A piece of Port Stephens history is about to hit the market.
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Century 21 Novocastrian (Newcastle) has been enlisted to sell the privately owned Tanilba House, which was built by convicts in 1831.
“The house has been passed to a number of family members who are now looking to sell it,” Dean Pinter, residential sales manager from Century 21 Novocastrian, said.
“We’ll be asking for expressions of interest because something like this is almost impossible to price.”
The sale of the historical Tanilba Bay house comes two years after Helen Taylor, who co-owned it with a relative, died.
Ms Taylor, known as the matriarch of Tanilba House, lived at the historical residence for more than 30 years.
The heritage-listed stone house was where Ms Taylor lived, on and off, with her family from the 1950s and consistently when they bought it in the late 1960s.
Ms Taylor breathed life into the house, giving the public an opportunity to get a glimpse into how life was lived in the 1830s.
Tanilba House is one of a small number of remaining historical residences in Port Stephens along with Tomago House, established in the 1840s, and Stanley Park House in Fullerton Cove, built in 1897.
Mr Pinter, who has experience in selling “unique and bespoke” properties in Newcastle and Hunter Valley, said Tanilba House would likely hit the market on Monday or Tuesday.
He said the buyers pool for this type of property is small, but the opportunities it offered are “enormous”.
“It’s been a museum, a tea house, a wedding destination,” Mr Pinter said.
“A part from the main residence, which has 10 main bedrooms, there’s a one bedroom cottage and two bedroom residence on the estate.
“The amenities have been upgraded to cater for large groups, making it ideal for a bed and breakfast, or for weddings.
“What we’re trying to sell is the opportunity – it could be so much more than what it has been in the past.”
While Mr Pinter did not put a monetary value on Tanilba House, he said it was worth more than the price of a waterfront property in Tanilba Bay, which is up to $700,000.
Comparatively, Stanley Park House, set on 28 acres off Fullerton Cove, was most recently sold in 2011 for $2 million.
Tanilba House: a history
Tanilba House is one of the grand homes which helps form the rich fabric of the history of Port Stephens.
Built by convicts for Lieutenant William Caswell who received a land grant of 50 acres in 1831, the historic home still stands today, offering scenic vistas of Tanilba Bay, on the Tilligerry Peninsula.
Tanilba House was originally built as a family home. The half-metre-thick stone walls, decorative edges and high ceilings are all part of the colonial charm.
In addition to the land at Tanilba Bay, the Caswells also had 920 acres on the Williams River granted to them - this became known as Balickera.
Lieutenant Caswell was known to leave Tanilba at 3am each day on horseback to ride to supervise his other farm.
In the early 1840s the Caswells returned to the Balickera farm and Tanilba House was leased intermittently until 1897.
In 1882 a visitor described the house as a "deserted residence fast moulding into decay".
Lieutenant Caswell died in 1859 and Mrs Caswell in 1886 at the age of 81.
It was after Mrs Caswell's death that the home was sold to Elizabeth Holmes in 1897 who started restoring the old residence.
Mrs Holmes sold Tanilba House to W.J. Ebbeck in 1905, who converted it into a holiday house for fishing parties from Newcastle and Maitland.
It changed hands again in 1913 and became the residence of Walter W. Clift who in turn sold it in 1920 to property developer Henry F. Halloran.
Mr H.F. Halloran was a real estate agent, developer and landscape architect in Sydney and other parts of NSW.
Many say he envisaged a flourishing town surrounding Tanilba House and it was under his guidance that the old house was updated, the conservatory added, ornate fences built and the adjoining "temple" constructed.
Mr Halloran died in 1953 and the house began to go downhill.
For almost 20 years Tanilba House was used as a holiday destination before being leased to religious group "The Gospel Fisherman".
Helen Taylor’s mother, Helena Oberland, took over the lease in the mid-1950s, using it as a guest house and riding school.
The Oberland family bought the property in the late 1960s, saving Tanilba House from demolition.
In 1980 the state government stepped in and, realising its importance, placed a permanent conservation order on the property, but without giving any regular grants to help with its upkeep.
Ms Taylor lived at Tanilba House from the mid-1980s. She staged exhibitions, plays, poetry readings and concerts in the historic home.
It was also opened to the public as a museum until her death in September 2015.