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Sep 5, 2022
Local person: martial arts instructor Mark Walker
Martial arts instructor Mark Walker is selling his beautifully renovated 1860s terrace on 56 Campbell St, Wollongong. He renovated the property to honour his late wife, who had a vision to see the property restored in a manner that celebrated opulence and its period charm. Here’s how the man, who trained under the legendary Bruce Lee’s trainer, carried out the project… You’re selling 56 Campbell St, Wollongong. Why did you buy the house? I’d been living interstate for a number of years, and I came back to Wollongong, because this is where my family was. This is where I met my future wife. She’s since passed away. So we fell in love with the house. We got gazumped three times, so we always knew it was a popular little place. What’s the history behind the house? Over the years, I've heard some differing accounts, all of which sound plausible. Firstly, we were told it was built in the 1860s, but subsequent information suggests it was built in 1881. The gentleman who built the terraces, built this one as the larger and premium one. This is the one that he and his family lived in. And over the following 20 years, he built all of the others. My grandmother, when she was a young child, lived in one on the other end. I didn't find that out until after I bought it. What have you done to the house in that time? We tried to retain the original colonial or period character. Everything that we've done or changed has always been with a view of keeping it as heritage looking as possible, or of a glamour feel that suited the style. We’d build luxury when we could. So we were always mindful of the fact that we had this dream that we wanted to be as sympathetic to that as possible. It's like a sanctuary and an oasis. It’s truly beautiful. We’ve gone to no end of trouble to keep to certain themes. It’s opulence and period friendly. Why have you decided to sell it? We were forced to close our (martial arts) business (during COVID). So at that point, my wife had only just recently passed away. That's when I devoted much of my time and effort to finish off the renovations to this terrace as a little bit of an honour to my wife who passed away. She really wanted to be the driving force behind it, but she died of leukaemia. And the last few years of life were pretty horrific. I wanted to honour her by finishing the project in the way she would have wanted. She was a style guru. She was always in the fashion industry. So I did my level best to do her proud. You have martial arts artefacts throughout the house. When and how did you get involved in martial arts? Yeah, I started martial arts back in 1964. So it’s always been a part of my life. And the business that I lost was a very successful school here in Wollongong. It was started at the same time coincidentally as buying this terrace. In the future we plan to make an online martial arts business. You’re an instructor in different martial arts disciplines? What are those? I have the style that, after so many years, I founded myself. I trained directly under the founder of one style called Hapkido, and he was actually one of Bruce Lee's instructors. So I now have my own style which is called Zen Dan Kwan. My school was called Zen Dan Swan School of Martial Arts. Then there’s Hapkido, Judo, plus Japanese sword which is called Kenjutsu. When I was younger, I did karate and I started off doing judo from the age of five to 20.There’s a lot of martial arts there (laughs). What is your greatest achievement in regards to martial arts? Well, we've had so many students and we've graduated some of the most incredible young people. We've helped people become black belts and we've seen people grow from little children into highly successful young adults. I’m still in contact with many of them. They’re like my grandchildren. What’s next for you after 56 Campbell St? Well, my new partner, Maggie and I have decided it's time for a tree change. We want to be able to plant some trees and have some birds and a couple of dogs. And we look forward to having the grandkids visit. To talk to Joanne about listing and selling your property, phone (02) 4285 7400. Or learn more about 56 Campbell St Wollongong. Are you or a loved one moving into aged care? Register for our free short course and learn how to right size your home when moving into aged care.
Aug 30, 2022
Local event: UCI Road World Championships 2022
Not sure how the UCI Road World Championships 2022 in Wollongong will impact you? We’ve put together a guide to help you best navigate Fairy Meadow, Balgownie, Mount Ousley and Mount Pleasant during the major international cycling event from September 17 to 25. While for some residents it will mean front row seats to the 1000 international cyclists competing for a gold medal, for others it will mean major road closures without access to work, businesses being shut and schools undertaking remote learning. Some of the hardest hit streets will be Foothills Road, Balgownie Cabbage Tree Lane, Fairy Meadow Ramah Avenue, Mount Pleasant. These roads are on the main race course and will be closed for at least a part of each day from September 17 to 25, and up to 11 hours on major race days. Here is your guide to one of the top five sporting events in the world that’s expected to bring in $95 million to the region. Which roads will be impacted during the UCI Road World Championships 2022? Different roads at different times will be impacted. It’s a good idea to work out what roads will impact you. From the Wollongong 2022 website, we’ve collated the details of the immediate roads impacted in the area. Transport for NSW and Wollongong City Council will be managing traffic flow on open streets to ease congestion. Major roads The M1, Memorial Drive and the Princes Highway (except for a section in Fairy Meadow) will operate as usual throughout the week. Towradgi Road and Balgownie Road will be permanently open and serve as connectors to the suburbs of Mt Ousley, Fairy Meadow, Towradgi and Balgownie. Other road closures Saturday, September 17 from 7.30am to 12pm (Fairy Meadow and Mount Ousley) Squires Way Carters Lane Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford StDaisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Sunday, September 18 from 8am to 6pm Squires Way Carters Lane Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Monday, September 19 from 