Great Southern Land

Sydney Morning Herald

Thursday June 6, 2002

Margie Blok

Berry

Style Lifestyle farms, weekenders and dairy farms.

Price range Vacant land from $350,000 to more than $500,000; lifestyle farms with houses from $650,000 to more than $1.5 million.

Transport By car (about two hours' drive) or train from Sydney (about three hours).

Facilities Good shopping in Berry village; surfing at Seven Mile Beach; Shoalhaven River.

Amusements Hobby farming; horseriding; canoeing and abseiling; surfing; fishing.

The search for a weekend sea change is driving up the price of this quaint country retreat.

BUCOLIC bliss in the Shoalhaven valley on the South Coast is a pretty pricey affair, thanks to swarms of Sydneysiders snapping up lifestyle properties in the district once renowned for its dairy industry.

At weekends, hoards of city slickers don designer country clobber and climb into four-wheel-drive vehicles before heading to hideaways in the lush patchwork quilt of hills and valleys around Berry. Other folk have moved permanently to escape the rigours of city life.

Being an easy two-hour drive from Sydney, Berry is an ideal weekender destination. Attractions for buyers include the quaint historic village, surfing at Seven Mile Beach, escarpment properties with spectacular views, traditional weatherboard farmhouses and the nearby Shoalhaven River.

The increased popularity, combined with the flow-on effect of skyrocketing city real estate prices, has pushed Berry property through the roof in the past few years. Although some dairy farms on this picturesque part of the coast have remained intact, much of the rural acreage has been converted to ``lifestyle property" for city-based owners. Prices start at $350,000 for a small block of land, and go up to more than $1.5 million for a hillside retreat with designer house and views.

One of the most expensive properties is Butter Trail Farm, the 14.5-hectare holding which advertising executives Erica and David Harding sold at auction in April for $1.63 million through Cherylee Elliott of Berry First National. Nestled high on the Jaspers Brush escarpment with a backdrop of cliffs and rainforest, the property has 180-degree views across rolling hills to the ocean and Jervis Bay and a two-pavilion residence designed by architect Neil Durbach. In the landscaped grounds are a heated swimming pool and spa.

At auction last week, a two-hectare property in a native bushland setting on Irvines Road sold for $512,500 though agent Adam Guthrie. Perched high above Wattamolla Valley, the contemporary open-plan glass and steel one-bedroom studio-style house has expansive views of the valley and surrounding wilderness.

Other recent Berry sales include: Indah, a new weatherboard house on 1.86 hectares in Tulloch Road, which sold in early May for $775,000; Spring Rose Park, 1.2 hectares of vacant land on Berry mountain which traded for $355,000; one hectare of land (with tiny ocean glimpse) in Tourist Road sold for $380,000; the Flying Cow Retreat, a bed and breakfast establishment in Wattamolla Road which sold for $735,000. Lothlorien, the Berry mountain solar-passive home of writer Shirley Fenton Huie, sold this year for $525,000.

Listed for sale is Foxground Farm, about 10 minutes drive north of Berry village. The 33.4-hectare property with a restored weatherboard cottage, permanent water, northerly aspect and 180-degree views to the ocean, is expected to fetch more than $900,000 when auctioned on Wednesday through Elliott. Also on the Wednesday auction list is Coolangatta Ridge, a 40-hectare property on Coolangatta Mountain, on the south-east side of Berry. More than $850,000 is the estimate for this property with four-level, solar-passive house, town and filtered rain water and three dams, expansive views, large four-bay shed and shelter for animals. The alpacas grazing on Coolangatta Ridge are not included in the sale price, notes agent Adam Guthrie.

It was in the early 1800s that Alexander Berry and Edward Wollstonecraft settled in this area. The Berry family established a successful farming operation.

Originally known as Broughton Creek, the quaint village of Berry with its tree-lined streets and historic vine-covered buildings began as a service centre for the Berry estate. The town was renamed Berry in 1890, to honour the pioneering family.