Falls Festival’s old site in Lorne, where the New Year’s Eve festival started and ran for nearly 30 years, is up for sale.
- READ MORE: Falls Festival Melbourne 2022 review: An exhilarating capstone to a hectic year of live music
The 144.5 acre rural property located at 985 Erskine Falls Road is on the market, Harcourts Real Estate Geelong announced on March 15 – including the main festival stage, which is part of the existing infrastructure. According to realestate.com.au, it’s expected to attract interest between a “high $3million mark” and $4million.
Abutting the Great Otway National Park, the site is 15 minutes’ drive from Lorne and two hours’ drive from Melbourne. It’s also a stop on the Great Ocean Road tourist route and up the road from Erskine Falls.
Besides the festival stage, also up for sale with the property are a three-bedroom farmhouse with ensuite and living areas, a warehouse, and multiple shed and office buildings. Expressions of interest close April 20.
“It takes you back to a time when life was more simple and fun and, as young adults, many would have enjoyed the best time of their life,” agent Joe Grgic said in a press release.
“It could be turned into a private luxury getaway or a hobby farm, possibly it’s the perfect site for a wellness centre, a school camp or even another festival, all subject to council approval,” he added.
“In such a serene location and to maximise the value the key would be to keep sustainability at the heart, something the Falls Festival even won awards for.”
In 2021, Falls Festival announced it would leave Lorne, where it began in 1993, for Pennyroyal Plains in the Colac Otway Shire the following year. “Lorne is where Falls Festival started so we want to give a particularly special shout out to the locals there,” promoters Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco said in a statement at the time. “You have been instrumental in making the festival all that it is today, and we’ll always be grateful to the community for their long-time support.”
However, Falls ultimately did not take place in Pennyroyal Plains, despite council support. Organisers Secret Sounds were unable to secure permission to use the Birregurra site due to “a small group of objectors [who] opposed the planning permit approval”, Ducrou said in a statement in December 2022.
Falls moved to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in downtown Melbourne for its 2022 Victorian edition, with Secret Sounds deciding to stop pursuing the application for Pennyroyal Plains “given the time and expense”. Arctic Monkeys, Lil Nas X, Peggy Gou, Chvrches, Jamie xx and Aminé were some of the artists who performed at the festival.