I live in a beautiful part of the country. Close by are farms, farmlets, a large estuary, etc. Work has been going on to run power and install a street light at the intersection of the main road into our subdivision. I wondered if there was more to it than that…
And at the end of last week I found out. On my drive into town, I saw several earthmoving trucks and vehicles on the farmland opposite the newly installed street light, and noticed the cattle were all gone (the horses and the camel went ages ago). A temporary road has been constructed into the farmland and it looks like a new subdivision will be going in there. I checked the local shire’s minutes on their website and found that the land is being divided into six lots, presumably ‘special rural’ lots with small acreage. (Update: I found more info on the application for subdivision on the Shire’s website and each lot will be 5 to 10 hectares — that’s about 12 to 25 acres for those who can’t convert hectares to acres! Further update (Dec 2013): There are five blocks with ‘For Sale’ signs on them, all around 5 hectares, and priced ‘from $690,000’, though I can’t find them listed on the real estate agent’s website yet.
I know I shouldn’t be a NIMBY as somewhere along the line the land where I live was also once farmland, but it’s a shame this beautiful farmland will be subdivided. Where do to the cattle go now?
Here’s some photos of the area I took back in 2010:
And here’s a photo I took on Friday showing the first stages of the development:
I hope they’ll keep all the ancient peppermint and tuart trees…
Update February 2014: Well, I bet the developers aren’t happy! Within about two to three weeks of the ‘for sale’ signs going up, the local shire/State health department put up this notice about 20 metres just before the southernmost driveway into these lots (there might be one at the northern end too, but I haven’t driven that section for a few weeks). Nothing like putting off prospective buyers!
Yes, we live in a high risk area for mosquitoes, and you’d have to be Blind Freddie or living under a rock not to know that; it was one of the considerations we had when deciding to purchase here. But this really spells it out for any prospective purchaser, particularly someone from another state or country who may not know that the entire south-west corner of Western Australia (including Perth) is subject to mosquitoes carrying Ross River Virus, especially areas close to still water, such as the estuary that these blocks front on to.
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 
It’s sad but, as you observed, your spot was farmland once, too. Our area used to be dotted with little farms but over the years they have gone in favor of larger single owner acreages and even grouping of 5 or 6 new homes where a pasture was sold for sites. Yes, it has really changed in the 39 years we have lived here. Keep us posted on the “progress”, will you? Hugs, D
It is sad to see all the progress if you’ve ever lived in a rural area. The city comes to you. Wait till Wallyworld comes in and mom & pop say goodbye. P.S. – goodbye little kangaroos (won’t miss the ticks – lol-)