{"id":658816,"date":"2026-05-09T01:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T01:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/658816\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T01:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T01:08:12","slug":"gold-coast-couple-ditches-new-build-for-100-year-old-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/658816\/","title":{"rendered":"Gold Coast couple ditches new build for 100-year-old home"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Kim and Michael Kendall decided to relocate a Queenslander to the Gold Coast, they did not expect it to attract so much attention.<\/p>\n

It was only after the 100-year-old timber home was raised and secured more than four metres above their Palm Beach block that they realised how much it stood out.<\/p>\n

“You turn the corner and go, ‘Oh God, there’s a house on the block,'” Ms Kendall said.<\/p>\n

“A lot of buildings are being pulled down in this area. There’s a lot of new going up. So to see something with character come in has been quite unique.”<\/p>\n

\"woman<\/p>\n

Kim Kendall says renovating a Queenslander has been a dream come true. (ABC Gold Coast: Glenn Mullane)<\/p>\n

The couple, who are in their 60s, said their original brick home was sinking and had to be knocked down.<\/p>\n

Instead of building a new home, they decided to restore a traditional Queenslander, which they bought from a site in Loganholme for $190,000.<\/p>\n

“We actually went ahead with plans for a new build, but it just wasn’t sitting right with us. So we decided this is where we’d bring the Queenslander we’d always dreamed of renovating,” Ms Kendall said.<\/p>\n

“It took us six months to find it, and when we saw her, we knew this was the one.”<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

Queenslanders are a rare sight on the Gold Coast. (Supplied: Ryer Projects)<\/p>\n

Project ‘sentimental’<\/p>\n

Ms Kendall said the project is expected to take about two years to complete and costs more than a new build.<\/p>\n

Despite this, she said the time and effort were worth it because of its sentimental value.<\/p>\n

“When I was growing up in New Zealand, my grandmother had a cottage, and I spent a lot of time there, and that was some of my fondest memories as a child,” she said.<\/p>\n

“She would have been 100 this year, and her name was Shirley, and the house is 100, so it felt appropriate to call the house Shirley after her.”\"a<\/p>\n

The home has been named “Shirley” after Kim Kendall’s grandmother. (Supplied: Ryer Projects)<\/p>\n

Their builder, Ethan Inglis, said he was not surprised by their decision.<\/p>\n

“They’re full of character, which you can’t build. And they also have an inherent energy about them as well. When you step into a Queenslander, there is a feeling associated with it, and those things, the energy, the feeling and the character, you can’t build,” Mr Inglis said.<\/p>\n

“I think that’s one of the things, beyond just the visual and aesthetic appeal, that attracts people to them and makes them love the homes.”<\/p>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

Ethan Inglis says it is the first time his team have renovated a Queenslander on the Gold Coast. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)<\/p>\n

Relocation ‘challenging’<\/p>\n

But he said this was the first time his team had relocated a historic home to the Gold Coast, which he admitted had been challenging.<\/p>\n

“We have to build all the foundations before bringing it to the site, and we have to know exactly how that house measures and sits, being 100 years old,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So, it’s about painting a clear picture so we can ensure it comes out of the ground correctly, because that’s the part you have to get perfect for the job to flow well.”\"Queenslander<\/p>\n

Relocating the Queenslander was complex. (Supplied: Ryer Projects)<\/p>\n

Heritage expert Benjamin Gall said that while renovating and relocating Queenslanders was not new, it was rare to see one relocated to the southern Gold Coast.<\/p>\n

“Historically, Palm Beach consisted of beach places and shacks,” Mr Gall said.<\/p>\n

“If you go over the border into New South Wales, timber-and-tin homes are certainly more common there than they are on the Gold Coast.”<\/p>\n

Mr Gall said projects like this were beneficial and sustainable for the environment, and he commended the Kendalls for preserving a historic building.<\/p>\n

“It’s a courageous thing to take on at the Gold Coast. I’m sure they’ll attract a great amount of attention, and I look forward to seeing the finished product.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Kim and Michael Kendall decided to relocate a Queenslander to the Gold Coast, they did not expect…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134,7688,146227,102230,318379,17812],"class_list":["post-658816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-housing","tag-palm-beach","tag-queenslander","tag-queenslander-home","tag-renovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}