Mystery buyer of Sydney's skinniest waterfront revealed

Olympic gold-medalist swimmer Mark Kerry and his wife, interior designer Lynda are whispered to be the mystery buyers of Sydney's skinniest harbourfront property in Darling Point.
The property was listed with $20m hopes in January, which by its February exchange had been adjusted to $17.5m.
The four-level, four-bedroom, three-bathroom Carthona Avenue home occupies 207 sqm with a 6 meter sandy beach.
MORE: Sydney's skinniest waterfront has eyewatering price
It was a right-of-way slipway for nearby flat owners when the house was built in the early 1980s by the ­developer Bill Shipton, who died last September, aged 85.
Melbourne accessory designer Gregory Ladner and his partner, Mark Grenville were the vendors, having purchased it for $15.5m in 2022 from the Dicker Data co-founder Fiona Brown.
The bijou sur mer that sits between historic Carthona and Neidpath has been popular with Melburnians, with past owners including the late socialite Lady Susan Renouf.
It was Renouf's last Sydney house, which she sold when moving back to Melbourne to be with her daughters in the mid-1990s.
Renouf sold to the Melbourne socialite Dianne Allen for $2.9m with its next owner, the acclaimed Melbourne-based landscaper Jack Merlo paying $6.15m in 2009.
For many years it was dormant during absentee investor Carl Spies' ownership – other than its use by skylarking rich squatters for raves in the 1980s. The waterfront was then lavishly restored by interior stylist Barry Byrne under the generous patronage of landlady Dorothy Spry, who had paid $2.4m in 1989.
MORE: Ugly showdown: Hugh, Deb split $36m asset
MORE: 'Don't give f**': Billionaire MrBeast needs cash
The Kerry's recently sold a four-bedroom penthouse in Double Bay to Goodman Group chief executive Greg Goodman for $20m.
It had been a $15.25m off-the-plan purchase in the SJD development on Cross Street.
The couple had previously owned in Darling Point which they sold for $29.25m in mid-2023.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

ABC News

2 hours ago

• ABC News

Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin says party infighting is over as focus shifts to 2026 election

Victorian opposition leader Brad Battin has conceded some Liberal Party MPs have focused more on internal rivalries than voters, but has said his team will be unified heading into the election in 2026. Mr Battin described the party's decision to provide former leader John Pesutto a $1.55 million loan to avoid bankruptcy, a policy he supported, as a "line in the sand" that signalled a renewed focus on winning government. The long-running fight between Mr Pesutto and fellow Liberal MP Moira Deeming, who successfully sued her former leader for defamation, has divided the party. It became a proxy battle in a broader ideological struggle for control of the party. In an interview with the ABC, Mr Battin said he was speaking to every MP individually following the decision to provide Mr Pesutto a financial lifeline, stressing the need for unity. "You've been elected as a local member of parliament. You've got the self-discipline to get there. You just need now to put that into team unity." Asked whether MPs who failed to be team players would face consequences, Mr Battin said voters would ultimately decide. "The consequences are, you lose the election. It's a pretty simple consequence." The Coalition has not won a Victorian election since 2010 and has been crippled by infighting. A common criticism is that too many MPs are focused more on getting to parliament rather than winning government. "I think there's always an element of that, because it's been publicly perceived as that,'' Mr Battin said. The Berwick MP said it was incumbent on MPs to reflect on why they were elected. "What things did you want to see change in the state? And can you do it from opposition? If the answer is yes … then you're probably in the wrong job." Mr Battin challenged Mr Pesutto's leadership six months ago after his supporters undermined Mr Pesutto's position, but Mr Battin reiterated throughout the interview that his team was now united. He hinted that the frontbench team could change but would not say if Mr Pesutto or Ms Deeming would be included in a revamped shadow cabinet. Ms Deeming had proposed an alternative to the party loaning Mr Pesutto money, including delaying his court order debt if her preselection was guaranteed. Mr Battin declined to comment on that or complaints to the state's anti-corruption watchdog, citing legal advice not to speak publicly on the matter. While expressing confidence in the team he would take to the election, Mr Battin said some MPs would need to reflect on their future. "People have to make decisions about time served in parliament, if they want to stay or not,'' he said. The Coalition must add 16 seats at next year's November election to win office. The task is big, but after three terms of Labor, there is a genuine chance for the Liberals, Mr Battin believed. "We've got one chance coming up in about 16 months. It's our opportunity to ensure we prove to Victorians we're ready." He said the party would now focus on policy, with internal disputes hopefully behind him. Mr Battin admitted the long-running conflict between Mr Pesutto and Ms Deeming took a toll on him, including sleepless nights. "It takes a physical and mental challenge on you … but it's resolved my drive. I know what I need to do to win at the next election." He doesn't regret how he handled the matter, stressing that it was a dispute between two individuals. Some MPs criticised Mr Battin for a lack of leadership in failing to resolve the crisis sooner, while others were angered by his decision to support the loan to Mr Pesutto, highlighting the party's ongoing divisions. "I know what I need to do to win at the next election. I need to get the right policy settings, have the right processes with my team, ensure we're a united front, and send a message to Victoria that we're ready to govern."

