Cloncurry man builds off-grid house in outback Queensland however warns ‘it isn’t for everybody’

A unstable housing market, the rising value of residing and concern for the setting are a number of the components that drive individuals off the grid.

For Fred Jeffree, it was the neighbour’s canine barking that proved the final straw earlier than his choice to ditch outback suburbia and begin afresh on a peaceable patch of grime 2,000 kilometres north-west of Brisbane.

“We needed to get away from the noise of the city,” he stated.

“It is good and quiet right here, we have got no neighbours, nobody to argue with and you do not hear the neighbour’s canine barking.”

He’s a part of the two per cent of Australians who reside off-grid, in accordance with the Australian Renewable Vitality Company.

Mr Jeffree started constructing his dream off-grid house in a tranquil stretch of bush close to his former hometown of Cloncurry in 2020.

However it wasn’t as straightforward as he’d hoped.

An increase in the price of supplies, the distant location and unrelenting outback climate proved main challenges.

“It hasn’t been a straightforward job and it is undoubtedly not for everybody,” he stated.

Supposed to be used as a staging space for the close by Mary Kathleen uranium mine earlier than it closed in 1982, the land Mr Jeffree constructed on was all the time thought-about distinctive amongst residents.

Former Cloncurry resident and builder Blair McArdle, who travelled from Townsville to be a part of the off-grid construct, stated it was an iconic block.

“Everybody that has pushed previous that block of land on the freeway over the past 40 odd years has thought, ‘I might like to put one thing there’,” he stated.

Constructing on ‘Mars’

Mr McArdle, Mr Jeffree and their crew battled a relentless solar whereas jutting mountain ranges and uninterrupted stretches of bushland made for a rewarding view.

“I might say the setting was the most important problem,” Mr McArdle stated.

“Think about what it could be like engaged on Mars.

“That is what it is like constructing out right here.”

Mr Jeffree stated he was caught off-guard by how a lot the venture ended up costing.

The construct took a few 12 months to finish.

“The value of every part has gone by means of the roof,” he stated.

He stated it wasn’t an inexpensive or straightforward train.

“I used to be fortunate I used to be in a position to do fairly a bit myself,” he stated.

“If I hadn’t acquired concerned it most likely would have value us one other $100,000.”

One thing distinctive

Mr Jeffree has been residing in his new house for a few 12 months.

The home options 36, 330-watt panels on the roof with a 46 kilowatt battery system that runs the complete house.

Water is sourced from tanks and the close by Clem Walton dam.

“It hasn’t been straightforward and it isn’t for everybody, however I feel, if you understand what you need and you have got an thought about the right way to do issues, you would be OK,” he stated.

“It has been a very good expertise and I feel, on the finish of the day, we now have one thing that is fairly distinctive.”

Mr McArdle stated serving to out on the venture was a profession spotlight.

“It is a fantastic house and it was a as soon as in a lifetime alternative to assist construct it,” he stated.

“Everybody all the time drove previous this spot and noticed its potential and now there’s this glorious home that can be there for a lot of, a few years to return.”