HOME renovations can be stressful enough but even more so if you are restoring a heritage-listed historic house.
It's a task that many choose to steer clear from, but Victoria Brown saw restoring the beloved Dempster Homestead, Esperance, as a "project", which motivated her to purchase it with husband Tom three years ago.
It's been a project for sure, but one that is full of fascinating stories, a passion for history and a sense of community.
While she knew they were going to need to commit some serious funds and a great deal of time, dedication and patience to the house, she also felt the house came with enormous responsibility, as it was so loved by the Esperance community.
Even though it is privately owned, Ms Brown said the community cherished the house so much that they felt a sense of ownership to it and she wanted to respect that.
"For people who have visited it over the years and people who have never visited, the Dempster Homestead is seen as the community's house," Ms Brown said.
"It's the oldest house in Esperance and it's looked as something that needs to be protected and looked after for the people."
Mr and Ms Brown purchased Dempster House in 2017 from David and Marie Louise Wordsworth, who had owned the house since 1966.
Ms Brown said the Wordsworths bought the house in a state of disrepair and if it wasn't for them, it probably wouldn't exist today, as they conducted their own restorations.
"We were approached by John Garland (real estate specialist at Garland International) as the Wordsworths had asked him to let us know that it was going on the market," she said.
"We knew that it was David and Marie Louise's preference that the house would be purchased by someone who was going to really love it and have it as their home.
"Their fear was that it was going to be bought by a developer or someone who wanted it as a holiday home - they felt that if the buyer was preferably a local who knew and loved the house, that they would hopefully invest in it as they had 50 years previously."
Although restoring the house is a "big elephant that is going to take us a little while to eat", Ms Brown said she had loved living in the house and working on it, one step at a time.
As with a lot of restorations or renovations, often the most urgent tasks are ones that are least noticeable to a layperson.
Getting the house's sewerage system onto the main line was one of the first tasks done to modernise Dempster House while still maintaining its heritage.
The cellar was originally outside the home, which sat about 60 centimetres above the ground, was sheltered as part of the Wordsworth's renovations with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Now called the courtyard garden room, the addition has helped preserve the cellar which is a feature of the house.
Another priority was replacing the old glass windows with double glazed glass, which Ms Brown said was not only for safety but also liveability during summer and winter.
A great deal of effort has been put into the beautiful garden that surrounds the home, enlisting the expertise of Georgina Brierley.
But perhaps the most noticeable change to the house has been in the kitchen, with advice from Nicola Sime, Atlas Interior Design, Esperance and the restoration led by Tim Green.
Going from a dark 1960's kitchen with only one internal window, it is now one that proudly features in the heritage home.
The roof has been raised to the original 1890's height that not only provides a grand sense of space, but exposes the pulley for the spectacular chandelier in the chapel room.
Elements of woodwork throughout have been echoed in the kitchen, including local salmon gum for the island bench, which is also used for the dining table and beams in the sitting room.
Skylights have been installed to allow for natural light to beam through.
Door knobs from the 1960's cabinetry were retained, coupled with the tiled floor of the same era.
Even the wall tiles echo the pressed tin ceilings that are found in parts of the roof space.
Both the Browns and interior designer Ms Sime have a passion for sourcing local and they have sought to, where possible, use local materials and tradespeople.
Some of the craftsmanship in the past few years dearest to Ms Brown's heart was the restoration of the sitting room floorboards.
Although the jarrah couldn't be sourced locally, the tradespeople could, which were Mr and Ms Brown's daughter Sarah and her partner Dan Walker.
There is one job that Ms Brown said needed doing but they keep turning a blind eye to and that was cleaning the chandelier in the chapel room.
Considering it measures 2.7 metres x 1.5m and has 10,000 individual pieces of French baccarat crystal in the stem alone, it's rather understandable that they have been reluctant to get around to cleaning it.
The chandelier is a work of art and, of course, has another interesting story attached to it.
It was designed and made in Paris in 1912, sent to Melbourne and in 1932 was purchased to be hung in the then Academy of Music, which was later named the Plaza Theatre, in Launceston, Tasmania, which became particularly iconic for its marvellous chandelier.
In 1964 the theatre closed and the chandelier was offered for auction but was passed in after receiving only a single bid of 50 shillings.
It was later sold privately and disappeared out of the public eye.
