Good points for all as charity auction raises $1.68m

COTTAGE by the Sea saw the benefit of furious bidding at a Point Lonsdale charity auction over the weekend, with the $1.68 million sale well over the estimated price.

All the profit from the sale of 24 Coquina Drive in The Point estate on Saturday have gone to the Queenscliff not-for-profit through a partnership with Moremac Property Group and Boutique Homes.

Hundreds of hours and more than half a million dollars were donated towards the project, with the windfall funding the redevelopment of Cottage by the Sea’s Riptide facility to accommodate an extra 500-700 children.

Set on a 540 square metre corner block, the dual level, four-bedroom home features two bathrooms, freestanding baths, designer kitchen and two living spaces set across an open-plan format, and a north-facing backyard by Ocean Grove firm TNLA Landscape Architects

Listed with James Gladman at Fletchers Bellarine with a price guide of $1.35 million-$1.45 million, the house attracted several bidders during the Saturday afternoon auction, with a Templestowe couple outlasting all others to secure the property.

Cottage by the Sea chief executive officer Adam Wake said the impact of COVID lockdowns over the past two years meant there had never been a greater need for programs to support children of disadvantaged backgrounds.

“Since the last lockdown in Victoria, we’ve had more children through our business than any other equivalent period in our 131-year history – with the divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ ever growing.

“Currently within our Riptide building in Queenscliff, we can host 10 children at a time. When we redevelop the place off the back of these incredible donations, we will have the capacity to have 500 to 700 more children through the program each year with the adequate funding.”

Moremac director Duncan McLellan said his company was proud to be part of a multifaceted team of professionals that supported the charity’s mission.

“A lot of the children who go through the Cottages by the Sea are from the neighbouring Bellarine area and have had difficult circumstances fall upon them.

“24 Coquina Drive has come about from a collective of professionals coming together doing their bit, and has culminated in a home built on very optimistic, hopeful and well intended foundations. It’s our wish that both the buyer and the charity reap the rewards of this.”