Sydney celebrities and family homes, October 2004

Sydney Celebrities and Family Homes – October 2004

AMANDA KELLER

Lives in Coogee with husband Harley Oliver and two children Liam, 3 and Jack,1.
Where is it 9km from Sydney CBD, in the eastern suburbs near Randwick.
APM median house price June 2004 $1.258 million

Amanda Keller gives thanks every day for one fantastic decision she made when renovating – creating a garage with internal access.
“There are all these things you need in a house once you have children,” she says.
“I like the idea of a backyard and now I understand the rumpus room – when you don’t have kids you think why would you want such things but now I want to place for the kids to rump.”
Keller and her husband moved from the northern beaches to Coogee while she was pregnant with Liam and working in radio at Bondi Junction.
“The move to Coogee reclaimed nine hours a week in travel time. That’s time I can spend with my family,” she says.
Keller and Oliver renovated their Coogee house before they moved in, knowing it would be the permanent family home for years to come.
“I am so glad we didn’t manage to get this place until I was pregnant. Before we had kids, we had no idea about what we’d need in a house,” she says.
The two-storey house has an open plan living room and kitchen which looks on to the backyard.
“I am eternally grateful that we created living spaces all on one level. My idea of a hell family house is one of those four-storey places with only one room on each level – kids and stairs, aaah,” she says.
Keller, who now hosts Mondo Thingo on ABC-TV, likes being close to the beach and has forged close friendships with her neighbours.
“I love being part of that kind of community. I think having children changes the way you relate to neighbours,” she says.
“We are a 10-minute walk from the beach and we meet friends down there and let the kids play with the cigarette butts in the sand.”

SCOTT CAM

Lives in Rosebery with wife Ann Cam and three children, Charlie, 8, Bill, 5, and Sarah, 5.
Where is it 5km from Sydney CBD in the inner south-east, near Alexandria.
APM median house price June 2004 $700,000

Scott Cam reckons his backyard is not as chic as something garden guru Jamie Durie would design – but “it’s Australian and I know he approves of it”.
The Cam family live in a rambling old house - “it’s practically falling down” - on a large 900 square metre block of land.
“There are huge old 60 foot trees with tree houses and cubby houses, and we’ve got a basketball ring and goal posts in to kick the footy,” he says.
“We’ve got two chooks, a vegie patch and a big fish tank. The eldest boy’s even got his own mini workshop next to mine, with a bench and vise and his own tools.”
Scott and his wife Ann lived in a two-bedroom terrace at nearby Zetland for seven years, until the birth of the twins forced them to seek larger premises.
“When we lived in Zetland as a couple and had one child, it was perfect. Then when you have three kids running around the terrace is just too small,” he says.
Cam, who appears on Nine Network’s Backyard Blitz and Renovation Rescue, says Rosebery always appealed to him because it had big blocks of land and was easily accessible.
“You’re 10 minutes from the city, 10 minutes from the beach and 10 minutes from the airport here,” he says.
“You really need space when you have kids and the great thing about Rosebery is there are two parks within 20 metres of this place and there is hardly any traffic so kids can still kick a footy on the street.”

MARK LATHAM

Lives in Glen Alpine with wife Janine Lacy and two children Oliver, 4 and Isaac, 2.
Where is it 46km from Sydney CBD in Campbelltown near Mount Annan.
APM median house price June 2004 $570,000

Naturally Labor’s Mark Latham is hoping that today (OCTOBER 9) will mean that he can move his family to The Lodge in Canberra – in the meantime, the young family calls Glen Alpine home.
The upmarket subdivision near Cambelltown is built around the Campbelltown Golf Course and is close to the Mount Annan Botanic Garden.
The Latham family live in a three-bedroom single-level house, which has landscaped gardens and is close to extended family.
The family home had to adapt and change once the two little boys arrived.
“We needed to find toy space in the living area,” Latham says. “And tie up most of the cupboards for the boys; and put rubber protectors on the sharp edges that were at little boy height.”
Latham grew up in a three-bedroom house in Harrison Street, Ashcroft, part of the Green Valley Housing Commission estate on the then rural fringe of Liverpool in Sydney's west.
He has since moved away from his roots, to a prestige estate which has a median house price worth $250,000 more than the surrounding suburbs of Rosemeadow and Ambarvale.
Latham was the mayor of Liverpool in the early 1990s, before being elected to federal parliament and rising to the position of leader.
In the past, he has proudly thanked his mother for raising him in a humble family home.
Now, the would-be Prime Minister says a family home is “the best place to be surrounded by loved ones and (gives) the change to help children grow and develop”.

