New residents embraced by community
• Ian and Chris Godfrey at their new Jetsonville home.
After falling in love with a heritage house on a few acres with perfect views in Jetsonville, Chris and Ian Godfrey decided to sell their property in the rural village of Boyup Brook in South West Western Australia.
The retired couple who had harvested olives and run sheep on their 34-acre property, were excited to start a new life in Tasmania.
They planned to make the journey to Tasmania a trip to remember by driving, with their dog 3,992kms across the Nullarbor, through SA and Victoria and finally hopping onto the Spirit of Tasmania.
It wasn’t until after they started their drive on March 20, that the Prime Minister announced that Australia had a national emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within a few days, the mood in Australia and across the world changed markedly and the case tally was on the rise.
Their planned scenic drive, including a week’s holiday around the Eyre Peninsular, was cut short and instead they raced to get on the Spirit while passengers were still permitted.
“We didn’t really get to appreciate the scenery and we raced from one side of Australia to the other hoping that we could get to our final destination – home in Tasmania. All in all, a very stressful time,” Chris said.
“After day one of our trip social distancing rules were imposed and state governments started to close ‘non-essential’ services.
“In the space of one week things had dramatically changed. We didn’t realise the extent of restrictions, we were so lucky that our real estate agent regularly contacted us and explained what we could and couldn’t do.”
Until they drove onto the Spirit it wasn’t clear if they would be allowed into Tasmania or would be turned around.
When departing the boat at Devonport, they were given a bag containing milk, bread and butter to ensure we did not stop anywhere and travelled directly to their new home, where they were to quarantine for the next 14 days.
The original plan once arriving in Tasmania was to travel for a few days until their furniture container arrived, but instead their container was part of a shipping backlog and its arrival time was unknown.
Chris and Ian arrived at their new home, which they expected would be empty to find a pleasant surprise.
“A group of locals heard about our circumstances and had set up a temporary home for us with furniture, bed, kitchenalia, books, TV and filled the fridge with essential provisions including Easter eggs,” Chris said.
“I first saw the welcome sign and flowers – it was a wonderful surprise.
“The lifesavers provided everything we could need for the next few weeks.”
Within a few days close neighbours also left provisions like lasagne, fresh vegetables and offered to get other food items.
“Right from the very start of our new life in North East Tasmania, we have been made very welcome and we can’t thank those people enough,” Ian said.
As soon as the restrictions are lifted Chris and Ian are planning a celebration at the house to say a big thank you to locals.
In the meantime, they will spend their days in the garden, redecorating and walking their dog.
The Advertiser thanks resident Ally Mercer for her help in finding and producing this article.