11.30am to 6pm Squires Way Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Tuesday, September 20 from 8am to 6pm Squires Way Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Wednesday, September 21 from 12.30pm to 6pm Squires Way Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Thursday, September 22 from 8am to 1.30pm Squires Way Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade) Dymock St Ryan St (from Dymock St to Barker St) New Mount Pleasant Rd (from Ryan St to Rose Parade) Brokers Rd (The Parkway to Ramah Ave) Ramah Ave Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Friday, September 23 from 7am to 6pm Squires Way Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade. Managed local resident access only both directions on Cabbage Tree Lane between Foothills Rd and Vereker St available from 11.35am to 12.50pm) Dymock St Ryan St (from Dymock St to Barker St) New Mount Pleasant Rd (from Ryan St to Rose Parade) Brokers Rd (The Parkway to Ramah Ave) Ramah Ave (Managed local resident access only Ramah Ave at Ocean View Parade for access to Cabbage Tree Lane available from 11.30am to 12.50pm) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Saturday, September 24 from 6.45am to 6pm, unless otherwise stated below. Squires Way Carters Lane (11.30am to 2.30pm) Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade. Managed local resident access only both directions on Cabbage Tree Lane between Foothills Rd and Vereker St available from 9.50am to 1pm) Dymock St Ryan St (from Dymock St to Barker St) New Mount Pleasant Rd (from Ryan St to Rose Parade) Brokers Rd (The Parkway to Ramah Ave) Ramah Ave (Managed local resident access only Ramah Ave at Ocean View Parade for access to Cabbage Tree Lane available from 9.50am to 1pm) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) Sunday, September 25 from 9.15am to 6pm (unless otherwise stated below) Squires Way Carters Lane (9.15am to 12.15pm) Elliotts Rd (Carters Lane to Grafton St) Clifford St Daisy St (Elliotts Rd to Lila Ave) Bourke St Princes Highway (Bourke St to Cabbage Tree Lane. Access maintained to Leisure Coast Fruit Market via Fairy Ave. Exit via Princes Hwy northbound only) Cabbage Tree Lane (Princes Hwy to Ocean View Parade. Managed local resident access only both directions on Cabbage Tree Lane between Foothills Rd and Vereker St available from 9.50am to 1pm) Dymock St Ryan St (from Dymock St to Barker St) New Mount Pleasant Rd (from Ryan St to Rose Parade) Brokers Rd (The Parkway to Ramah Ave) Ramah Ave (Managed local resident access only Ramah Ave at Ocean View Parade for access to Cabbage Tree Lane available from 9.50am to 1pm) Foothills Rd Dumfries Ave (Bellebrae Ave to Strone Ave) Strone Ave Mount Ousley Road (Gaynor Ave to Princes Hwy) Princes Highway (Mount Ousley to Lysaght St. Northbound closed. Two-way traffic maintained via southbound lanes) See UCI Road World Championships 2022 interactive maps for more information or a visual view. What will happen to the public transport around the Fairy Meadow area? The Wollongong shuttle bus from Fairy Meadow to Wollongong will have alterations to the routes, including the stops and schedules. During the event there will be 3 free shuttle services replacing the Free Gong Shuttle 55A and 55B, from 17 to 25 September. However, there will be no extra bus routes as part of the event. Spectators are encouraged to use these free shuttle buses. Details and route maps will be available on transportnsw.info and wollongong2022.com.au. Additional train services with extra seats and stops will be running every 30 minutes on the Illawarra and South Coast Line during event times. Updated train timetables will be available on Trip Planner. People are also encouraged to walk and ride where possible. Pedestrian crossing points will be around the course. Where are the pedestrian crossing points? Crossings will only be facilitated between races at the times specified, or during road races (in addition) if course management confirms it is safe. They are also subject to change. However, for now, local resident traffic crossing points in the area are: Friday, September 23 (11.35am to 12.50pm) and Saturday, September 24 (9.50am to 1pm) FAIRY MEADOW: Cabbage Tree Ln – east west access on Cabbage Tree Lane between Foothills Rd and Vereker St MOUNT PLEASANT: Crossing Ramah Ave at Ocean View Pde to join Cabbage Tree Lane What businesses will have changed operating hours? We have put a message on our Facebook page encouraging businesses which will be modifying or closing operations during the race, or who have access arrangements, to share with us. If you’d like to be part of the list, please include your details here or via our contact form. We'll then add them below. Allure Beauty, Fairy Meadow - Closed Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning, Friday and Saturday. Which schools will be remote learning? Students and parents impacted by school closings and a return to remote learning have been advised. The public schools in the area that will be impacted include: Mount Ousley Pleasant Heights Public School Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School For more information, visit https://wollongong2022.com.au/
Aug 5, 2022
Local people: former One Agency Fairy Meadow owner Sally Absalom
This month, One Agency is celebrating 10 years in Fairy Meadow. The business was started by Sally Absalom in the current Shop 3/19-21 Princes Highway, Fairy Meadow location. Sally and current owner Joanne Danckwardt talk about the early days of real estate, how the industry has changed, and where they see things moving in the future. [siteloft_youtube video_id="/RL8JmIj9cz0" autoplay="1" suggestions="1"] What made you want to get into real estate in the first place? Sally: It was a significant life event change. So I moved back to Wollongong from Tasmania and I decided to apply for a job in real estate. Joanne: I had been in sales for a long time, but I had sold things like I worked for Peters Ice Cream, so I sold ice cream and then I went into Kambrook and so I was selling electrical appliances and vacuum cleaners. I thought, 'I can do sales. What more could I sell?' I thought, well, I don’t mind houses (laughs). But I thought, no, I’d like to sell bigger ticket items. So that’s how I got into it. When I started, it was almost 30 years ago and I was employed to help buyers. So I was actually a buyer’s agent. How did you come to start up the Fairy Meadow branch of