Restoration Australia

[TV.Cynic]

Series 7

Breathing new life into heritage houses, grand or humble, is a testing, bittersweet adventure that engages and inspires architecture expert Anthony Burke in this brand new series of Restoration Australia.

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.

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.

Episode One: Tivey

Thursday 3 April 8.00pm

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.

[TV.Cynic]

Episode 2

Thursday 10 April 8.00pm

Lord’s Lodge on Melbourne’s super-busy Punt Road is a huge dowdy, fluro-lit former backpacker hostel where the flotsam of its previous life remains readily evident. Discarded undies swing from ceiling beams upstairs, pool balls have been shot into the weedy back yard and partition scars reveal just about every available space was once carved into tight accommodation. In its heyday, Lords Lodge developed a pretty dubious reputation. Full of young budget travellers it might’ve been hard to tell which was more raucous, the hostel or the rumbling peak hour traffic out front.

Young professional couple Steph and Paul were initially put off by the main road address as well as the threatening covenant that lingered over the 150yo, two story Italianate house: if Punt Road needed to be widened sometime in the future then the house might be compulsorily acquired and demolished. Still, Steph and Paul braved the bustle, stepped inside and were instantly convinced – Lord’s Lodge was their affordable ticket into stylish inner-city Prahran with the sort of scale they wanted in a family home.

But with a baby on the way and a tight lid on their restoration budget they’ll be pushed to the extremes of their deadline and their bank balance to transform this bruised and battered giant into the family sanctuary of their dreams.

Host Anthony Burke joins a young couple as they set out bravely and optimistically to write a happy, luxe new chapter for a storied Melbourne institution.

[TV.Cynic]

Episode 3

Thursday 17 April 8.00pm

In Orange NSW, first responders Chris and Mel have found all the cosmopolitan comforts of city living along with fresh air, big skies, open spaces and a sweet Edwardian fixer-upper called Bega.

Mel and Chris have only ever known life in Australia’s biggest city. They both grew up in Sydney, landed their jobs as emergency workers and eventually thought about finding homes of their own but like so many young workers, the city’s escalating prices only ever headed one way – out of reach. Enough was enough so they each pulled the escape cord and landed postings in the bustling regional city of Orange.

That’s where they met, fell in love and discovered Orange had plenty the city had to offer and more – beautiful fresh produce, great cafes, plenty of entertainment – and next to none of the traffic snags, urban grime and pollution. The skies were big, the air was clear, and they could cycle and abseil in readily accessible, wide-open spaces. They could also afford a house and set their sights on a period home they could restore and extend for a future family.

They found a sweet, free-standing Edwardian fixer-upper right in town named Bega and they decided if they were going to rescue it and add to it they would do so precisely in keeping with the period, including their extension.

Anthony Burke heads to this vibrant NSW centre to follow Chris and Mel’s very particular and very faithful plan to make Bega 2.0, Edwardian, front to extended-back. But is it a good idea and can these novices balance demanding shift work with the financial and logistical challenges of restoring an old home?

[TV.Cynic]

Episode 4

THURSDAY 24 APRIL 8.00 PM

Partners Edward and Lee have bold plans to restore an imposing Georgian homestead in Yass NSW into a stylish dual-purpose home that helps pay for its expensive upkeep.

Blackburn is an imposing and surprisingly innovative three-story Georgian rambler near Yass in NSW. But it’s a shadow of its former self, gathering dust and wildlife, on a small, sheepless farmlet.

Anthony Burke joins former globetrotting model- turned-equestrian Edward and his partner Lee, who saw Blackburn and felt immediately compelled to save it. But restoring a house with dozens of rooms is expensive enough, how could they make it their dream home as well as pay for the consequential and endless maintenance?

[TV.Cynic]

Episode 5

Thursday 1 May 8:00 PM

Mon and Charlie are preparing for an uncomplicated retirement until they see a neglected, 19th century schoolhouse in South Australia on the internet and they buy it, sight unseen. Things just got very complicated.

Sydney couple Mon and Charlie are preparing for retirement until Mon is online and stumbles upon a ramshackle, neglected and unsympathetically altered 19th century schoolhouse in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills.

Host Professor Anthony Burke joins this pair as they assemble a restoration team and confront the challenges of turning the school into a place that honours its vaulted role in the community and delivers on their dreams of comfortable modern living.