King Island retreat is a natural haven

The coastline is rugged, the air pristine and the private beach made for exploring at this King Island property. Asking price is $2.5m.

Looking down on the five-bedroom house with coastal frontage at 598 South Road, Nugara, on King Island. The landscape is home to wallabies, echidnas, ducks, turkeys and native bird species as well as peacocks, quail and pheasants.

The coastline is rugged, the air pristine and the private beach made for exploring at this King Island retreat.

“Still Waters” sits on 138ha on the west coast of the island in Bass Strait and has been held in the one family for more than 30 years.

You can fish for abalone or crayfish, scuba dive or snorkel around the enticing rock pools or watch a pair of sea eagles cruise the coastline.

“The outlook is phenomenal. From our balcony, the next landfall is South America,” says Julie Arnold, who with husband Charles built Still Waters in the late 1990s.

The story of how they bought the property is a memorable one.

Taking a short break at Christmas from their home in Melbourne, the couple had neglected to hire a car and were walking down to town when a real estate agent “popped out” and offered to take them on a tour of some local properties.

Seizing the fortuitous opportunity to see some of the island, the Arnolds agreed. “We actually bought the block that Christmas, just before we were due to move to England for work.”

Five years passed while they were busy overseas until, one day in the 1990s they returned and were sitting on the beach drinking in the atmosphere. “We thought: ‘It’s time to come back’,” Arnold remembers.

She was later told that King Island locals rarely bought on the coast, wary of the weather. But they just couldn’t get past those views. So, determined to build a home that would last, architect Charles designed it to be cyclone-proof.

Their first Christmas there was 1998, the year that the Sydney to Hobart fleet was catastrophically hit by storms, causing the loss of six lives and five yachts. The next morning Charles inspected the home, built with massive steel beams, and there was not a hint of damage.

Their five-bedroom home, at 598 South Rd, Nugara, has full coastal frontage and spans an impressive 435sq m. Living space is set over three levels, with a timber deck on the upper storey. At night, you can see the Aurora Australis, do some star gazing and even watch the International Space Station cruise by.

The Arnolds wanted a house that was very easy to live in, “where you relaxed as soon as you walked through the door”, she says. And its magic has worked ever since.

“You come in from a stressful day and you go out on the balcony with a glass of red; watch the sea, the rocks and the beach and it just calms you,” she says.

“You realise that all of that has been there all day and will be there all night, it just gives perspective.”

The couple, their children and 12 grandchildren have all enjoyed the estate, with plenty of room to gather or relax separately.

There is a conservatory and another, separate, enclosed alfresco area in the garden complete with barbecue.

The landscape is home to wallabies, echidnas, duck, turkeys and native bird species as well as peacocks, quail and pheasants.

Still Waters is 15 minutes’ drive from the main township of Currie and King Island Airport – which is a 30-minute flight from Tasmania and 50 minutes from Melbourne.

The property spans three lots and the Arnolds are seeking $2.5m through Circa Heritage and Lifestyle’s Sue Gratton.

While King Island, along with the rest of Tasmania, was closed to the mainland for much of 2021 – the gates are now open.

Arnold, who is also the island’s mayor, is looking forward to welcoming tourists back to her piece of paradise.

With two world-class golf courses, both designed in the Scottish links tradition, famed fresh seafood and pristine nature on offer, she hopes visitors from both Tasmania and the mainland are keen to explore the second-largest island in Bass Strait.