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In those early days we went to Rathmines Air Force Base in New South Wales. That base is now gone. It had been a base during the War, most of it had been taken away by the time we were there. Bits and pieces of the old hangars were still there. We used the areas for parading and everything else. I was there when it was announced they were closing it down but I had actually gone by the time it finished. 23 LANSELL ROAD, MOOROOLBARK It was obvious that the house in Ferntrée Gully was too small. I had extended it already before we went to Malay, so we decided to build. I engaged an architect and together we designed a new house. It was 24 squares and had garage underneath with living space above. It had ducted heating, intercom, remote controls, etc. Building it was a nightmare; well, it was and it wasn't. I had ordered the trusses and frame and knew how much it all cost; I had an agreement with the architect as to how much he would add on, etc. I realized he was double-dipping. He put his percentage on, plus! So I sacked him and took charge. I took long service leave and did some of the manual work myself and the rest was sub-contracted. I actually enjoyed the challenge; it was an opportunity to wear a different hat. We put in an in-ground pool and had dug that and poured the shell before building the house. It was a concrete pool, but the pool bloke went bust! Anyway, I ended up finishing that myself with advice. It was beautiful; 6 feet deep at one end and waist-high the other end. The kids had learned how to swim in Malay; Pat was the only one who didn't swim. We had something go on with the retaining wall, but I didn't want to know!