Moguls behind Kylie Jenner-endorsed sunglasses brand list Byron Shire mansion

Eyewear moguls Linda and Allen Hammond have put their contemporary home in Coopers Shoot in the Byron Shire on the market with a price guide of $13.5 million to $14.5 million.

Linda is the founder, designer and chief executive officer of sunglasses business Otra Eyewear, and before that co-founded another sunglasses company, Quay Australia, with her husband Allen. They sold Quay Australia to a US private equity firm for an undisclosed sum in 2016.

Quay Australia has collaborated with numerous A-listers including Kylie Jenner, Jennifer Lopez, Paris Hilton and Chrissy Teigen. It launched in 2004 at the Falls Festival in Melbourne, Victoria.

Linda and Allen’s son Zak later joined the brand, and by 2009 it had entered the global market.

Linda said they have decided to sell the home as they have another property on the Gold Coast. “It’s a lock and leave as we spend most of our year travelling,” she said.

Records show the Hammonds purchased the existing dwelling on the site for $2,085,000 in 2016, which they then knocked down, enlisting Zaher Architects to design a stunning four-bedroom, two-bathroom build over two levels.

Approved DA plans lodged with council in 2019 reveal works with an estimated cost of $2,677,860. The existing pool was retained, and three sculptural feature staircases were included in the design, along with timber-lined ceilings and Italian porcelain tiles.

Leisure zones include a gym, pool, Japanese-style bath, fire pit and balconies with hinterland and coastal views extending to Lennox Head.

The NSW North Coast’s house price record was broken in 2023 when the Coopers Shoot hinterland home of Tom and Emma Lane, of the Oroton fashion empire family, sold for $33.65 million. The buyer was a company in which tech entrepreneur Ben Bray, co-founder of Nakatomi, and architect Grace de Rome are listed as directors.

The luxury farmhouse on 48 hectares with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms is complete with a mineral-based infinity pool and spa, an infrared sauna, gym, fire pit, macadamia grove and stable area.

Will Phillips and Denzil Lloyd of Byron Bay Sotheby’s International Realty are accepting expressions of interest for the Hammonds’ residence.

Author lists Centennial Park home

Award-winning author Libby Hathorn has listed her Centennial Park home in Sydney with a buyer’s guide of $11.5 million as she looks to downsize locally.

Hathorn has written more than 80 books for children, young adults and adult readers, and her young adult novel Thunderwith was made into a movie called The Echo of Thunder, starring Judy Davis.

Hathorn’s accomplishments include The Lady Cutler Award in 2020 for distinguished services to Australian children’s literature and a Centenary Medal in 2003 for work in children’s literature.

The circa 1924 property, purchased by Hathorn and her late husband John Hathorn, has been offered to the market for the first time in 45 years. There is a main residence, a one-bed cottage and loft studio, with a total of seven bedrooms and four bathrooms.

Approved DA plans lodged with council over the years reveal $99,000 worth of alterations and additions and a replaced tile roof for $40,000.

The main residence has high ornate ceilings, parquetry floors, timber architraves, bold feature walls and leadlight windows. There is a grand formal dining and living zone, a marble kitchen, sunroom and landscaped gardens.

Maclay Longhurst and Robert Le of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty are selling the home and an auction has been scheduled for October.

Former advertising bigwig to offload residence

Retired ad executive Peter Hamilton and his wife Christine have put their grand Southern Highlands home on the market with a price guide of $12 million.

Peter was an esteemed ad executive, with roles including worldwide executive vice president and regional director for Asia-Pacific at McCann Erickson, which is now called McCann.

Records show the couple purchased the address in Fitzroy Falls for $460,000 in 2001, and Peter’s time working abroad in New York’s Manhattan inspired the design for the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house which they built from scratch.

Across 100 acres of countryside, the rural estate features American Georgian architecture, a style known for its symmetry and classical entryways. There are wraparound verandahs, a pool, and a gym that could be made into an office.

Christine was an avid horse rider and so ample equestrian areas were included, such as stabling, tack and feed facilities, and a sand arena.

The couple also own another property on the same street in Fitzroy Falls, a slightly smaller one on 75 acres with a three-bedroom, two-bathroom residence, which is on the market with a price guide of $3.2 million through the same listing agent.

Their other properties outside the Southern Highlands are a property in Sydney’s Mosman and one in Queensland’s Noosa.

The Southern Highlands residences are being sold by Elizabeth O’Brien of Atlas Southern Highlands.