By Adam Gartrell
It's been described as a Liberal Party frat-house, but with Paddle Pops and Jerry Springer rather than kegs and bucket bongs.
Joe Hockey's self-made millionaire wife Melissa Babbage bought the heritage-listed 1930s Canberra home for a song in 1997 and then charged her husband and his Liberal mates to stay there in parliamentary sitting weeks.
Many a Liberal MP called it their home away from home over the subsequent 18 years, including former opposition leader Brendan Nelson, who infamously stayed in a small, dingy, heating-free room off the detached garage.
"I sleep in the garage and Joe is always kind enough to wake me at dawn by warming his car engine at maximum revs or chipping the ice off his windscreen at high volume," Dr Nelson joked at the time.
Joe Hockey in his Canberra house with journalist Annabel Crabb.Credit: ABC TV
Mr Hockey couldn't help but make affectionate mention of the house - where he slept beneath his Bart Simpson doona, as revealed on an episode of the ABC's Kitchen Cabinet - in his valedictory speech last year.
"To my long-term Canberra flatmates Jamie Briggs, Brendan Nelson and Bob Baldwin - they've seen more of me than many would care to see," he said.
"And I can confess that our happiest moments were sitting at home late at night eating Paddle Pops, watching Jerry Springer. And admiring the latest Nickelback album, in my case alone."
Alas, no more. Ms Babbage and Mr Hockey - who lost his job as treasurer last year and then quit Parliament to become US ambassador - sold the house for $1.515 million on Saturday.
Inside the door at Joe Hockey's former home in Forrest, which went to auction on Saturday.
The new owners, Canberra couple Darren Robertson and Bethany Williams, plan to extend and use it as their family home.
They say the identity of the former owners played no role.
One of the bedrooms in the house.
"No factor at all," said Mr Robertson, a local business owner. "Interesting, quirky, but no - it was value for money in the right location."
"We do love the house," Ms Williams said. "It's a beautiful old Canberra home, lots of history. So we're looking forward to living in it."
The kitchen, which appeared in Annabel Crabb's Kitchen Cabinet.
The couple negotiated the final price just 10 minutes after the three-bedroom house passed in at auction. About 70 people turned up to watch, but Mr Williams was one of only two bidders.
The final price means a hefty profit for Mr Hockey and Ms Babbage, who paid just $320,000 for the home in the salubrious suburb of Forrest. Not bad, particularly considering they could have paid off a large chunk of the mortgage with the taxpayer-funded $270-a-night travel allowance he claimed whenever in Canberra.
The house hosted a coterie of Coalition MPs.