NEWS PROPERTY

The iconic Falls Treehouse at Millaa comes up for sale once again. The property hits the market for a negotiable price at $680,000. The Beautiful old Queenslander is full of charm, built in 1929, and could truly tell some stories about the local Tablelands history.

Sam Byrd a Cairns restaurateur widely recognised for reshaping the city’s foodie scene has sold one of his flagship locations, Edge Hill institution NOA. Mr Byrd opened NOA in 2014 as a new eating concept championing sharing with his signature use of fresh, seasonal produce. For almost ten years the restaurant in the Cairns foodie hub on Pyne St has offered dishes and drinks made to be shared by a couple or a group. NOA was Mr Byrd’s second endeavour after opening Ozmosis on the same foodie strip and he would later go on the expand his offerings opening Guerrilla, Hopscotch, and European-style restaurant Palooka. Mr Byrd said that the decision to sell NOA was about focusing on Palooka and being able to spend more time with his young family.

A historical country pub south of Toowoomba looks set to be sold “this week” after a flurry of interest driven by its bargain $550,000 price tag. The 134-year-old Club Hotel in Clifton has been listed for sale through Toowoomba’s SGW Hotel Brokers, in a move that could see it revamped into a boutique eatery and Airbnb. Along with the traditional furnishings of a licensed venue, the Club Hotel also has four refurbished accommodation offerings and four new gaming machines. Agent Scott Williams said he already had a written offer on the 646sq m pub, which was built in 1889.

A pub made famous in the global hit Crocodile Dundee is back on the market, and it will cost you less than the median house price in 713 Aussie suburbs. Crocodile Dundee’s Walkabout Creek Hotel in McKinlay in outback Queensland has been relisted for sale for $1.4 million. You could buy Walkabout Creek Hotel six times over and still have change from the purchase of an average house in Sydney’s Tamarama or Vaucluse. Established in the 1900s, the “true blue” low-set timber hotel is being marketed by VZ Real Estate agent Michael Verstandig on behalf of current owners Frank and Debra Wust.

One of the Toowoomba region’s most iconic pubs that sells more than 1000 meals a week has hit the market, with the agent saying he is certain it will change hands. Rudd’s Pub in Nobby has been listed for sale through SGW Hotel Brokers, with the campaign offering up the venue, four self-contained accommodation units and a neighbouring detached dwelling. Built in 1893 and named after the famous Australian poet Steele Rudd, who lived in Nobby between 1909 and 1917, the famous pub is a popular tourism attraction due to its hospitality and unique wall ornamentations. The pub itself features a front bar, restaurant, beer garden, function area, four gaming machines, solar panels and even a large generator. Selling agent Scott Williams said the current owner had invested heavily into restumping the pub along with upgrading the structure. “This has been restumped, it’s got all new timber deck, the boards have been replaced, it’s got solar power — everything in the pub is in amazing condition,” he said.

The famous Golden Ox at Margate has been snapped up at auction Thursday for just over $2 million, in a bargain sale for a Queensland buyer in the hospitality sector. The sale of the iconic local venue — the scene of many weddings, dates and celebrations — came after an untimely death of one of the Ox’s owners forced its doors to close. Former Golden Ox owner Nick Tzimas, who had previously sold the restaurant, along with other business professionals and spectators witnessed a over-the-phone buyer purchase the Golden Ox at auction for $2.275 million. Running unopposed in the bidding, the Queensland buyer went back and forth in bids by the vendor and private discussions, before the eventual sale price was agreed upon, below the $2.4 million reserve. Colliers, under instructions from Shabnam Amirbeaggi of Crouch Amirbeaggi, receiver managers of Sydney-based owners NPC Golden Ox Pty Ltd, presided over the auction and the restaurant's sale.

After providing a sanctuary for many a weary traveller over the last 56 years, the family operating Townsville’s iconic Port of Call have tearfully parted ways with their beloved accommodation business. Charters Towers couple Fae and Rix O’Connell began building Port of Call at 53-55 Ford St, Hermit Park in 1967, starting with a four-bedroom house and 20m pool, where Fae could swim laps. They constructed nine units in the late 1960s, before buying a neighbouring block from the Hermit Park Hotel in the 1980s and adding another 14 units. Fae’s granddaughter Tammy Tyrrell had fond memories growing up with the colourful characters staying at the Port of Call, where Fae ran the show, supported by Rix and her mother Coral. Built before the motels emerged along Bowen Rd, Ms Tyrrell said the Port of Call was one of the few options for visitors to stay in Townsville, attracting all walks of life. “You talk to everyone in Townsville, and there’s not one person that I’ve come across who hasn’t heard of the Port of Call,” Ms Tyrrell said “There was never a day the same. Every day your house was always open to everybody, it was open 24 hours, seven days a week back in those years. “Two o’clock in the morning, you’d wake up to the bell ringing and checking in a truckie or someone passing through. Very few did they say no to.” The clientele was always on their best behaviour, because if they weren’t, they were quickly shown the door. She fondly remembered collecting rent from guests as a seven-year-old, and the “wonderful pool parties”, which provided plenty of fuel for school gossip. “I wish my Nana had written a book about it,” she said. Much like Sturt Lodge in the CBD, Port of Call has played a vital role as a “safety net” for Townsville’s single men, where long-term accommodation had been provided to one guest for over 20 years. “They have their own space, but they’ve just got a bit of community there with the relationships that people have made throughout the years,” she said. “It’s a mix, where some have got their own toilets and showers and there’s also shared toilets and showers as well.” Following Fae’s death two years ago the family was forced to put the Port of Call on the market. Ray White Commercial Townsville Principal Graeme Russell sold Port of Call for $1.575m to a Melbourne-based investor in August. He said the investor didn’t physically inspect the property, instead relying on a buyer’s agent and observing it through FaceTime during a detailed inspection. The property generates $162,000 per annum, with the manager’s residence capable of bringing in an additional $25,000 per year, Comparing what could be purchased in Melbourne for $1.5m compared to Townsville Mr Russell said it was the price point that was attracting investors to the city. “The idea of buying a property as big as this, with as much potential income for that price in Melbourne is impossible,” he said. “The return on investment is double what you could expect in southern capitals.”

A large hotel site part-owned by former AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes is back on the market. The 1971 sq m property, at 540 Flinders Street, has frontage to Flinders Lane and comes with a permit for two hotel towers of 24 and 30 levels. TP Real Estate Holdings – a joint venture between Fernandes and Singapore-listed Plato Capital – bought the two-storey building in 2016 for $19.9 million. CBRE’s Scott Callow and Nathan Mufale, with Colliers’ Jozef Dickinson and Trent Hobart, are handling the listing. It is expected to fetch more than $30 million.