Mum and Dad's house burnt down on Sat 9th Aug 2014.
ABC News article.

Saturday 9th Aug night - they were both taken by ambulance to The Alfred Emergency and stayed until late Sunday arvo, when my sister and Phil(BIL) took them to their place.

Sunday 10th Aug - I spoke to both Mum and Dad, considering what they had been through they were great, Dad did say that it hasn't 'hit' him yet. To date, they have lost both cars, their house is totalled including all contents, so their possessions have gone from heaps to zero. I am flying home on Wednesday to see them and help, if necessary BUT Phil my Brother-in-law has done an excellent job with the house insurance claim. Today he and Dad met representatives from the Council and the assessor's team from Coles insurance. Mum and Dad are staying with Phil and my sister while they work out the finer points of their policy.

Monday 11th Aug - after dinner, I spoke to Mum and Dad, they are feeling well, but tired, they had a checkup by their doctor today and are fit and healthy. Their house and property are now under the control of the insurance company. The next time they set foot on their property, will be to walk into their new home. Hopefully. Tonight, Phil, Mum and Dad are doing an itemised list of all their belongings, that they used to have. That should be fun.

Tuesday 12th Aug - Mum has changed our plans. She has decided that she wants to move into a furnished apartment a.s.a.p. (like Quest Apartments) and will stay with Phil and my sister until they move directly into an apartment. All my family said not to fly down, so Marg and I are staying on the Gold Coast as originally planned.

Wednesday 13th Aug - Phil has now booked them into a fully furnished apartment for the next 3 weeks at a minimum, they move in tomorrow. Dad is now driving Marg's Mazda 121 aka The Bubble.

Thursday 14th Aug - Dad has been driving 'The Bubble' to the council and organised a copy of his plans, then over to VicRoads and cancelled the rego on both cars. Finally, about 3:30pm, they moved into the Quest Apartments, they unpacked all their worldly possessions which struggled to fill 2 Coles shopping bags.

Sunday 17th Aug - Mum and Dad have settled in at Quest and they are getting back to normal with Mum doing more retail therapy with Dad close by. The claims for their cars have been processed, Dad was very happy with the result.

Monday 18th Aug - Phil and Dad have found a replacement car, it's private, so after a couple of days of RWC etc. Mum and Dad should have a replacement Ford XR6.

Wednesday 20th Aug - Mum and Dad have found a townhouse to rent, now they have to wait for all the paperwork to be completed, then the Insurance will pay their rent. The paperwork on their house claim is still being processed.

Thursday 21st Aug - Dad had a great day, he picked up his 'new' car. A white 2009 XR6 Falcon, he did have a white 2003 XR6.

Monday 25th Aug - Mum and Dad went looking for a bed, fridge and washer and signed a lease for a townhouse.

Friday 5th Sep - Mum and Dad have moved into a townhouse for 6 months with one month notice after that. The 2 cars have been moved from their burnt out garage. Their contents amount has been credited to their bank account. We are still awaiting a final decison on whether the Insurance builders can rebuild it or if dad is going to rebuild, as he originally built it. Last week they bought and had delivered a TV, Bed, 2 lounge chairs, fridge and washing machine. Foxtel came today and installed Foxtel Satelite. They are now very happy and life is getting back to normal.

Monday 29th Sep - This was the first time that I saw their house, in person. A very sad sight. Obviously, it wasn't burnt to the ground but the damage (smoke and water) is everywhere. Currently, we are still waiting on the Insurance company to decide whether they give the rebuild to one of their builders or to Dad.

Thursday 9th Oct - The restorer took 25 big black plastic bags of clothes and shoes to be cleaned about 6 weeks ago. They rang Dad yesterday to say come and pick them up, so today we took Dad's car and the mighty Navara and filled both with bags. After we unloaded them at Dads, we noticed that every bag had a tag 'Non Salvagable'. Mum was not impressed, so Mum and Dad will go through the bags, before taking the ruined clothes to the tip.

Monday 27th Oct - Most of the 25 bags of clothes have been saved. Mum and Dad hand rinsed them in the laundry basin then washed them in the washer. It took a few weeks to complete the task and they were very happy with their effort.

Thursday 27th Nov - The insurance company has credited Dad's bank account with the total Building Insurance PLUS $18,000 for demolition costs. He can now start demolishing some of the building.

Monday 1st Dec - I rode past Dad's house this morning and the demolition company had arrived and parked a very large rubbish skip in the driveway. So the reconstruction has now started. Yippee. Dad will be very happy but he will be very busy managing the subbies, I will assist wherever I can.

Monday 22nd Dec - Over the past 3 weeks, the Demolition crew have done thier thing and left what can be saved. The engineer has approved what can be re-used and replaced. Phil the carpenter and his crew have started replacing the timber frame. Today, Dad and I, after our morning's ride, filled a rubbish skip with some of the debris that Phil had pulled down.

Friday 22nd May 2015 - Mum and Dad have moved back into their rebuilt house. Still a few minor things to do. They are physically buggered and mentally drained. The past year has taken a lot out of them. I can't wait until they head to the Gold Coast for a few months R&R, then Dad and I will go riding.

Wednesday 7th Oct 2015 - I am back home and this is the first time that I have seen the finished house. Mum and Dad have now finished everything and are back enjoying life.