Restoration Australia on ABC and ABC iview S7E1 – From a grubby hostel on a busy city street to a creaking, spartan weatherboard in remote countryside, and a raft of daunting restorations in between, the challenges of saving Australia’s heritage homes is a test of willpower, ingenuity, bank balances and relationships. Architecture expert Anthony Burke takes us deep into these passion projects in this brand-new series of Restoration Australia.
Episode One: Tivey
19th century entrepreneur Joseph Tivey had a fortune, 14 children and a big reputation in the then booming Victorian gold fields town of Inglewood, near Bendigo, so naturally he had to build a statement house big enough for the tribe and to show off his success.
That house is Nimmitabel and while it dominates the Inglewood streetscape to this day, it’s seen much better days. It’s slumping into its crumbling foundations and giant cracks are zigging across its towering outsides and zagging down its soaring insides.
This showstopper mansion is in urgent need of love and thankfully a couple of theatre-loving out-of-towners arrive just in time to script a bright new chapter for the sorry old bundle of cracks and dust and redundant facilities.
Melbourne barrister Justin and partner Lisa want to prop and polish Nimmitabel back into the stunning shape of its gold rush years when original owner
Tivey and rock star regional architect William Vahland might’ve stepped back to marvel at the newly completed trophy home and pat themselves on the back.
But this is a daunting assignment. The cascading cracks are readily evident but what other dramas lurk undiscovered below the surface and will the budget and patience hold in the face of unfolding setbacks.
Host Anthony Burke joins Justin, Lisa and an epic restoration project that will test that time honoured theatrical mantra; no matter the pitfalls, the show must go on.
Production credit: Commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A Freemantle production. Supervising Executive Producer: Brooke Bayvel. Executive Producer: Michael Collette. ABC Commissioning Editor: Jo Chichester.
Restoration Australia on ABC and ABC iview – Thursday 3 April at 8.00pm
TV Central ABC content HERE
Restoration Australia on ABC and ABC iview S7E1