One Agency? What appealed to you about Fairy Meadow? Sally: The real estate industry has an annual conference called AREC (Australian Real Estate Conference). It was on the Gold Coast and I was talking to a girl there who talked me into it basically. There was a lot more freedom to what you could do. Why did you choose this particular location and building? Sally: With One Agency, you get a postcode. So I thought that's where I was pretty well known and I wanted the location of the highway. For the both of you, it was rare in the early days for females to be real estate agents. What was that time like for both of you? Joanne: It was really good for females to come into the industry. But I think it took the guys aback. I don't know about the office that you were in, but I was with three male directors and they hadn't had females in the office. Sally: I remember putting my photo on my business card and the guys were like "what are you doing that for?" Joanne: It was tough. I was four months pregnant before I told my directors that I was pregnant with my son because I was really worried about what they would do. And they employed another person within one week, because they all said their wives had terrible pregnancies and they judged me on that. And I never had any time off during my whole pregnancy. I worked right up to probably a week or two weeks before he was due. How did clients react to having a female agent back then? Sally: They liked it. I think we listened better. The vendor would just finish telling the story of the house and they’d (male colleague) ask a question about the thing they’ve just finished telling them about. They weren’t listening. Joanne: I found it really easy to relate to both parties. Did you find that? And I think I understood both parties. All the men cared about was garaging, the yard and how much is it going to cost me. That's really the only questions they were concerned about. But women, they wanted to see where the kitchen was and could they look into the backyard from the kitchen. Where are the bedrooms located? Is the master near the other bedrooms for the children. How many bathrooms? Completely different idea on what was important to them. Sally: The people selling, they’ve always got a story about the house. There’s that emotion. What about house prices and interest rates, which are hot topics at the moment. What do you remember of those early days? Joanne: Do you remember the 19% interest rate? Sally: Yeah, I had one (laughs). Joanne: Today is nothing compared to what it was like back then. Sally: And prices are different now. It’s always been peaks and troughs. And as they always say, never buy in a boom. You two worked together, when you Sally owned the business. What memories do you have of that time? Sally: There was a lot of debriefing. Joanne: Yes, it’s true. Because nobody understands it. Sally: You need to talk to somebody who understands it, and someone aside from your partner. Their eyes glaze over (laughs). Joanne: It's a high stress environment. There's a lot that goes on, there's a lot of pressure to get it right, to please people. You want to get it right, you want to do your best and you want to get the best result you can. And so there's pressure and you need to be able to talk things through. Sally: We had some fantastic auctions too. We’d come from a company that taught us really all about the auction process and we continued in that same vein. Joanne: The other thing, talking about AREC, I think we embraced a lot of things as well from AREC. So that was a really great educational environment, but it also exposes you to all the things that are coming. And if you're an early adopter, and I like to be an early adopter, then you reap the benefits Speaking of changes, what have been some of those changes in the industry that you've seen? Sally: The marketing is really important and so having the internet and videos of properties, there’s so much more effort goes into videos and styling properties. Joanne: It’s a lot different to what it was. Sally: The presentation is so important. People make a decision within a few minutes. If you don’t get that right, you’re doing a disservice to the property. Joanne: It wasn’t just the internet, but having computers too. I worked in other sales industries which had computers in the business. I came into real estate and I felt like I'd gone back 10 years because they had no computers. So I had the little box. Sally: Yes, the card system. Joanne: So when a new property came on, you’d get your little cards out and you’d look through all your notes and you give them a call and then you pop them in your car. But I love those days because you really got to know the client. Sally: In Wollongong, there used to be a very strong Estate Agents Co’op. We used to get together every Wednesday - all the agents. We’d get on a bus and we’d go out and look at every listing. Then there’d be a fight to get back to ring everybody to get that person there first. Joanne: One of the biggest changes, I feel, is we had all the knowledge. That’s shifted now because of the internet. Now, everybody has the knowledge with what’s going on. So you’re not employing an agent for their past knowledge on sales, you’re employing them for other reasons - like their negotiation skills, marketing. Sally: It’s being able to give the vendors the right advice. Especially being able to prepare their property for sale. What would you like to see happen in real estate in the future? Sally: I guess you’d want to see people trust you. Getting clients to trust you is very important. If you don’t have that, it’s too hard. Joanne: I think that everybody talks about technology and technology has been fantastic and we're really benefiting from it. However, my belief is it’ll never replace the agent because it's such a personal thing buying a house. You go through a lot of emotions and I don't think that a computer or an iPad or a virtual tour or anything like that can replace the actual agent and that interaction. And even if people can do a lot of things themselves, buyers don't like dealing directly with the seller. So I think we will always have a place. To talk to Joanne about any of the topics from within the interview with Sally Absalom - whether buying or selling - phone (02) 4285 7400. Are you or a loved one moving into aged care? Register for our free short course and learn how to right size your home when moving into aged care.
