It was the cherished family home of an SA icon and a welcome retreat from the hustle and bustle of working life, and now it can be yours as the property hits the market for the first time in almost six decades.
Legendary football administrator and top lawyer the late Max Basheer AM bought their Wattle Park home with his late wife Elaine in 1967 – on the day Harold Holt mysteriously disappeared – attracted by its location and the sense of tranquillity it offered.
The late Max Basheer in the Supreme Court library after he announced his retirement as a Lawyer. Picture MATT TURNER.
Max with Australian politician Prime Minister Bob Hawke during a visit to Football Park, West Lakes in 1983.
Max’s grand 16 Simpson Rd, Wattle Park home. Supplied
It’s those same features they enjoyed that daughters Jayne and Ann, who are selling the property, have also loved.
“Right up to the end Dad loved it here,” Jayne says.
“He was still practising law at 92 and was the oldest solicitor in Australia with an active client base.
“He lived here right up to his last days, supported by his family, just because he didn’t want to leave.
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“It’s an interesting home and a very elegant, relaxed house.
“It’s elevated on the property so when you sit on the veranda, it feels like a Queenslander except it’s made of stone.
“And you get these wonderful gully winds, so you have this sublime feeling in that you wake up to kookaburras and magpies and bird life, and it all changes with the seasons.”
A light-filled living area. Supplied
One of the bedrooms. Supplied
Another living space. Supplied
But it’s not just the four-bedroom home’s natural setting her late father loved, Jayne says – it sits on a 2936sqm allotment – but its social offerings through its abundance of indoor and outdoor living spaces, including a formal living room, a study and sunroom, a casual living room, open-plan kitchen and dining room, lounge, cellar and pool.
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“Dad was from a Lebanese family and he was all about hospitality,” Jayne says.
“This place was known to have parties of up to 300 people, and he always had people over eating around the pool and eating by the firepit, or drinking down in the cellar.
“This home has been absolutely lived in and many hundreds of people from all parts of the community, whether it be law, football or the racing community, have enjoyed their time here.
Plenty of room for books. Supplied
There’s even room for wine. Supplied
There’s even a pool. Supplied
“When he was 90 he didn’t want to have one party because it’s over too quickly and you don’t get to talk to anyone, so we actually had 10 three-course dinners for 16 people – one every second Saturday and it started in April and finished in September.”
With the property too big for her or Ann to take on, it’s time for someone else to call it home.
“It’s a magical place and we’re sad to say goodbye to it,” Jayne says.
“But it’s begging for a young family come in and enjoy it.
It’s been a place of love for all of us.”
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