in April, then revised it to $2.75 million.

It is now cut to $1.9 million to $2.1 million by Andrew Leeming and wife Erica, who purchased it in 2007 for $890,000.

The Shepherd St home was where Bradman lived from 1911, from the age of three until 15.

TURNING PAGE ON BRIGHT SEMI

Colourist Nina Smith and her husband Andrew have listed in Pagewood.

Their three-storey Ocean St semi has a $2.5 million guide through McGrath agent Nadine Marando for its September 21 auction.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom contemporary house was by Hbuilt Constructions on plans from Pinnacle Design Studio, with its main living area flooded with natural light.

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Originally published as The Sell: ‘Forging ahead’ with reno helping Edwina Bartholomew after cancer diagnosis