Darwin icon going under the hammer

An architecturally-designed home in a highly sought after pocket of Larrakeyah has hit the market for the first time, having weathered Cyclone Tracy and surviving everything the Top End has thrown at it since.

The house at 27 Lambell Tce, Larrakeyah, was built in 1972 by Pam and David Flint with the design done by their neighbour and acclaimed architect, Peter Dermoudy.

“Peter was living next door to us in the rusty old silos,” Mrs Flint said.

“I had no say in the design, really.

“He just designed it, and that was it.”

Mrs Flint said the result was a “very quirky house”.

“It’s very unique and not like any conventional house,” she said.

“When my kids went to school all the kids called it the ‘Pizza Hut’ house.”

Mrs Flint said the home was built to last.

“Peter said because of where it was situated, it would have to be a very strong building and it is,” she said.

The home proved its strength after surviving Cyclone Tracy with no structural damage, though not unscathed.

“All around top floor the glass was broken, half the roof tiles were ripped off and everything in the house was destroyed,” Mrs Flint said.

Mrs Flint relocated to Perth for six months post-Tracy with her children and bought all new furniture, tiles and supplies from the Perth Royal Show to fix up the home.

“I put them all in a shipping container and sent it to Darwin,” she said.

The home has a distinct Darwin flavour with a mix of Asian and Top End influences, timber accents and tropical views.

The house is spread across three storeys with a walkway bridge at street level leading to the top floor.

On this level there is an open plan kitchen and dining area, a large lounge room opening to a balcony, a bedroom and a bathroom.

On the first floor there is another bedroom, a bathroom, a walk-in robe and a home office that could be used as a bedroom.

On the ground floor there is a massive games room with bathroom, bespoke furniture, bar, full size snooker table and French doors opening to the pool area.

Mrs Flint said there’s even a hidden room.

“Behind the bar there’s a storeroom and behind that there’s a room that goes under the drive,” she said.

“It was supposed to be a wine cellar but it never got that far. That’s where you want to be if Darwin gets bombed again.”

There is also a four-car garage, while a rooftop terrace sits above the games room looking out over the pool and barbecue pergola.

“David always said ‘I don’t want a pool people stand up and talk and drink in, I want a pool people can swim in’, so it’s a quarter size Olympic pool,” Mrs Flint said.

“The kids loved it – they used to jump off the games room roof into it.

“They had a lot of fun.

“We’ve got a very long driveway as well, so they’d get on their skateboards or bikes and go down it.”

Mrs Flint said the home had been the perfect place to raise a family, host guests and entertain.

“David had his 50 years in Darwin celebration here – it was a great night,” she said.

“I can remember when my parents used to come up every year for a holiday. They had their 50th wedding anniversary here and we had a party for them.

“The big games room was always good for parties. And we used to take chairs and sit out the front to watch the fireworks.”

Mrs Flint said the neighbourhood had changed significantly in the five decades she’d called Lambell Tce home.

“We had the old hospital across the road when we built,” she said.

“My two daughters were born there. I was able to walk to the maternity ward.

“I can remember saying (to the midwife) ‘I’m just going to duck home and check on the dog’.

“After Tracy they renovated the hospital and made it into the university for a few years but now the land is vacant.

“I’d really like some up-market homes built on it – it’s a beautiful piece of land.”

Mrs Flint said she also watched Cullen Bay being built.

“I’ve got photos of all the trucks going down with soil and gravel and I remember all the people saying you can’t built on sand out there, it will sink,” she said.

But while Darwin changed around the home, the home remained largely unchanged.

“We’re the only one who have lived in it and it’s in very good condition,” Mrs Flint said.

“All the tradesmen who have come around can’t believe we’ve been here 53 years.

“And it will be here quite a while longer.

“It’s in a condition where whoever does buy it can live in it as it is.

“There are probably things they’d want to change and I don’t mind that.”

Mrs Flint said with her husband passing away in January, she felt it was time to sell.

She said she hoped the next owners would love the home as much as she has and make decades of memories.

Selling agent Sascha Smithett of Real Estate Central said there was nothing else like 27 Lambell Tce in the Darwin market.

“The imagination runs wild with what you could do to that house,” she said.

Ms Smithett said the location was also quite unique.

“There’s only three properties on that section of the street,” she said.

“It’s tightly held, premium real estate.”

PROPERTY DETAILS

Address: 27 Lambell Tce, Larrakeyah

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 3

Carparks: 4

Auction: Tue, Jul 29, 5.30pm

Agents: Sascha Smithett, 0414 909 506, Julian Brown, 0418 830 919, Real Estate Central

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