FOR DEL LANE, MOVING INTO HER BEAUTIFUL GEMLIFE TWEED WATERS HOME WITH HUSBAND GEOFF BRINGS BACK MANY HAPPY MEMORIES.
“I’m an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and grew up in Fingal where our family were fishermen going back generations,” she said.
“I know this area really well and picked peas from the farm that used to be right here at GemLife Tweed Waters,” she said. “This location is very, very special and for many years we’d wondered what would happen to this site and I couldn’t be more delighted that it’s become my new GemLife home.
“Right now, I’m standing out the front of my home and looking at the beautful lagoon, which is part of the estuary that goes into Terranora Creek. I used to be an oyster diver too and the oysters on the Tweed are superb. We used to pick them, then wash them in salt water – never fresh water – and enjoy them straight away.”
Del said she is looking forward to welcoming new neighbours over the coming months as residential construction continues.
“We’re the first to move in and GemLife have gone out of their way to accommodate us because they are still building and ensured we can get in and out of our home safely,” she said.
Del and Geoff have been married for 13 years. Geoff, a retired private investigator has a son in Sydney, while Del’s children – three boys and a girl – all live locally as do her ten grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
“We think we might have Christmas here,” she said. “Otherwise, it will be at one of the kids’ places.”
Right now, Del and Geoff have no plans to travel and are simply looking forward to enjoying their new home, but they have already booked an Explore by GemLife motorhome for a trip in July.
“While we were waiting for our home to be built here, we travelled all over Australia in our caravan,” she said. “We now have that for sale. We’re looking forward to travelling in a motorhome because we haven’t done that before.
“It will probably be a trip to Sydney to visit Geoff’s son.”