Roadkill and loathing in Southern Tasmania. Part I.

The Journey Begins.

Somewhere in the mountains of Southern Tasmania. By the author.

If you think of Australia as a nation obsessed with sport, you’re not wrong.

Yet it’s not as universal as you might expect. As someone who has spent much time in the arts, I can assure you there are many Australians who couldn’t care less.

There is one interest that does edge closer to the universal — real estate.

My wife, ever the situationist, was delighted at the arrival of online real estate shopping. We were running a restaurant at the time and were often scratching around for event ideas to fill the upstairs space.

“What if we projected the real estate website onto the big screen and got people to shout out criteria? You know, most recent in Richmond, longest on the market in NSW, cheapest in Tasmania”

We never quite got around to it but I know it would have been a huge hit.

Around this time, our son was old enough for playgroup.

The most popular dad at playgroup? Craig. You guess it, a real estate agent.

His litany of hot tips, sage advice and market intelligence had the parents hanging off his every word. The one that stuck in my head?

“Cheap property? I mean really cheap property. Never…