Brisbane owner unknowingly buys into controversy of character house

WHEN David Tobin bought his Brisbane property last year, he had no idea he’d just saved the tin-and-timber home from an uncertain future.

Kirstin and David Tobin at their Moorooka, Brisbane, home. Picture: AAP/Steve Pohlner

• Queensland’s heritage protection rules need an overhaul
• Brisbane residents in historic cliffhanger

WHEN David Tobin bought his Moorooka property last year, he had no idea he’d just saved the tin-and-timber home from an uncertain future.

Prior to the sale, local residents had been petitioning for the property to be added to the local heritage register or protected as part of a character precinct, amid fears it would be redeveloped into units or townhouses.

Mr Tobin was oblivious to the controversy when he bought the place. But the teacher, who had been looking with his wife to buy an older-style home, said he now considered his family to be custodians of the classic Queenslander-style property.

Kirstin and David Tobin with Avery the dog in front of their 1917-era home. Picture: AAP/Steve Pohlner

“We’re happy to go out in a box from that house, so hopefully we’ll be there for over 30 years,” said Mr Tobin (pictured with wife Kirstin). “It’s our forever house.”

Mr Tobin is fairly relaxed about whether he thinks the 1917-era home should be added to the heritage register, but he does realise that such a listing could make it harder to do repairs on the house.

However, council has already knocked back attempts to protect the house, citing no heritage or character value for the property in an area that’s been earmarked for greater density.