![Sue and Paul Hedditch with granddaugher Isabella Wheaton, Carol and Rick Wheaton, and Pat and Kate Wheaton with son Charlie, at their Barrington Hideaway property on the edge of Gloucester. Sue and Paul Hedditch with granddaugher Isabella Wheaton, Carol and Rick Wheaton, and Pat and Kate Wheaton with son Charlie, at their Barrington Hideaway property on the edge of Gloucester.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/37hLjTSaqSzzPeeWNnNkKKB/1d541c4c-0cae-4243-baf6-eaff3a1177b9.jpeg/r0_0_3500_2022_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
In the busy whirlwind of life, it's easy to forget what we really want. Sometimes, it's looking you right in the face and you miss it.
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But just the opposite happened for Pat and Kate Wheaton, and they are still reaping the benefits of taking a chance on what probably seemed like a far-fetched plan a decade ago.
Of course, they weren't the only ones to benefit from taking a risk. Pat's parents, Rick and Carol Wheaton of Tamworth, and Kate's parents, Paul and Sue Hedditch of Gloucester, bought into the concept and came out winners, too.
312 THUNDERBOLTS WAY
It was August 2013 when the Fairbourne Unit Trust, created by the three couples, purchased 312 Thunderbolts Way, an acreage less than three kilometres from Gloucester that included a main homestead and four holiday cottages that sit above the Barrington River.
The purchase opened a new chapter for all of them. For the Hedditchs and Rick and Carol, it was a gateway into a lifestyle in retirement. For Kate, it was a welcome foothold in her home town. For Pat, it was a real-life business experiment that also brought him and his young family closer to the bush lifestyle he had coveted.
Pat Wheaton is the chief executive and founder of Core Connect Group, a Newcastle-based healthcare company on the cutting edge of technology. They procure and commission major medical equipment, both in public and private healthcare facilities, they assist medical clinicians in setting up businesses, and offer a host of services such as property advice, equipment negotiations, IT service and advice, and asset management and optimisation.
But 10 years ago, his company did not exist.
Ten years later, it's been a great success. It measures as much through the kind of family we have, we're tight as ever been. It's a been a great experience.
- Pat Wheaton
"I was in the [US] states," he says, "Part of training was this strategy thing. We were on a road trip, we cooked up how could we make owning a bit of rural land work, and Kate sent me a photo of our daughter sitting on the balcony of one of these cottages, and we spent the new few hours cooking up how it could work, and it coincided with both sets of parents in the process of retiring. Kate's dad had been a dentist in Gloucester for a long time. We could see how they could spend their time.
"We put this plan together.
"Ten years later, it's been a great success. It measures as much through the kind of family we have, we're tight as we've ever been. It's a been a great experience."
![One of the four cottages on the Barrington River at Barrington Hideaway. Picture supplied One of the four cottages on the Barrington River at Barrington Hideaway. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/ca7db785-8e32-4142-a428-acfc3e1a4787.jpg/r0_0_6000_4000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE
It was during that training stint in the US that somebody said to Pat, who was considering studying for an MBA, "The best thing you can do, don't go study, go get real life experience in business".
"That was in the back of my mind," he says. "I was doing this corporate training - all about leadership, how to keep teams together."
So he did just that, convincing both sets of parents to invest in purchasing the holiday property, with a gut instinct they could improve it and run it at a profit as a holiday property.
![Kate and Pat Wheaton with their children, Charlie and Isabella. Picture by Simone De Peak Kate and Pat Wheaton with their children, Charlie and Isabella. Picture by Simone De Peak](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/03b36a40-892c-4a04-8125-7b498969fa8c.jpg/r0_0_4896_3471_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It gave great entertainment to both sets of parents," he says. "When we set up, I used to run it like a multinational... because we valued the relationship so much, it justified putting the effort into having proper meetings and having minutes. It was all done in good fun.
"We put the structure in. Once things settled down, we kind of relaxed with it. It was probably one of the most effective things we did."
THE RIGHT FIT
Paul and Sue Hedditch have lived in Gloucester for 45 years. Paul was a dentist, Sue was a teacher and florist. They raised four children there.
The timing of Pat and Kate's idea, back in 2013, was perfect.
"Pat was looking for somewhere that would keep us interested," Sue Hedditch says of the proposal put to her and Paul.
![Visitors on the Barrington River which runs below the four holiday cabins at Barrington Hideaway. Picture supplied Visitors on the Barrington River which runs below the four holiday cabins at Barrington Hideaway. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/4ec9fbe7-5787-49e2-adc0-820a4a3b5f0f.jpg/r0_0_6000_3920_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We're both energetic, we both needed projects. Pat knows us really well. It was like this three-way purpose - to give us a retirement job, and that worked perfectly. It would give our families somewhere to come and gather... And the flow-on effect is we get a lot of families that do come.
