Home from ashes

By Kath Gannaway
THE bolt hole which saved Dorothy Barber’s life is now part of her new life.
Underneath the new home, built on the slab of the one from which she escaped as it exploded above her on Black Saturday, is the space between the concrete deck and the concrete water tank which saved her life.
“I would never get rid of that,” she said, but there is no doubt at all that she is incredibly happy with, and grateful for her architect-designed, beautiful new home.
Left with nothing, and with no insurance to rebuild her Steels Creek home, Dorothy was in limbo until Brian and Joanne Spears came on board as volunteer “project managers”.
Although they had never met socially before the fires, Joanne said Dorothy was somehow imprinted on her after the fires.
While they had saved their home, the Spears who live nearby, became friends, and supporters in what evolved as a mutually healing challenge – to build Dorothy a house for under the $170,000 she had available to her.
“We used to ring every day, and Dorothy became part of our recovery too,” said Joanne, adding “If Dorothy had not been settled, I don’t think I could have been settled.”
Brian took a pre-fab barn and designed a four-bedroom, two bathroom house, making the most of every inch of space and doing much of the building work himself to cut costs.
His knowledge of the building industry, and the new regulations eased the burden of red tape, while his understanding of Dorothy’s needs, in terms of water supply, energy efficiency and future resale options has resulted in a home Dorothy says goes way beyond the workable kitchen and bathroom which were her original plans.
Joanne’s motivation and eye for a bargain kept costs down with the women frequenting auctions and haunting Ebay to get everything from insulation to a new kitchen.
A call for help from former MP Fran Bailey, a friend of Joanne’s, unearthed an electrician with a generous heart who donated workers and equipment wiping about $12,000 from the budget.
Dorothy’s cousin Ron also rolled up his sleeves and pitched in with the fitting out.
There were many more volunteers and donations to see Dorothy’s house become a reality.
“To say we built the house cheaply is to underestimate the money saved by people donating their time. It’s been just so amazing the people who have been able to contribute,” Dorothy said.
The rewards for Joanne, Brian and others is the humble gratitude and joy their generosity has brought.
For someone who has been used to looking after herself all her life, accepting help from others has been challenging at times for Dorothy.
“The thing is, she has done it with such graciousness, that you always just felt such joy,” said Joanne. “A bloody toilet would come in and Dorothy would just look at it as if it was the best thing since sliced bread.” Dorothy says she will never forget the generosity of the people who have given her a new home and so much more, including all the people who donated to the Bushfire Appeal Fund which went a long way towards making it all possible.