Buying my first home

Back in 1980 my wife and I purchased our very first home. Since our marriage we’d been living in a flat for a couple of years at Kallangur, about 25 k’s north of Brisbane. A chance conversation with a friend set us on the path to home ownership.

I had received advice that the best way to start was to go into Brisbane and have a yarn with the Queensland Housing Commission in Adelaide Street right next to King George Square. It was a big old Government building made out of stonework and looked quite foreboding at the time.

I took the lift up to the Building Department on the third floor and asked at the front counter how to go about purchasing one of their homes. The bloke asked me what area was I interested in. This came as a pleasant surprise because I assumed I’d have to move to an entirely new location away from familiar surroundings. I told the chap that I’d lived at Kallangur for a big part of my life, and a home there would suit me fine. He replied that the Department had just constructed five houses in Brickworks Road, Kallangur, and to go and pick one out.

I thought to myself, ‘how long has this been going on?’ After rushing home and grabbing the wife we tore down the road just a couple of kilometres from our flat to inspect the homes. Well, what a surprise awaited us. There, on five different building blocks, were rows of concrete stumps set in the ground. That’s all, just stumps.

The following day we both made the journey back into Brisbane and explained to the chap that the houses were in very early building mode. This was a surprise to him, so he suggested we pick one off the plan to avoid disappointment, and I heartily agreed.  There were five choices, and if you liked timber and tin, you were in. We decided to pick one on the end as all the homes were available on a rent or buy basis, and if they attracted any riff-raff we’d only have to contend with them on the one side.

The next question was, how do we secure our home at this early stage. The chap asked me could I find $300 to hold the home? Remember, this was in 1980 and my wages were about $82 per week. Nevertheless, there was no way we were letting go this opportunity to purchase our own home, so I said ‘yes’ without hesitation.

Remember Waltons? Well, we were still paying off three rooms of furniture bought from them when we moved into the flat, so things were a bit tight. Putting all that aside, we concentrated on our frequent trips to inspect the progress of our new house. The builder was a local man who employed his two sons and they had a very good reputation. About ten weeks later we received a letter from the Housing Commission, which read,

‘The final price of your new home is $13,600 with repayments of $75 per month. Would you like to come in and pick up your keys at your earliest convenience?’

I still remember like it was yesterday how I looked at that little three bedroom and one bathroom timber and tin house with immense pride and thought, ‘My very own home’. Believe it or not, I’m choking up a bit here now.