Daniel Johns has knocked down his iconic Newcastle mansion – and his neighbours haven’t held back about the looming rebuild.
The former Silverchair frontman made headlines this week for demolishing the home he once described as a ’70s style porn palace’ on Charlotte Street in the city’s upscale Merewether neighbourhood, and splitting the block in two.
Johns is selling one half of the block, and keeping the other side to build his new ocean-view property.
Daily Mail Australia understands, via public planning documents, that he has engaged Central Coast architect Stephen Sherd, of Studio Alura, to handle the build.
While Johns remains a beloved figure on Charlotte Street, he has at times raised hackles among his neighbours.
Patricia Woods, who is a music teacher and full-time carer directly across the street from Johns, has pleaded with the singer to sort out one particular issue.
When approached by Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, she said: ‘Can you please pass on a message to Daniel? I’ve been asking him to trim his hedges for about three or four years so we can see the ocean again.’
Ms Woods, 54, said she has reached out to Johns, the City of Newcastle Council, and even asked the surveyors and engineers who recently visited the property to do something about the hedges.
Newcastle boy Daniel Johns remains a beloved figure in his Merewether neighbourhood
But Patricia Woods, from across his street, has a simple request as he builds his dream home
Patricia is pleading for Daniel to trim his hedges so she can have her ocean view back
Patricia says she’s been trying to get a message to her neighbour for more than three years
But her pleas have so far fallen on deaf ears.
‘They say he loves those hedges and that he won’t cut them,’ she said.
‘But they aren’t meant to be above 1.8m in height, and they’re well over that – like three metres!
‘The hedges really annoy me. And someone once told me that I don’t own the view, and I know that, but we used to be able to see the whales (as they migrate)… I am going to ring the real estate agents and ask them (to do something).’
Ms Woods said she also hopes Johns’ new home has ‘better soundproofing’, due to the regular sounds of musical instruments and frequent parties.
Despite her gripes, Ms Woods is relieved Johns shelved supposed original plans to subdivide the lot and ‘build units on one side and a house for himself on the other’.
She insisted the 46-year-old artist is a ‘much loved’ member of the community, who is largely reclusive.
‘You hardly ever see him, but he does give a wave if he ever pops up to the letter box, but he’s not out having neighbourly conversations,’ she said.
‘But he is really kind and sweet.
‘He’s often out of town, but you know he’s home when the expensive cars start appearing in the street. That’s when you know he’s around – when all his celebrity mates start turning up.’
The Silverchair singer is known to be reclusive but polite to his fellow residents
Central Coast architect Stephen Sherd is behind Daniel’s rebuild, according to documents
Johns has divided his Charlotte Street block in two, and will rebuild on the side he retained
Artwork, thought to be painted by Johns, remains on the site, tucked behind privacy hedges
Another Newcastle source said Johns is ‘like a ghost’, although other neighbours say he has been seen inspecting the empty block since its demolition in May.
During the times Johns vanishes, Ms Woods said locals whisper he might be ‘back in rehab’.
In March 2022, Johns publicly entered rehab to deal with mental health issues and alcohol dependence, following a car accident and high-range drink-driving charge.
Johns rocketed to international fame after starting Silverchair with fellow Novocastrians Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou as teenagers in 1992.
In 2011 the band confirmed an ‘indefinite hibernation’, and, while Gillies and Joannou remain close, it’s understood they no longer speak to Johns.
The band remains beloved by Aussie music fans and is expected to poll highly in this weekend’s Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs countdown, as voted by listeners.
Despite Johns’ international fame – and an ill-fated marriage to UK-based Aussie star Natalie Imbruglia from 2003-2008 – he has clung to life in Merewether, where he was raised by a fruit-shop owner father and homemaker mother.
He bought the original five-bedroom Charlotte Street home in 2000 for $1.4million.
Johns remained at his Merewether home during his marriage to UK-based Natalie Imbruglia
A 2022 Rolling Stone article described the interior as being littered with musical instruments and artworks he’d done himself.
Our new aerial images of the demolition site show the dwelling and pool are long gone, but a few of those artworks remain – obscured from street view by the infamous hedges.
Development application records show the recent knockdown cost Johns an estimated $145,000.
Last year, he sold an investment property on Ranclaud Street, which he bought as a 17-year-old in 1996 for $360,000.
Daily Mail Australia was told that he resides locally on a part-time basis while waiting for his new dream home to come together.
In an advertisement for the block’s sale, Johns said, ‘This place has been a huge part of my life and creativity, but it’s time for something new that reflects where I’m at now and what’s next.’
It was suggested he was at first keen to finally leave Merewether, revealing he had searched for a new home ‘across the country – from Tasmania’s wild coastlines to the tranquil towns of Southern New South Wales – for somewhere new to call home.
‘But despite that exploration, nothing ever came close to this one. One place kept pulling him back. Charlotte Street, Merewether.’
1/8 Charlotte Street is listed for sale by expressions of interest by Robinson Property’s Amanda and Kirk Langlands.
