Former dairy co-op site in Gerringong sold to investment banker for $2.25 million

Located just off the Princes Highway, it last sold for $950,000 in 2014. Most recently used as a brewery, it was sold under instruction of receivers, with the reserve set at $1.13 million.

David Phillips, an investment banker at wealth management firm Investec, emerged as the winning bidder, beating a pool of 16 other registered bidders that included other bankers and hedge fund managers.

Mr Phillips and his wife Charlene Dawson, who split their time between Sydney and Gerringong, where they have a farm house, purchased the property in partnership with local hospitality operators the Matters family, who run the nearby The Hill and The Gather restaurants.

“The majority were out-of-area buyers – there were a lot of Sydney investors trying to capitalise on the site,” said listing agent Jordan Andonovski, of The Agency.

While the buyers remained “undecided” about what to use the property for, a potential avenue included restoring the buildings and converting the 4385-square-metre site to a mixed-use food-and-beverage operation, subject to council approval.

“We are looking to make it a destination place … We do like the idea of being able to hold functions and weddings and receptions and those sort of things,” Mr Phillips said.

“There’s no hurry [deciding what to do] – I’m more interested in doing it right and making sure that what we do there is a key heritage place for the local community and the local town … I think we’ll do it in a staged way, it’ll be a journey over a couple of years,” he added.

Other uses floated for the property included converting it to an office building or using it as a warehouse, but Mr Andonovski said the site was well suited to a “Grounds of Alexandria-style operation”.

“With COVID-19 you’ve got a lot of people going down travelling down to the South Coast – [this site] is just off the highway and could be a huge tourist hotspot,” Mr Andonovski said.

Mr Phillips said that there was still plenty of room for economic expansion in South Coast towns like Gerringong.

“I have a very high conviction view that regional places inland or on the coast, particularly with what’s gone on in the world of the past 12 months, will become increasingly popular,” he said.

“You only have to look at Berry right now, where everyday looks like it’s Christmas, to see that. People want to get out of the city.”

The Gerringong Co-Operative Dairy Society was formed in 1888 and only closed in 2000, making it the oldest continually-operating dairy co-operative in Australia, according to state government records.

The co-operative began operations in a timber building on the site of the present Mayflower Retirement Village, and transferred to 18 Belinda Street in 1908.

The two buildings on the B7-zoned site – a larger shed built in the early 1900s and a second building added at a later date – remain in original condition.

“It’s a large, warehouse-style space. It’s got a lot of character – it’s going to look amazing when [the restoration] is done,” Mr Andonovski said.

The raw nature of the buildings was what had attracted Mr Phillips to the site.

“We think it’s the last uncut diamond in our area, in terms of that footprint and the opportunity. Secondly, we think it’s a pretty important landmark for Gerringong,” he said.

“We were keen to make sure heritage was retained,” he added.

The co-op is opposite Gerringong station. Remains of a disused railway siding sit directly in front of the dairy buildings, evidence of how the railroad once formed an integral part of the dairy’s operation.

The siding allowed for the direct transfer of milk to the South Coast milk train, according to Office of Environment and Heritage records.

The Gerringong Dairy is historically significant “for its ability to illustrate the development of the dairy industry in the local area during the 1930s,” according to the records.