Totties Place at Wye River

Totties Place at Wye River Overlooking the famous Great Ocean Road and Wye River Beach, architect-designed Tottie's Place is th
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With the loss of our beautiful holidayhome during the 2015 “Black Christmas” Bushfire, we’ve been able to open a wonderf...
10/10/2021

With the loss of our beautiful holidayhome during the 2015 “Black Christmas” Bushfire, we’ve been able to open a wonderful new business that allows many families to vacation. Visit us at Great Ocean Road RV Hire and book your mobile holiday!
Https://gorrv.com

luxury camping and lifestyle vehicles for hire in Melbourne, Geelong and Torquay

We are excited and sad to report that we were finally settled by our insurance company beyond our expectations in late 2...
28/02/2018

We are excited and sad to report that we were finally settled by our insurance company beyond our expectations in late 2016.
After initially investing significantly into new designs, engineering and planning permits up til Easter, 2017, we have decided not to rebuild.
We placed our beautiful land on the market in December which has now been sold to a young couple whom I believe will realise their dream as we did in the early 2000’s
We now, along with our 3 children (2 of which have their own kids now) can reflect on wonderful memories prior to the 2015 “Black Christmas” Bushfire which wiped out 116 homes at Wye River and Separation Creek.
We will miss our yearly stays, but Wye River, especially Totties Place will always hold a significant place in our hearts.
To all of you that were able to enjoy a stay at Totties, we are glad to have shared it with you.
Feel free to scroll through our previous posts to see the highs and lows of our unforgettable times at our vacation home.
- Mark Strachan and Karen Strachan

Very excited to share our initial design for "Totties 2"
01/03/2017

Very excited to share our initial design for "Totties 2"

New life at Wye River...
14/04/2016

New life at Wye River...

Rummaging around this morning and found a few little artefacts. New cutlery and crockery on order :)
26/03/2016

Rummaging around this morning and found a few little artefacts. New cutlery and crockery on order :)

Totties Place was insured by AAMI - Lucky!https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153367101161274&set=o.26290372706542...
11/01/2016

Totties Place was insured by AAMI - Lucky!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153367101161274&set=o.262903727065427&type=3

We insured our holiday home at Wye River with AAMI. Totties Place at Wye River was totally destroyed in the Christmas Day Bushfires. We met with the assessor, Erin on Thursday at where our beautiful home once stood and our claims manager, Bronwyn had already processed a part settlement by the next day. Impressed.
[picture of our home courtesy of my neighbour, Tony Maly]

For those that are unable to load the animated Before/After pics, here they are individually ...
30/12/2015

For those that are unable to load the animated Before/After pics, here they are individually ...

30/12/2015

Our neighbour, Tony Maly features in this 7 News story, along with the visiting Prime Minister.

Before & After Picture of Totties. 'After' Image courtesy of my neighbour, Tony Maly, a firefighter with the CFA whose h...
30/12/2015

Before & After Picture of Totties. 'After' Image courtesy of my neighbour, Tony Maly, a firefighter with the CFA whose home was also lost. Click the image, the animation takes a few seconds to load.
https://imgflip.com/gif/wl33m

What remains of Tottie's Place ...
26/12/2015

What remains of Tottie's Place ...

We can now confirm that Tottie's Place has been totally lost. The attached image courtesy 9 News and our neighbour, Tony...
26/12/2015

We can now confirm that Tottie's Place has been totally lost. The attached image courtesy 9 News and our neighbour, Tony Maly shows our home ablaze. In our absence, Michael Briese will be acting on our behalf for the purposes of visiting and documenting the damage to our property.

We are the owners of Tottie's Place at Wye River. A large uncontrolled bushfire has devastated the Great Ocean Road and ...
25/12/2015

We are the owners of Tottie's Place at Wye River. A large uncontrolled bushfire has devastated the Great Ocean Road and is still burning out of control. 60 homes are reported destroyed so far and we believe that our beautiful home is one of them. We are unable to confirm at this stage as all roads into the region are blocked by Police. Even if Totties Place miraculously escaped damage (which is unlikely looking at the CFA fire map where the fire front is in black and Totties is circled in white) there is no power to the area nor would there be water supplies or any town services. Regrettably, we are unable to confirm availability for those that have booked to stay from 26 December onwards. We are very sad to bring you this news which has been broadcast in the media for the past week as a cautionary event, increasingly in the last 24 hours since the fire became uncontrollable. Our office is closed until the new year, before which time we will be contacting anyone with bookings. I am saddened to bring you this news. Faithfully, Mark & Karen Strachan.

06/12/2015

Glad you enjoyed your stay, Sarah :)

The sale of Tottie's Place includes the Holiday Rental business, Website and page. Additionally, the "10 minute...
06/12/2015

The sale of Tottie's Place includes the Holiday Rental business, Website and page. Additionally, the "10 minutes per week to run" training as well as all the furnishings and appliances. A true 'walk in walk out' business.

House: 3 bedrooms, 1 bathrooms, 2 carspaces for sale. Contact: Michael Coutts re: 28 Durimbil Avenue, Wye River

Thanks for your review, Linda!
06/12/2015

Thanks for your review, Linda!

We have just experienced a wonderful 10 days at Totties Place at Wye River. Definitely highly recommended. The walk to the beach along Paddies Path was picturesque and and is guaranteed to get you smiling from the inside out. My dog LOVED his holiday here, ... although is probably wondering why I was stopping to chat to the trees every day. (Luckily for all concerned he never seemed to notice the koalas I was chatting to).

