Aussie mansion sold for RM243m

SYDNEY: Tech billionaire Scott Farquhar has bought a waterfront mansion here for an Australian record US$56 million (RM243 million), a report said yesterday, after the owners resisted selling the 1863-built home to developers.

The co-founder of Australian software giant Atlassian snapped up the iconic “Elaine” from John Brehmer Fairfax, whose family formerly owned the Sydney Morning Herald.

The estate, which stretches down to a harbour beach in the city’s prestigious Point Piper, had been in the Fairfax family since 1891.

Fairfax reportedly resisted larger offers from developers to subdivide the land.

“We’re thrilled with the purchase and honoured to take over the Elaine estate from the Fairfax family.

“It would have been a great loss to see this rare property sold to developers and carved up,” Farquhar, 37, told Fairfax Media. AFP

AFP PIC A view of ‘Elaine’, a 7-bedroom Victorian mansion on the waterfront in the suburb of Point Piper in Sydney.