Waiting to hear back about the development took forever. I practically wore out the path to our letterbox I checked it that much. Gran said a watched mailbox was like a watched kettle. She gave me extra chores to keep me away from it, but that didn’t really help.
Finally, the letter we’d been waiting for arrived. Gran called Uncle Malcolm and he came over as soon as he could. Gran bustled around making tea while I offered Uncle Malcolm some scones.
Then Gran gave the big white envelope to me. I ripped it open and peered nervously inside.
‘Come on, Rosie. What does it say?’
With shaking hands, I pulled out a crisp A4 letter and a booklet titled, Proposed Changes to the Development of Lot 3425, Wellington Point.
I read the letter out loud.
Dear Rose,
Thank you so much for showing us that koalas are not the only ones who love beautiful trees. Here at Hall and Young Development, we can all remember climbing a few in our day. You have reminded us how precious places like Wellington Point are and have shown us that we need to protect the things we love.
We hope you will approve of the proposals outlined in the enclosed document, and if you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to call me anytime on my direct line.
Yours sincerely,
Mr William Young
I frowned. ‘That’s good, isn’t it?’
‘Yes,’ laughed Uncle Malcolm. ‘It’s great.’ He picked up the booklet and flicked it open. ‘See. Here are all the things they’re suggesting. Just like you asked.’ He pointed to the long list of dot points as Gran and I huddled excitedly around him.
‘Fewer houses. Wide gaps left for koala trees. Koala-friendly fences with poles to help koalas and other wildlife get around. Look, there’s even a clause that says hollow logs must be left in place for creatures to hide in. This is perfect, Rose, exactly what you wanted!’
The proposals also said that koalas at risk were not to be relocated, but were to be encouraged to stay by planting appropriate trees. Smooch’s favourite tree would stay, with the new driveway being built well away from it, not through it, as originally planned.
Gran looked at me with a satisfied smile. ‘Congratulations, Rosie, you did it!’ she said. ‘Now everyone wins. The developers, the koalas, and people who love animals like you and me. Well done!’
We had some more tea and another round of scones. That’s when Uncle Malcolm told us he had some more good news. Brilliant news, in fact. Gran and I leant forward in our seats.
‘Do you remember the developers had a hiccup? A problem delaying development around the house?’
Gran and I nodded.
‘Well, they were having trouble getting approval to remove the house. Mayor Bantex decided to take it a step further. It turns out this house is so old it’s of historic importance to the area. He suggested I apply for it to be “heritage-listed”.’
Gran nearly spilled her tea. ‘“Heritage-listed”?’
‘It means this house was one of the first built in the area. Something like 1870, I think. The first farmers in the region lived around here. A house as old as this is so historically important that it can’t be knocked down. So it looks like you can stay!’
‘Wahoo!’ I yelled. I bounced up and hugged Uncle Malcolm around the neck. He started a little but I was too busy saying thank you over and over again to care. When I finally let go, Uncle Malcolm coughed awkwardly and straightened his tie.
‘But how will that work?’ said Gran, still looking unsure. ‘Will I have to rent the house from these history people?’
‘No, no, not at all. We’re adjusting the paperwork so that the developers will still build on the farm, but you will own the house. You won’t be able to knock down any walls or change the outside of the house too much, but you will be able to keep the small yards for the animals and—’
‘So Mickey and Sally and the chooks can stay?’ I chirped happily.
‘Yes, yes, the animals can stay.’ He paused and looked over at Gran. ‘So, what do you say?’
There was only one thing to say. Yes, yes, YES! I ran down to tell Smooch as soon as Uncle Malcolm had gone.
‘Smooch!’ I cried, gazing up into his tallowwood tree. ‘We did it! We really did it!’
Smooch was curled up fast asleep and didn’t move.
‘Now, you’ll have to get used to sharing this place. It’ll still be your backyard and everything, but it won’t be quite the same. There’ll be more houses, and more dogs, and loads more cars. You’re going to have to be careful.’
I sighed and leant my back against the rough bark of the tree. Who would believe it? Little old me, standing up to all those people.
I closed my eyes.
It was true what Gran always said. You don’t have to be big to be special. The breeze in the treetops agreed.