Back in April of 2014 that Herald Sun ran a report that featured Brighton's famous bright-colored beach bathing boxes at Dendy St beach. At that time, each box was worth $260,000 that was a mysteriously high price for a small fancy shed. Those boxes were originally used as changing huts for ladies in the 1800s. The Crown passed the management of the boxes to the council in 1877.
Hocking Stuart Brighton's John Clarkson reportedly was the first to auction box No. 58 in 1999 for $58,000 and 10 years after that, he sold another for roughly $214,000. Clarkson said back then that the prices will continue to rise and he was right.
Most recently, according to Domain, another beach box on Brighton's iconic beach has sold for $285,000, which is a new record high. It was one of the 76E and 76F boxes that went to auction last Saturday. It was a rare beach auction where auctioneer Sam Paynter wore board shorts instead of a suit.
Walter Gibson, 87, and his wife Helen, 85, have been Brighton locals for 60 years but only decided just recently to buy one of the beach boxes. So from a deck chair last Saturday, according to Domain, they outbid three other bidders for box 76E. The Gibson's daughter Sally said that their 16 grandchildren will surely enjoy the box and already has plans for a party.
The other box was sold to another family for $280,000. Both of the boxes were part of the 10 new ones approved in October 2014 by the Bayside Council. They were completed in December. The vibrant Brighton beach boxes are considered international icons and they are no bigger than the usual garden shed. Many tourists are interested at the moment but only Bayside City Council locals are allowed to own a Dendy Beach box.