A HISTORIC mansion in Battery Point failed to sell at auction today.

Bidding for Beaumaris House was subdued, despite a crowd of onlookers, and the manor was passed in at $3.9 million. It was expected to sell for more than $4 million.

The 1880 home, with 11 bedrooms and nine bathrooms, once belonged to Henry and Mary Roberts, who established the original Beaumaris Zoo within the grounds – featuring thylacines and exotic birds.

Knight Frank auctioneer Mathew Chugg told the crowd the home, set on an acre of land, had exchanged hands only three times in its 140-year history.

He said the words that come to mind when describing the property were “grand, private, prestige, established”.

“And I wouldn’t be a real estate agent if I didn’t use the word ‘opportunity’.”