Former Golden Circle boss lists sweet pad in Brisbane

78 Towers St, Ascot,

Some things are built to last – such as this rock solid 1939 Ascot home and its owner Niel Thygesen’s lifetime loyalty to an iconic Australian brand.

Now aged 98, Mr Thygesen left wartime Cairns for the big smoke of Brisbane to kick start his career at the Golden Circle cannery.

“Cairns itself was virtually deserted at the time as many people left North Queensland in fear of Japanese invasion,” Mr Thygesen said.

“I had studied my accounting degrees via correspondence because there was no other education available at the time.

“I was made a cost accountant at Golden Circle at age 20 and I finished up there 46 years later as the managing director.”

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78 Towers St, Ascot,

It may have been three decades since his retirement, but Golden Circle canned fruit and jams are still a staple on the Thygesen’s dinner table.

We still eat Golden Circle whenever it’s available,” Mr Thygesen said.

“I had a tremendous career at the company and followed it right through many stages of diversification.

“And yes, I still like canned pineapple.”

But it was wife Jill who decided the couple would move from their former home in Banyo to the Mediterranean-inspired Ascot abode 29 years ago.

“As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the one I wanted,” Ms Thygesen said.

“I had my grandchildren going to Ascot school and I wanted them to be able to pop in and have something to eat.

“Plus, I have always loved pretty houses and this house is pretty.”

Designed by heritage-recognised architect, Horace Driver, the classic home features solid oak joinery, crystal chandeliers and imposing, Italian-style influences.

“I wanted a two-storey house, and I was taken by the frontage, the style, the classic look of it,” Mrs Thygesen said.

Light-filled and steeped in character, the home sits securely behind a high-walled fence on a levelled yard.

Locals have come to know it as the ‘flower house’ due to Mrs Thygesen’s pots brimming with annuals on the raised front terrace.

Situated in a prized Ascot location, the home offers exciting renovation potential, although the russet red brick windowsills and rough cast face rendering of the original interwar architecture would be hard to part with.

The Thygesen’s will bid a tearful goodbye to a property they “treasured”.

“I’ve loved every minute here,” Mrs Thygesen said.

“If I had my way, I would never leave.

“But eventually you get too old to look after each other and to look after a big house, and that’s just how it is.”

Ms Thygesen’s best memories of her time in the three-bedroom, two-bathroom home include tennis parties, a westerly wind-free backyard, and the favour of the baking Gods.

“I had my tennis parties here and I was always the one who did the pavlova,” she said.

“My pavlova always worked out too, so that was good luck.”

“Niel loved to lie in the backyard by the pool where it was always warm – we never get the wind here. This home will make someone very happy, just as we have been very happy here.”

FAST FACTS

Features: A 1939-built Mediterranean-inspired residence on an elevated block with the potential to extend further to capitalise on the home’s premium location. It has solid oak joinery, crystal chandeliers, a fully-tiled saltwater pool and an open fireplace.

Auction: Saturday, May 20, at 4pm

Agent: Elisa McMahon, Adcock Prestige Queensland

Contact: 0419 701 034

The post Former Golden Circle boss lists sweet pad in Brisbane appeared first on realestate.com.au.

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