BRETT KIMMORLEY

Lives in Cronulla with wife Sharnie Kimmorley and two children, Maddi, 3, and Mia, 1.
Where is it 23km from Sydney CBD in the Sutherland Shire near Cronulla
APM median house price June 2004 $1.78 million

Cronulla Sharks’ captain Brett Kimmorley bought a block of dirt in Burraneer last year and has only just drawn up plans to build his dream family home on the site.
“We’ve travelled and lived in lots of different houses so we have a good idea of what we want,” he says.
“We decided we had to build to get something we really wanted because we couldn’t find something to buy that had the right level of finishes.”
Sharnie and Brett moved to Cronulla when Maddi was four months old, and have decided to put down roots in the Sutherland Shire.
Their dream house has water views and is in a quiet cul-de-sac “which will be good for the children”.
“The house will be two storey with all the bedrooms upstairs – it’s important to have the bedrooms close together so that you can get up in the night to the kids,” he says.
There will be a games room downstairs, a study and a large open plan living and dining area which overlooks the backyard.
“You want to be able to watch them outside when you are inside. We like an open house so the kids can run around and we can see them,” he says.
The Kimmorley’s like the “quietness” of the Shire and the easy access to the beach.
“Because the Sharks train and play in the area, I’m no more than a kilometre away from work,” he says.
“Now that the kids are a bit older, we take them down to South Cronulla where there aren’t any real waves and it’s safe.”
Kimmorley has just bought a boat and hopes to spend this summer taking his family over to the beaches in the Royal National Park.
“Those big beaches over in the Park are nice and it would be great to get over there more,” he says.

MELINDA GAINSFORD-TAYLOR

Lives in Collaroy Plateau with husband Mark Taylor and son Nicholas, 2.
Where is it 18km from Sydney CBD on the northern beaches near Manly
APM median house price to June 2004 $775,000

When country girl and former Olympic sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor married Mark Taylor, there was never a doubt that the pair would end up living on the northern beaches.
“My husband is northern beaches born and bred and I just ended up falling in love with the area after holidaying there so often,” she says.
“It’s a bit like the country, especially up on the Plateau. You’ve got your IGA supermarket, the Commonwealth Bank, a bottleshop and a newsagency, so it’s pretty self-contained and you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.”
The couple bought their current home back in 2000 “when we’d been married for a few years and were definitely making plans for Nicholas to come along”.
“It really is a great family home and we don’t plan on moving until our children are grown up – it has two storeys and four bedrooms and plenty of space for the kids to play,” she says.
“But it’s not just materialistic things like a pool or the number of bedrooms that make a family home - it’s more that feeling that it’s somewhere that you can be happy.”
As a former athlete, Melinda likes the open spaces and opportunities for physical activity on the northern beaches.
“I take Nicholas out every day and even if it’s raining, I can take him to one of those indoor play centres and wear him out,” she says.
“On a good day we go to the park near Collaroy surf club, and we can take 10 steps and be kicking a soccer ball on an oval and then walk 10 metres and be on the beach.”
Melinda says her attitude to keeping the house tidy has completely changed since Nicholas arrived.
“I used to be one of those people that would constantly pick up after him and keep everything tidy, but now I just clear up once a day,” she says.
“And I’d say the other big change since we’ve had kids is that all the nice ornaments and stylish stuff has gone away and everything looks just basic.”

PETA SEATON

Lives in Moss Vale with husband Lachlan Paterson and daughter Unity, 8.
Where is it 107km from Sydney CBD, in Southern Highlands near Bowral
APM median house price to June 2004 $343,000

The Liberal member for the state seat of Southern Highlands calls a classic weatherboard cottage in Moss Vale home.
“It’s one of those cottages that everyone’s granny lived in – it’s on half an acre and has lovely gardens but is really just a very basic house that we love to death.”
“We are mad gardeners and have planted lots of native trees and flowers so that now we have a family of magpies who have trained us to feed them on demand.”
The couple bought the cottage when Seaton won the Southern Highlands seat in 1996, when Unity was just four months old.
“We already had a baby when we bought the place but we knew we would want something like this even if we didn’t have kids,” she says. “We love space and there is just no way that we could afford the kind of space we have here down in Sydney.”
But even 2000 square metres is not enough space for some families – especially now that Unity is nagging for her own pony.
“Like a lot of kids in the Highlands, she rides at the equestrian centre and we are under intense pressure to get a pony,” Seaton says.
“We don’t have the space, but I’m hoping to find a friendly neighbour with a paddock.”
Seaton loves the rural atmosphere of Moss Vale and the ability “to walk down to the shop in your gum boots without anyone blinking”.
“Moss Vale is really diverse - you can get your fresh mozzarella at the deli and good coffee but you can still go down to the rural supplies shop and buy bales of hay and bags of fertilizer,” she says.


