Coast and country

50 Patterson Street, Daylesford
$2 million-plus
5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms

This well-developed estate is one for garden lovers. Known as Italian Hill, there is a straw bale house and two mud-brick guest residences at the heart of a garden of just over one hectare. Every corner of the garden has points of interest – there are stone paths and walls, a waterfall and dams with sculptures dotted nearby. There is also a rose garden, an orchard, rolling lawns and many mature trees. The accommodation is suited to holiday letting but might work well for an extended family, too.

Colliers 9940 7228, Kim McQueen 0417 116 657

6 Denison Street, Port Albert
$728,000
3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom

Port Albert is one of Victoria’s oldest towns with early settlers arriving from 1841. For a time it was a hub for cargo moving between Victoria and Tasmania, thanks to its 250-metre long jetty. Even during the gold rush it was a busy port, welcoming miners arriving for the Dargo and Walhalla diggings. This significant history – and the fact the town’s growth stalled in the 1870s – means the now tiny town has quite a few mid-1800s buildings.

Here the town’s former immigration barracks and the police barracks, both built before 1860, offer plenty of history. On five titles, which include two empty blocks, there are the two historic buildings, an Italian-style walled garden and pinot noir vines. The main house is well renovated and has three bedrooms. The former immigration barracks has two ground-level rooms, two attic rooms and a modern bathroom and would be suited to guest accommodation or a studio. There is potential enough for another century and there’s also an ombu tree which is on the Historic Trees Register.

Elders Yarram 5182 6600, Greg Tuckett 0428 826 600

 83 Tucks Road, Main Ridge
$3.75 million
5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 6 car spacesAn olive grove, a vineyard and a house built around a sunny courtyard sounds like a touch of Italy on the Mornington Peninsula. On almost seven hectares, the property is long established and harvesting of the olives and grapes may be externally managed. The low-rise house has formal and informal living areas, a home theatre and an indoor pool. Many of the rooms have views of the gardens and the large, central internal courtyard is a green space with a large water feature. Kay&Burton 5989 1000, Prue McLaughlin 0417 389 006