The beginning

It started innocently enough, Justin said that he's seen an "interesting" house advertised in Coast and Country section of the Saturday Age in late November last year. 



FOR AUCTION "NIMMITABEL" - INGLEWOOD'S MOST ICONIC RESIDENCE

Circa 1881 - Landmark Inglewood Residence. Only the second time this grand home at 23 Verdon Street, Inglewood has been presented to the market.
A double storeyed, stuccoed building in high Victorian style, built by William Garland, and described in local Council records of the time as "a mansion". Features include arcaded doors and double hung windows at each level with elaborately carved architraves while patterned glass sidelights frame the main door. The scalloped verandah and balcony valence is of cast-iron lace as is the balustrade.

The home is built on 3 levels,excluding cellar, with 13 rooms including formal parlours with bay windows and OFP'S with timber surrounds. The cedar staircase/banister rises grandly to the upper levels.
Rooms are of spacious proportions with 14 foot ceilings.

Located on approximately one acre with original wrought iron front fence, columned gateposts and gabled, slate clad roof with finials at intersecting points the property presents an impressive facade.

"Nimmitabel" will be auctioned on Saturday, 4th December at 11:30am on site.
Inspection by appointment.


Property Features & Amenities

• General Features
• Property Type:House
• Bedrooms:5
• Bathrooms:1

• Other Features
• OFP's with marble surrounds, ornate ceilings, arcaded doors and elaborately carved achitraves.

It was an impressive, yet run down 2 story Victorian. built in 1881 by Joseph Tivey with 13 rooms for his 14 children. 

With historic blue plaque

Back then Justin was only home for the weekends as he was in Geelong during the week on circuit.  Perhaps to humour him, and also to have a day out in the country I suggested that we go up and have a look at it on the Sunday 28 November.  I invited Mum also and we all drove up in my car.  Mum was squashed in the back with the kids (I did offer her the front seat) doling out sweeties which the kids took up eagerly.

It had been raining heavily - and we thought we might not be able to get past Bridgewater as there was an SES road block.  Justin was ready to take a detour, but  I said that we should ask - and yes, they did let us through, they said the road was blocked at Charlton.  Past Bridgewater there was a lot of water by the road, and then a little further there was quite a bit of water on the road (seems like whenever we go to the country it's flooded - Ballarat/Daylesford - September with Karen & Mark)  Anyway, we drove slowly and carefully through the water, the kids thought it was great with great jets spraying either side of us.  Past a grinning wooden crocodile

Smiling Inglewood crocodile

and arrived in Inglewood at 10am to meet up with Luke Nevins the real estate agent (self proclaimed better looking twin).



Well the house was impressive, rendered brick, slate roof, 2nd story veranda, and very overgrown garden

View from street

although Luke told us that it took quite a few men quite a few days to clear out the rubbish, trim back the bushes etc - as no one had lived there for 8 years.  It was like what you would imagine the garden was like in the sleeping beauty fairy tale with overgrown brambles and hidden treasures. 

view from veranda

Mulberry tree in the back

By the way - Inglewood is a gold town, so we're expecting some successful prospecting by the kids... Anyway, there were 2 good sized front rooms which were rather tricked up with wallpaper, cornices, detailed painting etc,




1st front room



2nd front room - very ornate pelmets


a wide hallway with tesselated tiles and double doors leading into the back section and stairway. 



Front hallway

  

back area behind the stairs (2nd back door)



Looking down to hallway



Elise & Manny going up the stairs



A huge dining room with bay window which was also referred to as the ballroom,

Dining room - with what we discovered was 1970s? wallpaper over older wallpaper



a strange rather bright green bathroom with what we were told was a composting toilet and a huge showerhead over a scary looking bath. 

Bathroom

Then sort of down a little passage to an open area with shelving and wire covered cupboards,  flour bins etc and steep stairs/quasi ladder down to the cellar (which we were told not to go down to as the bottom stair was a bit wonky)  I called this room the "scullery"

Scullery (with view of pot flaoting in flooded cellar)

Following this was the kitchen with a large cast iron range and nothing else. 


Kitchen


Upstairs was a 1/2 level above the kitchen (took me a while to work this out)  with 1 boarded up window, and another broken window looking out onto the garden,

   
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Leading to the 1/2 level room on the right, and up to the 1st floor landing on the right

 



Then on the 2nd floor proper there was a large landing

Madeleine on the landing with a bucket to catch the rain water!

and 1st up were 2 small rooms with falling down wallpaper,

2 good sized rooms at the front (same as the front ones down stairs),





1st good room with wallpaper




2nd good room (no wallpaper)



a large 2nd parlour with bay window (like the downstairs dining room)

Planning on this being our bedroom 

and a funny little room leading out onto the veranda. 

