16 australiancountry.net.auAT HOME IN THE COUNTRY
Clockwise
from right:
Most of the furniture
has been upcycled
from roadside finds
and second-hand
sites; Jules and Matt
with Ava, Hollin and
Nayten; the house
is in the Sunshine
Coast hinterland;
the wrap-around
veranda was a
selling point.
When you’ve spent your whole life in a small
country town where everyone knows everyone
and community gatherings are more like big
family reunions, pulling up stumps to start a new
life elsewhere can be daunting. After growing
up together in the central Queensland town of
Clermont, Jules and Matt Fish wanted to give their
three children, Ava, Hollin and Nayten, something
a little diff erent. “We loved growing up and raising
our children in Clermont,” Jules says. “But we felt it
was time to go and start a new adventure.”
When Matt, a diesel fi tter contracted to various mine
companies, began spending more time away working,
Jules set her sights on being closer to a city and the beach
so the family would have plenty to keep them busy while
Matt was away and be able to enjoy exploring their new
surrounds together when he was home. So began the
search for the perfect locale. After two years of trawling
real estate sites, Jules stumbled upon a home that instantly
appealed in the rural community of Diamond Valley, 25
minutes from Sunshine Coast beaches and an hour north
of Brisbane. “When Matt called to inquire, they told us
the house was under contract already,” she says. “I was
devastated as it was the only house I had come across that
I really loved.” They changed directions and kept up their
search, all the while hoping for a miracle. “After a month
or so, we called to make sure the house had sold and to
our delight the contract had fallen through that day,” she
recalls. “We threw the kids in the car and made the 10-hour
road trip down to see the open house they were having
that weekend.
“As soon as we pulled up, I knew it would be ours. My
heart skipped a beat and I saw a beauty and uniqueness
that was missing in all the houses I had seen before. The
wrap-around veranda overlooking the beautiful