{"id":627478,"date":"2026-09-17T12:46:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T12:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627478\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T12:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T12:46:16","slug":"the-block-heads-to-former-sunbury-psychiatric-hospital-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/627478\/","title":{"rendered":"The Block heads to former Sunbury psychiatric hospital site"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Fiona<\/p>\n

September 17, 2026 \u2014 7:18pm<\/p>\n

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Reality TV show The Block is making its way to Sunbury on Melbourne\u2019s north-west outskirts next year after acquiring three heritage buildings from the Victorian government.<\/p>\n

The show will turn three heritage buildings at the former Sunbury psychiatric hospital site into five family homes.<\/p>\n

It is also going to help knock a few coins off the government ledger \u2013 who knew The Block would end up helping out the state budget?<\/p>\n

\"ThreeThree buildings from the former Sunbury psychiatric hospital will be turned into houses in next year\u2019s season of The Block. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

Nine, the owner of this masthead, confirmed the purchase at its Upfront programming announcement<\/a> on Thursday with the Sunbury location being described as \u201cthe most ambitious project in the show\u2019s history\u201d.<\/p>\n

The three grand heritage buildings at Jacksons Hill in Sunbury that are to be given a Block glow up are thought to be the former Female Infirmary Ward, Female Admission and Special Wards building, and former hospital.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Block\u2019s Scott Cam and Shelley Craft are heading to Sunbury in 2027.Nine Entertainment<\/p>\n

Just what price was placed on the heritage buildings is unclear. CBD reached out to the various government departments \u2013 it was a bit of merry-go-round to find out who had agency over the site \u2013 on Thursday to get some answers. We are hoping to hear back in due course.<\/p>\n

It is unlikely to have been a cheap buy. The Block has a long history of forking out substantial amounts for its locations.<\/p>\n

It paid $8.7 million for the Phillip Island site of the show in 2024, $11 million for the Gisborne South farmland location in 2022, $14.9 million for a site in New Street, Brighton in 2020, $10 million for the then dilapidated Gatwick Hotel in St Kilda in 2018 and $10.8 million for the former Oslo Hotel in St Kilda in 2019.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Adrian<\/a><\/p>\n

The Block, which this year was located at Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula, will see Scott Cam and Shelley Craft return as hosts in 2027 in what will be the show\u2019s 23rd season.<\/p>\n

The Sunbury psychiatric hospital site was constructed 170 years ago as an industrial school. It later became a psychiatric hospital and most recently has been used as a university campus.<\/p>\n

Sunbury, located about 40 minutes from the Melbourne CBD, is perhaps best known as the birthplace of The Ashes.<\/p>\n

\u2018Everything is for sale\u2019: Former Geelong mayor quits Oz<\/p>\n

Having quit Australia to become a citizen of the world, what else is there for Darryn Lyons, the controversial former Geelong mayor, ex-paparazzo and occasional reality TV participant, to do but have a clearing sale of epic proportions.<\/p>\n

As part of his decamping from Down Under, Lyons is divesting himself of his horde \u2013 1093 items to be exact \u2013 that was housed in his two Geelong homes via an enormous seven-part online auction.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons, pictured at his former gallery, is clearing his belongings in a seven-part online auction. Supplied<\/p>\n

Everything from a Lamborghini once owned by Rod Stewart to pots and pans, luxury Cartier, Rolex and Franck Muller watches, designer shoes, Cartier bracelets, Louis Vuitton luggage and bags, designer sunglasses by the likes of Dior, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Givenchy and Marc Jacobs, statues of lions, reproduction Louis XV furniture, a vibronic exercise machine that promises \u201cwhole body vibration\u201d, a taxidermied leopard skin rug with a preserved head and glass eyes, a taxidermied antelope head, an air fryer, and even a microwave by the Kmart house brand Anko.<\/p>\n

Of course, how could we forget oddities like the signed framed photo of Who Dares Wins co-host Tania Zaetta, a gold-toned pin commemorating his mayoral stint and the copy of his own book, Mr Paparazzi, that are up for grabs?<\/p>\n

