Original subtitles

- From its barren beauty

to lush landscapes,

the Australian countryside is as beautiful as it is breathtaking.

Many Australians are discovering rural life and making the move.

So I'm on the hunt to help everyday Australians find their perfect country house.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023

We are in Longford, Tasmania,

with newlyweds Tim and George

to see if I can find their little slice of heaven in this beautiful country town.

Built by a family back in the '90s,

and only one family has ever owned and lived here.

Today we will actually take a look at three houses,

all of which are steeped in history.

What do you think of the schoolhouse?

- As my dad would say, 'Holy shack.'

- Is that a good thing or a bad thing? - That's a great thing.

- Which one will Tim and George fall in love with?

So which house will it be?

Do you like vanilla slice?

Do you like country life?

Well, you will love today's country house hunt through the booming region of Longford, Tasmania.

It has a hook on the hearts of today's couple, newlyweds and first-home buyers.

Let's go meet them.

Tim and George have been together for around about 10 years,

and they now feel that they would like a change of scenery from the busy streets of Sydney.

Their budget is around 750,000.

- We moved in together into George's Place, which is quite small,

and we've been living on top of each other for two years, and still haven't killed eachother,

which is what prompted us to get married.

But we're looking forward to spreading out a bit now and having some room and a backyard

and guests and we're really excited to purchase something together

and start a little family with a couple of kittens and some chooks.

- One of my favourite things to do in my spare time is get out and enjoy some of the bakedgoods

at bakeries around Tasmania.

My yardstick for the quality of a bakery is a vanilla slice.

So far, JJ's Bakery in Longford is right up there,

but there's a bakery in Ross, down in the south of Tasmania,

that apparently has the world's best vanilla slice.

I haven't got there to try it yet, but it's on my list.

- Longford is located south of Launceston.

There are many significant historic buildings that were constructed early to mid 1800,

including Christ Church in the centre of town,

the Queen's Arms Hotel

and the Longford railway bridge.

Full of country charm and impressive parks,

this historic country town is a perfect change of pace for Tim and George

from the hustle and bustle of Sydneytown.

Our first house is this true homage to Tasmania,

with locally sourced timber and land big enough for some chooks to run around in.

Come and join me. - Thank you.

- Welcome to Gumtree Cottage,

but I'm just curious, with so many gorgeous places that you could choose from, why this particular region?

- So I was born and grew up in Launceston.

I've lived away for 20 years now,

but coming back here is sort of a homecoming for me.

And I still have all my family in the region.

- How do you feel about the outside so far? - It's beautiful.

The sandstone's gorgeous. - Yeah, it's lovely. Got great street appeal.

- It does have fantastic street appeal. Would you like to go and have a look inside?

- Love to. - Let's go check it out. OK.

- Walking into the house through that front door and seeing the massive vaulted ceiling

and the mezzanine area is just really impressive.

It's a beautiful room, that space.

- Obviously, you've got a mezzanine area.

I'll let you go and have a look at that in just a moment.

But I just wanted to show you this big open living area here.

What, George?

- No, it's gorgeous. I love it.

Reall, I'm thinking about where we'd put furniture.

- I should ask, what's your style? I haven't seen your home.

It's eclectic.

That's broad. - No, we've got quite a lot of art

and things that we've collected over the years.

So it's kind of an explosion of colour and weird things.

- OK. - Now, I don't know if this is a Tasmanian trait, but you are dressed as a lumberjack,

which leads me directly to that beautiful fireplace.

Are you cool with chopping timber?

- Absolutely. Very happy to.

Yeah, I'm ready to chop the wood.

Really looking forward to having an open fireplace.

- Can picture myself sitting next to it reading a book with maybe a pet kitten on my lap

and a glass of wine.

- So often we'll go into an older home and they talk about,

we could open this up, have it indoor-outdoor.

Well, they've already done that in this kitchen.

- I like all the timber once again. And all the light.

