Enchanting Koonwarra residence

THERE is an air of enchantment at Koonwarra Recreation Reserve, with faeries, elves and gnomes taking up residence in a new shared house that sits on solid foundations in the form of a tree stump.

The faeries’ apartment occupies the bottom floor of the home, with the elves on the next level up and the gnomes in the attic.

Koonwarra Recreation Reserve’s then committee put the idea forward earlier this year, requesting Leongatha Men’s Shed to work its magic.

That initiative was supported by the Shed’s vice president David Brereton.

Paul Hendry, known at Leongatha Men’s Shed as ‘Jim’, took on the task of building the house, well qualified to do so due to his background as an architect and artist.

“David handballed this to me,” Jim said, clearly happy he accepted the job.

Now former Koonwarra Recreation Reserve committee member Andrew Brick explained that the splendid, purple-roofed residence was created to tie in with the faerie theme along the Great Southern

Rail Trail, with many faerie doors now seen by those using the path.

People often park their cars at the Recreation Reserve before heading off to explore the trail.

Jim started creating the house’s components four weeks ago, making them off site, and put the house together on Friday at its tree stump site.

“I brought the roof and all the fittings and screwed and glued it together,” Jim said of his handy day’s work at the Recreation Reserve.

David helped install the windows and doors, proving he is not just a delegator.

The curved nature of the stump presented challenges for Jim during the construction phase, with everything having to be made to fit the curve, including windows, doors and the entrance area.

While the house is made from good reclaimed hardwood, there were some mishaps, with splitting occurring and the staircase having to be remade.

David said the new residence is helping address the housing crisis, which is apparently not confined to people, and Jim anticipates the faeries, elves and gnomes will happily co-exist.

He encourages parents to bring their kids to enjoy the enchanted house and look for its occupants.

Youngsters Lucy and Angus Wright, grandchildren of Carol Stephenson, wasted no time coming to do so, visiting the new residence on Friday afternoon.

“I like the roof because it has a letter for the start of my name,” Lucy said.

Angus’ eye was also drawn to the roof, with its colour appealing to him.

Being an artist, Jim couldn’t resist signing his work, leaving his mark on that popular roof.