And in the beginning..

And in the beginning... there was a house. 

Not a particularly nice house to live in, it had no hot water, no gas, no electricity (and a meter box that would feel more at home in Frankenstein than any modern home), and the undeniable odour of dust.  I never thought dust could have an odour all of its own, but after walking through those doors with the estate agent and being assaulted by a thick film of what i can only call 'air-dust' I am a convert.  Anyway, long story short, the history of the house (and the history behind the 'air-dust') now known fondly as Hill Manor (as i can piece it out) started out as follows. 

Whilst the exact age of the house is unknown my best guess is that the house was built somewhere between 1910 and 1925 (no council records/approvals to worry about in those days).  This is consistent with the style of the original house (those features which aren't obviously from the 60s and 70s) and backed up further by newspapers I later found roughly plastered to the walls of the workshops under the house which were dated 17 February 1917 (Family Circle newspaper if anyone is interested and yes it has a big one page advertisement calling on people to purchase war bonds). 

The house was built by a man whose family (and later son) continued to live in the house for the next 70-80 years.  He also built the two houses next door this house on the right hand side of the property.  The house remained in that family's possession until approximately 2009 when the property was purchased by the Brisbane City Council for use as a by-pass for the nearby main road. 

Thankfully the by-pass was cancelled (the house was saved) and in 2010 and the house was used as emergency council accomodation for a number of persons for the next year and a bit.  In early-2011 the house was vacated and put up for auction on a number of occasions.  Whilst attracting several bids, the property did not acheive the required price and sat empty for the next year and a half.  In December 2012 I signed a contract for the purchase of the property at a price acceptable by the council and at 3pm on Friday 13 January 2012 (yes, Friday the 13th at 1300 on a 24 hour clock)  the contract settled and I became the owner of (and began the struggle to renovate) 'Hill Manor'. 

The below link is to a slideshow with all the photographs from the house and yard on when i first bought it.
http://www.flickr.com//photos/the_renovator/sets/72157629371995118/show/