Lyons was a self-styled emperor of Geelong during his 2013 to 2016 mayoral reign before his term ended when he along with the rest of the Greater Geelong City Council were booted by the state government after an inquiry commissioned by then local government minister Natalie Hutchins found the council had become dysfunctional and riven with conflict.<\/p>\n

Currently in Thailand, Lyons told CBD he had quit Australia and was shedding his belongings because \u201cAlbo has f—ed the country\u201d. Lyons, who was a Liberal-leaning mayor, has been a loud critic of the Albanese government, particularly in recent months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came into this world with nothing, and I\u2019ll leave it with nothing,\u201d Lyons told us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent a lifetime collecting houses, cars, art and beautiful things, but eventually, you realise possessions don\u2019t make a life \u2013 experiences do. I left Australia once with $500 and a dream, and it changed my life. Now I\u2019m doing it again, only this time the world is my home. Everything is for sale \u2013 except my freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons is selling his silver 1998 Lamborghini Diablo VT roadster. Lloyds Auctions\/ Supplied <\/p>\n

Bidding is open on the items through Lloyds Auctions and closes at the end of October.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lyons is still looking for a buyer for his Geelong home and recently savagely slashed the asking price.<\/p>\n

Known as \u201cLyons View\u201d, the lavish seven-bedroom home on The Esplanade was listed seven months ago with an asking price of between $7.7 million and $8.3 million. In early August the price range was revised down to between $5.7 million and $6.2 million.<\/p>\n

A second four-bedroom home, owned by Lyons, sold at auction late last month with an asking price of $1.4 million to $1.5 million. What it actually made at auction is yet to be disclosed.<\/p>\n

Coffee stop for Carroll<\/p>\n

Even Premiers deserve that most Melbourne of morning appointments \u2013 a coffee break.<\/p>\n

Premier Ben Carroll was spotted on Thursday catching up with someone who has been there, done that \u2013 former Labor premier Steve Bracks.<\/p>\n

\"PremierPremier Ben Carroll Joe Armao<\/p>\n

The pair are, of course, close with Bracks being something of a mentor to Carroll. Carroll started his career as a junior advisor in Bracks\u2019 office way back in 2000.<\/p>\n

They weren\u2019t hiding their coffee catch-up, having a cuppa at the cafe in the foyer of the building that houses the parliamentary press gallery offices in Collins Street.<\/p>\n

At the table were Carroll\u2019s chief of staff Julie Ligeti, deputy chief of staff Bassel Tallal and senior advisor Mounir Kiwan. With the long list of problems for Carroll to solve, you would imagine they had plenty to talk about.<\/p>\n

One Nation role up for grabs<\/p>\n

One Nation is staffing up for the state election with a job vacancy being posted for an executive assistant whose gig it would be to run the diary of Victoria\u2019s state president and lead candidate, Warren Pickering.<\/p>\n

\"OneOne Nation Victorian leader Warren Pickering.Eamon Gallagher<\/p>\n

The eight-page job description spotted by CBD made it clear it is looking for someone with C-suite senior executive assistant experience who can be the \u201csingle point of coordination for his [Pickering\u2019s] time, his commitments, his communications and his public appearances, so that he is in the right place, at the right time, prepared, briefed, and never blindsided\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, the twist is that the role is voluntary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a full-time volunteer role. It is an unpaid role,\u201d the job description read.<\/p>\n

It also noted it was \u201cnot a first EA role and is not a training opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

While money isn\u2019t on the table, the role promises to give the lucky applicant \u201ca ringside seat at the most consequential Victoria state election campaign in history\u201d, reimbursement of pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses, written recognition of service at the conclusion of the campaign, and \u201cthe satisfaction of having materially contributed to the outcome of the election for One Nation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"FionaFiona Byrne<\/a> is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 17, 2026 \u2014 7:18pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[103,61,60,410,411],"class_list":["post-627478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}