EMPTY FARMLAND TO HOME
The House Site 1995
Rod and I purchased the land, 52 hectares, at Christmas 1994, but it took us until August 1995 to be able to start to build. In the interim we bought and lived in a thirteen and a half foot long caravan, which was placed in various, generous family members' gardens, long over staying our welcome! We did plan, very seriously, not to have any animals until we had a home and were earning a living. That first Winter we had three horses, a puppy and two kittens, so we nearly got it right.
In London we had planned, dreamed and hoped to be able to return to NZ, and we used to stroll over the South Downs wondering what best we could do to earn our living once home again. We knew that we wanted a hill, a river and some flat land, so when the estate agent drove us up the Taylor Pass and pointed out a hill, a river and some flat land - we were hooked!
This page will tell about the struggle against the elements - non stop nor west gales, wettest winter in history, the infamous " Long Drop"!!
I apologise for the much poorer quality of these earlier photographs but they were all taken on an old fashioned conventional camera. The photographs have been scanned, transferred to the computer and added to the site. Although smaller and not as clear they still give the impression of how basic life was here before electricity and running water were available.
In London we had planned, dreamed and hoped to be able to return to NZ, and we used to stroll over the South Downs wondering what best we could do to earn our living once home again. We knew that we wanted a hill, a river and some flat land, so when the estate agent drove us up the Taylor Pass and pointed out a hill, a river and some flat land - we were hooked!
This page will tell about the struggle against the elements - non stop nor west gales, wettest winter in history, the infamous " Long Drop"!!
I apologise for the much poorer quality of these earlier photographs but they were all taken on an old fashioned conventional camera. The photographs have been scanned, transferred to the computer and added to the site. Although smaller and not as clear they still give the impression of how basic life was here before electricity and running water were available.
The First Step - Building The Garage
We Have A Building !! Yippee !!
No Trees, No Bushes, No Other Buildings - Just A Garage And Shelter.
View From The Garage Door 1995 - What Do We Build Next?
View From The Garage Door 2016.
Words cannot really describe how exciting it was to have a real building on our land at last. We had owned the land since December 1994 but it took until August 1995 for us to be able to start building. For the first time we had a wee place to shelter from the endless nor west gales and the rain, for winter 1995 was very, very wet.
So, we had shelter, but no electricity, no running drinkable water and no telephone so we continued to camp out in the caravan at the cousins' farm in the next valley while negotiations went on with the power company and the builders.
So, we had shelter, but no electricity, no running drinkable water and no telephone so we continued to camp out in the caravan at the cousins' farm in the next valley while negotiations went on with the power company and the builders.
Digging For Water After The Well Came In Dry. 1995
Our putting in an offer on the land was totally dependent upon the well diggers finding drinkable water. With the land owner's permission we had to drill for water before we committed to purchase. So you can imagine our delight when the well was dry, and of course we had to pay for that even though there was no water. They then started digging back towards the river and found an enormous underground spring where the flow was so strong that the water gushed out into the river faster than the river was coming in to the hole. The whole excavation was made much larger and backfilled with tons of clean shingle, put all round the big bore pipe which would deliver our water to the pump shed. Then we were quite happy to put in our offer on the land and things started to move along.
Afternoon Tea Anyone ?
In the photo my daughter and I are enjoying tea in The Parlour on a very cold afternoon.
Caravan Life
To the left of the tent you can just see Dodger Dog and on the right is his brother Rex. They were constant companions for the building. Dodger was a cousin's pup and he wanted him kept safe while he was so small and vulnerable.
The caravan was sited to the west of the new garage where we hoped to gain some small respite from the wind. Although we unhitched the caravan on to pristine virgin grass it quickly became a muddy quagmire liberally scattered with the detritus of camping. I yearned to have hot water gushing from a tap, even cold water from a tap in the caravan would have been nice instead of having to run a hose pipe once the well was dug. To start with we had to take empty containers to town each night and fill up at a relative's, hurl our filthy washing through a machine and have a quick shower. I thought longingly of London's central heating, fountains of hot and cold water and room to get away from other people. Local family members would invite us to dinner and a bath - I hope they weren't trying to tell us something!
The House Arrives!
That was a memorable day. Our entire house was delivered on a huge truck, plus a very large crane to off load it all. Most of the timber had to be kept dry so having the garage to store it in was a vital part of the operation.
And A Crane To Off - Load It All
The builders arrived at about 7.30 each day and we were up long before that exercising young horses. Rod then spent the day, as unskilled labour, fetching and carrying - "Hold this, Hold that" his building skills advanced hugely by the end of the build.
The Walls Went Up Very Fast
After so many months of living in the thirteen foot caravan this growing house seemed like the Royal Albert Hall in comparison. I LOVED the smell of the timber and just couldn't wait to be safely installed away from the brutal elements.
Tea Break For The Lonely Builder. Is That Muffins You Have?
