The Medowie house built in 21 days with all donated materials and labour has sold at auction and raised $650,000 for a children’s cancer research.
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More than 100 people turned out to The Bower estate on Sunday to watch the four bedroom Build for a Cure house go under the hammer.
An opening bid of $580,000 kicked off the auction. After a handful of bids the hammer fell at $650,000, $20,000 above reserve.
The full sum that the house was sold for will be donated to the Children’s Cancer Institute to fund research.
Corlette couple Narelle and Alan Grace said they had their eye on the property but were not expecting win.
“We came without a great expectation of actually succeeding, but we’re very happen to have won the day,” Mr Grace said. “Cancer research is something that is very close to us.”
Mrs Grace, a support teacher at Medowie Public School, has not only helped children with cancer but battled two cases of breast cancer 20 years ago. She has since been diagnosed with bone cancer.
Mrs Grace said she was glad she could contribute to the cause in some way again.
Professor Michelle Haber AM, executive director of the Children’s Cancer Institute, said she had been excited and eagerly awaiting the auction result.
“The Build for a Cure initiative is in its fourth year and has raised over $2 million to date for the Children’s Cancer Institute,” Professor Haber said. “All of the money raised go towards research which will help us achieve our goal of curing every child with cancer.
“Annually, 950 Australian children are diagnosed with cancer with nearly three losing their battle every week. The funds raised will be used to help us get this number to zero.”
The house was built on a 700m2 block of land donated by the McCloy Group.
It put together by volunteer tradies from the McDonald Jones Home group.
The design of the house is Cambridge with Vine facade. The property has four bedrooms, a large open living area, gourmet kitchen, two bathrooms, media room and outdoor alfresco entertaining area.
All aspects of the house, including the furnishings included in the sale, were donated.
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“The Build for a Cure home is the ultimate package,” Build for a Cure ambassador and television personality Scott Cam said.
“It’s a masterfully-built home, finished with professional interior design, immaculate landscaping and high-quality appliances all set in the beautiful Bower estate at Medowie.”
The build began on August 27. The house was revealed on September 16 and was auctioned by Damien Cooley from Cooley Auctions in Medowie on Sunday, October 21.
Mr Cooley said it was a strong auction result for a good cause.
“It’s incredibly rare that you have people generous enough to donate a block of land and then a building company and their trades and suppliers to donate every single dollar of the build to a charity, and it’s incredibly unique to be involved in such a special occasion today,” he said.
Originally founded by two fathers of children with cancer in 1976, the Children’s Cancer Institute is the only independent medical research institute in Australia wholly dedicated to research into the causes, prevention and cure of childhood cancer.
Build for a Cure sponsors, partners and donors:
- McDonald Jones Homes – donated the house including design, materials and build
- McCloy Group – donated the land at The Bower, Medowie
- Austral Bricks – donated the bricks
- Freedom – donated the interior and furnishings
- Fisher & Paykel and Winning Appliances – donated appliances and whitegoods
- PRDNationwide – donated the real estate campaign, featuring celebrity Auctioneer Damien Cooley
- Hundreds of local tradies – donated their time and expertise, day and night
- Kurri Kurri Rotary Club – helped to support and feed the volunteers around the clock