SBS Australia

2 hours ago

• SBS Australia

Amy thought she had a secure job as an international student

Back in 2023, international student Amy - not her real name - thought she had found a secure job in Darwin. The then 30-year-old was hired as a student service officer, by vocational education provider International House Sydney, where she was studying for an Advanced Diploma in Program Management. And unlike cash-in-hand casual jobs that many international students and new migrants often take, Amy felt secure with the position. "It was a part-time permanent job, because I was on a student visa, so I could only work part-time, but it was a permanent contract." But in January 2025 the company went into liquidation. Amy's Australian colleagues were able to access the Australian government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee, or FEG. The Guarantee allows people to claim back wages, redundancy payments and other entitlements after a company closes. But because Amy was an international student, she wasn't eligible for the scheme meaning that until today, she still hasn't been paid some wages or other entitlements after the company closed. "So I thought that I would be more protected if I had a permanent contract. But then, when this happened, I realised that as an migrant, I do not have the same rights. I cannot access the same, yes, the same safety net as an Australian or a (permanent) resident." According to International House Sydney's liquidator, PKF Melbourne, the education provider had been trading at a loss from at least June 2022. By the time it went into administration, it had around 3,800 students and 318 staff. Amy says they were informed by the liquidator that if funds remained after the liquidation, staff who couldn't access the FEG would be prioritised for repayment. SBS News have put questions about follow-up payments with migrant staff to PKF Melbourne, but they didn't reply specifically to the question. It's an issue facing many small and medium-size education providers after the federal government tightened international student enrolments last year. Felix Pirie is the chief executive of Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia. "We saw a big downturn for students to apply, to come or even consider lodging an application to come to Australia to undertake skills training courses but also English language programs." According to a report by the ITECA, in 2021 there are around 162,000 students enrolling in independent higher education providers with over half of them international students. Mr Pirie says the increased fees for visa applications and the slowdown of visa process hit his sector most. "The outcome of these things is that independent providers are the ones singled out at the end of the day, or they are the one that certainly feels the biggest impacts, and it's the people they employ. So they employ significant workforce, and when their business start to suffer, those people lose their jobs." If an international student finds their education provider goes into administration, they have the right to access the government's Tuition Protection Service. This helps students find alternative course options and get a full refund from the provider. Matt Kunkel is the Chief Executive Officer of Migrant Workers Centre in Victoria. He says many international students are also employed in the sector. "What the other impact on this is for many migrant workers is that once they complete their education in Australia, many of them are moving into the education sector themselves, and in particular the international education sector. So for those workers who have come to build a life, to get an education and build a life in Australia, these international caps are putting pressure on jobs in the sector." In 2019, the then Coalition government released the final report from the government's Migrant Workers' Taskforce, which recommended an expansion of the FEG to all migrant workers. The Migrant Workers' Taskforce was established in 2016 to tackle migrant worker exploitation but since the 2019 report - the FEG has yet to be expanded. In 2025 the Albanese Labor government announced a consultation process looking into reforms to the FEG, after some businesses were found to have misused the scheme. Mr Kunkel says the federal government needs to allow international students and migrant workers to access the FEG as soon as possible. "Our visa system is built around this idea that international students are here just to study. But the reality is that many of those international students are here working and studying in Australia, and we need a visa system that allows those workers who are coming, those international students who are coming to Australia to be able to live a dignified life as they study and get that education." Seri Feldman-Gubbay is a senior solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre. She also agrees that there's a gap between the safety net for local workers and international students. "I think that the biggest thing is that a lot of Australian employing businesses rely on the fact that international students will be unfamiliar with the legal system and the rules in Australia. And so there will be, I guess, a false sense of confidence that is this employer is going to do right by me, when, in actual fact, a lot of employers take advantage of that lack of knowledge to then do the wrong thing and leave people in a really bad position." And without the FEG scheme, Ms Feldman-Gubbay says for employees like Amy taking claims to court is one option. Amy wants to see a change. "I don't think I will ever be compensated, because I doubt there's money to be found, but I would really hope that in the future, nobody else has to go through this situation, or also for there to at least be something that is more talked about. I have not heard about this until it happened to me. I think that every migrant should know that this is something that could happen to them."

