Glorifying the Gables
[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_custom_heading text="Glorifying the Gables" font_container="tag:h2|font_size:40|text_align:left" google_fonts="font_family:Abril%20Fatface%3Aregular|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal"][vc_column_text]
NOVEMBER 2016 | Heather Summers
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_separator color="black" align="align_center" style="dotted" border_width="2"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width="1/1"][vc_column_text]
THOSE WHO regularly travel through Deloraine may have noticed over the past year, a transformation taking place at the top end of Emu Bay Road.
Historic home ‘The Gables’ is under new ownership, and has been meticulously brought back to life by Warren and Estelle Virgen.
Visiting the state from Darwin towards the end of last year, Estelle discovered the property serendipitously when driving from Stanley to Longford.
“I stopped in at Deloraine to look at the silks on display at the Information Centre,” Estelle said, when she noticed the property across the road was for sale.
“We had always wanted to restore an old building, and so it caught my eye.” It all happened rather quickly after that. The Gables was open for inspection the following Saturday, and on the Wednesday they signed the papers.
It was another 5 months before their home in Darwin sold, but after a three and a half day drive from North to South, the real adventure began.
The Gables had been a rental property for many years, and the disrepair was obvious. “It was a real mess,” said Estelle, “just a mass of stuff!”
Moving in with the basic necessities (a fridge and a less than effective blow-up mattress) work began on the house that week, beginning with the safe removal of an asbestos shed.
They then moved onto what proved to be mostly demolition work, removing kitchen cupboards, replacing the verandah and scrubbing back the old cast iron.
“For 13 months it was a tradies house, from under the floorboards and into the roof,” said Warren, who acted as chief labourer.
He and Estelle went on to say it was electrically ‘rather interesting’, having kept aside some of the museum quality wiring for posterity.
Taking it back to the bones of the building, including removing upwards of five layers of carpet, a false ceiling, and several layers of paint, many other interesting discoveries were made.
They uncovered the old baker’s oven, discovering that a period oven door they’d been given years earlier by a family member fitted perfectly.
Outside, the location of the old well was pointed out to them by former occupants from the Loone family.
Warren also uncovered a cattle grid, a reminder of the time livestock was grazed on common land, and grids installed to keep cattle out of private property.
Having made contact with the Loone family, owners of the property in earlier years, the Virgens gained access to the original paperwork for the building. The deeds helped date the original build to 1880. Today, all of the hard work has paid off.
Its dignity restored, The Gables is now a beautifully appointed home with a wonderful finish of natural wood, including floorboards recycled from the property, and bespoke furniture.
Upstairs is a wonderful space and studio for Estelle, a textile artist whose work is displayed throughout the house.
“We have always loved Tassie,” said Estelle. The couple first visited 35 years ago, with several holidays in between. “We are really pleased with how it has all fallen into place.”
[udesign_icon_font name="fa fa-camera" color="#000000"] Mike Moores
