A rare manor in the heart of the Barossa Valley has come onto the market for the first time in generations.

Words Genevieve Meegan

Brett Hage is philosophical about closing the door on the grand Tanunda home that has been in his family since 1926.

“You know when it’s time to move on,” Brett says.

Not that he is moving far. Brett and wife Melissa have subdivided the land and built a new Lares Home next door. They will move into their new abode in a few months with Charlie, eight, and April, five.

The couple leave behind a unique two-storey Tudor manor that was built by Brett’s grandfather Edwin, who was one of the original Holden dealers in Australia and ran the dealership in Tanunda. The Holden business remained in the family for generations, until it was sold seven years ago. Now the house, too, will go to new owners.

“My great grandparents bought the land here and my grandparents built this house,” Brett says. “My father and his siblings grew up here, and then our family grew up in the house next door.

“The house that my great grandparents built is still over the back fence.”

The character-filled Tudor home, at 16A Bilyara Road, has been fully renovated by Brett and Melissa including a new kitchen and bathroom in the past 12 months.

The house boasts five bedrooms, four living areas, a dining room that accommodates up to 14 people, two outdoor entertaining areas, one with built-in kitchen, fire pit and wood-burning chiminea, plus a wine cellar and huge en suite and walk-in robe to the master suite. Other features include leadlight windows, polished jarrah floors and feature ceilings.

While Brett has loved living in the heritage home, maintaining the garden was becoming a big job. Now that the block has been subdivided, there is less garden for the new owner to maintain.

“I love my gardening but it was just becoming so much work,” he says. “When I was out in the garden, I would always find this sunny, north-facing spot and think, one day when I’m old I’m going to retire and build a house here.

“Then one of the neighbours wanted to buy some of our land and I thought the time was right to build that house I’d always dreamed about.”

Located in the heart of Tanunda, the Tudor home is close to all amenities, with park lands and a playground next door, and is just a 200-metre stroll to the main street.

“It takes only an hour to get anywhere in Adelaide and with the final part of the expressway to be opened in December, this will reduce travel time even further,” Brett says. He believes potential buyers may be from Sydney or Melbourne and looking for a lifestyle change.

“There’s nothing on the market like this in the Barossa Valley,” he says. “There’s also no more vacant land in Tanunda, so it’s the last opportunity for someone to buy an executive home here and enjoy everything this region has to offer.

“In essence, we have no desire to leave the area, but we have subdivided our large property to make our own lifestyle even more carefree as we have young children and found the original size of our property was not being utilised. Although we absolutely love our Tudor home, we felt it was time to build a different style of home and have a new experience.”

The property is being handled by Toop agents Peter McMillan and Julie Zanes.