Justin commented that Doug’s last house was very like his first. I see the resemblance. Both are unique and creative designs, and both are attractive for their respective eras. There are other similarities. Both use construction techniques that were ahead of their time, and both had a stucco finish.

15 224a Ruthven St. Toowoomba

If you look at the house he grew up in on Ruthven street you will see a similar stucco finish and colours that followed him his whole career. I don’t know about the colours, but the Ruthven street house existed before electricity or sewerage was conventional in Toowoomba.

What a beautiful back yard – and no mowing

I know less about the last house he built than the others. I did not realize he was making it until it was quite advanced, I did not live there, and I did not see it finished.

He sold the farm in Stanthorpe in the mid-eighties and moved to Molong. It was to live closer to us while being three hours drive away. I did not know that he had bought a block of land in the Stanthorpe hills or that he had put money aside to build there in the future.

I remember the conversation that triggered the build. We were at a coffee shop. I said we would have to leave Canberra eventually as we could never afford to buy there. He did not say anything, but within a few months, he had started building.

The tanks had to go in before the house

I suspect that he had been planning and designing for years or he could not have advanced so quickly. I also think he had an architect in the last stages since while the house is pure Doug, the sense of zen is not.

Didn’t anyone tell Doug to clean up after himself?

I visited the Stanthorpe house twice – once when it was at the lockup stage and once when they had moved into the visitors’ area with a temporary kitchen. I regret not taking more interest.

Unfortunately, Doug was diagnosed with cancer before the inner house was complete. As he was only expected to live three months, he moved to Innes Park so that Mum could be close to us. He lived over ten more years thankfully.

Since he had to mortgage against the Stanthorpe property to purchase a house in Innes Park outright, the next year or so were challenging. Mary-Anne and I paid the mortgage until he could finish off the Stanthorpe house and sell it.

Because he had difficulty selling it, it eventually went to the real estate agent in 1997 for $80,000. It is one of the greatest regrets in my life that I did not somehow manage to keep it. After Doug died some nine years later, I looked to see if it would come up for sale. I must have known the address then.

We plan to visit Stanthorpe soon (2019/2020) to see if we can find it. I hope it is not for sale or I will be sorely tempted to find a way to buy it.

  • The tanks had to go in before the house
  • How many trades can one man have?
  • Doug in his element
  • No power floats for these artisans
  • Walking in concrete
  • The kitchen looks a little primitive
  • You can see that expanded concrete blocks need stucco
  • A lot to do yet Doug
  • How did he come up with this design
  • It doesn’t quite look like home yet
  • Given the Colorbond, I assume the long planks are Hebel also
  • What a view – after a bit of a climb
  • What a view he would have had if he could have built up here
  • They start them early in Stanthorpe
  • Not what you would call a modern kitchen – even in 1996
  • I do like the slow combustion stove
  • Didn’t anyone tell Doug to clean up after himself?
  • The style is just starting to show through
  • Garage in use at least 🙂
  • The outside is all done
  • View from living room window to the back of the property
  • What a beautiful back yard – and no mowing

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