Would you pay $275,000 for this?

On my recent trip to Mornington on Victoria’s South East coast, I learnt of a monstrous sale of one of the famous brightly-coloured ‘beach houses’ that cover this coastline. This particular one was sold for a significant $275,000.

These boathouses are grouped in clusters of 5 or 6 and dotted along the Port Phillip coast and are commonly used as storage for local homeowners enjoying a day on the beach.

To put the question of value into perspective, these shacks are about the size of your average bathroom with just one lockable timber door facing the water.

What got me thinking after this trip was how well the Victorians held onto their history and nostalgia, these boathouses are just one example.

So why the comparison to the Sunshine Coast? Well interestingly the Sunshine Coast and Mornington share a number of similarities,

•  Located around 45 minutes from their local capital city
• Originally established as holiday locations
• Home to some of the best beaches, rivers and waterways

Did you know that the Sunshine Coast also has its version of the boat house? Next time you drive along Bradman Avenue in Maroochydore take a peek through the tree’s and you will spot one of the handful remaining. The sad reality here is that they are deteriorating, not being maintained and, to my knowledge, can not be on sold- therefore holding little value.

Could we turn this around? Wouldn’t it be brilliant for us as the community to maintain some passion around our very own nostalgia. Sadly, many of the beach houses, river houses and Queenslander’s that dotted our prime locations have made way for development- lets reconsider our Boathouses on the Maroochy.

-Dan Sowden