Jeffrey Shaw with Guest - Ian Barry - From Refugee to Supplier of Tiny Homes - 31st October 2024
Ian Barry arrived in Australia as an 18-year-old with his Mum & Dad in 1965, where they were placed in a Commonwealth of Australia Immigration Camp at Wacol (Brisbane).
This camp had accommodation with no internal bathroom or cooking facilities however, the camp had a shared kitchen, toilet and shower complex where other refugees met at cooking times and where ultimately long-term relationships were formed.
Prior to leaving Salford (UK) Ian was a 3rd year apprentice mechanic and was able to secure a job at a car dealership in Mount Gravatt (Brisbane) they put him on as a 1st year apprentice.
To get to his employment he would hitchhike from Wacol to Woollongabba and then take a tram to Mount Gravatt, a travel time of an hour and ½ hour each way.6 months into his work as a 1st year apprentice they asked him to change the motor and gearbox of a British Land Rover which he did and when he asked for a pay rise to that of a fully qualified mechanic they said no, and so he resigned and became a student of life, working as labourer, painter, door to door selling Encyclopedia Brittanica.
And then a business opportunity to become the youngest Shell Service Station dealer in Australia at the Shell Roadhouse in Warwick arrived in his lap with Shell loaning every cent to take on the business.
Ian sold that business in 1974 and took time off then in 1976 Shell offered Ian the Shell Roadhouse in Mount Isa, Ian grew that business as well as purchasing the fuel depots in Cloncurry, Boulia and Winton.
Ian sold all these businesses in 1983 and came down to the Gold Coast and built homes for his family and his parents in Mount Tamborine.
It was in the 1980’s that Ian got into real estate and small developments and then in 2000 through to 2012, Ian started a real estate company which concentrated on overseas sales all over Asia and building homes for overseas clients.
In 2017, Ian was diagnosed with stage 4 malignant metastatic melanoma with 3 massive lumps in my neck, Australian medical practitioners gave him 3 to 6 months and wanted him to pursue a chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
He turned them down and headed overseas and undertook a vastly different treatment which has resulted in a clean bill of health ever since.
The psychological means by which experts thrust on you that your life has a defined end date makes you contemplate the way forward.
Ian has stated thank fully my wife, family and my business associates have seen a far greater philosophical man emerge from the health carnage that we see today.
During and after the pandemic I noticed the massive increase in the cost of buying and building houses and there was no way with the amount of people that the Federal Government had allowed to come into Australia without providing housing infrastructure or even immigration camps that were available to us in the 60’s that it was only going to get worse.
The councils and both state and federal Governments give no real assistance to people trying to buy their own homes and more and more people have nowhere to live except in tents, sleeping in cars and roughing it under bridges.
What brought it to a head for me was my Granddaughter’s mother-in-law had nowhere to live, there was a shortage of homes to purchase and vacant rental properties this in turn forced the prices to rise dramatically and out of the reach of young families and the elderly so I thought there must be something I could do.
I remembered what it was like to be living in an immigration camp with the bare necessities.
After much research and bringing key players onboard, I have been able to put small self-contained homes that contain a bedroom, living, kitchen and a bathroom on acreage properties.
So, for me as life has come full circle with all of life’s experiences, I can ably assist the next generation of homeless refugees.
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Your host: Jeffrey Shaw
Your host: Andrena Forrest
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