I Used to Live in a GEHA House
No, that is not the name of a cool architect or another name for a geodesic dome. I used to get paid to teach children in the most remote town in Victoria, Werrimul. Where? Werrimul boasts a wheat silo, a general store, a school, and what is claimed to be Victoria’s only outback pub. Us teachers had a pub darts team called “The Chalkies” and we almost made sure we lost, just to keep in with the locals, who were wheat farmers on farms of 3000 acres plus.
This little dot of a town is right up in the northwest of the state – go to Mildura and travel west for 50 miles.
The point of the story is that our little family lived in a house provided by the state government – a Government Employee Housing Authority house. Thus, GEHA.
We had a simple lease and paid a reasonable rent for a very basic house (no air conditioning!!!) located right next to the school. But it had a great fireplace for burning mallee roots on cold winter nights. And it meant that we were happy to work in a school 600+ kilometres away from family in Melbourne. We were super young teachers and thought this was normal.
The point of the story is to consider the role of state government in providing housing for essential workers. Rural locations need teachers, police, nurses, ambos… just like everywhere else. There are still many homes owned and managed by the state government, particularly for teachers, nurses, and police, in small towns across the state. Steve and I have tracked several towns where this type of housing presents real opportunity.
For example, the small house on the huge block, next door to two other small houses on tiny blocks, all three houses are managed by the local hospital. Or the stand-alone teacher houses dotted around the school in a remote town, where the houses resemble the house I lived in at Werrimul – but in pretty poor condition.
So, here is our unsolicited advice. It would be great to see government employee houses mapped and then discussed with local Councils and communities to look at opportunities to make the best use of this land. The response would be amazing because all local communities know they need essential workers to keep their town viable, maybe even thriving.
Imagine if this housing was significantly expanded to enable all sorts of essential workers to be housed in affordable, comfortable homes – just like we were in Werrimul.
