In a central location the 1830 Georgian villa, with its faux-sandstone lime-rendered facade, is nestled among oak trees and forms the centrepiece of a 490-hectare irrigated pastoral and cropping property south of Launceston.

Built by Van Diemen’s Land convict labour in the late 1820s, using bricks fired on the property, it languished in disrepair before heritage architect David Denman was engaged to restore it to its former glory in the early 2000s.

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This included the addition of two new conservatory wings that extend from the rear of the house to connect it to the Lake River and magnificent views at its back.

Windows from a French monastery were used in the conservatories, and local glaziers and tradesmen built new windows and French doors to match. 

The kitchen, which retains the original wood-fired bread oven, was upgraded to a commercial standard, with stainless steel benches, a walk-in cool store, an industrial freezer and heat lamps.

The house was originally built for settler Robert Corney, who first occupied Lake Farm in 1821. Corney drowned soon after it was finished in 1830, while fording the river with an ox cart.