- What's the but? - The cooktop is a bit daggy and I don't see a dishwasher.

Good point. Nor do I.

What I'll let you do is have a look at the rest of the house.

Do take in the bathroom.

Not going to say anything more than that. And when you're ready, let's debrief in the back garden.

Possible room for chooks.

It's a nice space up here. I like being able to look down too on the lounge.

- Yeah. That's quite large, isn't it?

- Huge. - It is a really cute place.

- I like it. - We can see the main bedroom.

It's really light and big. Looks like there's lots of storage as well.

- And an ensuite too, which is good.

The master bedroom upstairs with all of the storage and the ensuite is just fantastic.

Really love it. And the window seats on either side of the bedroom.

- His and his reading nooks were really cute.

- Come and join me. What did you think of the bathroom?

- I think it's amazing. It's really... It's quite grand.

- I can picture myself lying in that bath and looking out on the garden. Yeah, it's gorgeous.

- Now, would the configuration of the rooms, I'll just keep it general, as in rooms,

would they work for what you're after?

- I don't think we can quite sneak two offices in. - Why do you want two offices?

- Well, we don't want to share an office. - Ugh!

- We see enough of each other during the rest of the day.

Maybe we'll have a water cooler where we can meet during the day.

- Right. And talk about last night's Country House Hunters. - Exactly.

- And so the mezzanine area? - I love the mezzanine area,

but we couldn't quite work out what we would do with it and how we would arrange it, I think.

- Yeah. - So what do you think this is on the market for?

- I think probably somewhere around just north of 700, maybe 725.

- It is 700 grand. - Right.

- Well, look, this is the first of three homes, all of which have something from the wishlist.

So would you like to go and see house number two?

- Love to. - Fantastic. OK.

After the break, I'll take Tim and George on a tour through this heritage-listed building,

which is only a short walk to JJ's Bakery.

And later on, we are off to this 1860s schoolhouse that is loaded with character and charm.

We are in Longford, Tasmania.

It's a town that offers loads of grand estates dating back to the early 1800s.

Our newlyweds, Tim and George, have already toured one house that was filled with locally sourced timber.

But I have a little bit of a feeling that it wasn't quite what they were after.

So house number two might be a little bit of a better fit for them

as it's just a short walk to JJ's Bakery.

You know they love a bakery.

Well, as far as curb appeal goes,

what do you make of this place ― of Bellamona,

which is National Trust listed?

- It's just gorgeous, isn't it?

- You've got the white picket fence. It looks so gorgeous.

So, for you first house as newlyweds, is this a nice little start for you?

- It looks like it could be. - Yeah, definitely looks like it could be.

- I think the picket fence out the front is really cute and, yeah, would definitely maintain it.

Give it a fresh liquor paint. - I love the idea of having a white picket fence.

- We are in walking distance of a great bakery. - We are indeed. JJ's is fantastic.

- Yes. I know that you've cased the joint in regards to all great vanilla slice places,

and that's a particularly good one, which you could easily walk to every morning.

It's a very quiet street, yet we are within walking distance from the main part of town. It's pretty good.

- Yeah. It's important to be close to town and walking distance to a pub and a bakery. That'sattractive.

- Are you ready to take a look inside? It won't take long.

- Very ready. - Come on in.

You can see this is an add-on.

This is a brand new kitchen.

Tim, I don't know how to break this to you ― there is no dishwasher.

I don't know why there's not a dishwasher.

Got one here.

- Hello! Hello!

- I can see myself in this kitchen. It might take a little bit of juggling around some potsand pans,

but I could still pump out a good meal.

- I can see Tim doing a lot of cooking in this kitchen.

- I'll let you go and have a look at the bedrooms, at the other living area there.

And when you're ready, there is something I'd like to show you out the back, OK?

- That fireplace is beautiful. - It's gorgeous. I would love to be in here and have a fire going.

I just really don't love the colour scheme.

But we could change that easily. - Yeah. It's very dark in here. - It is.

