Building

Whatever plans for the future Dad had as a young man I do not know, but after he had been working for Bill Stewart and building houses for other folk he did dream of building one for himself and his family, though perhaps the design changed as he saw what they could accomplish.  It was not until they both retired that the knowledge and skills he had acquired were put into effect for himself.   

We had bought an acre in 1953 and by October 1978 we were able to sell half of it and begin the process of preparing for change.  First of all a drive had to be made to the back section, the hedge had to be removed and also the shed he had built, and the gum trees at the bottom of the garden were felled and burnt.  Plans were drawn up for the house, and approved. 

 

Boxing Day 1979 was celebrated for the last time at the house that had been our home for 27 years. By then though, all the children except Diana had left to begin homes of their own, and indeed by then there were 24 grandchildren, so the new house would be only for ourselves.  As it happened Dad was only able to enjoy it himself until June 1984. 

The bulldozer began work to prepare for the house on 1 December 1979, and on the 4 December the foundation was laid, and by Christmas the blocks for the basement were all in place.  On 3 January 1980 the filling for the floor was tipped into place and consolidated, and by 14 January the floor had been concreted and a month later the framework was up and the roof on. 

On 15 June 1980 we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary in the new house with 20 grandchildren and all the family except Melville and Ruth whose children had measles at that time, but it was on 7 July that we actually took up residence.  There was, of course, all the outside work still to do. 

 

On 14 March 1981 Diana was married, followed the next year by Wendy, the first of the grandchildren to do so.  About that time when Ron and Judy lived at Chartwell, when mowing on a sloping part of their section Ron managed to mow his foot as well, and as a result ended up with diabetes.  During that year both they and Graham and Sue shifted to new homes, but the next year they all moved further afield; Ron and Judy and family to Vancouver, and Graham and his to Harihari in the South Island, so of course we had to go and inspect their new homes.