First look: Liam Hemsworth’s Byron Bay renovation in full swing

After Liam Hemsworth and his long-term girlfriend, model Gabriella Brooks, sparked engagement rumours last week we’re now getting a sneak peek of their marital manor makeover.

The couple, who are rumoured to have started dating in 2019 – the same year Hemsworth’s divorce from Miley Cyrus was finalised – were seen stepping out in Spain earlier this month when eagle-eyed onlookers spotted Brooks’ large diamond ring.

Although the globetrotting pair divide their time between the US and Sydney, one of their homes down under is receiving a Hollywood-worthy glow up.

The just-released images show a full body transformation of the Byron Bay hinterland estate, revealing that everything from the expansive grounds to the roof is being renovated.

Back in 2020, amid Covid lockdowns when cashed-up buyers were dropping large coin on Byron Bay properties sight unseen.

The youngest Hemsworth brother followed the tree-changer wave and paid $6.5 million for the former wedding venue, Newrybar Downs, tucked away in the hinterland hotspot of Newrybar. 

The sale broke the local price record at the time by $2.1 million, but had been bought by the vendors in 2013 for just $1.8 million. Prior to Hemsworth’s purchase, the wedding venue had been available to rent for $9000 for a three-night minimum.

At the time of purchase, when Hemsworth was just 30, his 3.87ha property had a five-bedroom, four-bathroom luxury residence on site with two wings framing a large in-ground swimming pool. 

Before renovations began, Hemsworth and Brooks posted Instagram photos from the property, showing off the estate’s landscaped tropical gardens and rolling grounds with space to accommodate up to three helicopters – a perfect fit for the brotherly trio. 

Despite throwing millions at the Newrybar home on Johnston Rd, the Hunger Games actor is simultaneously renovating another slice of paradise nearby.

He reportedly submitted building plans to the local council in 2024 with what was estimated to be approximately $15 million worth of building works. The plans by Melbourne architectural firm SSdH are for the reimagining of another 37ha property the younger Hemsworth bought in 2021 for $6.8 million. 

During their one-year marriage, he had lived in LA with Cyrus, but their Malibu mansion was burnt to the ground in the 2018 Woolsey wildfires. In late 2020 Hemsworth sold the 3ha lot, of which only the pool and chimney survived, for US$3.6 million (AUD$5.6 million).

Over the past decade, the Hemsworth clan have made their mark on the Byron Bay region, buying up swathes of pricey property. The family’s most famous home is undoubtedly the Broken Head compound of Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky, known as Kooeloah, which the glamorous couple bought for $7 million back in 2014.

After an estimated three-year colossal renovation, the extraordinary compound has been dubbed “Fortress Hemsworth” by neighbours is now rumoured to be worth around $50 million. 

Also in 2021, the Thor star submitted plans to build a second mansion on a huge 35ha site next to his existing Byron Bay megastructure.

Meanwhile, the eldest Hemsworth brother, Westworld star Luke, bought a $4.9 million beachfront home in Suffolk Park close to Chris’ property in 2020. 

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