The story of Rachel Buckley of Alphington, who purchased a heritage former hotel in Dunolly, Central Goldfields. August 2011 How suddenly one’s life can change! One moment I am a mild-mannered widow from Alphington, next I am about to be the owner of a heritage building and a blogger to boot. I gleefully place all the blame with the National Trust - an organisation that transformed my vivid imagination into a reality. If I hadn’t been a on the tourist trail of the National Trust Heritage Festival Steam to Surf 2011, I would not have seen the property for sale. My life will soon be very different.

Blog 1

I have purchased a 150 year old former hotel in Dunolly and will move at the end of August. I leave Melbourne to embark on a whole new life in the Central Goldfields town of Dunolly. It couldn’t be more of a change from a traditional 1927 Californian bungalow to a double- story 1863 hotel. I was told I should downsize at my age, but a five-bedroom, triple- brick hotel with ballroom and cellar could hardly be called downsizing.

The Junction Hotel was run by Ann Wigham in 1863 to serve the goldminers. It stands proudly and confidently on the Maryborough Road leading to Dunolly. I pulled over and stopped the car at the approach - it was love at first sight. I resolved there and then to buy it – even if I was reduced to penury for the rest of my life. Although some friends have been quick to point out the hazards of such an impulsive buy, I have no doubt or qualms at all. I am blissfully confident – or should that be blissfully ignorant? The doubters have visions of me huddled up in one cold lonely room – like a tragic Miss Havasham of Charles Dickens. Au contraire, say I! I see the future filled with music and the dulcet tones of opera singers at my candlelight suppers – more like Hyacinth Bucket than Miss Havasham.

I am not entirely naive (well, that’s arguable). The first thing I did was to engage Archicentre to give the Hotel an inspection. I am a great believer in getting the experts and I would recommend everyone to invest in this for security and peace of mind. I wasn’t signing my life away without some idea of what was in store. Vincent McDonald from Ballarat gave a very thorough and detailed report of what needs to be tackled. Vincent was professional and spent time talking me through the problems and issues. He more or less said that we could throw a bucket load of money at the property – but it is sound and secure. I could move in just as it is, but to preserve the property we do need to tackle things in order of priority. Thank goodness, Vincent is going to be my consultant architect and help me through this. It is still a daunting venture. The property has stood for 150 years and will last another 150 years, but it does need damp course treatment to stop rising salt damage. The property is on the flood prone area of Burnt Creek. It requires improved drainage, new slow combustion fire places, guttering, roof repairs, insulation and a bund wall to reduce water runoff from the road – I could go on, but it is a long list. This is unknown territory for me and I know that it is all going to be very expensive. Ah me, bread and water from now on.

The one problem about being such an optimist is that one can get caught out. The uneasy economic climate meant that I didn’t get the last year’s price for my Melbourne house. No matter – it works both ways and I may not have been able to afford to hotel in a strong market. I don’t have enough capital to work on cosmetics for the Hotel, but I am committed to the major refurbishments. As is often the case with renovations, the most important things often aren’t seen. I think of myself as a guardian of the property rather than a sense of ownership and my duty is to make it secure for future guardians. I will delight in creating a garden and vegetable patch and living in rooms that have a history.

Nothing will happen at the hotel until settlement in August. At the moment I am trying to get insurance. It is more complicated with a heritage building and there aren’t many companies that will handle it. I have been with RACV for twenty years and never made a claim so I imagine I will be able to get them to insure me. I have to inform them how much it would be to rebuild. My answer of “prohibitively expensive” didn’t satisfy. So it appears I have to get an independent evaluation. The other issue is that the council appear to be doubling the rates – is that normal?

Ah, me. Such a steep learning curve! Time will accelerate as I get more panicked. I am about to tackle the packing up twenty years of possessions. At least I have the luxury of space and can keep everything. What painful choices we make when forced to discard loved items. My 78 rpm records, years of old theatre programmes, dust collecting objet d’art and groaning shelves of books can stay with me. Heaven! The heart is where your stuff is.

This next month, I am finalising my round of commitments in Melbourne before the big move. I will be singing my little lungs out in a marvellous programme of events. Next week I will be singing with the choir performing Puccini’s Turandot at the Robert Blackwood Hall under the baton of Richard Divall. In three weeks, I join the sopranos for the Beethoven 9th Symphony at the Melbourne Town Hall, and finally Fauré Requiem at Ivanhoe Girls Grammar. I have music to fill the interregnum – the time between the wonderful old life and the exciting new dream. What marvellous music we have in Melbourne. Now, can I replicate that in Dunolly? I’m going to give it a jolly good try.....