First keys picked up in RV estate

Joy and Jon Dunning receive the keys to their new home from RV Homebase’s Natalie Carroll.

Clementine Norton

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ONE of the Fraser Coast's most ambitious dreams proved it was firmly cemented in reality yesterday, when the first buyers signed off on their new home at Tinana's RV Homebase.

Like any development of its scale, the $73 million, 210-home estate has had its setbacks, with the January floods washing away months of work on the project.

But the naysayers were proved wrong when Joan and Jon Dunning picked up the keys to their little piece of paradise yesterday, showing that sometimes a big dream can pay off.

Mr Dunning and his wife have lived “on the road” full-time for the past three years, and said the custom-designed estate was a tempting option.

But it was the friendliness of the Maryborough community that sealed the deal for the couple, who flew in from Karratha in Western Australia to sign the paperwork.

“We saw an ad in a touring magazine, and thought it looked perfect for our needs,” Mrs Dunning said.

“Then we spent 10 days in Maryborough to see if we could live here, and we loved the town. It's a pretty place, it's got a great theatre and it's very friendly.”

She said the location of the RV site was a major selling point when they decided to settle down.

“Maryborough's not a backwater place, but it has old-world charm. It's not as commercial as Noosa or the Gold Coast but Hervey Bay's close enough if you wanted to have a great night out,” she said.

Despite being first to pick up their keys, the Dunnings must return to WA to pick up their RV so they won't be the first tenants – that honour will go to Jim and Joy Meecham.

“We sold our house on the Gold Coast to come here,” Mr Meecham said.

“We had actually tried to get a house built that had a garage big enough for our motorhome, but the council regulations wouldn't allow it. So to come here and have one ready-built is just what we need.”

While the Dunnings and the Meechams might be first on the ground, they won't be lonely for long, according to RV Homebase marketing manager Mark Tolley.

“About 51 people have already signed up, and we sold another one (yesterday),” he said.

“We're extremely happy with the way the project is going at this stage.

“It's been getting a lot of interest and it's very exciting.”