Information about property advertised

"Mount Eurobodalla"
172 Reedy Creek Rd, Eurobodalla, via Bodalla NSW 2545

for more info and visits call Dennis on 04 000 365 92
or write to
dennisargall [add a @] gmail.com

Location

Here is a wide map to show distance from coast and towns. River is Tuross. Below the wide map is a close in map of the farm itself, to show boundaries.

The house is scarcely visible below the road. You enter from the road at the right of way which goes to ford and to property across the creek and turn north before the creek, through the orchard and then uphill to the house just below the road. In the Google map you may see the tin roof of the shed, you can't see the 'mist green' roof of the house (anyway, there's a red line and a yellow pin in the way). That photo has to have been taken in winter, you can see Paulownia with branches bare, in the orchard, 50 feet or so high.

The photo on the right is several years old, showing the avenue of Paulownias and orchard and open space on either side, as you drive along from the house towards the road. There is good water supply to multiple taps (10) throughout this deep black soil area.

The close in map shows distance to neighbours across the creek; and up on the ridge to our north, out of sight from our house. The boundaries are the creek, and two east west lines, southern one about 40 metres of so south of the right of way, the northern boundary just slicing into the edge of the neighbour's cleared creek flat, cutting close to their house. The eastern boundary is way up the rainforest creek east of the road and over the ridge. Land to the south and east is crown land and forestry. The road is spectacular, you go way up Reedy Creek then it becomes Dignams Creek Rd which emerges from behind Gulaga (Mt Dromedary) on the Princes Highway north of Cobargo. Used to be the Cobb and Co route from Cobargo to the Nerrigundah gold fields, there are still some drystone culverts and walls. Coming in south west from Bodalla, along the Tuross, is about 20km, of which half sealed, the rest excellent gravel for two-wheel drive vehicle. Coming west from Narooma it is mainly gravel through state forest - again OK for 2wd and very beautiful, but very occasionally logging operations block the way; if you dawdle at dusk the lyre birds will scoot away.

This (same photo as at top) is a view of the house from down below on the orchard-flood plain, photo taken in May 2010. You can see the classic colonial style. The roof ridge is 7200 long, the main body of the house 5400 wide, with, on left (maple trees by door are golden leaves) front verandah 1800 x 3600 and study/bunk room 1800 x 3600.

The main walls are 3000 high, the roof ridge 1800 above that.

There is a loft 5400x3600 over half of the interior, at 2400 height, supported by 5400 long laminated beams, the main bedroom is under that loft, multiple beds upstairs, bunk in the front room. Because the walls are 3000 and the loft floor places at 2400 on the walls, the centre of the loft has 2400 ceiling, making it comfortable. Kitchen-dining-living, country style, in the high roofed 5400x3600 space. The building in 1800 wide sections factory built — over-engineered, really.

To the right of the main part of the house (as it appears in photo above is a section 1800x5400 with bathroom (1800x3600) and toilet (1800x1800). Laundry and storage extensions are beyond that. Then woodshed, separate.

The house is ideal for two. Great for close family and visitors - there are three beds in the loft and a bunk in the front room.

LPG to flued heater in bedroom, small fridge and glass-topped four burner cooktop, instant gas hot water, also two gas spear points: [1] in living room for unflued heater (in fact not used, but useful back-up), [2] in laundry for extra fridge.

All house water, gas and electric systems properly installed by tradesmen. Irrigation systems (water delivery from roof and creek) links to house and gardens, and separate fire system (sprinklers and fire hose) from dam were put in place by me and easily maintained and developed by you. There is a 2 inch water delivery pipe to a location on another spur above the creek flats, about 100 metres walk from the house. site approved by council for a studio and 'work commenced'•••

••• technical term - site cut by dozer, water supply in place... this means approval in 2002 is still good.. a photo below shows that site with slab timber being stacked.

Nectre Bakers Oven (alongside gas cooktop, adjacent to gas fridge) for warmth and cooking in winter.