- But we can easily freshen it up and put some new lights in.

- That thing is giving me creepy vibes.

- Some of the knickknacks inside were questionable, to say the least,

but some of them were really charming.

- I think some of them could work. - Yes.

- Others not maybe, but... We're not keeping that little dress in the frame.

- I like the dress.

- I really don't like it. - I kind of love it.

- If that comes with the house, we've got to keep it.

- OK. But we're not having it in here. We can put it in the bathroom.

- Come out and meet me in this beautiful garden.

What do you think of this space? - It's gorgeous.

- It's gorgeous, isn't it? - It's really beautiful.

- Something I'm a little bit excited about. I know you got married during Covid. Where did you getmarried?

- At Blues Point Reserve. - Hello. How about launching your new Tasmanian life here?

A garden wedding in your brand new garden.

- Well, we could celebrate it with George's family who were unable to attend. So that would be perfect.

I think we've both really been looking forward to entertaining George's family

and it would be nice to have a little pretend second wedding and have them over in the garden.

- Let's get to the budget, because you can see I'm really excited about this.

Just have a wild guess what you think it's on the market for.

As I say, just hit the market.

- I reckon maybe 620.

- It's actually open to offers over 575.

- I was really surprised at the price, and being so far under budget,

it does give us a lot of flexibility to really pimp out the garage.

- And, of course, we could have that maybe as a catering space when we have the garden wedding.

- Well, you'll be invited.

There's even a little archway there that we could stand under. - Oh!

We're thinking along the same lines. I love it.

Coming up, I will visit the delightful Dee at Brickendon Estate

to find out just why Longford captures the hearts of its visitors.

And later, I will take Tim and George back to school ― if they can handle it ― for our third and final house.

For those wanting to visit Tasmania ― and who wouldn't ― well, Brickendon is an absolute mustsee.

This heritage-listed building is regarded as one of the most significant

rural estates in all of Australia.

Tell me a little bit about Brickendon, because it's pretty incredible.

- It's beautiful. Well, it's been in the Archer family.

I think Richard and Lou are the sixth generation of Archers,

and their children, who work on the farm, are the seventh.

But the original house for Brickendon was this little old house over here

who you might like to walk through.

And then they built the bigger house over the road.

- Why is it World Heritage listed?

Because of the records. They have the complete records of all the convict labourers

that they had here to build all the beautiful old houses around this area.

- So you're here literally in this chapel quite a bit for weddings, is that right?

- Lots of elopements, lots of people from the mainland come over and just have very small weddings.

- Dee, what is it about this region that just gets a hook on people's hearts?

It's so romantic. - Well, it is. It's beautiful.

I think it's the love of history, the love of nature.

Green, beautiful scenery, beautiful buildings,

very easy to get caterers, beautiful food, beautiful wines, beautiful seafood and heapsto do.

- House number three is this 1860s schoolhouse

that I am dearly hoping will tick all the boxes on our couple's wish list.

So let's see what they think.

Well, boys, before I say anything, what do you think of the schoolhouse?

- As my dad would say, 'Holy shack.'

- Is that a good thing or a bad thing? - That's a great thing.

- Great thing. What about the little chimneys on top? Aren't they gorgeous?

- They're beautiful. I'm intrigued to see the fireplaces they're attached to.

- OK. You want to have a look? - Let's do it.

- Let's go in and have a look. I know you're eager to get inside.

This is where I'm able to share with you you've got your four bedrooms.

- Great. - Fantastic.

- This is currently used as the main one.

Then there is another one on the other side of this wall.

There is a living room just opposite with an open fireplace.

And then in that beautiful pitched roof,

you've got two more bedrooms upstairs.

I think the first question needs to be ― how do you feel about avocados?

- We weren't thrilled with the colours of the walls, but they're easily changed.

- Yeah, that's not something that would normally put us off a property. It's easy to paint walls.

- Right, let's go check out the rest of the house.

