HISTORIC Ravenswood Homestead will be offered to a world market.
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First National Tweed Sutherland Real Estate director Matt Leonard said an international scale marketing campaign would start in two weeks with a focus on Chinese websites and databases.
The homestead is expected to sell for a Bendigo record of more than $3-million.
Owners Art van Dyk and Troy West will put the historic property, originally known as Alexander Run two and one of Victoria's first bed and breakfasts, up for auction in April but Mr Leonard said there had already been inquiries.
"The current owner purchased the property one day before auction, so we are giving prospective buyers the same chance to do so." Mr Leonard said.
“We ended up buying it the day before the auction - we had to have it,” Mr van Dyk said.
He said he was excited to be embarking on a new stage in his life.
“I guess I bought it when I’d just turned 40 and now I’m just about to turn 60, so I think it’s time for a new chapter,” he said.
“When we bought it, like I said, I was a dream buyer - didn’t look at the rotten floors, didn’t look at the rotten verandahs, didn’t look at the rotten gutters. I just had to have it.”
The heritage-listed, Georgian-style home boasts modern comforts and is surrounded by historic memorabilia.
Originally built in 1857 by Frederick Fenton, the property passed through several families until it was bought by Art van Dyk and Troy West in 1994.
Frederick Fenton’s son added on the dining room and the servants’ quarters.
Mr van Dyk said the homestead had been restored to its original state.
“Gold was found on this property. That turned Bendigo, of course, into one of the richest gold fields in the world - it all started here,” Mr van Dyk said
Ravenswood Homestead has a similar fountain to the one in central Bendigo.
“Ours is the first one ever cast in bronze, so it makes it pretty special.” Mr van Dyk said.
During the Second World War, the wealthy owners found it hard to get servants, so they relocated to the Windsor Hotel in Melbourne. The homestead was vacant for the next 20 years.
“Twenty years of no-one being here or coming here can do a lot of damage,” Mr van Dyk said.
During this time the homestead was badly vandalised.
“Smashed every window in the place,” Mr West said.
Set on 35 acres, the home can comfortably sleep 40 people.
One particularly memorable visit from an 85-year-old woman and a 50-year old woman, who referred to themselves as “Rainbow Earth Mothers”, were part of a religious sect that combined Catholicism and UFOs.
The couple declined Art and Troy’s offer for dinner and said they did not eat, instead surviving off the nutrients from the air. They later ate soup and toast.
The women also said they did not sleep; they said they sat in the realms watching others sleep.
“And then they rang up asking for their alarm clock. They didn’t sleep, they were up their in the realms, but they wanted their alarm clock sent to them,” Mr West said.
Among the characters at the B&B were those who believed a ghost lived in an upstairs bedroom.
One particular guest collapsed at the sight of the room.
“I’m going to faint, there’s been a murder up there, there’s something in that room,” Mr West said.
The property once had its own train station and set a precedent for having the first flushing toilet in the district.
Mr van Dyk said leaving after 20 years would be the end of an era.
“This is the most beautiful spot in the whole of Bendigo, because we’re surrounded by creeks where there is always water. We have beautiful views, we’re in a valley. It’s a great setting," he said.