Water flows to the house by gravity from 23000 litre tank above house,. That tank is connect by a 50mm (2 inch)••••• diameter pipe from creek (using the fire pump, kept in shed) but gravity pressure from the tank was insufficient to turn on instant gas, so we have a water pump to pressurise the house supply. This can be switched off inside the house so as not to impose a constant drain on the batteries or pump noise when not wanted.

•••••50mm or 2 inch poly pipe: 'pipe friction' in this maximum diameter rural polypipe is negligible, meaning easy delivery upwards from pump and wonderful delivery downhill to the many taps in the garden, as well as to the house. There is nothing, nothing more important than good water systems when you are in the country.

Ecolet composting toilet approved by council - a very simple design, easy to manage, simply sits on floor in its room in the house.

Easter 2010; family movie

Reason for Sale

I am deeply frustrated since mid-2010 because of difficulty in managing pain medication versus wakefulness, and with sometimes dramatic weakness on my right side has made it difficult to visit on my own. Somewhat better now, but we resolve to sell... My partner Helen is if anything more in love with the place than am I but we are confronted by frustrations which make it appropriate to sell.

History/Inspirations

This property was bought in 1990 at a time when the word 'sustainable' was entering the language for the first time. I had work responsibilities to understand that and I liked to do things practically so we bought this property, with the unfair-to-others advantage of six metres of black soil by the creek.

We learned with floods in 1990 and 1992 that you cannot run a property like an office.

We postponed house building in favour of living with children on visits in a small caravan, planted an orchard and had it certified organic. We later discontinued the organic certification, no need to have products accepted in the EU, if we got to produce regularly there would be the Moruya markets Saturdays where eyes and smiles achieve certification.

We built the house to lock-up in 1997, larger shed and phone line in 1999, but my wife Margaret died in 2001. I lived there for a time in 2002, during that time expanding the place to make it habitable fulltime. You can glimpse the early days here and see on those pages some of the principles I brought to the property. But life has moved on since then and the extensions are not finished, though the core of the house entirely habitable. My health problems now means I simply have to sell.

This web page put up in 2007 will give you a sense of how I saw the place then, as well, perhaps, as a view of the inside of my head :-)

This page will give you a view of flood fun, of the creek and of the rainforest east of the road.

Before my health crashed in July 2010, I had been working on the issues arising from flood in February 2010, with the help of locals.

There are floods. The house is perched above them. Every several years three feet of water or so will run through the orchard for a few hours. In 1990 and 1992 there were floods five metres up the creek bank and another three metres on the flood plain. Also big floods in 2010 and 2011. Floods enhance the soil if you do not till too much and lose it. We have never lost soil but have gained some; we have lost several orchard trees.

The February 2010 flood followed 870mm of rain in ten days. It was not deep, no more than head height on the flood plain, but full of force, removing tress and bringing ancient logs.

You will see above right a fallen tree with enough timber in it for a small house. The slabbing rail sitting on it is 7 metres long.

To the left, moving a slab of Paulownia.

To the right, stacking Paulownia slabs on the site approved for a studio. Very suitable for siding, but not load bearing. Approval was for a building same kit style as house, 5400 x 3600 plus verandah. This could be altered to use found materials.

In addition to dealing with the fallen and washed-in wood, tidying and making use of logs, we dropped six Paulownia trees in 2010, planted in 1993, now 50-60ft high and began milling them. Felling pproved by DA in 2002. We have another 20 or so Paulownias plus coppice regrowth from stumps of felled trees.

The property is in reasonable shape, the core of the house is sound, inviting, comfortable, romantic...

The extensions need work, etc... we have only made a few visits a year for some years. It is intact and loveable ("Can't sell it, not possible" every time we arrive) but needs more love, would respond to more effort.

