If these walls could talk
BY NINA CLARKE
In our industry , the technology landscape is ever-changing . The importance of bricks and mortar , however , remains a constant and integral part of being deeply connected to our community .
Ray White Burleigh Group , QLD
“ Crows Nest was the birthplace of the Ray White Group , so there is an important legacy here . My wife and I purchased the old post office building in 2022 , after it ceased being run as a post office in 2018 .
Many of our Ray White offices have some truly special stories behind them . We spoke to a few of our teams about the rich history of where they do business every day .
Ray White Yorke Peninsula , SA
“ The land was donated to the Queensland Government by Ray White in about 1911 and the current building was constructed in 1912 . The building also housed the manual telephone exchange back in the day - which is now our boardroom !”
“ Our Miami office was originally the Federal Police building ( they built it ) and the plans were lost somehow so the council didn ’ t even have it registered . It then became a restaurant , then an insurance office .
Geoff Trost , Principal
Ray White Officer , VIC
“ When we bought it , Baz Luhrmann was the tenant and was filming the Elvis movie . He had fitted the entire thing out like a 70s bordello . We bought the building in that state , he ran out his lease , finished the movie , and then we gutted it .”
" Our building was built in 1908 and opened as the Savings Bank of SA , becoming the first bank on the Yorke Peninsula . It remained a bank until 2010 .
“ In 2012 we purchased the property and it has been very much loved by us and our community as an icon of times gone by . This image is from the original opening day of the building .”
Melissa Bussenschutt , Managing Director
Tiger Malan , CEO
Ray White Rural Crows Nest , QLD
“ Ray White Officer is in one of the suburb ' s oldest homes . The more than 100-year-old property , first owned by local family Hicks , became the home of my team .
“ When the home at 426 Princes Highway became available I knew it was the right choice as our office . It didn ' t come without a lot of work , as you would expect on any property more than 100 years old . We didn ' t make extensions to the historicallyprotected property but we did spend close to $ 100,000 restoring life to the weatherboard home .”
Gavin Staindl , Principal