Your Chance to Buy a Lane Cove Home That Held an Exclusive Daryl Braithwaite Concert in Its Front Yard

Most weeks, Property of the Week is about the house. This week it is also about what happened inside it, and in the front yard. In the Cove founder Jacky Barker is entering a new stage of life as an empty nester, which means saying goodbye to the Lane Cove home she has lived in and loved for more than 17 years: 78 Austin Street. It is also, with tongue firmly in cheek, the house where In the Cove began. A piece of Lane Cove history, if you will.

Disclosure: 78 Austin Street is listed with Rebecca Mitchell of Raine & Horne Lower North Shore, a long-time ITC advertiser and the vendor is our founder. We would be lying if we claimed to be impartial about this one.

The In the Cove house

In 2012, long before anyone in Lane Cove said the letters “ITC”, Jacky started a Facebook page to share what was going on around town. Then came a blog, and in 2015 a proper website. There was no office and no advertising, just a former lawyer who had lived in Lane Cove for two decades, a laptop and a feeling that locals deserved to know what was happening in their own suburb.

The newsroom was this house. From here, over more than a decade, Jacky reported on a fair chunk of modern Lane Cove history:

• The big wet of 2014, the worst of the many storms ITC has covered, when half of Lane Cove seemed to be underwater and the other half was asking ITC which roads were open
• The Canopy, from years of debate over the old Rosenthal Avenue car park through to the day it opened
• The COVID years, when ITC became the place Lane Cove checked to find out what was open, what was closed and where to get tested
• #Sydneywatergate in September 2022, when parts of Lane Cove, North Ryde and the Lower North Shore went four days without water or with barely a trickle. Residents’ messages for help landed in ITC’s inbox, which means they landed at 78 Austin Street

Somewhere in the house are two Lane Cove Woman of the Year awards, from 2017 and 2023. Not bad for a Facebook page. So if the next owners ever hear a faint sound of furious typing at 11pm, that is just the house remembering.

A bungalow with very good bones

History aside, this is a seriously lovely home. It is a Californian bungalow built around 1921, on the high side of Austin Street, one of Lane Cove’s most tightly held streets, sitting on approximately 725 sq m. Over the years a sympathetic extension has made it a true family home, with four big bedrooms, two bathrooms, a lock-up garage with workshop space and off-street parking for two more cars.

The period bones are all still here: the classic bungalow veranda, ornate ceilings in the entry foyer, original leadlight windows in two of the bedrooms, 3m ceilings and original hardwood floors. The extension added the parts a 1921 house never had, including a skylit modern kitchen with Miele appliances and a breakfast island, a family living area with a gas fireplace for winter, and a sun-filled dining space that opens straight onto the alfresco terrace. The terrace looks over a wide, private, fully fenced lawn with a north-easterly aspect, the sort of flat green space that is getting harder to find in Lane Cove, with room to add a pool down the track (STCA).

Parties, pets and a front yard concert

That backyard has earned its keep. It has hosted:

• her daughter’s 18th birthday party
• her daughter’s 21st birthday party
• the Austin Street street party
• the ITC Christmas party
• many long lunches and afternoon drinks get-togethers

Top of that list, in our entirely unbiased opinion, was the ITC Christmas party in December 2025. Best party ever. The food was all bought locally, from Chargrill Charlie’s, Gelatissimo and The Cakeman Patisserie, we played sustainable Santa, the kids ran wild across the lawn, and ITC’s Jack Kelly ended up doing cartwheels to entertain a pack of thoroughly over-sugared children. The inflatable gingerbread men looked on approvingly.

For years a big trampoline sat at the back of the yard, and many afternoons were spent running around and jumping. It was also home to Mr Doggy ITC, who loved it. He ran around the yard playing with the kids and was part of every celebration.

The front yard, meanwhile, hosted an exclusive concert by Daryl Braithwaite. Jacky entered a radio competition where she had to say how much she loved her neighbours. That part was easy. If you have followed ITC for years, you will know ITC loves a comp.

