Peter Lawson lived just down the road when Speldhurst was first being built. He and his late wife Yvonne would often drive past the site as the former Kimberley Centre was being transformed into a village, stopping in occasionally to see how things were progressing.
“We’d stop in for a look every now and then,” Peter says with a smile. “Once we saw what it was becoming, we were never going to leave it alone after that.”
At the time, Yvonne had begun living with Alzheimer’s, and the increasing traffic along the road outside their lifestyle property had become a growing concern. Peter says that if circumstances had been different, they may never have moved. But there was something about Speldhurst that felt different from other villages - space between the homes and a sense that life here could still feel independent.
They chose their home while it was still only a frame.
Back then, there were only a handful of houses surrounded by long grass and open space. The George hadn’t yet been built - the community hub that now sits at the heart of village life - and many of the streets existed only on plans.
The first residents naturally gravitated toward one another, gathering for drinks and conversation a few evenings a week as the village slowly grew around them.
Peter still remembers those early years fondly. There was a sense that everyone was building something together - not just homes, but a neighbourhood.
Over time, the village changed almost beyond recognition. Long grass became streets, open paddocks became homes, and a small development gradually grew into the thriving community Speldhurst is today.
As a lifelong musician, music quickly became part of his life at Speldhurst too. Peter has been playing since he was eleven years old and still performs regularly today. Alongside his partner Carlene and fellow residents, he plays in a small band called The Amigos and helps run the Speldhurst Jammers every Wednesday at The George.
What began as a shared love of music gradually became another way of bringing people together. These days, Peter is just as likely to be organising a music session as he is catching up with neighbours over a drink.
Looking back now, Peter has never regretted the move.
Before coming to Speldhurst, he says he used to finish a book every couple of weeks. The last one he started took him five years to get through.
“That’s because life got busy,” he says with a smile.
For Peter, Speldhurst became more than a place to live. It became a place to enjoy the life he had spent years building.