Playtime's over: Historic mansion linked to troubled childcare outfit sells for over $5 million
The five-bedroom, five-bathroom and four-car residence was built in 1926 and designed by renowned architect Harold Desbrowe Annear. It includes a luxurious outdoor pool flanked by colonnades, a porte cochere over the sweeping driveway and a ballroom accessible from the garden. Handy. The Toorak Road mansion also has a cellar, sunroom, sauna, studio and timber-panelled upstairs.
Cloyne was built for Louis Nelken, who as social legend has it, parlayed a position as a butler to the royal family into Melebrity status, marrying the daughter of an early Victorian chief justice. Their Melbourne Cup eve parties were frequently attended by the Baillieus, Horderns et al and kept 'The Life of Melbourne' column in The Argus, a CBD forebear, busy over many a year.
Jellis Craig Stonnington director Nathan Waterson was coy on the exact sale price but told CBD the home sold to a local family ahead of the planned weekend auction for a price above the $4.75 million to $5.23 million guide price. A great result for a property that has been lying vacant and needs a massive renovation.
More recently, the property was the family home of controversial childcare centre boss Darren Misquitta, who bought it for his wife and two children in 2016 before transferring it to his wife, Karina, several years later.
Misquitta was in the news recently as a director of Genius Childcare, a nationwide childcare centre chain that operated six centres in Melbourne.
In March the chain was taken over by administrators who say Misquitta and the string of 37 companies he controls owe $38 million in debts – including a $94,000 Coles grocery bill. And the Tax Office says one company, formerly known as Genius Learning, owes it more than $10 million.
But the home was not sold by Misquitta. It had been repossessed by mortgagee Oak Capital, which is controversial for different reasons. The company told CBD: 'Thank you for your enquiry. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on individual lending arrangements or enforcement matters.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Sun
2 minutes ago
- Herald Sun
Shocking photos expose outback apocalypse
Tucked away in the red‑dust heart of South Australia, Tarcoola stands frozen in time – a ghost town where crumbling homes, a lonely church, a boarded up pub and the skeleton of an old police station and children's playground are the only echoes of past lives. A once‑bustling railway station, now silent aside from the occasional rumble of The Ghan, seems to watch as the outback wind sweeps away its stories. Now, eerie new images have reignited interest in the forgotten outback settlement – located around 740km north of Adelaide – and sparked a broader question: What are we doing to support the rural communities that still remain? Because while Tarcoola is gone, hundreds of remote towns just like it are still hanging on. But for how much longer? From gold rush to railway hub…and decline Tarcoola was born with promise in 1893, named after the Melbourne Cup winner of the year gold was discovered in the area . It grew into a busy hub – first for gold miners and, later, rail crews who stopped here for coal, water and respite during the steam era. By the 1980s, it sported its own school, hospital, church, hotel, police station and community hall – sustained by rail traffic and small families in service roles. MORE NEWS Bush bogans cop $8K fine for illegal shack Wild reason Aussies mobbed rural ghost town Aus council takes drastic action on cat crisis But as rail operations consolidated in Port Augusta in the late 1990s, Tarcoola began to hollow out. By the 2016 census there were zero residents within the town and only a couple of permanent staff remain for maintenance crews rail‑side during the week. However, Land Services SA records show Jumbuck Equipment PTY. LTD, a company associated with both farming and outdoor cooking equipment, purchased a number of allotments for a combined sum of $82,500 in 2019. Other properties sold for as little as $1000 in the early 2000s, proving that outback towns are gold mines – not just for corporations but property hunters looking for a life away from the city lights. A town on the brink of resurrection? The images of rot and rust could soon tell a different story. Gold exploration company Barton Gold Holdings is currently conducting soil sampling in the area, suggesting there may be more than just bones left beneath the ground. Their findings could breathe life back into the region, as whispers of a potential resource revival spark cautious hope. But history shows resource booms are often short-lived. A new mine might build a camp. It might bring in jobs. But will it rebuild a community? That's the real question – not just for Tarcoola, but for towns across Australia's outback. Are we abandoning the bush? Tarcoola is a powerful reminder of what happens when small towns are left behind. No doctors. No vets. No hospitals. No broadband. No backup. Young people leave for the cities, and few return. Businesses close. Services collapse. What's left is history, slowly crumbling under the weight of isolation. In places like Oodnadatta, Marree, Quorn, and Innamincka, families are still trying to make it work – running roadhouses, farming the land, raising kids, keeping the lights on. But the challenges are steep. Medical emergencies can mean a 1400km round trip. Vet care for stock and pets might take months to arrive – or not at all. Mental health support is nearly non-existent. And still, these people stay. They fight for their communities. Outback SOS: Stranded, ignored, and running on empty The romance of the outback is a powerful draw, but the reality can be brutal. Just ask Caleb Humphries, who recently found himself stranded on the Nullarbor, his 4WD bearing a desperate 'HELP' message, only to be ignored by passing motorists. His isolation ended only thanks to a social media-fuelled rescue by truckies – a stark contrast to the 'she'll be right' spirit of old. Then there's Tom, an EV road-tripper, who limped into Coober Pedy with just 2 per cent battery remaining after a nailbiting drive from Glendambo – just a little over two-hours from Tarcoola. It's a cautionary tale for those dreaming of electric outback adventures, especially after recent tests revealed the shocking gap between advertised and real-world EV range. But these aren't just travel mishaps; they're symptoms of a deeper problem. As towns like Tarcoola fade, the support networks that once sustained outback travellers are disappearing too. Fewer roadhouses, stretched emergency services, and a potential decline in community spirit leave travellers more vulnerable than ever. Tarcoola is a warning – and a choice The allure of the outback is undeniable. The vast landscapes and the sense of escape draw travellers to explore its hidden corners. But without meaningful investment and support, more towns will follow Tarcoola's fate. And when they disappear, they take stories, heritage, and community identity with them. The question now isn't whether Tarcoola can be revived by a lucky drill strike. The question is whether we care enough to stop the same thing happening elsewhere. Because a town doesn't die in one day. It dies in a thousand small ways – a service closed, a school shut, a family that doesn't return. And sometimes, all that's left are the ghosts.
