Doobawah

Doobawah is an impressive Queenslander – a tropical, wooden palace on stilts, with a labyrinth of doors and windows designed to catch every breath of breeze from Moreton Bay. Indeed, Doobawah comes from the local Indigenous language, meaning ‘vast expanse of water'.

Helen and Richard bought the home over a decade ago, and as their family has grown, so has their fascination for the house's 125-year-old charms. They began to search for any snippets of its past and what they found was intriguing – a series of photographs that document Doobawah's early beginnings. To their surprise, the house looked different – it was even grander, with impressive wings and balconies on either side. But the photos revealed an even greater shock – lots of people move house, but their whole house had moved!

Adam Ford's mission is therefore to investigate a house that has not only changed its appearance over the years, but also its location. Who built Doobawah? When was it moved and why? And what tantalising clues lay buried in the fuzzy grain of the old sepia photos?