Jul 1, 2022
Local places: Balgownie community garden Bally's Patch
Known as Bally’s Patch, the Balgownie Community Garden has gone through its fair share of challenges over the past two years. It not only lost members due to COVID and was affected by vandalism, but also battled weather extremes, such as drought, floods and high winds. However, garden coordinator Georgia McKeon said the Bally's Patch garden members remained positive about its future and impact on the community. Here’s the story of the Lot 21, Church St, Balgownie garden. When and how did the Balgownie Community Garden start? It's been around for a good 10 years. It was the brainchild of a lady named Rebecca Schafer who’s one of the neighbours to the garden. She went to the council and got the various approvals to let us use the land as a garden. Who's responsible for Bally’s Patch? We've got a committee of people who hold positions - although there’s not huge competition for those. (laughs). But yes, it's a committee. We have an annual general meeting. We're officially listed as a charity. Rebecca is the president of that and we make decisions collectively, but also with a certain amount of freedom. So I don't go to the committee when I think we should plant peas, for example. You've had quite a few challenges the past few years. What sort of things have you had to face with the garden? This year’s been particularly challenging. With the COVID lockdowns we weren't able to hold meetups for a few periods there. And also quite a few of our members are older, so even when we were allowed to get together in groups again, a lot of people were not super comfortable coming back to the garden. We have lost members over the past couple of years, which is a shame. I understand though, that it’s been two years of interrupted meetups and planning and all those things. It’s not easy. So at the end of 2020, we were coming to the end of the big bad drought. So that was a pretty rough time. The garden was quite affected by that. It's really hard to grow things when there's no water in the soil. Weather did get better after that, but then we had all the COVID lockdowns, which was really hard. And then this year, as you know, we have a bit of a deer problem on the escarpment. I was going to say friendly local deer, but I'm not sure they're particularly friendly. We've got local deer who wander around the streets through there. There was one deer there that kept pushing through our hedge. It never stole food from the garden, but there was a tree there that it particularly liked to rub itself up against. We also had a bit of an issue with vandalism earlier this year, which was super disappointing. That was the first time we’ve had a problem with vandalism in the garden. They came through one night and just deliberately attacked the best maintained plots. They went after the nicest ones and ripped out a whole heap of plants and threw them around. We've got a container of fertilisers and potting soil and manure and whatnot. They ripped open the bags and poured them all over the place, which was both messy and expensive. And yes, we've also had issues with the rain this year. The area is a bit of a drainage channel. During severe water weather, water does come across the site, so it ripped out one of our paths about three times. This water goes just right in this one spot and just ripped out this path. We kept putting it back together. The last time it rained, it wasn't so bad. We managed to get a sand bag from the SES and divert the impact a little bit. Honestly, we’re just hoping it doesn't rain like that again because when it rains like that, there's not really a lot you can do. And also when it's that wet, it's actually really hard to do any gardening work because if you walk on the soil, it compresses it, and it's not good for it. Plus, when it rains, plants can drown. Which isn't something I knew until last year. It kind of hurts your feelings to go through all that hard work to put things in plans, to take care of them, and then they just get rained to death. Those are the challenges. How are you all fairing then, after all of that? It was pretty rushed for a while there. I think the third time I put the path back in, I cried. But since things have gotten drier and we've had more people who are comfortable coming back to the garden now with COVID changes, we’ve been able to have some extra meetups in the last few months. We’ve done repair workshops as well as a planting one, and it's actually looking pretty good at the moment. The garden looks like someone loves it again. We’ve got quite a few crops in the ground. Not really much that's ready to get eaten, but it’s starting to look like it's going to be ready in six or eight weeks, maybe. We've got a few brassicas, we've got little cauliflower and broccoli plants. We've just put in some garlic, we've got a few ancient greens and broad beans someone donated recently. Basically, the only thing that's ready to eat are chilis. But we've got living plants again. We've got very young beetroot and silverbeet. It's just great to see things growing again. What does the Balgownie Community Garden mean to the local community? And why is this project so important? It's really important to me because I'm an environmental scientist and a geographer, so I look at how people interact with the environment. It's really good for people to have a direct connection to their environment and have an area they have some control over and influence. As well as people bringing fresh veggies to their homes, it's also really good for them to have that connection to their local environment. I can also tell you that the patch gets treated kind of like this informal meeting spot by the locals. If you go there and poke around for a half hour, the chances are pretty good that someone else is going to rock up and check on their veggie patch or go pick some mulberries or just hang out. There are a lot of school groups that wander through there sometimes. I've seen them bring kids through just to have a bit of interaction with the natural world and plants. That's really nice. I've seen people do yoga there. I meditate