George Southwell

The Yass Valley and Canberra district are some of the most unique and stunning rural regions in Australia – if not the world - and I could not be prouder to be living and working here, alongside my dad George, mum Janie and sister Clare in our family business.

While I have five generations of family history in the region, the first 11 years of my life were spent in the cotton country of St George, Queensland. Our family returned to the Canberra district and the connections quickly fell into place – so much so as a young lad I couldn’t get away with much, even my high school bus driver to Daramalan College was the same one who had driven my dad to school!

After school I cut my teeth at Pickles Auctions before joining my dad Simon into real estate where I found my calling (pun intended!).

In the ever-evolving real estate market, I love the challenge of finding new ways to transform the way property in the region is marketed, using a combination of traditional print media and social media to build a strong presence for the region and the properties we sell.

Our area is so attractive to tree-changers, and locals who are raised here tend to want to stay here. This region is incredible and has so much to offer in terms of its location and lifestyle. That was a message I was proud to leverage in my marketing of “Historic Walgrove” which attracted many international buyers. I am also exceptionally proud to have the sales of Southern Highland Winery, Mittagong ($4.85 million) and Castle Hill, Tharwa ($3.6 million) to my name.

My career highlight so far has been being entrusted to liquidate the estate of the late Lionel Moore, who donated the proceeds of his home sale to Camp Quality; an extremely generous gift for a very worthy cause and I felt incredibly privileged to be a part of that. Every property sale I am appointed to is treated with professionalism and the respect it deserves.

I employ an element of humour in much of my marketing and have found this can also be valuable in distracting potential purchasers in the face of personal disaster, such as the time the backside of my suit pants tore in the middle of a full day of open home inspections. Always keen for opportunities for self-development, I took this as a sign and lost weight... that was an incident not to be repeated!

While open homes are a large part of my weekends, you will also find me enjoying my 1973 HQ Holden Ute and 1965 B-Model Mack truck as well as driving our other family business, Southwell Water. Being president of the Daramalan Rugby Club also keeps me busy, as does my other commitments with the Rural Fire Service and Hall and District Axemans' Club.

Camping in the mountains and trout fishing is also high on my list as one of the best ways to spend a weekend, but you can’t go past walking up to Parliament House or wine tasting in Murrumbateman. Not so famous, but equally special is the village of Hall for people wanting to get out and explore.

I truly believe this is one of the best regions in Australia and I look forward to getting to know you and your property – as well as giving you all the local insider knowledge you need to know, although I’m not sure about revealing my favourite fishing spot, I can tell you The Roses Café is a must!