19/11/2015
Recent story on Tottie's Place listing. The journalist was being very generous in her referring to me as 'World Renowned...
09/11/2015

Recent story on Tottie's Place listing. The journalist was being very generous in her referring to me as 'World Renowned'!

Our Iconic Holiday home is up for sale!http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-wye+river-121157614
08/11/2015

Our Iconic Holiday home is up for sale!
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-wye+river-121157614

"TOTTIES PLACE". 3 bedrooms House for Sale. $1,050,000. 28 Durimbil Avenue Wye River Vic 3234. Listed by Great Ocean Road Real Estate - Lorne. Features: Built-in Wardrobes, Air Conditioning, Open Car Spaces, balcony/patio/terrace, modern bathroom, modern kitchen, near waterfront, quiet location, vie…

Our Stunning Holiday Home is For Sale ...http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-wye+river-121157614
02/11/2015

Our Stunning Holiday Home is For Sale ...
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-vic-wye+river-121157614

"TOTTIES PLACE". 3 bedrooms House for Sale. $1,050,000. 28 Durimbil Avenue Wye River Vic 3234. Listed by Great Ocean Road Real Estate - Lorne. Features: Built-in Wardrobes, Air Conditioning, Open Car Spaces, balcony/patio/terrace, modern bathroom, modern kitchen, near waterfront, quiet location, vie…

With some more beautiful weather set for this weekend, why not get down to the Great Ocean Road, and enjoy the wonderlan...
22/10/2015

With some more beautiful weather set for this weekend, why not get down to the Great Ocean Road, and enjoy the wonderland that is Wye River!

Why not come and see why so many others can't put their cameras down when on the balcony here at Wye River!
16/10/2015

Why not come and see why so many others can't put their cameras down when on the balcony here at Wye River!

This weather has well and truly gotten us prepared for summer - our view from the balcony!
05/10/2015

This weather has well and truly gotten us prepared for summer - our view from the balcony!

Are you following us on Instagram? We are posting different content to our page, so follow us to keep up to dat...
10/09/2015

Are you following us on Instagram? We are posting different content to our page, so follow us to keep up to date on our posts and ensure you don't miss out on our special offers!
http://instagram.com/tottiesplace

Whether rain, hail or shine, we always get some lovely visitors down here!
09/09/2015

Whether rain, hail or shine, we always get some lovely visitors down here!

Starting to think about where to take the kids during the school holidays? Look no further! We still have availability i...
04/09/2015

Starting to think about where to take the kids during the school holidays? Look no further! We still have availability in September, click here to see:
http://tinyurl.com/nbhf2hs

So much to explore down here, such as the old pier at Wye River!
26/08/2015

So much to explore down here, such as the old pier at Wye River!

No better way to spend the September school holidays in a couple of weeks than waking up to this view every morning.For ...
20/08/2015

No better way to spend the September school holidays in a couple of weeks than waking up to this view every morning.
For more information and to check our availability, click here: http://tinyurl.com/nbhf2hs

A brief history on how The Great Ocean Road was built by our War Veterans ...https://www.facebook.com/geelonghistory/pos...
26/04/2015

A brief history on how The Great Ocean Road was built by our War Veterans ...
https://www.facebook.com/geelonghistory/posts/365552453649996

The kids and I recently drove The Great Ocean Road so I could explain who built it and why.

Building the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is permanent memorial to those who died while fighting in World War I, carved in rock, it winds around the rugged southern coast. Built by returned servicemen it was a huge engineering feat ending decades of isolation for Lorne and other coastal communities.

Before the road, travel between the coastal settlements was far from pleasant. In the 1870s, a trip from Lorne to Geelong was long and arduous via a rough coach track through dense bush to the railway at Winchelsea. Previously the ocean supplied the link to the outside world.

Early plans
Plans for an ocean road emerged in the 1880s but only gained real impetus towards the end of the First World War. The chairman of the Country Roads Board, Mr W Calder, contacted the State War Council with a proposal that funds be provided for repatriation and re-employment of returned soldiers on roads in sparsely populated areas. Calder submitted a plan he described as the 'South Coast Road' which suggested a road starting at Barwon Heads, following the coast around Cape Otway and ending near Warrnambool.

Making it a reality
It was Geelong mayor, Alderman Howard Hitchcock, who brought the plans to fruition. He formed the Great Ocean Road Trust and set about raising the money to finance the project. He saw it not only as a way of employing returned soldiers but of creating a lasting monument to those who had died in the war.

He also had a powerful view of its worth as a tourist attraction, proclaiming it better for its ocean, mountain, river and fern gully scenery than the Riviera in France, the San Francisco Road and Bulli Pass in New South Wales.

Manual enthusiasm
Survey work began in August 1918 and thousands of returned soldiers descended on the area to start work. It was back-breaking work with no heavy machinery to help – only picks, shovels and horse-drawn carts.

The first stage linking Lorne and Eastern View was completed in early 1922. Over the next decade, the trust continued its work on the Great Ocean Road linking Lorne with Cape Patton and Anglesea, while the Country Roads Board built the Cape Patton to Apollo Bay link.

And finally, a road
On 26 November 1932 the route was officially opened by the Lieutenant Governor, Sir William Irvine. It was a sight to see with a procession of 40 cars and schoolchildren lining parts of the route.

Road travellers during the early years paid a toll at gates at Eastern View, where a memorial arch was erected. Drivers paid two shillings and sixpence and passengers one shilling and sixpence. The toll was abolished when the Trust moved to hand over the road as a gift to the State Government on 2 October 1936.

Address

28 Durimbil Avenue
Wye River, VIC
3234

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