News.com.au
27 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Sydney financier charged over alleged role in ghost car syndicate buying luxury cars with stolen information
A Sydney finance worker has been charged for her alleged role in a sophisticated fraud and money laundering crime syndicate that allegedly bought luxury cars using stolen personal information. The 37-year old woman was arrested at a CBD apartment about 6.50am on Wednesday when police seized luxury cars, bags and clothing worth more than $1.4m. Police found a Maserati Grecale, a Lamborghini Urus and a Ferrari F171 in the unit's carpark. The woman is facing 12 offences, including obtaining financial advantage by deception, dealing with the proceeds of crime, participating in criminal activity, creating fake documents, obtaining property by deception and using false documents to obtain financial advantage. Strike Force Myddleton began investigating the syndicate targeting Sydney automotive financing companies in January last year. Police allege the syndicate used stolen personal information to apply for loans through various financial companies to purchase luxury 'ghost cars' that did not exist. Detectives also allege the syndicate committed large-scale personal, business and home loan fraud against multiple financial institutions. A police spokesman said the NSW Crime Commission had frozen $53m in assets and 11 people had been charged under the strike force and were before the courts. Police allege the latest woman to be charged over the operation used her role as a finance professional to facilitate about $4m worth of fraud. Financial Crimes Squad commander Gordon Arbinja said investigators were now shifting their attention. 'Strike Force Myddleton has now put 11 people before the courts and disrupted a highly organised criminal enterprise operating across multiple financial sectors,' he said. 'We are now focusing on professional facilitators who we believe are enabling this syndicate's operations – particularly those working in the professional financial industry, including accounting, financial services, and taxation.' The woman was refused bail and will appear before the Bail Division Court on Thursday.
Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Eagles bullish AFL's $2 million man will stay
West Coast coach Andrew McQualter is optimistic Harley Reid will stay at the club for the long term despite more Godfather-type offers rolling in for the star midfielder. Reid is contracted to West Coast until the end of 2026 but there is already a huge tug-of-war for the No.1 draft pick. St Kilda were the latest club to throw their hat into the ring, with the Saints reportedly contemplating an offer in the vicinity of $25 million over 12 years. The Eagles offer is rumoured to be about $24 million over 11 years - composing of an initial two-year deal with a trigger for the remaining nine. Hawthorn, Essendon and Geelong are others to have shown interest in Reid, with Melbourne-based clubs hoping the pull-home factor will convince the Victorian to leave West Coast. Reid's management say the 20-year-old is happy in Perth, and the Eagles are hopeful of being able to re-sign the midfield bull. "I'm really confident Harley will be here," McQualter said on Thursday. "Every day Harley turns up to work, he's incredibly invested in this team, this club. So yeah, I'm really optimistic that Harley will be here." When asked to clarify whether his optimism around Reid was merely for next year or for the long term, McQualter replied: "I'm talking for a long time." "The young man is really invested," McQualter added. "He's working hard to make us become better, to get himself better. "He cares about the group, cares about the club. So there's signs that point to me that he's really invested." Questions have been raised about whether it's in the best interests of a club to commit more than $2 million a season on one player. McQualter doesn't see any issues with it. "Money's different to what it used to be," the former Saints and Suns tagger said. "When I played, I got paid $48,000. So if you're asking me would I have taken $2 million - the answer is yes, I would have. "Was I worth it? No, I think that's pretty obvious. "But I think that's just where the game's trending. It's going up. It'll happen eventually - someone will be that player. "There was a time when no one was a million dollar player, and that broke a record. So that'll just be what happens, and it will keep moving like that in the future." McQualter was less bullish when it came to co-captain Oscar Allen, who as a restricted free agent is expected to sign with the Brisbane Lions. "We're working with Oscar's management. We're still not clear where it'll be, but we're working really hard to try and make Oscar a player here for a long time," McQualter said. The Eagles showed enormous fight in last week's nine-point loss to Adelaide, and they'll face another big task on Sunday against a star-studded Western Bulldogs attack featuring Sam Darcy and Aaron Naughton at Marvel Stadium.
