Mel Gibson’s former Adelaide home listed for sale

An Unley home with a star-studded past offers plenty of space for children to play in a tranquil, leafy setting.

Vendors Nicole and Karl bought 50 Hughes Street in 2014, having previously lived in a smaller home around the corner and admiring the grand Queen Anne villa during walks throughout the neighbourhood.

“It was the exterior and just how beautiful the outside was that got us interested (in the home),’’ Nicole said.

“We needed a bigger house and we wanted to stay in the area and we just couldn’t believe how pretty the property was.’’

Soon after their purchase, the couple embarked on a sympathetic renovation of the four- bedroom home, installing a new granite-topped kitchen and bathrooms and removing internal walls to allow for open-plan living.

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An iconic turret, tessellated return veranda and elaborate pressed tin ceiling are a reminder of the long history of the circa-1900 home, originally built for a decorated ship’s captain.

For a time, the home also operated as boarding accommodation, Nicole said, but is perhaps best known as the former residence of Academy Award-winning actor and director Mel Gibson.

“(Gibson’s) first wife (Robyn Moore) was from Adelaide and that’s what prompted him to buy it,’’ Nicole said.

“It wasn’t a very long period of time (that Gibson was associated with the home) and it was

maybe about two owners before us.’’

The property, technically never owned by Gibson, was bought in 1990 under the name of Lasano Pty Ltd — a company that was at the time directed by Gibson’s Icon Productions partner Bruce Davey.

The Oscar-winner spent a lot of time in South Australia in the late 1980s, particularly when filming the third instalment of the Mad Max films.

Non-fussed about its link to the celebrity, Nicole said her family, including three young boys, had loved the home for its surrounding gardens and gateway to the adjoining park.

She said a decades-old elm tree in the rear yard had been a focal point for family gatherings and celebrations and provided a shady play spot for her children.

“We’ve had my husband’s 40th birthday and my birthday out the back with drinks under that

tree and the kids have hung swings there and monkey bars,’’ Nicole said.

“The backyard is where we have family BBQs where we always end up playing volleyball in the pool.

“And because there’s (access to) the park as well, we will often spill out there.

“It’s not a private park like you get in the UK but it’s honestly as good as you get in Adelaide and it does give you that extra space – it’s almost been like another whole backyard for our children to explore.’’

Now looking to move closer to the children’s school, Nicole hoped another family would enjoy the property’s idyllic surrounds, just moments from King William Road and the city.

The home is listed with Williams Real Estate without a price guide. Offers close on Tuesday, May 13.

– By Lauren Ahwan