Chic simplicity, stunning views, private creek frontage and complete privacy Ahimsa at Brogers Creek ticks all the boxes and more for the perfect weekend retreat to escape, breathe and revive the senses.
Located on 2.5 hectares at the end of Brogers Creek Road, Ahimsa was bought by the current owners in 1998 and the pavilion-style house constructed in 2000.
We called the property Ahimsa, which is a Buddhist principle meaning peace by causing no harm, says the owners. Obviously the wildlife can read and that’s why the animal and birdlife here is so abundant!
With a keen interest in architecture and an aim to keep the house simple and humble for maximum enjoyment of the beauty of the natural environment, the couple were inspired by a remarkable little building owned by the National Trust in the Sydney suburb of Cheltenham. Also called Ahimsa, the main house on the National Trust property was built in 1937 as the home of Marie Beuzeville Byles, a committed conservationist, the first practising female solicitor in NSW, mountaineer, explorer, bushwalker, feminist, author and foundation member of the Buddhist Society of NSW. On the property, Marie also built a simple meditation meeting place and named it the Hut of Happy Omens. It’s this simple, Japanese inspired building that inspired this house at Brogers Creek.
It’s more a shelter, rather than a house, say the owners. We wanted it to be indeterminate in age and respectful of the environment. It’s not a showplace but a retreat. At the time we built it we were leading very busy lives in Sydney and we’d drive down on a Friday night and just feel our shoulders relax as soon as we turned into Brogers Creek Road.
The owners describe Ahimsa as a joyful place. It’s so dynamic and ever-changing. You can sit on the terrace and see the escarpment glow red at sunset, mists rising and falling and waterfalls cascading down after heavy rain and there’s always the fabulous sound of the creek below. It’s an environment that’s constantly changing through the seasons.
The house looks out to Budderoo National Park and Barren Grounds Nature Reserve, with Cook’s Nose looming above. There are no other dwellings to be seen.
The house is designed to be thermally efficient. In summer, cross ventilation catches the prevailing breezes, while in winter plenty of insulation and a wood combustion stove keep the house cosy and warm.
Building materials include fibre-cement sheeting (asbestos-free), marine ply and Australian hardwood and the house consists of a living and dining area with bifold doors opening to a large ironbark deck, a timber kitchen with servery out to the deck, a spacious bedroom opening to its own small deck and a bathroom with shower opening to the outdoors and a composting lavatory.
There are also three 10,000 litre rainwater tanks and a storage area/workshop under the house.
A path winds down from the ridge to the pure, bubbling waters of Brogers Creek below.
Most of the property is rainforest, say the owners. There is little to maintain so the place is there for us, rather than the other way around. The house is close to the front gate, so there is no private road to maintain.
It is a rural retreat in the true sense, a place for quietude and beauty. The only entertaining we do at Ahimsa is with occasional friends, our neighbours who might drop by for a cuppa and, of course, the wildlife. Depending on the seasons, there are echidnas,w allabies, wombats and lyrebirds though the platypus population in the creek has remained elusive!
For us, this place is as close to Heaven as we are likely to get!
Features at a glance
andbull; 2.5 hectares
andbull; Stunning views and complete privacy
andbull; One-bedroom pavilion-style house
andbull; Wood combustion stove
andbull; Private creek frontage