Julia Gillard’s Altona Home For Sale

Julia Gillard’s home at 9 Medford Street, Altona
Photo: Jas Stephens

You could snap up Julia Gillard’s famously modest Altona house at an upcoming auction.

The property, which saw its share of media coverage during Ms Gillard’s three year prime ministership, will officially go under the hammer on Saturday December 14.

Ms Gillard and her partner Tim Mathieson purchased the home for $140,000 in 1998 and made a number of upgrades during their time there.   

It is now expected to sell for upwards of $600,000.

“According to the real estate listing, the three bedroom home is ‘perfectly positioned’ to enjoy surrounding lifestyle advantages…”

“Nine Medford Street has been a happy place for Tim and I, full of light and often full of laughter,” Ms Gillard recently told the Wyndham Weekly. “Like Altona itself, our home has been renewed and modernised over the last 15 years.”

According to the real estate listing, the three bedroom home is “perfectly positioned” to enjoy surrounding lifestyle advantages such as Altona College and Altona beach.

It features a large formal living area and a separate informal living area, as well as a sunny back deck and a landscaped garden.

“I bought my home in Altona because I loved the seaside village feel of Pier Street and the Esplanade,” said Ms Gillard.

“The house itself has been lovingly cared for by the first owner.”

One of two living areas
Photo: Jas Stephens

The kitchen, said to be Ms Gillard’s favourite room
Photo: Jas Stephens

One of the three bedrooms
Photo: Jas Stephens

Anna Grech, the Jas Stephens agent managing the sale, claims local residents are sad to say goodbye to the former Prime Minister. “It’s been a novelty for the area… that Julia Gillard lived here.”

However, the luxury of her new abode should help ease the transition. Ms Gillard and her partner have traded in their working class lifestyle for a glamorous property in her native Adelaide.

In August, they purchased a $1.8 million beachfront bungalow in order to be closer to Ms Gillard’s family.

The property boasts a solar and gas-heated Freedom pool fit for “budding Olympians” and a cushy 12-person spa. The entertaining space around the pool is spacious enough for 100 guests, while a top of the range outdoor kitchen overlooks the ocean. Inside, the dining room guards a trap-door access wine cellar.

Julia Gillard’s new Adelaide bungalow
Photo: Harris Real Estate

These surroundings should certainly prove inspiring for Ms Gillard, who is set to pen a tell-all memoir about her time as Australia’s first female Prime Minister.

After signing the lucrative book deal worth a rumoured $400,000, Ms Gillard also recently wowed audiences during a speaking tour of Melbourne and Sydney, where she discussed her accomplishments and explained how she felt after being ousted from government.

“Ms Gillard and her partner are trading in their working class lifestyle for a considerably more glamorous property in her native Adelaide.”

The public’s appetite for her story resulted in the announcement of an upcoming TV movie that will chronicle the leadership battle between Gillard and Kevin Rudd.

Though Ms Gillard has previously suggested she wouldn’t mind Tilda Swinton playing her in a biopic, Rachel Griffiths has been confirmed in the starring role.

The actress has said she is “thrilled to portray Australia’s first female prime minister and explore the private aspects of her remarkable term.”

Open for inspections at Ms Gillard’s Altona property will be held this Saturday between 3.30pm and 4:00pm and Sunday between 12.45pm and 1.15pm.