THE PERFECT GETAWAY
Find us on the corner of Millar St and Happy Valley Drive, Happy Valley, K’Gari (Fraser Island). The house is on the left, just past the Retreat on the road to Lake Garrawongera.
Shearwater has been the favourite holiday destination for four generations of our family for nearly 50 years. Reflecting the heart of our large family, the house is well equipped to cater for many guests, including kitchen equipment and basic supplies.
The house is solar powered, with a back up generator that automatically starts when the power is low. The oven, barbecue and stove top run on gas, with instant Rinnai gas hot water supplying the house.
Getting to K’gari (Fraser Island)
The beach is the main road on K’gari (Fraser Island), so a four wheel drive vehicle is essential for visiting Shearwater. Vehicular ferries run from both River Heads, Hervey Bay and Inskip Point, north of Rainbow Beach.
Happy Valley
Shearwater is at Happy Valley, a small township half way up the east coast of the island. Drive up into the Valley, and the house is just past the Fraser Island Retreat, on the road to Lake Garrawongera. Fuel, a limited range of grocery items, alcohol and souvenirs can be purchased from the Retreat. Along with the shop, the Retreat also has a restaurant and bar operating 7 days a week.
What our visitors think
FAMILY OWNED AND MANAGED
Nearly 50 Years Ownership By The Frith Family.
Jenny and Tom Frith, along with their 6 children: Margaret, Annabelle, Elspeth, Peter, Rachael and Emma have been visiting K’gari (Fraser Island) for over 50 years. Holidays to the island always included many cousins and friends. Over time, they have acquired 5 sons-in-law, a daughter-in-law, 17 grandchildren and now 8 great grandchildren.
Jenny and Tom purchased Shearwater in 1976. It was a half completed unpainted pink fibro duplex. The property was in the process of being freeholded but was far from finished.
Each unit was tiny and Jenny and Tom’s plan was to turn it into one big house. There were two of everything on site: showers, toilets, stoves, sinks but nothing was installed.
Tom got together a group of his tradie mates, and over a couple of weeks, they turned the pink shell into the first version of our own piece of paradise. By the time their six children got to see the house, it was looking more presentable and very habitable. But it was still all hands on deck to help with the painting and finishing . N0 child in the family was ever too young to help.
In the 1970’s, timber logging and sand mining were still occurring on the island. While the island was covered in tracks, none of them were sign posted. With three enormous forestry maps, as guides, and roads identified by blazes cut into trees, the family explored the Island every school holiday period, and their love for the Island deepened. This love was shared by the extended family and the many friends that joined us.
The house was very basic, but the family loved it and spent every holiday staying at Shearwater and exploring the island. The kitchen got its first renovation in 1994, then in 1996, a second story was added, providing Jenny and Tom with a retreat from all the children. To house the tinny and everything else, a new shed was also added. 20 years later, the children were a bit more help in the construction, as were the 5 new sons-in-law and one daughter-in-law.
For the first 26 years of the Frith’s time at shearwater, the house was powered by a noisy generator with fridges that were initially kerosene, and then upgraded to be powered by gas. The generators had a short shelf life with Tom purchasing 7 between 1976 – 2002 and then in 2011 he bought a second hand industrial generator which is still operating well today.
In 2002 the house was moved to solar power. As well as investing in panels on the roof, a new shed had to be added, to house the bank of batteries and backup generator. 24 x 90kg gel batteries, (each 2 volt lead batteries), made up the 48 Volt system that provided power to the house.
In the last few years, the inverter has upgraded to a 5kw Victron, and when the 25 year old batteries started to fail, they were replaced by 8 lithium batteries storing 38.5 kw hours of power. These upgrades have been a huge investment, but as Jenny says, “there is nothing cheap about owning a house on the island”.
When the family is not holidaying on the island, the house is opened up for renting, and has been the holiday destination for many families. It has also been a base for many fishing enthusiasts, with some groups now having returned annually for over 30 years.
The love of the island runs deep in the family and Shearwater remains the favourite holiday destination of the extended Frith Clan which now includes 17 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren.
While Tom is no longer with us, Jenny, now 88, still loves the island and visits it regularly – describing it as her “spiritual home”.