According to AFR, in the wave of high-rise building development that has swept through Australian cities, there are some notorious nail households. They seem to be mercilessly left behind by the world, but they still stand there, like monuments to the mere age.
Here, some house owners say they have lived here for decades and refuse to leave when they are buried. Some houses have been converted into art projects or protected by law, forcing developers to find other paths. But they all have one thing in common, and that is that in today's rapidly evolving society, they all contain an incredible sense of history.
So there is no need to dwell on it, let's take a look at these amazing houses.
Brisbane "Up" house
Perhaps one of Australia's most famous nail houses, Brisbane's "Up" house sits right in the heart of Brisbane's CBD. When the developer knocked on the door with a thick check, Norman and Janet Richards refused, unwilling to give up the three-bedroom house.
However, after the Richards moved into a nursing home in 2015, 42 Mollison St was finally sold for $1.4 million.
Janet Richards, sold the house
The three-bedroom house is surrounded by a commercial complex with a Coles supermarket and 25 specialty shops on one side, while on the other side is a unit building. A real estate agent who sold the house at the time thought the house would not be demolished for a short time," he said: "It was bought by an out-of-town investor and I felt it would be used to settle down other families."
See, the two-story building still stands in the heart of Brisbane – now the South Australian art group The House Conspiracy has leased it as a residence for artists.
328 Kingsway, South Melbourne
Nestled on the bustling Kingsway of South Melbourne, this is perhaps one of Australia's most striking old homes. Due to its awkward location in the middle of a large modern apartment complex, the developers had to build a tower around it. The house and another similar house in Kingsway have reportedly been inscribed on the Heritage List, meaning they are protected by the government and will not be illegally remodeled by developers, thus preserving Australia's cultural heritage.
St Leonard's "Building in a Bottle" Between Tall Buildings
While some homes in Australia are protected from development, one of the most famous historic homes has been cordoned off for years and could be demolished soon.
Between two multi-storey units at St Leonard's on Sydney's north shore, this narrow residence was listed for auction in 2019 as part of a 'super lot' of 19-33 Chandos St.
According to North Shore Times, the house dates back 75 years, with records showing it sold to jeweller and jeweler John Clarke for £3,000 in the 1960s and later became a family-run jewellery store John Clarke & Son until 2017, when it was sold for $3.5 million.
The Zammit family – The Ponds, Sydney
Among these ancient houses, the most special is the Zammit family in sydney's north-west.
In recent years, the two hectares of land in The Ponds have been lined with rows of houses.
A local real estate agent praised the family's perseverance, and even though they sold the house now, if it weren't for their persistence, the house might have ceased to exist long ago.
Ray White Quakers Hill agent Taylor Bredin says there are about 50 houses built on the land: "In fact, when most people sold houses a few years ago, only a few insisted on not selling. The credit is all theirs. "
"Depending on the progress of the development plan, you can renovate 40-50 properties, and a 300 square meter block is equivalent to a million Australian dollars by area."
Lush lawns and a huge 200-meter-long driveway lead to a brick house with three garages and a greenhouse inside. It's about a 40-minute drive from the Sydney CBD, with views of the Blue Mountains on the way.
Nearby dwellings are densely packed, most of which are concentrated near the fence of the house. Neighbors reportedly don't want everyone to sell because they like to live in such dense neighborhoods.
Rhodes Central, Sydney
There is also a nail household in Sydney's West End, whose lonely little bungalow stands out among the towering new buildings.
Like the scene from the Disney Pixar movie The Flying House, the three-bedroom brick house in Rhodes remains where it is, despite the developer's preference for the place. The house is now rented out for $900 a week, surrounded by patchwork of residential towers and rhodes Central's shopping and dining precinct, while on the other side of the road is a train station.
The manager of the nearby building said the owner of the house was an old woman who would not give the price she asked the developer, saying, "(The other) owner is very smart and almost sold, but this woman wants $20 million, and the developer scoffs at it." If she agrees to sell, she will get $2 million and an apartment in the new building. "
Winston and Adele Marsden, Abbotsford, Sydney
A house in Abbotsford is a different example of Sydney's.
Sandwiched between surrounding buildings, the four-bedroom unit was originally built in 1940 as a single-storey home owned by 81-year-old Winston Marsden and his 77-year-old wife, Adele. Incredibly, Winston lived in this house almost all his life, threatening "the urn will get me out of here".
Since the developers set their sights on the land, the Marsdens have been at peace. Whether it is the nonsense behavior of developers, or the noise of trucks reversing and parking, they are troubled. Later, the couple adjusted their mentality and faced the status quo with a positive attitude, they were satisfied with their current life, "we thought about moving, but after weighing it, it seemed better to live on it"
After enduring it for years, the couple felt they had finally won the fight. Money is not a problem for them. Although the house may sell for a high price in today's hot real estate market, the house has so many memories that they don't consider moving.
"We won. We're not going to leave here," Winston said. "Only if I got into the urn could they drive me out"
Edith Macefield – Inspiration for The Flying House
In addition to Australia, there are several overseas houses that are also very famous. One of them was the inspiration for the Disney movie The Flying House, owned by Edith Macefield. In 2006, Macefield's refusal to sell his house for $1 million ($1.36 million) to make way for a commercial development in Ballard Neighbourhood, Washington, drew worldwide attention.
But the construction project not only did not affect Macefield's lifestyle, but also provided her with a lot of help. Construction supervisor Barry Martin helped her get her medicine and groceries, and when she died at 86, Barry became her heir, selling the house for $310,000 ($422,000).
China Highway Nail Household
The weirdest and most depressed nail household in the world is a half-demolished building near Wenling City in Zhejiang Province, owned by Luo Baogen in China. Local reports say Luo just spent about 600,000 yuan (AU$131,564) to renovate his house, while the government's relocation compensation is only 220,000 yuan (AU$43,854), and he is very dissatisfied and refuses to cooperate with the development. The family insisted on living in the building, surrounded by cars speeding around. However, in the end, the media attention drove Luo out, and the house was eventually demolished.
Comprehensive compilation/reprint: Cat Uncle Xu Chao