Private island owner selling $11 million North Bondi apartment

Martin Veall, from a Melbourne financier family, has put his North Bondi penthouse on the market with a price guide of $11 million, local sources have revealed.

The Veall family’s wealth originated from a chain of electrical stores, established by Martin’s grandfather, Arthur, before a move into property development and investments.

Martin and his brother, Duncan, own a 15-hectare private island in Queensland, Timana Island, through their Melbourne-based company St Columb. The island is listed with a price guide of $15 million.

Also known as Thorpe Island, the private freehold is offshore from Mission Beach and adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef.

Local sources not authorised to comment publicly believe Martin is based in Sydney and has decided it is time to sell. He purchased the three-bedroom, two-bathroom unit from Dean Fleming, a former horse breeder and the son of the late grocer Jim Fleming, for $4.02 million in 2012, records show.

Martin sanded the floors, painted the interiors and changed the lighting before going to market.

The dual-level residence is in a boutique block of six and has a modern kitchen with stone benchtops, a main bedroom with ocean views and an expansive terrace measuring 164 square metres.

Martin is described as having 46 years of experience in farm management with a focus on agriculture and forestry, in an annual financial report lodged to the Australian Securities Exchange in 2017 for Vealls Ltd, which is no longer listed on the ASX.

Bethwyn Richards and Alexandra Anthony of The Agency hold the listing for the North Bondi penthouse and declined to comment when contacted by this masthead.

Human rights advocate lists waterfront mansion

Human rights advocate Penny Gerstle AM, and her consultant husband, Gary, are downsizing from their Northwood mansion, listing it with a price guide of $17.5 million.

Penny purchased the existing dwelling on the site for $2.85 million in 2002, records show, and the couple enlisted architect Vladimir Ivanov for a rebuild that was completed in 2007. The result is a contemporary six-bedroom, five-bathroom abode with a mosaic pool and spa.

The industrial-style waterfront home is a blend of concrete, glass and timber, with heated stone floors on the two upper floors, ironbark on the downstairs floor and skylights.

There is a wine cellar, games room with bar, a self-contained apartment and a main room and deck that can accommodate 130 seated guests. Views stretch from Gore Creek, to Greenwich, the city and the Lane Cove River.

The couple made some slight renovations in 2024 with a repaint and timber work.

“It has been a wonderful sanctuary, a multi-generational home, which we have enjoyed sharing with family and community. A fabulous party home and event space too,” Penny, the chair of Human Rights Watch Australia Committee, and the deputy chair of the Justice and Equity Centre, said.

Penny became a member of the Order of Australia last year for significant service to human rights, community health and to people with disability. She has spent much of the past 35 years working to improve the lives of people facing disadvantage in Australia and abroad.

An auction has been scheduled for May 16 and McGrath Lane Cove’s Sam Lloyd and Tracey Dixon are handling the campaign.

Former ABC exec upgrades Palm Beach address

Former ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie has emerged as the $9.9 million buyer of the late Dame Marie Bashir’s Palm Beach weekender.

Bashir, the former NSW governor, passed away in January, aged 95. She listed the six-bedroom, three-bathroom home that she shared with her late husband, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, in September last year with a price guide of $10 million.

A sale sticker went up on the listing indicating a sale by private treaty on October 23 with the $9.9 million sale price disclosed. It was left to settlement documents to reveal Guthrie as the cash buyer and the funds have been transferred to the late couple’s three children.

Guthrie is a director of Catapult Sports, a sports performance analytics company, and was sacked as the ABC’s managing director in 2018 by then-chairman Justin Milne. She was halfway through her five-year term.

Guthrie and her husband, chef Darren Farr, have upgraded from their five-bedroom, three-bathroom Palm Beach home that they sold for $4.2 million in March.

Their new dual-level abode features polished hardwood floors and a sleek black and white kitchen. There is an expansive deck with views of Barrenjoey headland, Palm Beach, out to Pittwater and beyond.

Records show Bashir and Shehadie, who were primarily based in Mosman, bought the property for $1,026,000 in 1998.

Bashir had a decorated career as not only the 37th governor of NSW from 2001 to 2014 but also as the 17th chancellor of the University of Sydney at the same time.

Her husband had an esteemed career in his own right as a former Wallabies captain, lord mayor of Sydney and chairman of SBS, to name just a few of his achievements before he died in 2018.

David and BJ Edwards of LJ Hooker Palm Beach sold Bashir’s Palm Beach home and both declined to comment.