Drummoyne ferry master’s 1912 home on the market

BUYERS now have the chance to own a slice of Sydney maritime history with the auction of 20 Market St built by 1910s Drummoyne ferry master Captain George Gerdes.

Captain Gerdes and his wife Emma built the house around 1912 for their family of seven girls and two boys. Now the house that once belonged to the Gerdes family is set to go to auction on August 1 through Fiona Hellams of Ray White Drummoyne.

Ms Hellams said the historical aspect of the home and recently done renovations make it hard to put a price on the house.

“There is limited stock on the market in Drummoyne at the moment and nothing that is comparable to this house so it’s difficult to give out a price guide,” Ms Hellams said.

“We have chosen to take it to auction so we can get the most transparent indication of what this property is worth and the best the market has to offer.

Current owners Mark and Elaine Dyson have overseen considerable renovations since being built in the early 20th century.

The Dyson’s renovations earned the Drummoyne property an award in 2007 from The Master Builders Association for Excellence in Housing Awards in New South Wales.

The original dormitory was divided and converted into a large federation style bathroom and a sitting room or guest bedroom while the formal lounge became a large bedroom. The house was also extended and opened up to allow light and a visual connection to the garden with flowing indoor and outdoor living areas.

Recycled timber was sourced to match the wide Baltic pine floorboards, along with a 150 year old ironbark timber structural support column.

The upper level was designed to match the streetscape architecture of the existing house, whilst creating a large, light and airy space to accommodate the master bedroom, ensuite, open dressing area and parent’s retreat. The front balcony also extended the view from the house across Centre Point Tower, Sydney CBD and Callan Park.

Both in the design industry, Ms Dyson said when it came to redesigning their home the couple really wanted to keep the integrity of the original house without doing a federation reproduction.

“The additions had to pay homage to the original house so we kept the high skirting boards and the original flooring as well as sourcing baltic pine floorboards because I wanted the flooring to flow to the new part of the house,” Ms Dyson said.

“When we renovated the house we wanted to bring in a modern look and not completely ignore that it is an old house but keep those architectural details without making it a blank box.

“We opened up the back of the house as well to let the sunlight come in. I do love the back of the house because it has this lovely flow from indoor to outdoor and it gets sun all year round.”

While stock is low, Ms Hellams said the Drummoyne area has been popular with buyers looking for an inner city, family friendly area without the price tag.

“The house is in such a beautiful location, it’s only about 6kms from the city in a very family orientated spot and because it’s got a lot of space for a family that’s the segment of the market we are expecting to see interest from,” Ms Hellams said.

“We’re over the bridge, a bit further away than Balmain from the city centre but a lot of inner city buyers are starting to look at Drummoyne more closely.

“We’re getting a few out of area buyers as well, they are probably seeing Drummoyne as representing good value for money right now with a bit of extra space added in.

“We’re seeing a lot of buoyancy for buyers and there’s a lot looking at the moment so demand is high.”

The Ray White Drummoyne office is well known for offering rarely available character home gems like Captain Gerdes’ house. Drummoyne agent Chris Wilkins is also set to sell a beautifully renovated Californian bungalow at 27B Bowman St (pictured above) through auction.

The four bedroom property will be going to auction on July 25 and has already had strong interest from buyers after only being on the market for a short time.