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The Bellevue Hill mansion of long-time Westfield executive and Brambles chairman Stephen Johns and his wife Michele Bender is up for grabs for the first time in almost 30 years for $25 million to $27 million.
The 2100 square metre neighbour to the Le Manoir home of media mogul Lachlan Murdoch and his wife Sarah dates back to 1919, when it was rebuilt by Sunday Times newspaper owner and showbiz entrepreneur Hugh "Huge Deal" McIntosh.
By 1930 the Victoria Road property was home to the Resch's brewing scion Arnold Resch, and from 1942 to 1948 it was run as the Belhaven Babies Home, run by controversial businessman Leslie Owen Bailey, who sent many of the babies born there to be raised at his Hopewood House orphanage in Bowral.
Johns purchased Belhaven, as it remains known, in 1989, paying $4.5 million at the time and commissioning a restoration and renovation, since completed by heritage architect Howard Tanner.
The historic residence and surrounding manicured garden is richly populated today with the couple's vast art collection set among the home's other impressive, including the glass-framed pool, flood-lit tennis court, a separate guest house and north-facing views over the harbour.
The main residence has eight living areas on the entry level alone, including the sunroom and library, and the upper levels are largely given over to the bedrooms. The vast main bedroom has a walk-in wardrobe and en suite, as well as one of the former bedrooms given over to a dressing room, and there is a second study and rooftop terrace on the upper level.
Given the couple's plans to downsize to the harbourside, it is listed with Michael Pallier, of Sotheby's International.
