An historic Bendigo barn receives a new lease of life following a light 'renovation'

Lucas is an architect, creator of beautiful spaces, a past stonemason and had enough time and energy to take on this old stables and its adjacent house.

A strong wind blew the iron off the little shed, and while you and I might wait for the insurers to haggle over its loss, Lucas was up at 7am and hammering all the runaway sheets of iron back in their rightful place.

"I like a tinker project. While I work as an architect during the day, I feel a bit toey without an ongoing project on the weekend, something that keeps my skills and knowledge ticking over," Lucas says.

Set on a two acre allotment, the 1856 house is one of the earliest built in the district. It is located close to Sheepwash Creek, when running water was money in the bank.

Some of the first vineyards in the district were planted across the road, on the slopes of One Tree Hill. The house witnessed them being destroyed by government officials, due to the phylloxera scare at the turn of the century.

It has been a vineyard, chicken farm, and the Mandurang Post office in a past life. 

"The Heritage advisors were very supportive regarding the repairs and maintenance required, offering great advice and information to assist at the beginning.

"We made the stable fit for human habitation first, to give us some breathing space with the big house. 

"All our improvements are reversible. We could strip it all back to just the stables walls and floors if need be. We have utilised freestanding joinery, ovens and the like.

"The huge flagstones in the floors were the first surprise. I dug each one up to re-lay them in the kitchen as they were a bit dangerous and could trip us, and instead of being the usual 2cms thick they were more like 10cms. Where these original floors had already been modified we poured a small topping concrete slab and cut the surface back to reveal the bluestone," Lucas adds.

Other features of the old stable dear to Lucas's heart are the original timber beams, the old exposed floorboards and balustrade, the retro French spiral stairs leading to the loft, and the original sandstone in the walls.

"The stonework needs repointing too. It's a major project and will probably take me some years to finish off. The kids are six and three so we might be able to hold their 21st birthday parties in the big house by then."

From standing sad and empty, apart from the wildlife tucked comfortably inside its roof and walls, this home has taken the first tiny steps on the comeback trail. 

Ziggy is a German Koolie, looks like a kelpie for all money, and is much more than a family pet.

He enjoys rounding up the chooks, his best mate Cisco the Irish terrier, and the occasional stray sheep, and of course playing with the children of the family, but he is really too busy to do much more in that department.

Ziggy is training as a scent detection dog for wildlife conservation, and his home on the farm is the perfect place to hone his skills. 

There is so much to sniff!

Ziggy has been training to detect turtle nests in the wild. This important job will save conservationists hours of search time, help in their studies of the turtle, and in the long run may even contribute to saving declining turtle numbers.

Dogs are being used more and more in wildlife searches for a wide variety of native and pest animals and plants, as they can dramatically reduce the time researchers take to find their targeted clients.

Ziggy does all of his work just for the reward of a game of tug or chasing his favourite ball. 

From his humble beginnings, dumped at a pound at six weeks of age, this dog was lucky enough to be rescued by Koolie Rescue and then adopted by his forever family.

Ziggy just goes to show what a great family member and work mate a rescue dog can become.