Hi there,
We will be leaving Lilyveil in Feb next year and resuming our travelling lifestyle - cruising the back-blocks, chasing gold, fishing, writing
articles and enjoying the good life.
So we are putting out advance 'feelers'.for potentail replacement caretakers to take our place......
Caretakers Required for Central West Queensland Property – Early 2013
We will be leaving “Lilyveil” to continue our travels in Feb 2013. The property is located approx 75k west of Blackall and about 230K south of Longreach close to the Idalia National Park. The property consists of 26,000 acres with some 6500 sheep and about 500 head of cattle. There are nine dams and three pumps that supply water to 11 paddocks.
The role of the caretakers is a part-time role and the primary purpose is to ensure the water is kept up to the stock and any problems with the stock or other issues are relayed to the owners. Keeping the house and cottage gardens watered – nothing fancy just some lawn, trees and flowering shrubs.
We also do odd jobs about the place – occasionally a bit of slashing, spaying weeds and routine maintenance jobs. We also fix broken wires in the older fences – which are in the process of being renewed. Stock work is all done by the owners, but we help out in the yards and bringing the stock in during those busy periods like shearing and lamb marking or cattle mustering/drafting. So competence on a quad bike or motorbike is a definite advantage.
The caretaker’s cottage is old but in reasonable repair and has recently been professionally re-painted on the outside. There is full digital Satellite TV and a satellite internet connection, electric stove and a large modern fridge. The house has evaporative air-conditioning in the lounge which also blows through to the kitchen. The main bedroom has a wall mounted reverse cycle air-conditioner.
The garden has a smallish area of lawn, plenty of space for veggies and some nice shady areas and a few fruit trees and a bush BBQ.
Blackall is about one hour away and is a reasonably well stocked regional town with a hospital and medical centre. It has an IGA, 5 Star as well as a bakery, butchery, rural supples and other retail outlets – Population is about 1600. It has a very active community with lots going on. It boasts a very good Aquatic Centre with a huge pool and hot mineral spa – all supplied with artesian water. The region is well supported by all the surrounding small communities putting on annual rural shows – The Isisford Wool Show and the Yaraka (pop 22) Gymkhana and Motocross Show are great examples.
The owners are a delightful couple who are most thoughtful and will do what is required to keep good caretakers on the property. Their home property is about 120k away and we only see them briefly every once in a while. They come and stay in the main house during the few busy periods such as shearing and lamb marking or cattle work etc.
They supply meat sourced from their home property and butchered in town. A modest wage is offered commiserate with the hours of work involved. There is no rent or other costs involved. We use the house phone sparingly and have never been asked to refund the costs. The internet connection is a basic plan – we have upped the usage/speed and pay for this separately directly to the suppliers. The postie calls twice a week and will bring out emergency supplies.
There are a couple of large sheds on the property plus a double garage at the Caretakers cottage. This houses the Nissan 4L 4x4 Ute and a new Polaris 450cc quad bike. The main sheds are big enough to store a van or vehicle and have the usual range of equipment – compressor and welders etc.
It is important to note that the owners are looking for a couple rather than a single person and would like to see a commitment for the Caretakers to stay for a minimum of 6 months or preferably longer. You need to be fairly active and able to use your initiative to work without direction or ongoing supervision.
Basic knowledge of stock is an advantage and whilst we had worked with cattle before all we knew bugger all about sheep other than “four legs, tail, woolly coat and goes “Baa” and collects in big mobs” Some competence with hand tools and general maintenance tasks – like routine servicing of a Honda GX 160 water pump – oil change and filter clean etc and the ability repair splits in a 2” poly water pipe by inserting a standard poly joiner and other similar tasks will be well regarded
If you would like to take a break from travelling for a while and immerse yourself in a lovely local community and enjoy all the benefits of living on a rural property without any of the negatives like mortgages etc this may be the spot for you.
We will have been here for two years come next Feb and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here – one of the unplanned benefits was that we have saved a heap of money as well.
Those couples that are overly fond of the bottle or cask or smoke, sniff or inject illegal drugs need not apply. Good character references and relevant experience will be well regarded.
I have posted this information early so that people have the opportunity to plan their future moves
Probably the best process for those couples that may be interested is to contact us on themacks1@bigpond .com and we will pass the applications onto the owners. I can also supply photos and other information on request.
Cheers
John and Jean
