NEW RECORD. The hammer dropped at R22 million for the historic Beauvais building in Observatory, Johannesburg, which has priceless views and a whole lot of history.

AUCTIONEERS have hammered up the highest ever price paid for a house on auction in South Africa. But it is more than just a house, it used to house a school attended by Sir Harry Oppenheimer.

The hammer dropped at R22 million for the historic Beauvais building in Observatory, which has priceless views and a whole lot of history. After VAT and commission, its buyer, Cargo Carriers, will fork out over R26 million for the prime property in which its new headquarters will be housed.

This is a record and a tad more than the R26 million paid for a shack on the beach at Clifton, the last highest record buy in the books of Alliance Auctioneers.
The stately Cape-Dutch façade home Beauvais was built on 1,1ha of prime land 100 years ago by Allen Wilson for mining magnate Mr Percival White Tracey.
In 1917, Park Town School took over the house. Many famous South Africans passed through the school, including Sir Harry Oppenheimer. ~ Gaynor Noyce