It’s hard to imagine today. No deliveries. No construction crews. No endless supply of materials arriving at the push of a button. Just an empty plot of land, a vision, and two people willing to do whatever it took to make it real.
In a time when building materials were scarce and opportunities were limited, one couple made a decision that would define their lives—and leave behind something that would still stand decades later. What they created wasn’t just a house. It was a story, pressed into every single brick.
A Home Built In A Different Era
Back in the early 1950s, Australia was still recovering from the aftermath of war. Materials were scarce, labor was limited, and building a home wasn’t something most people could easily achieve.
In Murwillumbah, New South Wales, a couple named Colleen and Ted Hood faced the same challenge many young families still face today: how to afford a place to live. But instead of waiting for the system to catch up, they decided to take control of the situation themselves.
They purchased a plot of land in 1949 for just 213 pounds, and a few years later, in 1953, they began building. Not with contractors or heavy machinery, but with their own hands.
What followed was a process that would take years—and more patience than most people could imagine.
Making 10000 Bricks By Hand
To build their home, Colleen and Ted needed bricks. Thousands of them. But with materials in short supply, buying them wasn’t an option. So they turned to something unexpected: a manual brickmaking machine that had been sitting unused in a family shed.
Using this device, they began producing their own bricks, one by one. Over time, they would create more than 10,000 bricks—enough to construct the entire house.
The process was slow and demanding. They relied on ration coupons to purchase small amounts of cement—often just two bags per month—which meant progress was steady but limited.
Friends and visitors didn’t just stop by to chat. They were often handed tools and asked to help make bricks. In those days, community wasn’t just a concept—it was part of survival.
Even local builders occasionally borrowed bricks from the Hoods, returning them later when supplies became available. It was a shared effort in a time when resources were stretched thin.
A Life Built Between Work And Determination
While building their home, Colleen and Ted were also working full-time jobs and raising a family. Ted worked for transport companies, while Colleen held a job at a local supermarket.
They lived on-site during construction, staying in a simple shed that still exists today as a carport. Life was far from easy. Days were filled with work, and evenings often meant continuing the build.
But despite the challenges, there was also creativity and excitement. Colleen later wrote about how they would walk through neighborhoods, studying other houses and gathering ideas for their own design.
The result was a home filled with unique details—curved exterior walls, a round porthole-style window, and a structure built with double-brick walls for strength and longevity.
A friend named Jock Forsyth, who happened to be a bricklayer, played a key role in helping bring these ideas to life. On weekends, the two men would alternate between working on each other’s homes, blending friendship with hard work in a way that feels rare today.
The House That Still Stands Today
By 1955, the house was complete—just in time for the birth of their son, Peter Hood, who would grow up surrounded by the very walls his parents built.
Decades later, the home still stands, remarkably unchanged. The bricks—each one made by hand—have held their strength, and the design remains a testament to the effort that went into its creation.
For Peter, the house is more than just a place to live. It’s a connection to his parents, a physical reminder of their determination and resilience.
Years later, he returned to the home and eventually took ownership of it, reflecting often on what his parents achieved.
Their story has since become part of a museum exhibition, highlighting not just the house itself, but what it represents: a time when people built with what they had, relied on each other, and created something lasting through sheer effort.
Today, building a home is often more complex, regulated, and expensive than ever. But stories like this remind us that, not long ago, people approached the same challenge in a completely different way.
Brick by brick. Day by day.
And somehow, it still stands.