Writer Tony Birch has put his house at 159 Leicester St, Fitzroy, on the market. Pictures: Tony Gough, Supplied.
Multi award-winning author Tony Birch’s Fitzroy house is set for a new chapter after being listed with a $2.45m-$2.55m range.
Birch became the first indigenous Australian to win the prestigious Patrick White Award for his contribution to Australian literature, in 2017.
Among his many other accolades, Birch’s The White Girl won the 2020 Indigenous Writers’ Prize in the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards.
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The novel was also short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award.
Two years later, Birch’s short story collection Dark as Last Night received the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards’ Christina Stead Prize for Fiction and Queensland Literary Awards’ Steele Rudd Award.
In 2022, Birch was appointed the Boisbouvier Chair in Australian Literature at Melbourne University.
Nelson Alexander’s Charlie Barham said Birch had written several of his award-winning books while living in the four-bedroom home at 159 Leicester St.
The triple-storey abode, built within a former circa-1930 water filtration factory, has a distinctive red brick facade partially covered by greenery.
The kitchen is equipped with a Bosch oven, gas cooktop, double dish drawer and plenty of cabinetry.
Tony Birch spent a decade as a firefighter before becoming a writer, poet and academic. Picture: Tony Gough.
The abode is close to cafes, shops, public transport and parks.
Inside, the first floor features a living and dining area which opens to a north-facing deck with a retractable awning and barbecue.
“It has a great industrial vibe but with all the modern conveniences and a green outlook which can be pretty hard to find in Fitzroy,” Mr Barham said.
The kitchen is fitted with stone benchtops, a Bosch oven, gas cooktop and double dish drawer, while the main bedroom offers a walk-through wardrobe, balcony and twin ensuite.
A circular staircase leads to a mezzanine landing and study with views across Fitzroy to Melbourne’s skyline.
Mr Barham said the spacious residence, which has double garage, was something of a rarity in Melbourne’s inner north.
The curved staircase leads to a mezzanine landing and study with views from Fitzroy to the Melbourne CBD’s skyline.
The White Girl, by Tony Birch, won the 2020 Indigenous Writers’ Prize in the New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards.
There’s two bathrooms in the house including an ensuite with a bath, shower, underfloor heating and Italian tiles.
“Many similar industrial buildings have been divided into smaller townhouses or apartments, so having a home of this size and scale is harder to come by,” he said.
“Despite the central location, the house is set back and the owners comment on how quiet and private it is, despite being smack bang in the middle of Fitzroy.”
The abode is within easy walking distance to Smith St and Brunswick St, the Edinburgh Gardens, the Fitzroy Pool and parks, he added.
Mr Barham said the property had been upgraded across the past five years with new oak flooring installed downstairs along with handcrafted, built-in shelving.
Enjoy fresh air while studying, writing or working from home.
Exposed brick walls showcase art and personal touches.
A bedroom which opens up to the outdoors.
More recently, the main bedroom ensuite was renovated to add underfloor heating, Corian benchtops and terrazzo tiles.
And for creatives, the house offers plenty of spots to write, draw or engage in artistic work.
“They (the owners) mentioned the downstairs library retreat or third level study overlooking the street are great writing nooks,” Mr Barham said.
The home will be auctioned at 6.30pm on February 19.
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