Out of town, Mansfield

By LARISSA DUBECKI

PAUL JEFFERS

ALAMY

Mansfield and the high country region are within easy reach of Melbourne.

Hitting the high country

Plenty of Melburnians will know Mansfield as a symbol of Victoria’s high country galvanised through popular culture such as the classic 1982 movie The Man from Snowy River.

The well-preserved Victorian-era township of around 3500 residents might look and feel like it’s a world away from the Melbourne CBD – and a few decades back in time, as well – but in reality, the drive to the northeast takes just a little over two and a half hours.

Reaching the lowlands of the high country is always restorative. Green farmland is buttressed by mountains, the clean waters of the Delatite, Goulburn and Howqua rivers flow through the area and the air feels clean enough to bite.

With the top of Mt Buller a 45-minute drive away, Mansfield is a hotbed of cold-weather action, and plenty of townspeople routinely make the trip throughout winter. “The snow and the high country are big attractions,” says Missy Daly of Ray White Mansfield. “And the town itself is the right size – not too big and not too small.

“We have a couple of supermarkets, a Kmart and while it’s obviously not Melbourne there are some nice boutiques as well. There’s enough of everything but not too much.”

The area is booming as a summer and shoulder season destination, too, partly thanks to Mt Buller promoting its off-season activities such as mountain biking and hiking.

House prices in Mansfield are up 23 per cent over the past year to a median of $600,000 as people from Melbourne – and a sizeable number from the Mornington Peninsula, too – seek their tree change. Acreages close to town are in hot demand and short supply, especially from professional families with schoolaged children seizing their workfrom-home moment.

The high country isn’t limited to Mansfield. Different towns in the region each sport their own flavour and offer varying degrees of getting

away from the rat race to suit every city refugee.

Lake Eildon is only a short drive away, putting lakeside towns such as Bonnie Doon in the real estate catchment area.

But if you’re after the muchvaunted serenity highlighted in another classic Australian film, The Castle, think again.

“It’s busy,” says Dean Shipley of Mansfield Lifestyle Real Estate. “It’s absolutely packed during summer – it’s like going to Lorne.”

He’s finding buyers seeking a piece of high country quiet are now looking beyond the usual towns to tiny hamlets such as Jamieson, Woods Point and Kevington.

“Houses in Woods Point used to be on the market for an average of two years before they sold, but within the past 12 months it’s 30 to 60 days,” he says. “People are looking for a holiday home that really lets them get away from it all – and the people selling those holiday homes are the ones making great money from it.”

“The snow and the high country are big attractions. And the town itself is the right size.” - MISSY DALY, AGENT

Hover your camera over the code to see Domain listings in Mansfield