A SMALL part of North Queensland’s heritage has been saved from landfill as the five properties situated on the historic Fanning River Station property near Charters Towers, will be given a new lease of life as affordable housing projects around the North.
The station was ceded to Defence to be used for the army’s Townsville field training area, known as High Range and they’d planned to demolish the buildings if they weren’t removed.
House relocation company Renewable Homes’ business principal Jo Veneman won the tender from the Department of Defence last year for all five buildings on the land, with the cottage and a three-bedroom stockman’s cabin being relocated to new owners Jason, Budd and Sue Green’s property at Bluewater late last week.
“The historical significance of Fanning River Station is that it was the first pastoral run to be established north of the Burdekin River,” Ms Veneman said.
The plot was purchased by John Melton Black in 1861. Mr Black as readers may be aware went on to become the first mayor of Townsville, and constructed a jetty on the Ross Creek in 1864 which eventually became the Port of Townsville.
A town planner by trade Ms Veneman said she caught the house relocation bug when she was 22 when she bought her own house.
“The place I purchased had a big backyard, and I had the idea of putting in another dwelling,” she said.
“Instead of purchasing a kit home, I found a cottage that was marked for landfill which was very well built; all it needed was a bit of work.
“After I finished renovating that, I realised there was so many other unique Queensland houses being buried in landfill, along with their stories and history.
Putting people in affordable places is a mission that is close to Ms Veneman’s heart.
“By relocating and renovating these homes we provide affordable housing for families and the community, while saving irreplaceable timbers and materials, along with our heritage and environment.
“We either take them on as restoration projects or offer them for sale, sometimes for free, all you have to do is pay for the relocation costs, we raise the house, transport it to the new destination and re-stump it.”
She said it could be one solution for the housing affordability crisis if more people were willing to spend time renovating these great old places that are ear-marked for demolition.
“Getting rid of perfectly good houses should be illegal,” she said.
Ms Veneman said after getting the two buildings in the ground at Bluewater (which in total took 12 and a half hours to relocate), her next projects on the docket will be to move the homestead building to a property in Charters Towers, and the two-bedroom cottage to Bambaroo, near Paluma.
New owner Jason Green said it’s been a very exciting time over the last couple of weeks.
“Watching the truck coming down the street with the cabin tethered to the back was a sight to see,” he said.
Mr Green said they’ll be getting to work on the restoration project now that it’s in the ground.
“My mum will be moving into the cabin so that will be the priority, we’re hoping to get that ready for her in around six months,” he said.
“We’ll tinker with the cottage on the weekends and turn it into a guest house, and we’ll eventually put in a terrace in for access to the main house.
To view the range of homes that Ms Veneman and her team at Renewable Homes have saved and are currently available for purchase visit the website at http://www.renewablehomes.com.au/
