MY ROSEDALE
Noel Egan
Dec 2016
About 34 years ago I came home from work and my wife Wendy asked if I remembered a particular house at Rosedale that we had seen on holidays. I didn’t - and neither did she - but she had bought it that day!
This is how it happened. Shortly after we holidayed at Rosedale, Wendy drove her sister, Claire, to Bega to catch up with friends and then, on the way back, to Rosedale. They must have noticed that various houses were for sale. Claire then visited their parents, in their unit in Coogee. She started chatting to a woman called Winne in the shared laundry and mentioned Rosedale. Winnie said she was selling a house in Rosedale, as part of her brother’s estate. She had taken it from an agent, after he sold her brother’s car to one of his mates cheap. She asked for Wendy’s number and phoned to offer her the house for $5,000 less than the reserve but Wendy had to accept on the spot. Thank goodness that Wendy did! Winnie was later offered two amounts more but she stuck to her arrangement with Wendy. (Good on you Winnie!)
This is how it happened. Shortly after we holidayed at Rosedale, Wendy drove her sister, Claire, to Bega to catch up with friends and then, on the way back, to Rosedale. They must have noticed that various houses were for sale. Claire then visited their parents, in their unit in Coogee. She started chatting to a woman called Winne in the shared laundry and mentioned Rosedale. Winnie said she was selling a house in Rosedale, as part of her brother’s estate. She had taken it from an agent, after he sold her brother’s car to one of his mates cheap. She asked for Wendy’s number and phoned to offer her the house for $5,000 less than the reserve but Wendy had to accept on the spot. Thank goodness that Wendy did! Winnie was later offered two amounts more but she stuck to her arrangement with Wendy. (Good on you Winnie!)
When settlement was complete, we hot footed it to Rosedale to find we had bought “Jimmy’s House” - a Miller house in original condition. The children were ecstatic and set off to explore, while Wendy and I caught up with the neighbours. We immediately felt a sense of belonging.
We started improving the house, bit by bit, but it was not cost-effective. Around June 1983, Wendy sat down with the builder, Bob McKibbin. Her ideas for the house were drafted and the work was finished by Christmas. What a terrific Christmas that was! We have had Christmas at Rosie since and what fabulous, happy and joyous times they have been for our family.
We started improving the house, bit by bit, but it was not cost-effective. Around June 1983, Wendy sat down with the builder, Bob McKibbin. Her ideas for the house were drafted and the work was finished by Christmas. What a terrific Christmas that was! We have had Christmas at Rosie since and what fabulous, happy and joyous times they have been for our family.
We met more and more people and strong bonds were established between families. This only enhanced the joy of Rosie and all our houses were open houses, so the kids would be here, there and everywhere and so would we. At our place, we would spill onto the deck in fine weather and be in the house in front of the fire when it was wet or cold. Sometimes, there were masses of kids, with some staying overnight and often sleeping on the lounge room floor. But Rosedale became more than a fun escape. Rosedale was, and is, a chameleon, as it changes and adapts to our needs.
As much as it is a place of noisy, happy, rollicking fun times, it is also a place of peace, comfort and serenity. When Wendy was sick in the late 1990s, we came to Rosie each weekend and the peace of the place would cast its restorative spell upon her. Many of our friends used Rosie for the same purpose. Is it the sound of the sea, the wind in the trees or, as another Rosedalian said, the “sound of the stars”? Whatever it is, Rosedale has mystical healing properties.
No one I know leaves Rosedale without a pang of regret and a hope of returning. Rosie became the “soul place” of our family and we have a powerful sense of place and belonging. While we sadly lost Wendy to illness this year, she will always remain especially close to us at Rosedale.
