Solid As A Rock
The Age
Saturday September 6, 2008
A gracious pocket of Australiana lies at the foot of Mount Macedon, writes Karin Derkley.
HANGING ROCK 25 Lavender Farm Road $2.5 million Private Sale Agent Keatings Real Estate, 5427 2999 Vic Roads 60 B7 IT WAS in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence that Christian Joachim Muller suddenly realised where he wanted to live."I was looking at the Birth of Venus, and I was reminded of the line in Picnic of Hanging Rock in which Miranda is compared to a Botticelli angel," he says.Hanging Rock it was.Woodend and Mount Macedon were ideal, he realised. "The area has many of the qualities of Europe but is still quintessentially Australian."Mr Muller, an arts scholar and investor, says that while he loves the hustle and bustle of cities - he lived for many years in Vienna and Paris - he also enjoys seclusion. "I want complete peace where I can read, and write, and listen to music and be close to nature." He also wanted an older property. Before he came to Australia, he restored an 18th century castle near Vienna and wanted something with an equivalent character and style.In 1998, he came across Macedon Ranges Homestead, a sprawling, four-bedroom, Federation-style home on 38 hectares at the foot of the northern slopes of Mount Macedon.The house itself was tucked away in perfect seclusion at the end of a long driveway lined with 100-year-old fir trees off Lavender Farm Road, with Mount Macedon rearing up at the south end of the property and Hanging Rock to the north.Mr Muller saw in the homestead, with its wide verandas, timber wainscotting and leadlight windows, an example of gracious, early-Australian architecture."Whoever built it had a very good eye. The rooms are beautifully proportioned and the space is very harmonious," he says.Over the next few years he set about restoring the property to its former glory, replacing timbers and windows, using materials and techniques as close as possible to the original.The house was rewired and plumbed and modernised.A security system, digitally controlled hydronic heating and airconditioning were installed, and a modern kitchen and appliances.The result is a beautifully appointed and character-filled home where Mr Muller has spent many happy long weekends with family and friends. Most rooms have basic views over the garden to the magnificent gum trees in the distance, back to Mount Macedon or to the ever-changing Hanging Rock to the north.Neighbours are nowhere to be seen, yet the Calder Freeway is only three minutes away.As an enthusiastic gardener, Mr Muller has spent many hours cultivating the garden and creating park-like pasture lands.The homestead is drought-proof and fire-proof, he says, with an extensive sprinkler system around the property connected to the many dams.The watering system feeds a stunning, European-style garden around the house with flowering rhododendrons and camellia bushes, as well as formal gardens leading to an ornamental lake with its own island. There are orchards with hundreds of fruiting trees and an arboretum with oaks, Chinese elms, chestnuts and Manchurian pears. A small herd of black angus beef grazes in the paddocks.Mr Muller, who is returning to Europe, says:. "I will miss everything about this property - the beautiful gardens, Hanging Rock, the house."While the property is on three titles and could be subdivided, he hopes it will find someone who will cherish it whole: "If it is changed too much it will be lost forever."ABOUT HANGING ROCK - Hanging Rock was originally named Mount Diogenes in 1836 by Major Thomas Mitchell when he travelled through the area. The rock was thought to have sheltered bushrangers such as "Mad" Dan Morgan.- Properties around Hanging Rock are mostly on acreage, with entrylevel properties around $500,000.- Hanging Rock is a 45-minute drive from the CBD on the Calder Freeway. Trains run regularly into the city from nearby Woodend.- There are nearby primary schools and Catholic schools in Woodend and Macedon. Woodend has cafes, bookstores, supermarkets and good medical services.
© 2008 The Age