By ALEC SMART
Morella Mansion, the long-abandoned harbourside property at 5 Morella Rd, Mosman, has finally sold, after being relisted.
The 891sqm terraced estate, with majestic north-easterly views over the historic submarine base at Chowder Bay and beyond to Sydney Heads, has been empty since 2001.
Reputedly haunted, it appears the dilapidated acropolis is not giving up its ghost for the foreseeable future, although a previous change of ownership in 2016 didn’t yield any change on its road to ruin.
During the first half of 2024, numerous articles appeared in the media reporting that the infamous property was up for sale again. (This was undoubtedly a relief to affluent neighbours who were tired of living alongside a ruin that was a magnet for vandals and revellers.) Speculators opined that Morella would sell for around $10 million.
The front entrance to Morella Mansion is less impressive than the rear. Photo: Alec Smart
In February, Realestate.com reported that the home, which they called a “Horror $10m TikTok mansion”, attracted 97 enquiries within 24 hours of its listing. The article claimed “the house goes to auction on March 8.”
However, March 8 came and went and there were no expressions of interest. Shortly afterwards, Atlas Lower North Shore Property took over management of Morella.
Then, on 25 September, Realestate.com reported that it sold for “between $8m and $9m, according to industry sources.”
In June this year, Bo Zhang, the realtor at Atlas who oversaw the Morella Mansion sale, took Channel 9’s A Current Affair TV film crew on a guided tour of the decrepit villa.
I asked Bo: if the next purchaser spends the estimated $8 million for essential renovations and upgrades needed, in addition to the estimated $10 million purchase of the property, would Morella Mansion recoup the $18 million investment if it was relisted for sale?
“Much more than that!” he replied. “It would be around $28 million. $30 million is possible.”
History
The multi-storey house, with a small garage on Morella Rd at the top of the estate, was commissioned by Leandro ‘Leo’ Parer and his wife Helena, after they purchased the property in 1936 for a reported £500 (approx. $1000).
The Art Deco-inspired building was designed in 1939 by Eric Nicholls, protégé of Walter Burley Griffin, the prolific American architect who won the international competition to design Canberra city. (Nicholls took over Griffin’s design company after the latter died in India in 1937.)
After its completion, Morella Mansion featured over six pages in the April 1943 edition of Home Beautiful magazine, where Nicholls was commended for his design, an homage to Griffin, his mentor.
Morella Mansion featured in the April 1943 edition of Australian Home Beautiful magazine
Leo Parer, a director of the Stanford X-Ray Company, was a brother of acclaimed aviator Ray Parer (who, with his navigator John McIntosh, completed the first single-engine aircraft flight from England to Australia in 1920). They were cousins of WWII Australian cinematographer Damien Parer (who was tragically killed by Japanese gunfire on Peleliu Island in 1944).
Leo and his wife Helena settled in Morella, where they reportedly hosted lavish parties attended by society ‘elite’, including several Prime Ministers. Leo eventually passed away in February 1968, Helena in July 1989, and the property passed on to their youngest son Anthony, who later relocated to northern NSW in 2001, leaving it vacant.
Thereafter began its slow and inevitable decline...
Decline to dereliction
Over the years, natural weathering has inflicted major damage – including the complete collapse of the upper level bedrooms and rotted timber floors throughout.
The remaining infrastructure, including bathrooms, kitchen, etc, were wrecked by interlopers, and vandals have spray-painted the interior walls with tags and slogans (some of them racist).
Unfortunately, the yellow brick building with sandstone block rear veranda is now so severely dilapidated that the repair costs are substantial. In September 2022 Mosman Council made an estimate of $8,039,637.
Rumours abound that Morella is haunted, attributed mainly to tragedies that beset the Parer family - principally Leo and Helena’s eldest daughter Sarita, who died in a 1979 plane crash in Mexico, aged 42.
A bitter legal quarrel erupted over inheritance of Morella Mansion after Anthony, Sarita’s younger brother and the last direct descendent of Leo and Helena, died intestate in May 2015, aged 84. Marianna, Anthony’s older sister, believed she had first entitlement.
Anthony’s carer and de-facto partner ‘Chewy’ Ho Hong was ultimately granted ownership. She sold it at auction the following year for $6.6 million to a young Chinese architect, Edward Wei, who outbid a single competitor.
Since the 2016 sale Morella has remained untouched, despite rumours of proposed renovations by the new owner.
In May 2016, to deter squatters and enforce safety, Mosman Council ordered the windows and doors boarded-up and the site surrounded with high wire fencing. Nevertheless, this reporter found the premises easy to access with fencing torn open, hoarding removed, and evidence of random visitors still gaining regular entry.
Parts of the building are Heritage Listed under Mosman Council’s Local Environment Plan (albeit not on the national Heritage Register). However, the multi-storey dwelling comes with a recently revised Development Approval to enable the new owner to make substantial structural changes and add a swimming pool.
Morella relisted
So, whomever had a spare $18 million burning a hole in their back pocket has just invested in a project with significant returns. Or perhaps they just wanted a villa with wonderful harbour views and a fascinating history, and Morella Mansion is right up their alley, as the expression goes.
Now they just have to adapt to sharing it with the ghost…
Morella Mansion's downstairs room, facing Chowder Bay. Photo: Alec Smart
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