there sometimes. I've seen the neighbours hang around and have a drink. There’s a little street library there, which my friend Erin maintains with a few books. It’s a tiny little library. You can change your books, see your mates and yeah, experience that social meetup, I think a lot of people just come along to socialise. It's probably really useful to a lot of people in the community, to have somewhere to meet up that isn't focused around alcohol or having to spend money. So obviously you're looking for volunteers and members. How can people get involved and why would you encourage them to get involved? Yes, volunteers or they can become members. If you become a member, it's about $20 a year. It's not a big deal, but we do have the monthly meetup. We've got an annual Christmas party, which is really nice, and people get to hang out with other members in the community, meet other nice people in a chill setting. You can learn a lot about gardening and herbaculture and composting. There are people there who are very passionate and knowledgeable. If it's not your thing, you can come along for a day, just hang out, have a cup of tea and go about your business and still probably make some friends. What plans do you have for the place now? Well, we're planning on a bit more of a summer crop this year after how the last summer fared. Then in general, we'd like to expand. We want to get some more fruit trees into the area and Rebecca has some plans that she's been working on. We're hoping to find a grant or two and see if we can put in a retaining wall, a bit more of a kids area on the back and more seating areas for people to make it an even more appealing place too. To learn more about the Balgownie Community Garden Bally's Patch or to become a member, visit the website. Are you ready to discuss buying, selling or leasing a home in Balgownie, Fairy Meadow or surrounding suburbs? Contact Joanne on (02) 4285 7400. Considering how you can Right Size Your Home As You Move Into Aged Care? Register for this short course and learn how to best right size your home when moving into aged care.
Jun 3, 2022
Local people: Cabbage Tree Lane, Fairy Meadow resident Tony Roder
Couple Tony and Melinda Roder moved from Yamba in Northern New South Wales to be closer to their children in Wollongong. They found a new home in Cabbage Tree Lane, Fairy Meadow which not only brought the family back together, but put them “close to the best coffee shop in town”, according to Tony. After returning from grabbing a coffee from his favourite new haunt, Tony shares why the couple has fallen in love with Fairy Meadow. What was the reason for moving to Cabbage Tree Lane, Fairy Meadow? We moved mainly because we have two children down here. I created this monster. I grew up in Lismore and came down here to uni 40 years ago. As my kids were going through high school I said “go to Wollongong Uni, it’s the best uni in Australia”. (Laughs) Because I spent the best four years down here. So they did. Both of them came to Wollongong and both of them now have jobs down here. We decided to come down to be closer to them. They’re close to grandchildren age you might say - we haven’t had grandchildren yet. But we hope it’s on the cards. Why did you choose Fairy Meadow in particular? Did you look at other surrounding areas? We definitely looked at other suburbs in Wollongong. We were still up north. We had a 12 month option to buy on our place in Yamba. We had to wait a long time for our house to get settled. Meanwhile, we had the two kids down here going to open houses last year from May through to October. Our daughter came to this place for an open house, and said “this is the one you want to get Mum and Dad. This is the best one we’ve seen”. The house itself had so much appeal to us. It’s so close to the beach and so close to town. And the obvious advantages of Fairy Meadow being so central. We were quite surprised because we’ve got a creek down the back and we don't have back neighbours. The property really did appeal. After the kids went to the open house, we jumped in the car and came down to look at it. It was a little bit out of our price range just for ourselves, so it gave us the opportunity for our son to throw in some money towards it too. So he lives downstairs - there are separate living areas upstairs and downstairs. That was a bonus to get him a foot in the door in real estate. There were a combination of factors that said, right oh, it’s time to move on. I’ve always had a soft spot for the 'Gong. I always thought it was a great place. We love the surf, the escarpment close by... And you’re on one of Fairy Meadow's iconic streets in Cabbage Tree Lane. What appealed to you about that street? We love it, especially being right at the top of Cabbage Tree Lane. We’re quite a way up towards the escarpment. We’re out of the busier zone down the bottom there - and close to the best coffee shop. What do you like so far about living in Fairy Meadow and why would you recommend it to others? We love the closeness to the shops and the supermarket - the Fairy Meadow Coles, Woollies and Aldi. Really, it’s the closeness to everything - the beach, a couple of minutes onto the motorway, and only 15 minutes to everywhere. It’s just a really nice spot where we are. We did get lucky to get this property and location. We’re happy with the choice we made. The affordability part of it compared to the northern suburbs is something also. Originally we would have liked to have been a bit further north, like Thirroul, but the prices were out of our range. Now that we’re here, we’re glad we’ve come to Fairy Meadow because the traffic gets a bit congested further north. Up past Bulli Pass it gets a lot busier. So the affordability is better here than further north and the location is great. So we’re very happy with the position. If you’d like to discuss buying or selling in Cabbage Tree Lane, Fairy Meadow or other streets in the area, contact Joanne on (02) 4285 7400. Considering how you can Right Size Your Home and perhaps move into Aged Care? Register for this short course and learn how to best right size your home when moving into aged care.
