Olivia Newton-John Lists Longtime Escape Along Australia’s Eastern Coast
Olivia Newton-John has her longtime country escape near Dalwood on Australia’s east coast up for sale at around $5.5 million. The four-time Grammy-winning singer and dedicated activist, battling breast cancer for a fourth time, reportedly purchased the property in the 1980s after her career-defining turn as Sandy in the still beloved 1978 musical film “Grease.” Listed with Jillian McGrath of the real estate brokerage McGrath and spread across seven lots that total 187 acres of bucolically scenic, tree-covered rolling hills, the semi-remote spread is an approximately 15-minute drive to the coast and about 30 miles south of the popular, backpacker-thronged beach town Bryon Bay.
Peach-colored, stone-accented and reminiscent of an agéd farmhouse in the French countryside, the air-conditioned three-bedroom and two-bathroom residence features a plethora of Old World architectural flourishes. There are polished pine floorboards, stone archways, rough-hewn ceiling beams and, in the entrance hall, walls artfully encrusted with pebbles and shells collected from nearby beaches. A massive stone fireplace with wood-burning stove insert warms the comfortably appointed living room that is flooded with light through a floor-to-ceiling arched window while the expensively bespoke, up-to-date farmhouse kitchen incorporates a walk-in pantry. Complete with a claw-footed soaking tub large enough for two, the master suite opens out to a private patio with a serene, over-the-hedgerow view while the unusually ample one-bedroom and one-bathroom guesthouse is ideally sequestered on a lower level with a kitchenette and cushioned built-in banquette seating in the living room.
The rural refuge includes a variety of covered porches and stone terraces for relaxed outdoor living. A trellis covered stone patio outside the guesthouse overlooks a broad sweep of lawn that undulates gently toward thick woods and a veranda that wraps around the backside of the main house provides an elevated perch for taking in postcard-ready panoramas of the surrounding landscape. The thickly wooded property also has a tennis court, a meditation pond and a small rainforest with a natural waterfall.
As was first spotted by the eagle-eyed property gossips at the L.A. Times, Newton-John is also seeking the sale of a ranch in California’s scenic Santa Ynez Valley that’s on the market with an asking price of $5.4 million. Listed with Cary Kendall of Village Properties and secluded along the Santa Ynez River at the back of a private enclave of similarly luxurious ranch estates, the private property was acquired by Newton-John about four years ago for $4.69 million. In addition to a nearly 4,500 square foot main residence with 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, a self-contained two-bedroom and two-bathroom cottage provides plenty of space for a caretaker or long-term guests. The landscaped grounds that surround the house offer a children’s playground, a solar heated swimming pool with automated pool cover and a poolside cabana complete with fireplace, built-in grilling station and pizza oven. There’s also a detached four-car garage and an array of equestrian amenities that include a two-stall barn with tack room, a fenced pasture and a river-side riding arena.
Newton-John and her husband, John Easterling, co-founder of the Amazon Herb Company, have long maintained a residence in South Florida. In 2015 they sold an infamous waterfront property in Tequesta for $5 million — Rosie O’Donnell was under contract to purchase the four-bedroom spread but backed out after a construction worker committed suicide in the house during escrow — and since 2014, when it last traded for $550,000, the Newton-John-Easterlings have owned a two-bedroom and 2.5-bathroom condo in a waterfront complex in Jupiter that affords them with enviable views of both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
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