Tait-Duke Community Cottage moved to new site

Tait-Duke Community Cottage has finally arrived at its new home.

The old house was moved from Wallace Park to Council land at Earl Street, Tewantin, late last week.

United Synergies and the Rotary Club of Noosa Heads will work with Hutchinson Builders who are providing their services pro bono to source resources and coordinate the cottage’s restoration and future use. It will fulfil long-time owner Esme Tait’s wish of seeing her former home benefit the community.

Family representative John Duke said Ms Tait was thrilled to see the house a step closer to being repurposed for the community, when they visited the site on the weekend.

Tait-Duke Community Cottage will likely provide a meeting and activity space for a variety of community organisations, and serve as an information hub for local support services.

“United Synergies are not only excited to see the restoration of Tait-Duke Cottage for use by the community but the construction training and employment opportunities this project affords for disadvantaged job seekers including young people, mature age and long-term unemployed working on the renovation,” United Synergies Corporate Services Manager Mark James said.

“Essentially the project is creating a hub for the community built by community.”

The Rotary Club of Noosa Heads and Tewantin-Noosa Branch of Red Cross will use it as a base for meetings and community activities.

The cottage was built at the corner of Poinciana Avenue and Sidoni Street, Tewantin, for Charles Tait and Emma Duke in 1919. It was home to Esme Tait for more than 87 years, before she gifted it to the community.

“Esme was thrilled to see her much-loved former home relocated to its new site, where, after restoration, it will benefit the Tewantin Community," Mr Duke said.

Tait-Duke Community Cottage will share the site with the existing community garden, and Garden Co-ordinator Judy Pratt said the gardeners were looking forward to establishing plantings around the historic house.

Council’s Community Services Director Alan ‘Fox’ Rogers said Council was pleased to see the house in place.

“It’s great to see the local community organisations and businesses working in partnership to complete the transformation of this historic house into a valuable community asset,” he said.

29 October 2015