- After you, Catriona. - Oh, thank you, kind sir.

How do you feel about the fact that, at the moment, there are only the open fireplaces for heating?

Now, I know you're local, so you know what the seasons are like, but you are from Sydney,

you're used to the finer things in life.

- I've become accustomed to heating while I've been down in Tasmania,

so we might need to work something out there.

We might need to invest in an electric blanket.

Done. That's easy.

I'm excited about what's through the window.

You two may be excited about what's through the door.

Please, head on through, and I'll see you out in the garden when you're ready. OK?

- OK.

- I love those cute little blue and white windows on the door there.

- It's nice. It matches the tiles in here.

- Dishwasher! - Oh yay! Score.

- Finally. - Look at the view out into the garden. It's just...

- It's great. - ...beautiful.

- Got a proper cooktop, nice benches, more bench space over there.

- What did you think of the kitchen?

- Thank you for the dishwasher. - My pleasure.

- No, it's beautiful. And lovely view over the garden as well.

- How much do you think this place is on the market for?

- I don't know. What do you reckon? - I reckon about 660.

- It's a little bit below that. It's open to offers of around 625.

- It could be costly to maintain this house, because it's Heritage listed,

and we'll certainly have to consider that when we weigh up our options with the other homes.

- Well, I know that you have a lot to discuss. Those three houses all had something on the wishlist.

How about you go and find a nice fireplace to sit yourself next to,

and when you're ready, we'll catch up for some vanilla slice and see if you can make a decision.

- Great. - OK?

All right. Lovely. I'll see you soon. Thank you.

- Well, I can't speak for George and Tim, but I am having a great time.

I've already invited myself to Christmas.

I'm planning a garden wedding and you've probably picked up on the fact that I really like vanilla slice.

So, needless to say, I cannot wait to catch up with our newlyweds again.

I've got a really good feeling about today.

When we come back, I will catch up with Tim and George

just to see if they have fallen in love with one of our houses.

So which house will it be?

I've given Tim and George some time to grab a quick vanilla slice ― of course, a vanilla slice ―

and have a little think about which house they feel may suit them best.

All three houses were full of historic charm, but only one will capture the hearts of our newlyweds.

So let's see which one they may have chosen.

Of course, Tassie having the purest water in the world, they make wonderful gin.

- They do. - Fantastic gin down here.

- So what was the chatter after I left you about those three houses?

Because all of them had something on the wishlist. But I know I felt that there was a strong contender.

- Well, after speaking last night, I think we probably could have made any of them work.

But there was one that really stood out for us I think as soon as we saw it.

- The first house with that farmhouse, perfect for a family, but not quite the right configuration.

- It was a beautiful house, but as you said, not exactly the correct configuration.

- Yeah. It's so important to get that right.

And with house number two, I know that you loved the history

and you're open to something that's Heritage listed.

But is that fair to say that you'd have to do a fair bit of work on that one?

- Yeah. To get it to where we would want it to be would take a fair bit of work.

- And house number three, that one, that just clicked, didn't it? - Yeah.

- And particularly having those two offices upstairs, we can just move in, start working straight away.

- Yes. - Get out into the garden, which is already established as well.

- Start making jam. - Absolutely, yeah.

- So which house will it be?

- House number three. - The schoolhouse.

- The chooks are coming to house number three. - Yes.

It was just magical. From the moment we saw it, it really took our breath away.

And the more we looked at it, it seemed perfect.

- You can hear they're rounding up sheep in the background.

You are moving to the country.

You're leaving a 24-hour city.

I wish you all the very best of luck for your new home in the country.

- Thank you. - I'm coming for the wedding.

Second wedding. Second wedding. - Second wedding.

- Yes. Yes.

Well, after a little bit of negotiation, I am so happy to report that yes, indeedy, they gotit.

I wish them all the very best with their very own slice of heaven.

Can't wait to catch up with you again, Tim and George.

www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2023