The undisclosed buyers were Mr and Ms Wordsworth, who transported it across to Dempster House and hung it in the chapel room, where it still resides.
Ms Brown said that when the chandelier left Tasmania, it effectively went missing.
"It just so happened that our gardener Georgina is from Launceston and she told her mum about the chandelier and that I wanted to know more about it," she said.
"We were put in touch with some historians - one was 80-years-old and writing a history book on the Plaza and he didn't know what had happened to the chandelier.
"Georgina gave him a photo of it and said it is hanging in a house in Western Australia and it was like the final piece of the puzzle.
"He put that photo in the final page of his book.
"It's strange but incredible how things work out."
The chapel room is a favourite for Ms Brown, which features a beautiful fireplace and is used a lot in winter.
When showing people around the home, she always likes to save the chapel room until last.
"A lot of people don't notice the chandelier at first because the large mirror, fireplace or even the small chapel window might draw their attention, but when I switch on the light they are amazed," she said.
"It has about 64 light bulbs in it, it's just unbelievable - so I love the quirkiness of the chandelier and the room."
Originally from England, Ms Brown grew up in a country where historic buildings were common, but when she moved to Australia at age 22, she noticed it was less the case here and they were even more of a rarity in Esperance.
"One thing I noticed when I came to Esperance was there are very few old, historic buildings left," she said.
"So when we moved into the house I thought to myself, 'oh, my goodness, I have waited all my life to live in this house' - it just felt right.
"And when people visit, they say they just want to sit and soak up the atmosphere and history of the house."
As well as being the proud custodians of the Dempster Homestead, Mr and Ms Brown are also cropping farmers of Hill Plains, east of Esperance and their three adult children, Sarah, Tiffany and Will, all live at Esperance.
Sarah works for local livestock and pasture grower group ASHEEP and runs sheep on a small property with her partner Dan; Tiffany owns a local wood-fired sourdough bakery, Bread Local and Will works on the family farm.
"It's lovely that all three of our children are living in Esperance at the moment and are involved in agriculture in some shape or form," Ms Brown said.
STEPPING BACK IN TIME
THE establishment of Esperance is closely linked with the history of the Dempster family as brothers James, Charles (Edward), Andrew and William Dempster were the first landholders in the region who took up pastoral leases.
In 1864 the brothers took stock, mostly sheep and some cattle, to the leases and in their first year the wool clip consisted of about 15 bales.
They also grew and harvested a small wheat crop.
By 1873 the wool clip topped 100 bales - the same year the iconic Dempster Homestead was built by James Dempster for his brother Andrew.
Andrew and his wife Emily did not live at the homestead for long and in 1875 moved to live on a property near Toodyay, known as Vine Cottage.
Edward took Andrew's place at the house in the same year, which was also a significant time for the Esperance town, as the telegraph line from Albany was under construction and was to have an enormous effect on the isolated life of the remote settlers.
In fact the first official telegraph was from Andrew to his sister Annie Gull in Guildford.
In the same year the Dempsters built substantial sheep and wool infrastructure on the leases and in 1878 expanded the homestead.
When a measles epidemic struck Esperance, Dempster Homestead was converted into a hospital for the region.
Wool bales were used to make shelters for 73 Aboriginals who needed care.
While Andrew was able to claim some of the costs in providing a place for aid, the personal effort that he and Emily gave was regarded as priceless as they spent night and day tending to patients.
The land within the townsite and that contained the homestead continued to be owned by the Dempsters until 1839 and was subdivided in later years.
In the 1950s the property was further subdivided, however the Dempster homestead remained on a 1.2 hectare site and in the 1960s the property was believed to have been used for storing ships' supplies and its condition deteriorated.
In 1966 Dempster Homestead was purchased by David and Marie Louise Wordsworth, who were successful farmers relocating from Tasmania and were looking to establish a new farm in the region.
Mr Wordsworth went on to become a politician for the State Liberal party and later represented the Agricultural Region.
His role in government meant many dignitaries stayed at Dempster Homestead, including Prince Charles in 1979, Sir John Kerr and WA governors and premiers.
Marie Louise Wordsworth was a very active community member, including having a key role in the establishment of the Esperance Arts Council and as such Dempster Homestead was also used as a venue for many community events and exhibitions.