"And Paul - he loved the place but knew he couldn't live in Gloucester [for work]... He got his parents, Rick and Carol involved. They have a small share as well.
"He did everything really well. We had proper meetings. There was nothing haphazard about it. It was all carefully planned so that things ran smoothly."
The property had once been a dairy farm; the cabins were added when the dairy industry started to decline and another form of income was needed. It changed ownership over the year - it was an equestrian centre at one point when the Hedditchs looked at buying it years before Kate and Pat made a pitch for them all to buy it.
Naturally, in a small country town, the Hedditchs know the tradesman who built the cottages and call on him for maintenance tasks on occasion.
![Platypuses can frequently be seen in the river below the cabins. Picture supplied Platypuses can frequently be seen in the river below the cabins. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/dba370f9-4f93-4fd4-ba94-104b81bad357_rotated_270.jpeg/r0_0_3024_4032_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Rick Wheaton was an agriculture teacher at Tamworth during his working life. He took on the role of managing the small cattle herd they run on the property.
The Hedditchs moved to the main house on the property, which was renovated, and Paul took on the maintenance chores while Sue took over front-of-house duties, doing the bookings and correspondence.
They all pitched in on major landscaping, with more than 1000 shrubs and trees planted. The maintenance of the gardens, paths and trees consumes most of Paul's workload.
PERFECT TIMING
The growth of Gloucester as a tourism destination has coincided with their ownership of the property. The Mid-Coast Council's launch of the Barrington Coast marketing initiative triggered interest near and far. And COVID lockdowns, followed by limited travel, was a godsend, with the cottages enjoying a 95 per cent occupancy rate during that period.
Barrington Hideaway has a five-star rating on Tripadvisor and a 9.3 rating on booking.com. The riverside cottages have an abundance of birdlife, as well as wildlife (like platypus) and a whole lot of serenity.
Just like the Wheatons and Hedditchs realised for their themselves - having separate cottages makes it perfect for family gatherings where you can enjoy communal activities outdoors and then retreat to your own individual cabins - it has proven popular with large family groups for special occasions.
Gloucester coming of age as a tree-change village with good coffee, cafes, baked goods, butchers and the like has helped, too.
![One of the Hideaway cabins on a starry night. Picture by Jim Kellar One of the Hideaway cabins on a starry night. Picture by Jim Kellar](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/68965467-92be-47fa-9bc6-a027552e10f8.jpg/r0_0_4032_2993_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
As Pat Wheaton himself appreciates when he spends time on the property: "You can literally jump in your car and you're having a fresh baked croissant and a coffee within five minutes."
"It's certainly washed its face financially," Pat Wheaton says of the investment. "When COVID shut us all down, we were fortunate to be up there. It acted as our COVID hideout.
"Post-COVID, it was super busy. It did well.
"We've managed to enhance the property. From a business perspective, we viewed it as a capital improvement opportunity, which we've done. The place has a significantly better infrastructure and aesthetic than we when got it over 10 years ago. And the cottages have been in good demand."
THE LESSON
And business-wise, it's been the lesson that keeps on giving.
"Barrington Hideaway has been a great business case," Pat Wheaton says. "It's given me a lot of ability to share the lessons for groups of doctors who are setting up. In health care, there is demand, there is need. If you are a good clinician, the business will go well.
"The main reason medical businesses fail is because of personality conflicts and clashes.
"So I always bring in the lesson of Barrington Hideaway - here's how we approached doing business with family, you should do the same thing with your business and friends."
When Pat and Kate Wheaton got involved, they were living in Sydney, which was never their long-term plan. After the couple's second child, Charlie, was born, Pat quit his job and Kate returned to work as a sonographer. Pat became immersed in the Barrington Hideaway business while making plans for the creation of his primary business, Core Connect Group.
More recently, the trust incorporated Kate's business, Barrington Coastal Ceramics, into the company and installed a kiln for Kate to produce work for her budding sideline-turned-business of original ceramics.
Pat Wheaton spends less time on the Barrington business now, but has no regrets. "I genuinely think the benefits far outweigh the risk and you can de-risk by doing certain things," he says. "A lot of people go in rose-coloured and don't put the effort in."
![A view of the Barrington River from one of the cabins on the property. Picture supplied A view of the Barrington River from one of the cabins on the property. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/aa7e5e55-5e70-4bfe-a93a-c70a42b50894.jpeg/r0_0_2794_2691_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
While the formal structure was awkward at first among family, it proved to be the right plan of action. It meant "having the tough conversations well ahead of time, well before you need them," Pat Wheaton says.
"When we were setting up, we'd have those conversations - if someone leaves, if someone dies. In any arrangement dealing with friends or family, we tested those scenarios and made the structure that could handle it. It's easy to vary the ownership of unit trust over time and change levels of involvement."
As for doing business with family, Pat Wheaton is convinced: "It can be done... I'd love to see more people do it."