Room leading onto veranda



Veranda looking towards the Calder Highway and the Royal Hotel (our local)



We were told not to let the kids go out by themselves either - as the railing was a deemed bit low for OHS.

  Opposite was the white colonial looking town hall.

Town hall

So that was the actual house.  What was amazing was that it was so original - possibly the original Victorian wallpapers, old lino in the dining room to look like a persian rug, Miss Havisham like sumptious drapes with fancy vertical bits (who know what they're called), nothing modern at all, no bad 1970s kitchen, no modern light fittings, no modern stove, I guess the composting toilet would be the only nod to the last 30 years.

 

The garden as said previously was pretty overgrown, and about an acre which seems huge compared to the gardens in the suburbs.  There was an outhouse with a drop toilet which Fraser had the misfortune to look into - he didn't do it twice. 

Drop toilet

There was also the original "laundry" a somewhat leaning structure with a brick pedestal with a cup like top with ashes in it.

Laundry

I thought it was some type of BBQ, but Justin said that it was for the copper.  I spied a few interesting trees/plants - some almonds, an ancient mulberry, 2 large cypresses, fruiting olive tree, irises, roses, plums, apples, nectarines or peaches etc.  Mum was getting into the swing of it and saying that we could have a small orchard and chickens etc.  I think that it was the orchard idea that hooked Justin, not that he had much interest in the garden, but he liked the concept of an orchard.  The kids were also planning where to put a pool, tennis court, trampoline etc etc.  as there was plenty of room.  With a couple of large empty grassed areas.

So we looked around and pondered, Luke asked what we thought and I told him a lot of work - as the roof leaked (there were buckets to catch the water upstairs),

Hole in ceiling

there were largish cracks in the render,

cracks in the bay window (top and bottom)

the whole place would need to be re-wired and plumbed, new kitchen new bathrooms, (would make one of the small rooms upstairs into a bathroom) re-plaster, polish the floors, heating etc etc. Bucket loads of money, sweat and probably tears.  I think Luke saw that I needed some convincing, Justin was already pretty much sold.  Had a quick walk around town also - quite a pretty main street with the original shop fronts. Had a lovely lunch in Kyneton at the Royal George.

We discussed the house and it's possibilities during the week  as the auction was the following Saturday on the 4th December. I thought a sensible investment property where we would get a return a better idea than a potential money pit, however I was talked around, ( the deal is that he will cover the Inglewood expenses and the kid's school fees with his salary, and we will "live" on mine, and if push ever comes to shove he would sell the house rather than sacrifice the kid's education) and also talked up from my original maximum price (which Justin had thought ridiculously low) So, he went to the auction and took his Mum for the drive - as she is interested in old houses also.  I had my cricket duties with Fraser in Knox, and told the other parents how Justin was going on a wild goose chase to Inglewood.  Janet, Liam's Mum said that she had spent the 1st 7 years of her life in Inglewood as her parents taught at the local school and remembered it as a dusty little town.  I showed them photos on my mobile phone - and they thought it looked great (and scary)


The mighty Warlords won their game and Fraser and I came home, I was surprised that Justin hadn't called me yet, as I thought that the auction was at 11 or 12 .  I tried calling him, but went to message bank.  Well, while hanging the clothes out Justin called and asked if I was sitting down, I thought he was trying to bluff me, but did sit down anyway - and yes he had bought it!!! (14K under our  maximum bid).   I guess I was shocked, both happy and terrified.  He had said there was a huge crowd there, the street had been blocked off for the auction, there was a sausage sizzle, they had bussed the oldies in from the retirement home and had deck chairs for them to sit on. 

There were about 4 main bidders and in the end it was Justin vs another guy who somewhat cheekily said that Justin should pay him to "go away" Jan had also sad he would be mad to buy it, and then again mad if he didn't - which Justin took as tacit encouragement.

I guess it's a passion project.  The local paper - the Bendigo Advertiser was also there and asked a stunned Justin to hold up the Sold sign for a photo and smile.  Well Justin is not a natural photo smiler at the best of times, and he was also having to squint into the sun, but the photo turned out quite well.  So I think that's (more than) enough for tonight - my maiden post, on my maiden blog.  I'll try and do some more tomorrow and then after each visit to monitor our progress.