Bacchus Marsh: circa-1878 home on Avenue of Honour for sale
![267 Main St, Bacchus Marsh - FOR HERALD SUN REAL ESTATE](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"%20viewBox="0%200%201280%20720"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The heritage-listed house at 267 Main St, Bacchus Marsh, dates back to 1878.
A historic Bacchus Marsh house that’s been lovingly restored to showcase its 1870s-era grandeur has hit the market.
Named Waratah, the four-bedroom home at 267 Main St is for sale with a $1.249m-$1.299m range.
Set behind a manicured hedge, the abode is reminiscent of a time capsule thanks to period features such as leadlight windows, pressed metal and timber ceilings, and open fireplaces.
RELATED: Time capsule Blackburn home with link to famous painting for sale
Revealed: The Melbourne suburb defying the city’s property slump
Maddingley agent’s ‘f***ing nice house’ sales pitch goes viral
The sprawling garden contains trees such as a liquidambar, a flowering crab apple and lilac believed to date back to the 19th-century garden.
There’s also a pond, the original stables and large lawns set across the 1964sq m land parcel.
Waratah is on Bacchus Marsh’s Ave of Honour, which was planted with more than 280 Canadian Elms to commemorate soldiers and personnel who served in World War I, back in 1918.
Leadlight windows and fireplaces add to the historic ambience.
Enjoy sunshine in the garden where the greenery includes a lilac believed to date back to the 19th century.
The house was extended in 1908 under Melbourne architect Alex S. Eggleston.
Homeowners Celestine and David Drake bought the house in 1984.
“It is at the beginning of the Avenue of Honour and the trees give the home such a warm and inviting feeling,” Ms Drake said.
“With family in Geelong and Ballarat, Waratah was central for us – the home itself has so much history and character, we fell in love with its possibilities.”
Bacchus Marsh is about 50km from both Melbourne and Geelong, and 45km to Ballarat.
According to a Moorabool Council heritage study, Waratah is of local historical and aesthetic significance.
![267 Main St, Bacchus Marsh - FOR HERALD SUN REAL ESTATE](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"%20viewBox="0%200%20768%201024"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The owners found an old whiskey bottle under the floorboards while restoring the home.
The house has been updated for modern living, but much of its old world character remains.
Waratah became their family home, with the couple’s two daughters growing up there.
“Being already around 100 years old when we purchased the home, there were some works to bring it up to scratch,” Ms Drake said.
“In the first year we restored the front sitting room and a small bedroom and put on a new roof.”
Across the following years, they removed wallpaper, added cornices and ceiling roses, and restored the entrance hall and the front sitting room’s original light fittings.
“The home is in its original layout, we did not make any major structural alterations,” Ms Drake added.
A grand space to work from home or study.
Waratah has hosted many special family occasions across the decades.
Waratah’s floorplan includes a formal dining room, a lounge room and a kitchen with a walk-in pantry.
Together, Ms Drake and her husband spent weekends scouring antique and junk shops for fittings, furnishings and other treasures to fit out the residence.
While restoring the home, the Drakes came across historic items including an old whisky bottle found underneath the floorboards in the sitting room, which was added to the residence in 1908, and a brass ‘Waratah’ sign in the stables.
Ms Drake said one of her favourite parts of the house was the dining room where they had hosted many long lunches and family celebrations.
The house is set on a 1964sq m block.
Waratah is close to Bacchus Marsh’s town centre which includes the Village Shopping Centre, cafes, schools and medical services, plus a train station.
A Moorabool Council heritage study states that Waratah is of local historical and aesthetic significance for reasons including its construction date and representation of the town’s early 20th century boom period.
It’s also associated with Melbourne architect Alex S. Eggleston, who undertook the 1908 extension, and former local businessman Ebenezer Pearce.
Hockingstuart Bacchus Marsh’s Adam Tucci said the house was a short walk to the town’s centre.
The Ave of Honour is a beautiful area with plenty of stores where visitors can purchase locally-grown fruit and vegetables, he added.
“The hedge at the front of the property is stunning, and meticulously manicured as well, it adds to the character of the property,” Mr Tucci noted.
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Former premier Ted Baillieu relists circa-1890s Hawthorn mansion
Historic Chapel St shop listed for first time
Rundown Norlane corner block sells more than $60K below guide as buyers seek bargains