Apr 1, 2022
Local business: One Agency celebrates 10 years in Fairy Meadow
One Agency is this year marking its 10th anniversary in Fairy Meadow, having grown from three staff members to now being a team of seven. Serving an area with an ageing population, it’s a relationship-based agency with a passion for helping Fairy Meadow residents transition into the next stage of their lives. Many of those clients are rightsizing or transitioning into aged care. For that, the agency has required a team of people who care deeply about their community. We chatted with One Agency JD Property Agents proprietor Joanne Danckwardt about the growth of the business over the 10 years and what’s next… One Agency is celebrating 10 years servicing Fairy Meadow. How did you come to work here? I’ve been here for nine of the 10 years and I’ve owned it for six and a half years. The office was opened by Sally Absalom. Sally and I worked with each other at another agency. Sally then started this - the first One Agency office in the Illawarra. She did ask me right at the beginning if I would come and work at the office. However, I was selling a development for a receiver - the developer had gone bust. I was selling 24 apartments and I had half of the stock left and I couldn’t walk away from that. After 12 months, she reached out again, because she knew I was interested. I had one apartment left and so I said yes. What memories do you have of the early years of the business when Sally was owner? It was a busy office because we only had a receptionist and ourselves and you did everything yourself. Our receptionist came across from the other agency as well. We needed someone who was good and efficient. It was great. A great environment with just the three of us. What prompted you to buy the business? That was interesting, because after 12 months of working here, Sally said she would look to sell the business. I went into shock. I never expected to move to a company where the owner wasn’t actually going to be there because she was looking to sell. I had never intended in my life to own a business. I was always quite content to work for somebody else. I was one of those employees that you just had to say what you wanted me to do and I’d do it. I didn’t question it. I put 100% of my heart and soul into somebody else’s business. I’ve always been that way. I’ve had a strong work ethic and good moral compass. When it was proposed, I freaked out a little bit. I looked around the Illawarra and the agencies that were around, and there was nobody I wanted to work for. I didn’t know all the agents, but I knew the practices of the agencies. They weren’t the right fit for me. It was another reason why I left the other agency, because some events that occurred weren't in alignment with my beliefs. So after looking around the Illawarra, there was nothing that stuck out to me. So I felt I didn’t have a lot of alternatives but to buy the business myself. How has the business changed over the years? It’s changed massively. Even our industry as a whole has changed dramatically. Since I took over the business, there's been systems and processes developed for everything. So anybody can come into the business in a role and know how to do it. It’s very structured. It’s grown from three people - being two agents and one receptionist - to seven people now. We’ve even introduced a full-time overseas virtual assistant. We’ve brought on property management, which we’ve never done before. We’ve got a small rent roll. But my main focus has been marketing. I really concentrate on marketing and making sure I always attend seminars and training. We use CampaignAgent to help homeowners with property marketing funding. I was the first in the Illawarra to use that. I’m always ahead of the curve for not just marketing but anything else that’s new for our industry. Like virtual tours - I’ve been doing those for five years. We’re one of the only ones to do videos on every property. I was the first to do VRs (virtual reality). There’s a lot of things I introduce that I do before everyone else in the Illawarra. We offer a free online aged care course for anyone in the Illawarra, and we used to run free aged care seminars with different specialists speaking. I’m all about educating people before they need me. I want them to understand what they’re doing so they get the best for themselves. Our other focus is to give back to the community. We do the backpacks for the homeless, the Santa photos and the Easter egg hunt, to name a few. I think it’s important to give back to the community. We have a responsibility to be a part of the community. What are some of the highlights of the business’ history? There's not one particular moment, but rather the moments when you’re talking to the owners when the deal is done. I get such joy putting the deal together and then knowing you’re able to exceed someone’s expectations. It’s not always about the price. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and you’re not always selling in the best market ever. A lot of the time it’s not been fantastic, but I love hearing the joy within your owners’ voices when they’ve sold their home because they’ve needed to move on. It’s not just about the price, but getting the work done for them. It’s the relationships you build. That’s probably the big thing for me. You are so intensely involved with someone’s life for a short period of time. They’re more like your friend at the end of it because you’re talking to them every day. You’re assisting them through the process and holding their hand. What are some of the benefits of servicing the 2519 area? There’s a lot of older people in the area and I love working with people who are older. These are people downsizing, rightsizing and going into aged care, because it’s the last stage of their life. For me, one of my passions is to make sure they’re right for the remainder of their life. To me that’s important. I want them to move where they need to move and make sure they’re looked after. There are a few real estate agencies that service Fairy Meadow, Balgownie, Mount Ousley and Mount Pleasant. Why do people choose you and One Agency JD Property Agents? Yes, there are a lot. I do ask people that question. They say it’s because I’m local, they feel comfortable with me and my many, many years of experience. They do know that I care. And so they feel comfortable because they know I care. It’s not a transaction to me. I’m not a transactional agent, I’m a relationship agent. With transactional agents it’s all about turnover and not the relationship. I’m not looking for just any offer. I’m looking for the best buyer with the best offer. Most are just looking for an offer and moving onto the next one. For me, I have a different approach. I want to maximise the price and make sure the clients get what they should. What are your plans for the future of the business? I really want to grow the property management department. It’s not about the business being the biggest business in the Illawarra. It’s never ever going to be that. It’s making sure that the people we have are the best we can have. I want to have good quality people within the business. People with the same ethos - people who care, have fun along the way and who prioritise the client. That’s super important. I want people who work really well together so we give the best service possible to the client. To talk to Joanne about any of the topics from within the article - whether buying, selling or leasing a property - phone (02) 4285 7400. Are you or a loved one moving into aged care? Register for our free short course and learn how to right size your home when moving into aged care.
