Former NSW Opposition Leader lists renovated convict-built home for $13m

Peter Collins, a former NSW Opposition Leader, and his wife Jennine Leonarder-Collins, have put their Werrington County home in western Sydney on the market with a price guide of $13 million.

The couple bought the convict-built sandstone residence named Werrington House for $1.05 million in 2011, records show, and over the course of around 15 years meticulously restored it to keep its timeless elegance while adding modern touches.

Peter was the Opposition Leader in NSW from 1995 to 1998, and was also the arts minister from 1988 to 1995 and health minister from 1988 to 1991, among other parliamentary roles.

Jennine, who worked as a luxury real estate agent, told this masthead she and Peter share a “deep passion for Australian history and heritage architecture”, and while it’s bittersweet to leave the home, they look forward to embracing their next challenge together.

“We purchased Werrington House almost 15 years ago this week, determined to restore it to its former glory and take it to an entirely new level, sparing no expense in the process,” she said on Thursday.

“We often reflect on what its previous occupants might have thought had they been able to see what the house would ultimately become. We are exceptionally proud of the decisions we have made, the home we have created and above all, the legacy we are leaving.”

The property’s previous occupants include the late Sir Henry Parkes, who lived there from 1860 to 1872, the latter year being the year he became Premier of NSW.

On offer is a two-storey, four-bedroom, three-bathroom residence with a library room, resort-style swimming pool, Koi fishpond, paved courtyard and a multipurpose space that could be used as a gallery, office or museum.

Interiors feature restored ironbark floors, cedar doors, marble bathrooms, chandeliers and pendant lighting.

Michael Pallier of Sydney Sotheby’s International Realty and Paul Merrick of Merrick Property Group are accepting expressions of interest.

Audio guru to sell hinterland estate

Music engineer pioneer Tom Misner, of SAE Institute, has listed his Bangalow estate in the Byron Bay hinterland with a price guide of $12 million.

The Croatian-born businessman, who is based in Monaco, made his fortune selling his audio engineering school SAE Institute for about $300 million in 2010.

Records show Misner purchased the estate, which consists of four residences each with their own pool, for a then-suburb record of $15 million. Tom and Emma Lane of the Oroton fashion family empire reset the record when they sold their luxury equine retreat known as Copperstone for $27.5 million last year to Brett Clark, a managing partner for Chemist Warehouse in NSW and QLD, and his wife Maria.

Misner’s property for sale consists of a main residence known as The Farmhouse with a media room and poolside entertaining area, and three self-contained cottages with private pools, coming to a total of nine bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

Stone and timber detail, as well as various terraces and decks, feature at the estate.

The estate has been operating as luxury accommodation named Imagine Byron Bay. In a real estate brochure shared with buyers, the property has projected gross income for the year to June 2027 of around $500,000.

Alex Lyons of Raine & Horne Double Bay and Bondi Beach is accepting expressions of interest.

Late TV mogul’s home for sale

The Southern Highlands home of the late television pioneer Reg Grundy is on offer with a price guide of $33 million to $36 million.

Records show Grundy and his late wife, Logie Award-winning actor and best-selling author Joy Chambers-Grundy, bought the abode known as Comfort Hill for a then-Southern Highlands record of $15 million in 2007 from the late adman-turned-farmer Michael Ball.

Grundy, who died aged 92 in 2016 at the couple’s Bermuda estate, was the producer behind shows such as Neighbours, Prisoner and Wheel of Fortune. Joy was best known for roles in soap operas including Neighbours, The Restless Years and The Young Doctors. She died aged 76 in 2023.

The deceased estate was built in 1841 from sandstone quarried onto the property, and the Grundys extended parts of the home during their ownership. There is a principal residence consisting of a homestead with an office, cinema and wellness wing, a guest cottage, manager’s house and second residence, coming to a total of 16 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms.

A bonus extra is a snooker and cigar room in a separate building, and other leisure zones including a tennis court and pavilion, a lake, gardens, working farm and equestrian infrastructure.

Ken Jacobs of Forbes Global Properties, who sold the house to the Grundys and is now the exclusive selling agent, described it as a legacy property.

“It’s by far a trophy home of the Southern Highlands,” he told this masthead.