Noorilim, in the heart of Victoria’s wine country: ‘a once-in-a-generation opportunity to purchase an opulent slice of 19th-century history’

In the mid-1850s, Victoria was the most prosperous region in Australia. ‘The discovery of the Victorian Goldfields has converted a remote dependency into a country of worldwide fame,’ reported the Victorian Gold Discovery Committee in 1854. ‘It has enhanced the value of property to an enormous extent; it has made [Australia] the richest country in the world.’

Melbourne was at the epicentre of this transformation. In the decades following Victoria’s gold rush (1851-1869), the city expanded rapidly and drew the great and the good, looking to capitalise on its booming economy. ‘I found Melbourne a really astonishing city with broad streets full of handsome shops and crowded with bustling well-dressed people,’ reported the British journalist George Augustus Sala, who dubbed the city ‘Marvellous Melbourne’ in his 1885 articles for the London Daily Telegraph.

Tom Roberts, one of the best-known Australian Impressionists, was equally keen to capture the city’s progress. In Allegro con brio, Bourke Street west (1885-86), for instance, he depicts the hustle and bustle of modern life, showing Melbourne as a vibrant urban trading centre.

The city’s rapid growth in wealth was also reflected in the rise of splendid architecture. The newly rich began commissioning lavish ornamental houses, influenced by British and European styles including Gothic, Italianate and Queen Anne. Among the most impressive of these was Noorilim, an exceptionally beautiful and rare Italianate country estate near Nagambie, about two hours’ drive north-east of Melbourne. The estate is located in the heart of the Goulburn Valley, one of Victoria’s long-established wine territories.

The majestic residence was designed by the fashionable architect James Gall in 1879 for the parliamentarian William Winter-Irving, while the gardens were the work of William Guilfoyle, an English landscape gardener best known for his work on Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Noorilim, which has only changed hands twice in the past 50 years, is now available through Christie’s International Real Estate.

‘Noorilim is one of the finest and best-preserved Italianate mansions in Australia,’ says Sean Cussell, director of Christie’s International Real Estate in Victoria. ‘The sale represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to purchase an opulent slice of 19th-century history.’

Noorilim was acquired in 1999 by the late art dealer Rod Menzies, who updated and restored the property with modern comfort in mind. It served as a country retreat where friends, family and Menzies’s art-collector clients could be entertained on a grand and impressive scale. Between 2016 and 2020, it operated as a luxury events venue. Following Menzies’s death in 2022, his family has decided to put the property up for sale.

Set in 160 acres (65 hectares) of lush vineyards and gardens, Noorilim exemplifies the grandeur of Boom Style architecture. The imposing facade features an asymmetrical towered entrance, grand columns and balustrades. The first-floor arched loggia is Cussell’s favourite part of the house. ‘The vista over the gardens is magnificent,’ he says. ‘It would be a fantastic spot for a long, indulgent lunch.’

The interiors are equally impressive. The 11,000-square-foot (1,022-square-metre) property has 20 rooms, each of large proportions with soaring ceilings, rich ornamentation and beautiful decorative finishes.

There are 10 bedrooms, four bathrooms, staff quarters, a cellar, and a games room featuring a wooden procession of life-sized horses on the wall — a nod to Noorilim’s history as a thoroughbred stud farm. In the early 20th century, Noorilim produced three Melbourne Cup winners. The 1910 champion stallion Comedy King is buried in the grounds.

There is also a grand staircase where Australia’s internationally renowned soprano Dame Nellie Melba once performed. More recently, the house has served as a filming location for TV shows and music videos — from the 1980s drama Anzacs to Bad Child, the 2020 hit single from the Australian singer-songwriter and producer Tones and I.

Perhaps most impressive of all, however, is the grand hall, adorned with Corinthian columns and a floor of luminous Minton tiles imported from England and laid by Italian artisans who travelled to Australia especially for the commission. Complementing these period features were important works of modern and contemporary Australian art.

Adjacent to the hall are a sitting room, library and dining room, all with full-height windows offering views onto an arched veranda. The master bedroom suite, situated at the top of the stairs, is painted a rich red and features a white marble fireplace and full-height windows offering splendid views of the gardens below.

Noorilim’s extensive grounds include 30 hectares of vines producing Chardonnay, Shiraz, Cabernet and Merlot, a private sandy beach on the Goulburn River, an ornamental lake and boathouse, and numerous historical outbuildings and barns. The gardens are home to more than 150 species of native fauna, including kangaroos and koalas, as well as 300 established trees, including ancient Moreton Bay figs. There is also an Italian garden, a circular rose garden with a central fountain, and expansive rolling lawns.

With just a handful of illustrious owners throughout its long and colourful history, this storied estate is now poised to embark on a new and exciting chapter. The property, says Cussell, would make a magnificent family home but would be equally well suited to a commercial purpose. ‘It could be transformed into a spectacular boutique hotel or luxury retreat,’ he suggests.

Explore Christie’s International Real Estate, offering an unrivalled collection of luxury properties across the globe