A five-bedroom Paddington, Qld home rebuilt from the ground up by the family of a New Zealand Olympic silver medallist has hit the market with a price guide in the high A$3 millions.
Cindy and Hilton Ullrich transformed what was a small 1980s timber cottage at 19 Gulliver Street into a multi-level, resort-style residence – and they did it while juggling one of the more eventful years you’re likely to hear about.
In 2024, as the couple put the finishing touches on the rebuild, they travelled to Paris to watch their youngest son, Logan Ullrich, a member of the New Zealand men’s coxless four crew at the Paris Olympics, win a silver medal for New Zealand, finishing just behind the United States in a thrilling final. It was Logan’s first Olympics.
At the same time, they were purchasing Stewart Island Lodge – a six-bedroom lodge in Oban on Stewart Island, one of New Zealand’s most remote inhabited islands.
After six months operating the lodge while Cindy maintained her 17-year role as publicity manager for the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the couple have committed to island life for good.
“We have most loved the serenity of this home,” Cindy said.
“We are right in Paddington, just a few kilometres from the CBD, but it feels like we are in a little exclusive country pocket where you are surrounded by trees, enjoy the sounds of bird song, and a sense of space with separation from other properties compared to most other parts of Paddington.”
The property, listed through Michael Kleimeyer of Ray White Paddington, sits on an elevated site and features an internal three-level serviced lift, a kitchen with Neff appliances, engineered oak flooring, and New Zealand wool carpets – a fitting touch given the family’s trans-Tasman ties.
Architectural details include high raked ceilings with skylights, a second lounge with fireplace opening to a front deck, and custom corner-opening glass sliding doors that connect the main living area to a north-facing rear courtyard with a heated in-ground swimming pool.
A self-contained studio apartment on the first level, with its own entrance and balcony, adds flexibility – whether for multi-generational living, older children, or a home business.
The property also includes a 30-cubic-metre storage space and a double garage with electric vehicle charging provisions.
Cindy said the open-plan kitchen, dining, and lounge area is her favourite part of the home.
“It is filled with the volume of high vaulted ceilings, skylights, lovely natural light, and timber and stone features that flow out to the stunning paving and landscaped garden, which really adds to the ambiance and relaxed, private resort feel,” she said.
“It is a wonderful home for entertaining with incredible flexibility of space, and we feel it would best suit a family with teenage children attending one of the central private schools who need the various living spaces and separation that this home so beautifully offers.”