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Sydney Celebrities and Family Homes – October 2004 AMANDA KELLER Lives in Coogee with husband Harley Oliver and two children Liam, 3 and Jack,1. Where is it 9km from Sydney CBD, in the eastern suburbs near Randwick. APM median house price June 2004 $1.258 million Amanda Keller gives thanks every day for one fantastic decision she made when renovating – creating a garage with internal access. “There are all these things you need in a house once you have children,” she says. “I like the idea of a backyard and now I understand the rumpus room – when you don’t have kids you think why would you want such things but now I want to place for the kids to rump.” Keller and her husband moved from the northern beaches to Coogee while she was pregnant with Liam and working in radio at Bondi Junction. “The move to Coogee reclaimed nine hours a week in travel time. That’s time I can spend with my family,” she says. Keller and Oliver renovated their Coogee house before they moved in, knowing it would be the permanent family home for years to come. “I am so glad we didn’t manage to get this place until I was pregnant. Before we had kids, we had no idea about what we’d need in a house,” she says. The two-storey house has an open plan living room and kitchen which looks on to the backyard. “I am eternally grateful that we created living spaces all on one level. My idea of a hell family house is one of those four-storey places with only one room on each level – kids and stairs, aaah,” she says. Keller, who now hosts Mondo Thingo on ABC-TV, likes being close to the beach and has forged close friendships with her neighbours. “I love being part of that kind of community. I think having children changes the way you relate to neighbours,” she says. “We are a 10-minute walk from the beach and we meet friends down there and let the kids play with the cigarette butts in the sand.” SCOTT CAM Lives in Rosebery with wife Ann Cam and three children, Charlie, 8, Bill, 5, and Sarah, 5. Where is it 5km from Sydney CBD in the inner south-east, near Alexandria. APM median house price June 2004 $700,000 Scott Cam reckons his backyard is not as chic as something garden guru Jamie Durie would design – but “it’s Australian and I know he approves of it”. The Cam family live in a rambling old house - “it’s practically falling down” - on a large 900 square metre block of land. “There are huge old 60 foot trees with tree houses and cubby houses, and we’ve got a basketball ring and goal posts in to kick the footy,” he says. “We’ve got two chooks, a vegie patch and a big fish tank. The eldest boy’s even got his own mini workshop next to mine, with a bench and vise and his own tools.” Scott and his wife Ann lived in a two-bedroom terrace at nearby Zetland for seven years, until the birth of the twins forced them to seek larger premises. “When we lived in Zetland as a couple and had one child, it was perfect. Then when you have three kids running around the terrace is just too small,” he says. Cam, who appears on Nine Network’s Backyard Blitz and Renovation Rescue, says Rosebery always appealed to him because it had big blocks of land and was easily accessible. “You’re 10 minutes from the city, 10 minutes from the beach and 10 minutes from the airport here,” he says. “You really need space when you have kids and the great thing about Rosebery is there are two parks within 20 metres of this place and there is hardly any traffic so kids can still kick a footy on the street.” MARK LATHAM Lives in Glen Alpine with wife Janine Lacy and two children Oliver, 4 and Isaac, 2. Where is it 46km from Sydney CBD in Campbelltown near Mount Annan. APM median house price June 2004 $570,000 Naturally Labor’s Mark Latham is hoping that today (OCTOBER 9) will mean that he can move his family to The Lodge in Canberra – in the meantime, the young family calls Glen Alpine home. The upmarket subdivision near Cambelltown is built around the Campbelltown Golf Course and is close to the Mount Annan Botanic Garden. The Latham family live in a three-bedroom single-level house, which has landscaped gardens and is close to extended family. The family home had to adapt and change once the two little boys arrived. “We needed to find toy space in the living area,” Latham says. “And tie up most of the cupboards for the boys; and put rubber protectors on the sharp edges that were at little boy height.” Latham grew up in a three-bedroom house in Harrison Street, Ashcroft, part of the Green Valley Housing Commission estate on the then rural fringe of Liverpool in Sydney's west. He has since moved away from his roots, to a prestige estate which has a median house price worth $250,000 more than the surrounding suburbs of Rosemeadow and Ambarvale. Latham was the mayor of Liverpool in the early 1990s, before being elected to federal parliament and rising to the position of leader. In the past, he has proudly thanked his mother for raising him in a humble family home. Now, the would-be Prime Minister says a family home is “the best place to be surrounded by loved ones and (gives) the change to help children grow and develop”. BRETT KIMMORLEY Lives in Cronulla with wife Sharnie Kimmorley and two children, Maddi, 3, and Mia, 1. Where is it 23km from Sydney CBD in the Sutherland Shire near Cronulla APM median house price June 2004 $1.78 million Cronulla