Daily Telegraph

2 hours ago

• Daily Telegraph

NSW suburbs that outperform top super fund

NSW homeowners in over 200 suburbs could be building retirement wealth faster than their super fund, new research reveals. Comparison site Finder has revealed how Australia's super funds compared to that of property price growth over the past ten years. The research found that a shocking 23 per cent – equivalent to around 4.6 million people – said they didn't have enough money in their super fund or other investments to get by in retirement. Australian Retirement Trust's super savings high growth fund had the highest returns, with a 8.79 per cent annual 10 year return, yet there were over 200 suburbs in NSW that out performed that. Houses in Millfield, Lockhart, Brunswick Heads and Clareville were among the top performers, growing by an average of 11-16 per cent annually over the past 10 years. MORE: 'They're off': $962m king's look into real estate woes Retired publican lists $12m apartment How you can save this end of financial year The average 10-year performance across all super funds is 5.7 per cent a year, according to Finder, while Sydney's 10 year annual compound property growth rate was 6.4 per cent. Finders money expert Richard Whitten said the more attention you give your superannuation now, the better off you'll be. 'It's truly a shame to reach retirement age only to find you have 'too little too late.' You can avoid this by taking proactive steps to engage with your super as soon as possible,' he said. He added that to have a comfortable retirement, a single person might need around $595,000 in their super by 67. 'Many Australians are still well below the amounts suggested for a comfortable retirement, making proactive engagement even more critical.' Ben Kingsley, managing director of Empower Wealth Advisory and co-author of 'How to retire on $3,000 a week,' said your return on investment could be higher with property, but warned there were always risks involved. 'If you're going to invest in property you don't want to be speculating, you want to be investing for the decades, not the short period of time,' he said. MORE: Singles face impossible property reality 'One of the advantages of investing in property is it isn't locked away until you're in your 60s. It gives you the ability to leverage from those returns, to accelerate some growth in further returns – use the proceeds or equity to add to your initial property portfolio, which is something to consider.' '(Super) is a sort of set and forget for most Australians, with property when you do have ownership you have control, you can tinker with the property itself you can add value to the property,' he added. He noted it was important to diversify when it came to setting up for retirement. 'You can't save your way to retirement, you need to put your money to work, whether that's additional contributions to super, or investing in shares or property, you're better off starting to think about it in your 30s,' he said. Canstar's director of data insights, Sally Tindall, said Aussie's shouldn't be choosing between a healthy super amount and a property, but should aim to invest in both. 'It comes down to personal preference, but open your mind to achieving both. Don't put all your eggs in one basket,' she said. 'It's not a simple comparison and there's a multitude of factors, there's tax implications on both sides, and whether you're purchasing as an investor or an owner-occupier,' she said. Recent Labor government tax changes, which apply an additional 15 per cent tax on earnings for super balances exceeding $3 million, would affect an estimated 80,000 Australians (0.5% of super account holders). MORE: Rare backyard find that can kill you 'It will be interesting to see how that plays out over time, as the government has said that $3m won't be indexed, which could then start to impact many more people in many years to come as the number of people with that sum starts to increase, so that's another factor in the equation.' With the super guarantee increasing to 12 per cent on July 1, Ms Tindall said this may encourage some people to take the property route, knowing their employee is contributing more to their super. 'It's also not just the super vs. mortgage, there are plenty of other things like shares people could be putting their money into. It's important to understand what the mix is and understand the pros and cons and the sacrifice you might have to make, as well as the benefits you can get from each one.' MORE: New builds vanish amid loan slump TOP 20 NSW GROWTH SUBURBS OVER 10 YEAR AVERAGE