Birthday makeover

The homestead on Three Hummock Island is 100 years old this year.  It was extensively renovated in 2009, to take it from a rather tired collection of rooms to a bright, happy house.

This is the view from the front door of the homestead.  Home Beach and the jetty are just a short walk down a sandy track.

The homestead has 5 bedrooms and two bathrooms.  It still retains its original charm, now enhanced by essentials like hotel issue king size beds and high thread count bedlinen.

The kitchen has been stocked with every conceivable implement, right down to the lemon zester.  The two stoves can turn out roast dinners for the 14 house guests with ease, and do sublime roast potatoes.  You can watch the kangaroos graze from the window while you do the dishes.

The dining room adjoins the kitchen and looks out over cleared fields and the windmill.

The living room can accommodate a large number of weary beach-combers, with a fireplace for cooler nights and a well stocked bookshelf for holiday reading. (The homestead has been a hideout for writers in the past.)

This is a house you're happy to spend time in, whether it's lying in bed in the morning listening to the cries of the seabirds, or retiring on the sofa with a good book in hand late into the evening.