About nine years ago we were lucky enough to find a 45 acres piece of hinterland between Nabiac and The Bucketts Way on the Midnorth Coast of NSW. As the estate agent drove us over the property, we – with our little bit of permaculture and rural knowledge – realised that the land, sloping down to a permanent creek border, faced north and had all the elements we had piled into our wish list. Well, the soil is not great, and there is so much to do, and the lack of rain in drought periods hits hard… but, it is gorgeous. The view from the cottage deck is one that we just sit and absorb. When we bought there was only a humble cabin built cleverly on the flood zone by the creek, with hinged walls at either end to allow the flood waters to rush through without taking the whole cottage in its wake. We stayed in this cabin many times, lulled by the sound of the creek and visited by frogs, bush rats and snakes. But we know where we needed to build. There is a perfect point on an ascending slope, in permaculture terms know as the midpoint, and that, facing north gave us a wonderful view of much of the property, especially the largest “paddock”, along the creek. But on a limited budget, how could we afford it? Browsing eBay for building materials, Pete found a cedar cottage for sale in Mosman. The only catch was it had to be completely dismantled and removed upon purchase. We got it for a song, along with extra windows, french doors and decking materials. We took it apart over several days and onto a truck to take up to the property. It was a long story, and the materials themselves sat there for a while until Pete and his brother Dom (who came from Germany specially for the build) had time to reassemble it.   Update January 2020

The Hillville Fires were the first in NSW in this fire season. Early. Started accidentally by a farmer trying some back burning. November 2019 saw a continuation of a long dry season. Our last visit at the end of September found the creek almost dry, with not even a water hole left for Cricket to jump in. We had been concerned regarding fire in the area for quite some time, watching the undergrowth die off and the grass tinder dry. We kept the area around the cottage well cleared of debris and Pete had removed trees within the danger zone, but nothing could have save the property from the fire that swept through Hillville right to the coast at Old Bar and Wallabi Point in November. From Sydney we watched the news and followed the progress of the fire on the “Fires Near Me” app. We got word from neighbours on November 13 that it was very likely the fire had gone right through our place, and sure enough that’s what had happened. We drove up on 20 November to meet the insurance assessor – we had insured it – and got to see the devastation first hand. Stumps around Hillville were still smouldering. The lead flashing and even the glass in the windows had melted in the heat and ran as little rivulets among the ash and debris. The full water tank had evaporated leaving only a circular pad of dried clay. It was uncanny and eerie. The season rages on still and many have lost their homes, and over 30 lives have been lost. Millions of hectares burned and possibly a billion creatures.