Mar 2, 2022
Local business: former NRL star Ben Creagh new GIO Wollongong owner
Nick and Jen Creagh have sold the GIO Wollongong business to their son, former St George Illawarra Dragons player Ben Creagh. The couple started the GIO insurance business in Fairy Meadow 11 years ago and decided to transition into retiring to spend more time travelling. For their son Ben, it’s a new challenge. He debuted for the Dragons in 2003 and retired in 2016. But he’s no stranger to leadership, having captained and co-captained for four years, being part of the 2010 NRL premiership winning side, and being a three-time Dragons Player of the Year. He’s also worked as a financial planner in Sydney for many years. For the next year, Nick and Jen will help Ben transition into his new role as business owner. Jen shares their story… Your son Ben is taking over the business and you and your husband Nick are transitioning into retirement. How has that transition come about? Ben came into the business with the plan of either deciding to take it over or just have a little trial run to see what he thought of it, and he loved it. So at the end of last year, when we were looking to sell the business on, we actually sold it across to Ben. So from October last year, he's taken it on in a full time capacity. And Nick and I have now stepped back and we're working part time for him. We're sort of transitioning through this time, just slowly easing out. So Nick’s in here three days a week, and I'm in here two days a week, so that's good. And we'll probably continue doing that for the rest of this year. He’s just put on a new person who's now qualified and authorised to sell the product from this week. She's done all her compliances and courses. She'll now try it out and see if working here is a good fit for her as well. Later in the year, Ben will look at putting on another person, and then Nick and I will slowly fade away. We’ll probably officially fully retire next year. It means it’s less stressful for Ben too. He’s got a lot to learn. It takes a few years to get a handle on all aspects of it. So when did you establish the GIO Wollongong agency in Fairy Meadow? We started it 11 years ago. We'd been interested in setting it up, so we looked for a good location. They wanted us in Wollongong itself, but at that stage they were doing all the mall renovations and there were parking issues. So we thought Fairy Meadow is a very good option and it’s not too far away. And the local community are very supportive of their local businesses around here. We rented the premises, and then GIO and Suncorp fitted out the agency. We bought a little parcel of clients just to start us off, so we had a little bit to get going. And then in no time, we were able to build up a good list of clientele over the years. How far do people travel to visit you in Fairy Meadow? A lot of people like the face to face, but there are few other insurance companies that have that face to face these days. Back in the early days, you had a couple of agencies who did it. Everyone else, you had to get on the phone with. When people realised they could actually come in to us and speak to a person, that attracted a lot of people. So they all went out of their way from Kiama to Helensburgh. A lot of people would pass through. They'd be down here for work from up in Sydney. We always made sure we looked after them, so they were always more than happy to come back down. What are some memorable moments from throughout its history? Back in the early days we had conferences with all the other agency owners, because they're all from regional areas. That was always wonderful to get together with our peers and fellow agency principals, and talk about where we do things differently. We were always learning. Some of them had been running their businesses for many, many years, so we were always keen to soak up any information we could from them. At the two-day conferences you'd get all this feedback and updates on what was happening within the company and then have that social time to really get to know all the other agency owners. Then, if ever we had issues, we'd always be on the phone to each other asking “how did you sort this problem out and what did you do?”. That was probably the nicest part of it, just having that connection and that lovely bond with all the other agents. They were very nice people and all very supportive of each other, which is lovely. There's always changes happening within the Suncorp group, whether it was technology changes or just rules and regulations changes. When did Ben come into the business? We officially employed him about this time last year - February. He's had to do all of his compliances, learn all the program systems and do a lot of training within our programs. They do lots of exercises to learn how to sell the product, because there are a lot of products that we sell. It took about four weeks to go through all of those courses and then he was compliant and authorised to sell the product. It’s the same with Teresa. She started early February and she’s just finished everything now. So it took her roughly four weeks to get through it all too. And now she's able to start doing some face to face with our customers. Ben was convinced that, yes, he loved doing this. This is what he'd like to get his teeth into. And we were selling it regardless, because it's a good little business. There were a few other people interested in it within the Suncorp Group. So we knew it would be passed on to good people to take it over and look after our clients. That was an important thing, because we wanted to make sure our clients would be looked after. Ben knew the importance of that. He’s very good with all of our customers here. He loves it. He’s brought in a lot of technology. He's doing a lot of Facebook and advertising. We're not tech savvy at all. He’s really motivated to grow the business and get it really going. Was it an easy decision for Ben? He’s had to make some big career decisions during his life, starting from choosing between the Wollongong Hawks NBL side or St George Illawarra Dragons in his younger years. How different was buying the