The news came out of the blue- totally unexpected. A local solicitor was informing me that a wealthy landholder had just died, leaving me a farm in the foothills of the Nandwear Ranges and $10 million.
A dream soon to be realised.
The most useful asset of the property was the old rambling homestead. In its heyday, "Westview" had been the hub of a community of farm workers, tradesmen and farm managers, but with increasing mechanisation and declining returns, the farm had become just another family farm.
Now it was about to be repurposed.
I wandered around the homestead. It had been neglected over the last few decades. Weatherboards hung loosely from the wall, floorboards around the verandas were rotten. The roof would have to be replaced, electrical wiring redone, air-conditioning for the summer.
But the potential!
Twelve bedrooms, three bathrooms, a huge dining room and living room.
The farm manager's cottage next door was in a slightly better condition.
Hmmm. I would employ a builder and an interior designer to restore the buildings. Maybe a million or two needed, but lots left over. Maybe a year to restore the place and find some workers.
Soon I would be able to find the caring compassionate people who would take in abused women and children, care for them in a safe environment and help them to recover.
For many years I had headed a community organisation that ran a women's refuge, and I had grown frustrated at the red tape and bureaucratic control that comes with Government funding. But now, with income from the farm and from the investment of the left over funds, we could offer the same service, in a better facility and without the burden of distant public servants.
It would take work, lots of it. And people who share the same vision.
But at last it was coming to pass, an answer to prayer.
This was written in response to the Wordpress Daily Prompt "Reviving Bricks"