The orchard contains a huge variety of trees but crops are not readily available unless you net and live there with a dog, to manage parrots and bower birds. There is a considerable apple crop, mostly Golden Delicious; you need to be on hand in the beginning of January to catch them early in the rise of sugar, get there the moment before the birds. And now we have this amazing couple of logs washed in on the Feb 2010 flood, to make fantasies of timber products. For scale, see the hammer on the cut face.

The undermanager-rent-collector Wombat leaves his little visit tags on the door mat. I wish I had, to put here, the very funny sign down in the paddock, beside a huge wombat hole: "Ring this number before you dig. Telstra." Lots of wildlife, a wonderful creek with swimming hole needing clearing of branches, a rainforest gully to say "Is this really ours?"

My wish had been mid year to build this building now with wood on the property plus rock which can be gathered variously along nearby roads.

Operating the property

A new owner will wish to shape the property for personal desires: somewhere between allowing the ecosystem to head back to wilderness on the one hand and on the other, working the orchard and seeking product; in reality, it will be a bit of both.

In a determinely organic system fruit get marked and bitten: there is a general need not only to have fresh fruit and vegetables for sale, but also to produce containers of jams or sauces, etc, to use the marked product. There is a big demand for goodies like that: if you are interested in the work it could be worthwhile, adjusting the incomplete back area of the house or the site for a studio for production.

The farm is was formerly certified organic. In any case, certification is not automatically transferable — registration and approval depend on farmers' performances and their farm plans. Here is a list of certifying organisations. Mount Eurobodalla was formerly certified Organic by NASAA. You would start with the huge advantage of deep, clean, productive soil.

The farm was developed on permaculture principles, minimising distortion of the natural environment while seeking good and diverse production. The orchard has small numbers of diverse trees, different trees advantaged by different seasons and workload moderated by harvests not at one time but spread over time. Given the productive power of nature in this creek environment, that's the most sensible approach. Some coastal community resources here.... but this place has colder winters than the Illawarra. Download this edible gardens guide book.

There is a lot of useful equipment at the farm which can be available:

- metal shed, L-shaped, long sides 6 metres, ends 3 metres, storing

- 11 hp Kubota diesel tractor with deep tread rice farmer tyres, wonderful for getting around on black soil and slippery grass, seems indestructible. It is 3ft wide, 420kg, used to fit in 6x4 trailer till I added heavy weight to the front, now fits 7x4. Indestructible, costs peanuts to run. Under 500kg you are not obliged to have a ROPS (rollover protection system - a frame overhead) fitted to a tractor. In the orchard environment a ROPS would be dangerous, snagging on trees. Driving traight up and down slopes is the key to safety.

- 3pl (three point linkage) attachments: slasher 3ft (on the tractor, in photo), blade 6ft, tow ball frame, carry-all. A trailer.

- back up generator (not needed unless days of rain, but was a requirement for solar panel subsidy in 2002) in the shed (away from the house, not noisy when you are in the house). This generator will deliver 240v to the system in the house, lighting the house, and charging batteries. The same trench to the house has a 240v line from the house to provide power in the shed fulltime. The trench also contains a 25mm pipe from a tank by house which pipe delivers roof water from that tank into the gravity tank above the shed, using an electric pump— these are 'redundant systems,' things you use when other systems are out.

- near new fire pump and 15hp electric start mulcher,

- chain saws,

- various others farm tool stuff

ALL THESE ITEMS IN THE SHED ARE FOR SEPARATE NEGOTIATION WITH A BUYER OF THE PROPERTY
— AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE, ALSO INDICATIVE OF GENERAL SYSTEM NEEDS

The core of the house is sound and approvable, I complicated it by building extensions which I have not finished properly and now I am having difficulty finishing. People down here giggle about finishing building - "nobody ever finishes, what would we do if we finished?"

UCV $125,000, rates <$200 a quarter. Improvements including house, independent systems, shed, orchard.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Asking $220,000, offers welcome.

For more photos click here

Dennis Argall 04 000 365 92 click here for blog