It's the end of an era for a Pialligo property that has been an apple orchard since the 1950s and was once home to a "hippie commune".
After nearly 40 years, Jonathan Banks has sold the nearly four-hectare property where he raised his family and ran a successful fruit growing business, Pialligo Apples, for many years.
The property at 10 Beltana Road was due to be auctioned in March, however a buyer swooped in with an offer of more than $4 million before the property was even advertised.
The off-market sale is due to settle later this year.
Jonathan bought the land in 1984 from the "hippies" that previously lived there, known as Alternative Canberra Group, according to newspaper clippings from the late 1970s.
On a tour through the property, Jonathan recalled the many different owners that had called the property home.
Prior to the hippies, it is understood the land was first an outstation for Duntroon and was later owned by prominent Canberra family the Southwells, who planted the orchard.
Then a pair of lawyers are said to have owned the land, before selling to the hippies, who were looking for a place to set up their group.
Today the property includes two main dwellings, including an original cottage from the 1930s with horsehair walls. There are also sheds and a sleepout hidden amongst a mini bamboo forest.
The back half of the property, which borders the Molonglo River, is home to more than 50 apple varieties, including one that originated in the 12th century.
Other fruits and vegetables are grown on the vast, green property, from blackberries and plums to artichokes.
How the Banks family came to live in Pialligo
Signs of the property's former life as a "hippie commune" as Jonathan's son Tim calls it, still stand today, including the main house with a wall built from old wine flagons.
The Banks family was visiting the property in the 1980s when the owners said they were selling.
On a whim, Jonathan offered to buy it.
"It all really started as a joke," he says.
When the family returned to their O'Connor home, they got a call from the owners.
"The phone rings and they said, 'Did you mean it'? And I said, 'We'll have to give that a bit of thought'," Jonathan says.
The family, who had previously owned a block of land in Tharwa, agreed to purchase the land for about $140,000.
It was a short lease that had to be purchased again some years later, for almost the same amount as they paid for the block, Jonathan said.
A 'rudimentary' way of living
Jonathan's son Tim speaks fondly of the 10 years he and his sister Emily lived at the property.
He recalls riding to Dickson College every morning and the many parties they hosted at the property.
Despite it being less than 10 kilometres from Civic, Pialligo was "pretty rudimentary" at the time, he says.
"There was no bus, there was no shop. There was no Majura Park mega complex. Campbell shops was our main shop," Tim says.
Staying true to the property's hippie roots, the Banks' would welcome other families to the property who would stay in the various houses and rooms on the block.
Jonathan has continued running the orchard with his partner Robyn. They sell apples from the roadside stall and supply produce to restaurants around Canberra.
Once the sale is complete the pair plan to stay local but downsize to a townhouse.
Jonathan says while the prospect is "a bit daunting" he is hopeful the apple orchard will continue under the new owners.
