Allan Myers KC drops action against former Hawthorn star Brad Sewell over Grampians development

A long-running legal stoush between prominent Melbourne barrister Allan Myers KC and Hawthorn great Brad Sewell over prime Grampian views has finally been brought to an end.

The Myers family own a sprawling property with views of Mount Sturgeon. Picture: Kimbal Baker.

A long-running legal stoush between Australia’s richest barrister Allan Myers KC and Hawthorn great Brad Sewell has been brought to an end after the Myers’ family abandoned a court bid to stop a tourism development in the Grampians.

Two-time premiership player Sewell and his wife planned to build four eco-sensitive cabins after they purchased a 1.6-hectare block on the outskirts of Dunkeld for $300,000 in 2019.

The development, offering sweeping views of Mount Sturgeon and the surrounding Grampians ranges and featuring a pool, sauna and communal facilities accommodating up to 10 guests, was described by Supreme Court Justice Michelle Quigley as “modest”.

But Mr Myers, who was raised in Dunkeld and owns 12,700 hectares of farmland through his company Dunkeld Pastoral, objected to the development, which sat between his sprawling compound and Mount Sturgeon, warning it would spoil the village’s views and character.

The Southern Grampians Shire Council approved it anyway.

Myers has dropped his objection to a development in the Grampians. Picture: David Geraghty

Mr Myers’ children, Clare, Cecilia and John, lodged an objection with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal which ruled in the Sewells’ favour.

“The development will not be an unacceptable intrusion and nor will it dominate the surrounding landscape, particularly Mt Sturgeon and the surrounding Grampians ranges,” the tribunal found.

Even then, the fight didn’t end.

The Myers took the matter to the Supreme Court, where they lost again in November 2023 after Justice Quigley ruled in the Sewells’ favour.

The family lodged an application to appeal the ruling which was due to be heard in Victoria’s highest court, the Court of Appeal, last month.

But the Myers quietly dropped the matter weeks before the appeal was due to be heard.

Sewell played 200 games for the Hawks. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Mr Myers, whose personal fortune is estimated at close to $1 billion, defended his family’s persistence in challenging the proposal.

“(Sewell) came to see me,” Mr Myers told AFR Magazine last month, recalling a 2020 meeting with Sewell in his Melbourne chambers.

“I said, ‘I’m implacably opposed. Would you like to sell?’ He said, ‘No’. I said, ‘OK, well, that’s fine. We’ll let the law take its course.”

The Sewells’ long-delayed holiday retreat now faces no further legal hurdles, only the final steps of construction before guests can one day take in the same million-dollar views that sparked the legal saga in the first place.

A renowned commercial and international arbitration barrister, Mr Myers’ high-profile clients have included George Pell, Kerry Stokes and Gina Rinehart.

While best known for his legal career, Mr Myers made his fortune with his business partner by investing into Polish beer brewer Grupa Zywiec in the 1990s, as sales exploded as the country emerged from communism.

In 1976, he established Dunkeld Pastoral Co which has grown to become one of the region’s best-known, large-scale, red-meat producers.

Mr Myers maintains strong links to the community, owning the famed Royal Mail Hotel which he has transformed into a dining destination.

Mr Myers and the Sewells were contacted for comment.

Originally published as Allan Myers KC drops action against former Hawthorn star Brad Sewell over Grampians development