TasWeekend: An inspiring outlook

WHEN Huon Valley art gallery owner Carlene de Tres and her partner John Abel moved to Tasmania, it didn’t take long for them to realise Huonville was the perfect fit.

John Abel and Carlene de Tres with their collies Skye and Isla. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

NINE years ago, Carlene de Tres and John Abel sold their 13ha property on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, gave away their car, put their belongings in storage and got on a plane to Tasmania to start afresh.

Neither had been to Tasmania, but Carlene had her heart set on a house she’d seen online at Kettering. On approach, however, Carlene realised there was a problem. “We drove into Kettering and I said, ‘I can’t live here, there’s no library’,” the booklover and mature-age university student says.

So they kept driving, through Cygnet and the Huon Valley, and realised Huonville was a better fit.

They have lived in their 1950s rendered, double-brick home on half a hectare at Ranelagh ever since, and say moving to Tasmania was the best thing they could have done.

A painting by Tasmanian artist Peter Barraclough in the dining room. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

The banks of the Huon River are visible from the lounge room. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

The region has proved the perfect place to raise their 19-year-old granddaughter, Jordan – who came to live with them when she was 12 – and reduce their carbon footprint.

“Where we were living at Maleny in Queensland, we had to drive 26km just to buy a bottle of milk,” Carlene says.

“We wanted to retire so we came to Tasmania, sight unseen. You hear so many wonderful things about Tasmania – we just felt it was a more liveable lifestyle.”

Having maintained a two-storey home and acreage in Queensland, they were happy to find their far more manageable single-storey home on a smaller, flat block. And with the Huonville township only 2.5km away, they felt they could walk to the shops and library and use a car less.

“We loved the house – it had a lot of light and floor-to-ceiling windows, which is rare for a house of that vintage,” Carlene says. “The bones are really strong.”

The Ranelagh home, built in the 1950s, has a lot of floor-to-ceiling windows to let in oodles of light. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

With four bedrooms and two bathrooms, the home was bigger than they’d planned to buy, but the extra space was fortuitous, because it wasn’t long before Jordan came to live with them.

The couple adopted two rough collies, Isla and Skye, and their new phase of life was under way.

Carlene says a gallery was never part of the plan. But she loved art and, after working part-time in galleries, she decided it was a good fit and recently opened Huon Art at Huonville.

She is also a keen student. “I’m a great believer in lifelong learning,” says Carlene, the youngest of 10 children, who left school at 14 but dreamt of going to university.

At 61, she completed a bachelor of creative writing, followed by a masters degree, and recently started a bachelor of visual culture, designed for curators of galleries.

STYLE NOTES MAKE ART THE FOCUS: Carlene and John’s home has neutral walls and timber accents, leaving plenty of space for colourful art. BE OPEN-MINDED The couple moved to Tasmania and planned to live at Kettering, but ended up in the Huon Valley – and they couldn’t be happier. REDUCE YOUR FOOTPRINT Can you walk to work or the shop instead of driving? Are your windows double-glazed? Small changes to your home and lifestyle can make a big difference to your energy consumption.

As well as indulging her love of art, opening the gallery has also been a way for Carlene to top up the retirement nest egg.

Wanting the best for her granddaughter, Carlene used savings to send Jordan to St Michael’s Collegiate School in Hobart.

The proud grandmother becomes tearful as she talks about Jordan graduating as head prefect last year before landing a scholarship to study law at Bond University in Queensland, where she now lives.

Despite opening in wintry July, Carlene says the gallery is thriving. She manages 17 local and interstate artists and has had “a wonderful response from the community”.

“I don’t think I’m destined to retire – I think I’ll be working until I’m 80,” she laughs.

“Here I am, 68, and I’m going to work six days a week – that’s what I did when I was 20 and I still only really feel 20 inside.

“I read an article the other day about regrets on your death bed and, you know, I don’t have any regrets.

“Life’s great. I love my life.”

Huon Art is located at 9 Wilmot Rd, Huonville

Originally published as TasWeekend: An inspiring outlook