Straight out of the movies

Movie star looks have given this waterfront home a leading role in film and television but it is less the Hollywood moments and more the family celebrations that the owners will miss most

BRUCE and Melisa Jack knew their home was special long before the film crews came knocking, pleading to use the glamorous Gold Coast mansion as the set of their next blockbuster.

But despite the stately Broadbeach Waters residence featuring in numerous international productions over the years, the family’s greatest stories were the ones that unfolded when the cameras stopped rolling.

After 25 years, the Jacks are preparing to take their home to auction.

Dr Jack, a diagnostic radiologist, said the decision to sell was “bittersweet” for him and his wife, who have raised their four daughters, Rebecca, Amelia, Georgia and Samantha, at the six-bedroom, four-bathroom riverfront house on a 2,411sq m block.

All our girls’ 13th, 16th, 18th and 21st birthday parties were held here, a couple of engagement parties and anniversaries, and four years ago our eldest daughter Rebecca was married in the gardens by the river, under the jacaranda tree which was in full bloom,” Dr Jack said.

Mrs Jack added: “It’s been a lovely family home – very functional, but built for fun.”

In 2004, the couple undertook a major renovation of the original home, which was built in 1990 for a lawyer from Melbourne’s affluent suburb of Toorak.

“We did initially consult an architect, but I come from a building family, so Melisa and I sketched up how we wanted the house to be, and that was basically an extension of the original house we loved,” Dr Jack said.

The property has hosted a range of film and TV productions, including the UK’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here in 2017; Aussie kids’ series Elephant Princess; and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, shooting San Andreas in 2015.

A grand circular driveway framed by hedges and with a tall palm at its centre leads to the manor, where quality finishes include solid rose mahogany floors, beautiful chandeliers and French double doors opening onto sandstone verandahs on both levels.

The formal lounge area has recessed ceilings and an open fireplace. It spills onto the terrace and landscaped lawns leading to the river’s edge, where there’s a 8m x 6m jetty and boardwalk, perfect for setting off on aquatic adventures, or simply toasting the sunset with a glass of bubbles in hand.

Entertaining on any scale has brought the happiest times for the family, and the home is appointed with a large patio overlooking a ceramic tiled pool, which has a diving board and is flanked by twin cabanas.

One of the sandstone cabanas has a built-in barbecue, fridge and surround-sound audio system, while the other has an outdoor shower and powder room.

The Jacks are preparing for their next chapter as “empty nesters”, and have purchased an apartment in Main Beach.