When we purchased the land we had to decide what to do with it. Our first thoughts were to build a small cottage and use it as a weekender. As we spent more time out there we wondered why wait? Let’s move now! If we could possibly get there within two years our kids could go to the local high school. They would have a country upbringing during their teenage years. The district was growing and we could be involved in what was happening in our village. A bit naïve and idealistic but let’s give it a go. We could always sell up and move back to the city.
As for this move to the country, my friends could not believe I was going to do this. I was not exactly Country Woman material. I didn’t like cooking and was not very good at it. I couldn’t knit, sew or make jam and didn’t even know how to make scones! My girlfriends were in shock because my plan was to retire to an inner city apartment where cafes and restaurants were on my doorstep allowing me to go out for breakfast, lunch and dinner and there would be no gardens to worry about. There was talk of building a chook pen and buying a couple of cows. Oh my god, I was scaring myself!
We knew nothing about living in the country. My only knowledge was from holidays at my Granny and Grandad’s farm when we were kids. My sister and I would get up early and go to the milking shed with Grandad. Granny would have the wood stove going and cook lots of delicious cakes and scones and Dad would always take us to the outside toilet in case there were spiders in there. I did religiously watch A Country Practice and Blue Heelers and learned about village life from Midsomer Murders and Heartbeat! We would need to be more organised as the local shops are 16 km away and the Hyperdome 100 km. There is no take-away food delivery in the village and I refused to think about the dirt roads and wildlife!
Luckily we only have about 500 metres of dirt road to drive on. The fact that we have two acres of land with nothing on it and we needed to plant trees and create gardens was not even on my radar. There is lots of green grass as our land has been a cow paddock for decades. Our neighbours have beautiful properties with gorgeous gardens. We saw the photos of when they started on their bare blocks and eventually ours will look like theirs with lots of trees and gardens – in about twenty years time maybe!
Our land is on what used to be Falls Farm and there is a beautiful waterfall not too far away. I have only been down to the Falls once and will not be going again. Our real estate agent took us down there when we were looking at the land. Peter and the girls had been many times when they were camping but I had not had that pleasure. Walking along the narrow dirt track where you had to fight your way through the overgrown bush on one side and make sure you didn’t fall over the cliff on the other side was not my idea of fun.
When we started the process of figuring out what type of house we wanted we had no idea. Would we go for transportable, relocatable or kit home or have a house built? We spoke to the bank, builders, the council and looked at every web site on the internet and were bombarded with brochures in the mail.
We decided a kit home would not be a good idea, as we knew nothing about building a house. Peter certainly discounted the idea of living in a shed on the land while we built the house, as he didn’t relish years of camping with me! We finally chose a builder and designed our country cottage. Majors Creek is a historic gold mining village and most of the houses date back to those days. We wanted a house which would fit into the village and decided to build a weatherboard cottage with a wrap around verandah and a tin roof. It would be a thoroughly modern house inside and we would have a long hallway and a large kitchen/living area and timber floors.
Peter drove each time we went to Majors Creek and he had to do all the paperwork for the purchase, development application, builder’s contract and all the purchases we had to make. He also had to fill out all the forms for my doctor and hospital visits. I had trouble choosing items for the house because I could not see them clearly. All the carpet looked the same in the shop and choosing paint and colours for the walls and roof was challenging. Choosing all our plumbing fittings was fun because they all looked the same to me!
We loved visiting our block. With all the chaos happening in our lives it was lovely to just sit on the grass with only the sound of the birds and the cows around us. It was often very cold and we would take our thermos of coffee and our blanket and rug up and enjoy the peace. It became harder and harder to leave each time and we could not wait to get started on our house. We would wander around and measure up everything and plan where the veggie patch and chook run would go. Watching our house come to life was very exciting. We camped in the house for the Folk Festival. We had walls and windows and part of the floor down and it was fun to set up the camp kitchen in the kitchen. The house was also a lot warmer than a tent!
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