business? The injuries forced the end of that career. Then he was working up in Sydney and the travel was pretty demanding, especially with a young family. He was doing financial planning up there. So the timing was right to allow him to be closer to the kids. This just worked out perfectly. What skills do you think he’s brought into the business from his career in the NRL and his four years in leadership roles as captain and co-captain? I’ve seen that leadership skill come through just with the training of Teresa. He’s very disciplined, very motivated, and he has a young energy and enthusiasm. When we bought the GIO Wollongong business over 10 years ago, we were still keen and enthusiastic, but we were at the tail end of our careers. We could have kept it going another five or so years just the two of us. But it’s only ever been the two of us, so we haven’t been able to have holidays and go off and do things. We thought if we leave it too long, we’re going to miss our chance. What are Ben’s plans for the future of the business? It’s about bringing in new people, new ideas and expanding the exposure of the business through advertising. He’ll be sponsoring local sports clubs and getting involved in the community a little bit more. We're just so happy it’s going to a local family and that we were able to pass it onto our son. Not many people are that lucky that their family wants to take over their business. We’re very happy about that. You can learn more about GIO Wollongong, located two doors down from the One Agency JD Property Agents in Fairy Meadow, by visiting the GIO website or connecting on the GIO Wollongong Facebook page. To learn more about buying, selling or leasing a property in Fairy Meadow and surrounds, contact Joanne on (02) 4285 7400. Are you or a loved one moving into aged care? Register for our free short course and learn how to right size your home when moving into aged care.
Feb 4, 2022
Local organisation: Balgownie Junior Football Club
Before the Balgownie Junior Football Club formed, the area already had a rich football history through its senior team, The Balgownie Rangers Football Club. The senior team is one of the oldest running registered soccer clubs in Australia, having formed in 1883. It’s also produced famous soccer players like James “Judy” Masters, Tom Thompson, Dave Ward, Frank Smith, George Barlow and Matt Horsley. Masters was recognised as one of Australia's best players of his time. But the junior club has its own rich history, having formed in the early 1950s. It was formed from a Balgownie Public School team playing in a school district competition in the late 1940s and into the early '50s. Today, it's a springboard for future stars. We spoke with club president John Kampen, who shared why the junior club has become so popular… What attracts people to the Balgownie Junior Football Club? What do they like about it? We consider ourselves to be a family orientated club and welcome all players. Balgownie has been long associated with being a successful and large club and I think this is what appeals to families. What are some of the success stories from the junior club, whether progressing into senior teams or other opportunities? In recent years some of our teams have been quite successful in the NSW State cup - a competition which all clubs in NSW can participate in. Even though we have not had a state cup for several years, our U12 side from last year progressed to the quarter finals stage before the pandemic stopped the competition. We were quite confident they would have gone all the way. The relationship between the senior club and the junior club is now strong, with us always promoting to the junior players that there is a pathway to playing senior football with the Balgownie Rangers. How has the junior club changed over the years? In recent years the club has maintained a 500-600 strong playing roster. Previous to this it was around the 300 mark. The inclusion of girls-only competition has only bolstered this number and we welcome girls to our club. The committee are always trying to ensure that the equipment and site facilities are at the best we can offer. Today, many sports clubs are looking for new club members and support staff to ensure they survive. How is the junior club positioned in that regard? Yes unfortunately all sports at the this level that relies upon volunteers always struggle with help. We are fortunate we have a dozen or so committee members to assist in running a club this large. Having said that though we always welcome new people to want to help with open arms. What are your plans for the future of the club? We have a plan to build the level of coaching and player ability by engaging a third party to run a block training session with the facilitators focussing on coach development at a grass roots level. This approach will take a few years before we will see the rewards. However, we are committed to continue this as it benefits all of the players in the club. When does the next season start and how can people get involved? Is there an age range? Next season will commence official competition in April. However, there is a lot of work going on in the background now to ensure we are ready for the season. We meet fortnightly in the clubhouse and anybody is welcome to attend. We still have some roles that are not filled and if anyone would like to perform the roles it would be welcomed. The age range is children from 4 to 18yr olds. Registrations are now open and all returning and new players are welcome. See our Facebook page for details. You can learn more about the Balgownie Junior Club and how to get involved on its website. The clubhouse is located on Para Street in Balgownie and the home ground is Judy Masters Oval. Know a local organisation that deserves to be featured in our Local Stories series? Get in contact. To learn more about buying, selling or leasing a home in Balgownie or surrounding suburbs, contact Joanne on (02) 4285 7400. Considering how to right size your home as you or a loved one moves into aged care? Register for our free short course and learn how to best right size your home when moving into aged care.