DIY restoration of police barracks preserves ancient and colonial history
Kim and Alan originally planned to complete the restoration on weekends. (ABC/Fremantle Media: Sally Griffiths)
The last thing former Sydneysiders Kim and Alan expected to happen during a weekend exploring, was to stumble upon their future family home.
And, to be fair, the limestone cottages they found in the tiny town of Wee Jasper, north-west of Canberra, were anything but homely.
The local wildlife had moved in, the floors were rotting and some of the walls had cracks so big you could almost argue they were a window.
"We came out here and there was no doors on the buildings, animals were in there," Alan told ABC iview's Restoration Australia.
"[But] we could see the beauty of it through the initial shock of how it was left."
"I think it was love at first sight actually. I loved it," Kim said.
After thinking about it for six months, Kim and Alan spent $207,000 to buy the property in 2019, which also included the burnt-out remains and licence to the town's pub.
While the long-term plan is to revive the tavern, the first thing on the couple's mind was working out how, on weekend trips and with the help of their handy family, they could bring their limestone cottages into the 21st century.
"We want to turn this place into something really comfortable for ourselves and for our kids, grandkids," Alan said.
'A hell of a lot of work to do'
Kim and Alan's project involved restoring the two stone buildings, built in 1884, that were originally the police barracks and an adjacent storeroom.
The old jail cell was long gone, a wash house ended up on a neighbouring property and the police stables at the back had become the local pub before it was ravaged by fire.
Officers stationed at the barracks, including Aboriginal trackers, were mostly kept busy with stock theft. The biggest case they worked on was the murder of a young woman by another local to cover up an out-of-wedlock pregnancy.
Along with the building's police past, the stones it's made of, and the many fossils within them, speak to a time hundreds of millions of years ago when the land was formed.
And if that wasn't enough to entice Kim and Alan, the cottages sit on a plot of land with access to the Goodradigbee River.
But for all its history and views, the stone structures needed substantial work — inside and out.
"It is challenging because we have a timeline and it's weekend work, so it requires us to pull our weight," Kim said
"There is a hell of a lot of work to do."
An ambitious plan
Outside, the walls that had started sinking and cracking apart needed jacking up, and the mortar between all the stones needed to be redone.
The plan was to tear down the ramshackle extension at the back and replace it with a light-filled timber extension, with a focus on the views down the valley.
Inside, the job was even bigger.
As well as connecting the cottages to electricity and running water, the floors and windows needed restoring, the walls in most places had to be patched up and rendered over, and the new extension built, featuring a modern kitchen.
Kim and Alan's initial ambitious plan was to have the entire project done and dusted in 18 months for $150,000.
The first task was to repair the structural damage to the walls by finding solid ground and jacking them back up, before laying concrete footings underneath.
But the end of the drought in southern NSW made the job harder than expected.
"So much rain and we're still struggling with the softness of the clay," Alan said.
"We're possibly fighting a losing battle, but we're not going to give up yet."
But his perseverance paid off — the wall lifted and the crack narrowed enough to be filled and covered.
In the stretches of bad weather or when the sun went down, Alan kept himself busy with the mammoth job of patching and rendering the interior walls.
"It’s sucking all the moisture out of the lime, sand, into the wall which is what we want," he said.
"Then I’ll sponge it down and get the real nice sponge finish on it."
Family support crew
Despite their hard work, Kim and Alan's original budget and deadline flew by and the goal to have it as a weekend project was thrown out the window.
"Weekends were great, but it was just not enough," Kim said.
After selling their house in Sydney, the pair set up camp on-site in their caravan.
Kim went back to teaching in the local school and Alan "[walked] into" a part-time gig as the groundsman.
"It’s amazing to be back teaching, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. At the moment it’s really right to be here and working with these kids," Kim said.
"I thought, whilst working on the house, a few dollars coming in [wouldn't be bad]. It’s been great," Alan added.
Living in Wee Jasper gave Kim and Alan much-needed extra time for the restoration.
On top of that, a working bee weekend with their children supercharged their progress.
"The boys are down, [I] always have a lot of fun with them," Alan said.
"They've just put 100 per cent effort into helping Kim and I do this build.
"It's awesome being a father working with your children. It's probably the best experience ever."
For Kim, having all of her kids — and even some of her grandkids — involved made the project all the more special.
"Having the kids here is really good, they are seeing it happen and they are building it and … it's for them as well," she said.
'Fun now it's finished'
Three and a half years later, Kim and Alan's hard work paid off as the once-deserted limestone police barracks were finally transformed into a cosy family home.
Even though the final cost came in around $400,000 — considerably more than their $150,000 budget — the pair said they made the conscious decision to go above and beyond to create the house they wanted.
"It's a beautiful outcome, we just love it and we love living here," Kim said.
"We love that the kids love coming out here and we're just so happy with the way the house is now singing."
"It ended up being a lot more work in different areas that we weren't expecting," Alan said.
"You can get tradies out all day long and build a home, but when you're actually involved yourself, boots and all, it’s a lot of fun.
"It’s a lot of fun now it’s finished," he added, laughing.
The pair said there had been a lot of "wows" from local community members who'd seen the transformation.
"They remember what it looked like with the sheep in it … and the wombats … don't mention the rats and the possums," Alan said.
And, as for the pub, Kim and Alan's application to make it their next project is sitting with the local council, but both are hopeful it will be brought back to life in the next few years too.
The new season of Restoration Australia airs tonight on ABC TV at 8pm or stream the whole season on ABC iview.