Open door to Denise Drysdale’s world

As Denise Drysdale walks around her Gold Coast hinterland home, her puppy DD jumps along beside her.

Denise Drysdale and her puppy DD Picture: Russell Shakespeare

As Denise Drysdale walks around her Gold Coast hinterland home, her puppy DD jumps along beside her.

Having only picked him up in the week of Christmas last year, her darling dog (the phrase from which the name is derived) has quickly learnt to rule the roost, with the playful and energetic creature helping the television star meet many of her neighbours through the coronavirus lockdown.

Also known by the nickname Ding Dong, Drysdale shot to fame through the 1970s as a co-host on The Ernie Sigley Show. Her popularity won her several Logie Awards, including two of the coveted Gold Logies for Most Popular Female personality, which are on display in the living room.

Denise Drysdale’s beloved childhood teddy bear Picture: Russell Shakespeare

Next to them is a gold postage stamp adorned with her face, gifted to her in 2018 upon the release of Australia Post’s Legends of TV Entertainment stamp series. Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Ray Martin, Bert Newton and Daryl Somers were also given the honour.

The TV icon moved from her home state of Victoria several years ago, selling off a huge portion of her belongings before settling in the Sunshine State for its easy lifestyle. In the years since, both of her sons and their families have also made the move.

Atop a hill in the Gold Coast hinterland, she stumbled across the 8000sq m block of land by chance just as she was preparing to buy in the suburbs.

The stamp in Denis Drysdale’s honour Picture: Russell Shakespeare

“I never thought I would get anything remotely like this,” Drysdale said.

“I was in the car with my son and he said ‘let’s go look up there’. It was the scrappiest little ‘For Sale’ sign you have ever seen but I called that number, he said how much and I asked ‘where do I send the cheque?’”

The eco-home took a year to build and was completed in 2017, taking full advantage of the panoramic view of the Surfers Paradise skyline from the front of the home and the bushland to the rear. The eight-star eco-rating stretches from the home’s slab to the paint on its walls.

Full of light, windows cover most of the external facing walls, including a hallway to the bedrooms which even has cutouts to the outside world in the floors. It’s a long home and entry through the front door offers a view overlooking the curved pool and bushland through a wall of glass. The 5m-high ceilings also create an airy open feeling throughout the main living space.

“The ceilings may not have been so high if I knew what a metre was,” she admits.

Many of the walls and sur­faces are adorned with items she has collected mostly over her time living up north from visits to op shops and markets, while the rest were collected in her years of travelling overseas.

The curved pool Picture: Russell Shakespeare

Avid collector Drysdale’s guest room where her grandson Bodhi, 8, often stays, holds her vast collection of miniatures and teddy bears. Ceramic birds and fluffy teddies barely the size of a fingernail, a beaded bride and groom smaller than a matchstick and a tiny crystal crocodile are just some of the pieces on display.

“One day I will grow up”, Drysdale said while rearranging her collection.

Of all the things she has collected over the years, her beloved childhood teddy bear is the most cherished. A little worn over its 67 years, the yellow bear with missing fur and one glass eye long removed is decorated with medals Drysdale received for her service entertaining the troops during the Vietnam War in 1967.