House washing in Killcare, from fibro cottages to new weekenders

How is a Killcare fibro cottage washed differently from a new weekender?

After British settlement this was a fishing and farming community, and the name probably dates from a subdivision early in the 20th century, sold on the idea of 'killing one's cares'. The village keeps a small fishing-village feel around the Killcare Store, Killcare Marina has permanent moorings, and the surf club on Killcare Beach, first built in the 1930s, was rebuilt in 1973 and again in 2009.

Development pressure has seen many fibro cottages knocked down and replaced with million-dollar weekenders. SafeWork NSW notes that asbestos cement sheeting was a common material from the 1940s until the late 1980s and must never meet high-pressure water, so whatever fibro survives gets a gentle, low-pressure house wash. Many homes are not lived in full time: on Census night 2021, 47.2% of Killcare's private dwellings were unoccupied, and 92.8% of the occupied ones were separate houses.

Key figures

47.2%

of private dwellings unoccupied on Census night 2021

1930s

Killcare's first surf club is built

92.8%

of occupied dwellings were separate houses

Sources

• Wikipedia, Killcare, New South Wales
• ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Killcare
• SafeWork NSW, Asbestos
• NSW Spatial Services, Administrative Boundaries (postcode, council, distance, neighbours)