Sharks’ captain Brett Kimmorley bought a block of dirt in Burraneer last year and has only just drawn up plans to build his dream family home on the site. “We’ve travelled and lived in lots of different houses so we have a good idea of what we want,” he says. “We decided we had to build to get something we really wanted because we couldn’t find something to buy that had the right level of finishes.” Sharnie and Brett moved to Cronulla when Maddi was four months old, and have decided to put down roots in the Sutherland Shire. Their dream house has water views and is in a quiet cul-de-sac “which will be good for the children”. “The house will be two storey with all the bedrooms upstairs – it’s important to have the bedrooms close together so that you can get up in the night to the kids,” he says. There will be a games room downstairs, a study and a large open plan living and dining area which overlooks the backyard. “You want to be able to watch them outside when you are inside. We like an open house so the kids can run around and we can see them,” he says. The Kimmorley’s like the “quietness” of the Shire and the easy access to the beach. “Because the Sharks train and play in the area, I’m no more than a kilometre away from work,” he says. “Now that the kids are a bit older, we take them down to South Cronulla where there aren’t any real waves and it’s safe.” Kimmorley has just bought a boat and hopes to spend this summer taking his family over to the beaches in the Royal National Park. “Those big beaches over in the Park are nice and it would be great to get over there more,” he says. MELINDA GAINSFORD-TAYLOR Lives in Collaroy Plateau with husband Mark Taylor and son Nicholas, 2. Where is it 18km from Sydney CBD on the northern beaches near Manly APM median house price to June 2004 $775,000 When country girl and former Olympic sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor married Mark Taylor, there was never a doubt that the pair would end up living on the northern beaches. “My husband is northern beaches born and bred and I just ended up falling in love with the area after holidaying there so often,” she says. “It’s a bit like the country, especially up on the Plateau. You’ve got your IGA supermarket, the Commonwealth Bank, a bottleshop and a newsagency, so it’s pretty self-contained and you don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.” The couple bought their current home back in 2000 “when we’d been married for a few years and were definitely making plans for Nicholas to come along”. “It really is a great family home and we don’t plan on moving until our children are grown up – it has two storeys and four bedrooms and plenty of space for the kids to play,” she says. “But it’s not just materialistic things like a pool or the number of bedrooms that make a family home - it’s more that feeling that it’s somewhere that you can be happy.” As a former athlete, Melinda likes the open spaces and opportunities for physical activity on the northern beaches. “I take Nicholas out every day and even if it’s raining, I can take him to one of those indoor play centres and wear him out,” she says. “On a good day we go to the park near Collaroy surf club, and we can take 10 steps and be kicking a soccer ball on an oval and then walk 10 metres and be on the beach.” Melinda says her attitude to keeping the house tidy has completely changed since Nicholas arrived. “I used to be one of those people that would constantly pick up after him and keep everything tidy, but now I just clear up once a day,” she says. “And I’d say the other big change since we’ve had kids is that all the nice ornaments and stylish stuff has gone away and everything looks just basic.” PETA SEATON Lives in Moss Vale with husband Lachlan Paterson and daughter Unity, 8. Where is it 107km from Sydney CBD, in Southern Highlands near Bowral APM median house price to June 2004 $343,000 The Liberal member for the state seat of Southern Highlands calls a classic weatherboard cottage in Moss Vale home. “It’s one of those cottages that everyone’s granny lived in – it’s on half an acre and has lovely gardens but is really just a very basic house that we love to death.” “We are mad gardeners and have planted lots of native trees and flowers so that now we have a family of magpies who have trained us to feed them on demand.” The couple bought the cottage when Seaton won the Southern Highlands seat in 1996, when Unity was just four months old. “We already had a baby when we bought the place but we knew we would want something like this even if we didn’t have kids,” she says. “We love space and there is just no way that we could afford the kind of space we have here down in Sydney.” But even 2000 square metres is not enough space for some families – especially now that Unity is nagging for her own pony. “Like a lot of kids in the Highlands, she rides at the equestrian centre and we are under intense pressure to get a pony,” Seaton says. “We don’t have the space, but I’m hoping to find a friendly neighbour with a paddock.” Seaton loves the rural atmosphere of Moss Vale and the ability “to walk down to the shop in your gum boots without anyone blinking”. “Moss Vale is really diverse - you can get your fresh mozzarella at the deli and good coffee but you can still go down to the rural supplies shop and buy bales of hay and bags of fertilizer,” she says.