Before the concert the street was told Daryl would only be available for one photo. He stayed and had his photo taken with nearly every Austin Street resident. He also fell in love with Mr Doggy ITC.

Magazine ready

There is also a story we cannot prove, and we are telling you anyway. A visitor once told Jacky that his mother had been the editor of Better Homes and Gardens (or possibly Home Beautiful) and regularly used the house for photo shoots because of its beautiful original ceilings and other Californian bungalow features. Having stood under those ceilings, we believe him.

Austin Street: great neighbours

Austin Street is an absolute delight to live in. The Austin Street WhatsApp group is busy with requests for ladders, trestle tables, pet crates and a baby seat when someone has a little visitor coming to stay, among many other things. It is the kind of street that wins Daryl Braithwaite concerts, after all.

Local through and through

Jacky spent more than a decade telling Lane Cove to shop local. It turns out she renovated local too, and every name below is one you will find in the In the Cove Business Directory.

About three years ago the house was painted inside and out by local painter Darren Simpson of Multistyle Painting & Decorating Pty Ltd. The terrace area was extensively landscaped by another local firm, Love Landscapes Pty Ltd, to turn it into an entertainer’s backyard. The house also has new gutters, installed three years ago.

Much of the artwork you will see as you walk through was bought from the Stuart Leal Gallery, which used to be in Lane Cove. The gallery is now online and you can see its range on Instagram.

Rebecca Mitchell: ITC foundational sponsor

The house is listed with Rebecca Mitchell of Raine & Horne. Jacky says it had to be Rebecca, because she has supported In the Cove since the website launched in 2015. Each year ITC sends Rebecca an invoice for her annual advertising support. Not only does she pay it, she doubles it without being asked, because she believes In the Cove is more than local news: it is the glue that holds Lane Cove together.

Time for a new chapter

Jacky and her husband will be sad to leave 78 Austin Street, but it is time to go. Jacky wants to move closer to her 96-year-old mother, who is a shining example of staying involved in the community. She still does charity work and sits on the St Vincent’s Toowoomba cancer committee. She also wants to be a contestant on The Chase, so Jacky is studying all the trivia she can to help make her mum’s dream come true.

Jacky will be sad to leave Lane Cove, but she knows she will always have friends here. She will be back once a month too, because she is still actively involved with The Sydney Library of Things and, of course, the Lane Cove Toy Library. And her byline still turns up on ITC from time to time, so this is not goodbye.

A level home on the high side of the street

If you know someone looking for a family-friendly home, or wanting to downsize from a very large one, tell them about 78 Austin Street. The house can be accessed from the back without navigating any stairs, which is rarer than it should be in a 1921 bungalow.

Property features

• Charming circa 1921 Californian bungalow on approximately 725 sq m, within walking distance of everything
• Timeless character facade extending to a park-like sanctuary perfect for young families
• Classic bungalow veranda and a welcoming entry foyer under beautifully ornate ceilings
• Skylit modern kitchen with quality Miele appliances and a breakfast island
• Inviting family living area with a gas fireplace for cosy winter evenings
• Sun-filled dining space flowing to the alfresco entertaining terrace
• Wonderfully private fenced backyard with park-like lawns, ideal for children’s play
• Prized north-easterly aspect with plenty of space to extend or add a pool (STCA)
• Four oversized bedrooms, two with decorative ceilings and original leadlight windows
• Secluded parents’ suite with built-in robes, 3m ceilings and original hardwood floors
• Lock-up garage with workshop space, plus additional off-street parking
• Manicured gardens, French-patterned pathways and a captivating street presence
• Walking distance to three schools, including Lane Cove Public School
• Footsteps to city and Metro bus services, with an easy commute to the CBD
• Quiet street a short stroll from the plaza, the Lane Cove canopy area, cafes and boutique shops

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