Sydney barrister John Hyde Page and his wife, Bonnie, are $20m buyers in Darling Point.

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The mysterious $20m buyer of an ex Coca-Cola boss’s Darling Point property is barrister John Hyde Page, who upset some with his 2006 book Education of a Young Liberal.

The Selborne Chambers barrister, who previously owned in Woollahra, had just one other rival at Saturday’s auction of the six-bedroom designer residence at 2D Greenoaks Ave.

Sales agent Maclay Longhurst of Sotheby’s had a $17m price guide and it’s understood the reserve was close to that.

With Cooley auctioneer Jake Moore presiding, bidding started at $17m and rose in $500k increments all the way. “It was an absolute belter … and it was all over in about five or six minutes,” Moore said.

Longhurst described the property, rebuilt by former Coca-Cola exec Peter Brooks, who sold his drinks company P&N Beverages Australia to Japanese giant Asahi Breweries for $364m in 2010, as a “box-ticker”.

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2D Greenoaks Ave, Darling Point., which was brand new, had a $17m guide.

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A pool is one of its many attractions.

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“It’s a brand new, big family home with an internal pool, lift and wine cellar,” he said.

“It was also north-facing with dual street access and parking for up to five cars.

“It seems like activity is starting to sharpen up as the spring market kicks off.”

Brooks had bought a 1960s era property with two dwellings on the 677sqm Greenoaks Ave block for $11.05m last April in an off-market deal.

It’s one of the most prestigious parts of Sydney’s east, so a dazzling new home on the site was always going to do well.

Hyde Page is a former member of the Young Libs in NSW and a former staffer to a previous member for Wentworth, Peter King.

It offered every mod-con.

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His book offered details of branch stacking and the grubby internal workings within the party, which he amplified in a Four Corners episode.

His wedding to Bonnie in 2021 is described as “the best wedding ever” on the Save the Children fundraising page, when guests donated $5,150 in lieu of a gift.

Longhurst sold another home for a big price pre-auction.

A grand four-bedroom terrace on a 195 sqm block at 142 Windsor St, Paddington — the suburb’s best street — had a $7m guide but he wrapped it up midweek in the “mid $7m range”.

He also sold 3 Manning St, Queens Park to a young family for $7.15m last week.