A grand piece of Launceston’s Victorian history is up for sale.
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Founded by William Henty in 1860, Highfield House is a picturesque bed and breakfast that overlooks the city.
About four years ago Peter Bower was in Launceston for business and, as a lover of real estate, he naturally checked what was on the market.
“When I first saw the property I fell in love with it,” he said.
“I couldn’t believe a house like that existed because it would be very hard to find in Melbourne.”
After basically buying the Welman Street property the same day he saw it, Mr Bower was then tasked with telling his wife Kerry about their new purchase.
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“I had to call my wife and tell her I bought a bed and breakfast in Launceston,” he said.
“Being a textile designer she jumped at the opportunity to renovate the property.”
The Bowers quickly launched into renovations, spending the next four months transforming the outdated interior and overgrown gardens into a modern and grand estate.
The renovations began with the interior, and, with the help of Wayne Eilander from Eilander building Pty ltd, the wallpaper was stripped, all the walls were repainted, six new bathrooms were installed, and the floorboards were sanded back and then polished.
The next step was revitalising the exterior – originally painted an outdated pale yellow, the Bowers rejuvenated the facade by painting it a very fresh shade of white.
The estate hadn’t been used for about two years prior to the Bowers buying the property, so the gardens also received a much-needed facelift.
“We redid the whole garden,” Mr Bower said.
Old, dead trees were removed to make way for greenery more fitting for such a glorious bed and breakfast.
“We put some retaining walls in and a whole lot of fruit trees,” Mr Bower said.
“We would fly down from Melbourne and spend anywhere from a few days to a few weeks helping out.”
Highfield House was not the couple’s first renovation, but they really enjoyed the experience.
“It was a lot of fun,” Mr Bower said.
The couple originally planned to move from Victoria to Tasmania to run the estate, but they decided to how see how the property goes on the market.
For more information about the sale, contact Shepherd & Heap on 6331 2266.