74 australiancountry.net.aubasic things like take up the carpets and polish the
floors. We also removed the kalsomine from the walls
and repainted and retiled the bathroom.”
The “real” renovation, however, had to wait for a
decade later, when the Murdochs and their three
youngsters actually moved out and lived with their
parents and, for a time, in a caravan on-site. “It was
a massive job as we pretty much pulled the house
apart and put it back together again,” Lee-Annerecalls. “It was still very much a hands-on project.
I’d always wanted a green kitchen, so we bought
a fl at-pack one and Dad painted it. It still is my
favourite room in the house.”
A self-proclaimed minimalist, Lee-Anne says she
was aided and abetted by her mother when it came to
the furnishings. “Mum has a keen eye for both quality
and a bargain,” she says. “She always sees potential
and I used to go with her to farm clearance sales and
auctions. On one occasion, she picked up a slightly fi re-
damaged oak dresser for $2 and a table for 50 cents.”
As Lee-Anne and Richard hand over to Will, they
have packed up many of these treasures and either
moved them to their nearby beach house or into
storage until someone wants them. For Lee-Anne,
who has taught in the district for 34 years and now
knows just about every child and parent on the
peninsula, it is also a time of transition from full-
time teaching to the replacement-teacher pool. “I love
it as every day is diff erent,” she says. “But I’m scaling
back to make time for other things. While aspects
of leaving the homestead are hard, it’s not as though
we’re never going back there. And it’s time for Will
to get himself established. Both Richard and I are
fi rm believers that it’s important to know when it’s
time to move on.”Above: Murray
Grey cattle in the
yards and canola
in the paddock
To p : The stone
homestead has been
much extended from
the original two-
room shepherd’s hut.
AT HOME WITH HISTORY