Taylor Troeth, Property Journalist
Updated 24 Oct 2023, 12:02pm
First published 24 Oct 2023, 11:49am
The Sydney home with a bomb shelter in the backyard up for grabs.
A Sydney home with a bomb shelter in the backyard is up for grabs for the first time in over 25 years.
Built in 1919 from a ‘do it yourself’ book, the home at 11 England St in Brighton Le Sands remains almost as it did 100 years ago.
The bomb shelter was added in the 1940s.
Listing agent Joseph Galea from LJ Hooker in Brighton Le Sands / Sans Souci said the bomb shelter was something that came from the fears of the era.
11 England St as it stands today.
Inside the shelter, 1.5m underground built from concrete and brick.
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“A lot of the original owners of the houses in the area were English people that went through WW1 and it was still fresh in their minds,”
In 1942, around the time the shelter was created, the Japanese launched an air raid on Darwin as well as attacking Sydney Harbour from sea.
“They were thinking if the worst comes to worst, we can protect ourselves if something were to happen. The crawl space is still there now,” he said.
Next to the run down kitchenette is a space to get into the shelter.
The shelter was later fitted with a bathroom and kitchenette.
When walking into the shelter, there is a hidey hole behind the stove that goes to a cavern to hide under. Made from brick and concrete, the shelter is fitted 1.5m underground.
The shelter has also been fitted with a shower and kitchenette and it had been previously used as a shed.
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At the time the home was built, owners were given an instruction book and the materials were dropped to their land – not too dissimilar to the modern day Ikea flat pack.
The original instructions to build the home.
Land sale in 1908.
After the house was built, the home was photographed and featured in the next set of plan books titled ‘Australian Bungalow Plans.’
Mr Galea sold the property to owners, Ormond and Maureen McDermott in 1997, who owned the property until they passed in 2022.
The late vendors also owned number 13, which is being sold alongside number 11 and is built from a similar time.
The block of land at number 11.
Mr Galea said the two properties together make the largest land being sold in the St George area at the moment, but there was a slight catch.
“It’s an unusual situation, in 1955 the whole stretch of backyard running through the centre of Brighton and San Susi was earmarked for the expressway, which isn’t being built anymore but it means you still can’t actually build on half of the property,” he said.
The large backyard.
Mr Galea said it had disappointed a lot of developers, but those who wanted to build a big house across the two blocks with a big backyard would be in luck.
The home is set to sell at auction on the 4th of November at 1pm.
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