Communes: Hippie havens or happy housing? 

IT was the early 1970s, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, when hippies discovered Nimbin in the Northern Rivers of NSW and established the region’s first communes. 

They provided off-grid living for folk united by ideals of peace, love and sustainability. 

Electricity, water, sewage and road access could be a problem, but shares were cheap: some originally as little as a few hundred dollars. 

Local legend and unofficial “Mayor” of Nimbin Michael Balderstone, 77, (pictured left) paid far more but still reckons it was a bargain. 

He forked out $25,000 in the mid- 1980s for a 4.8-hectare (12-acre) plot on an old dairy farm. 

“It was quite reasonable,” he says. “It’s unusual in that we’ve each got a big chunk of land. Most of us have just let it grow back to the bush, except for the little patch around our houses.” 

Utilities were a challenge, now overcome. “We’ve got rainwater tanks, dams, composting toilets, solar power,” he says. 

Michael’s Sphinx Rock community is Company Title, with each tenant a shareholder. 

Estimates suggest NSW has 150 to 200 such communes. Ownership models include multiple occupancy, tenancies-in-common, companies, co-ops, not-for-profits and unit trusts. 

Some in the Nimbin area have been advertised at around $500,000. So, are they a viable housing alternative? Or a sensible investment? 

For many the answer is no. “I wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole,” one local conveyancer told us. 

Apart from isolation and lack of amenity, the big problem is title. Subdivision is usually not possible, so there are no individual titles, and no mortgages. 

Peace might guide the planets, but property professionals prefer a piece of paper. 

They say communes need a clear and solid legal basis. 

Mullumbimby lawyer Wroth Wall has been practising in the area for more than 30 years. 

“My preferred model for Multiple Occupancies is Company Title with Leasehold,” Mr Wall says. 

That is, a company that issues shares entitling shareholders to 100-year-plus leases over approved houses with licenses requiring individual members to maintain a specified area of surrounding land. 

That said, communes almost by definition attract people living outside of society. 

“Often, improvements have been erected without council approval,” Wall adds. “There are issues with dysfunctional members, and inadequate mechanisms to deal with defaulting and difficult members.” 

The attitude of local councils ranges from acceptance of the original communes to discouragement or outright banning of new ones. 

They have cited environmental, legal and safety concerns, including bushfire risk, water pollution, wildlife conservation and weed control. 

Michael Balderstone, though, feels his 40-year experience has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“I totally recommend it,” Michael says. “It’s cheap, healthy, practical.” 

And a long way from his beginnings as a Victorian private schoolboy and London stockbroker. 

Seeking meaning beyond “making rich people richer” he hit the hippie trail to Kathmandu and eventually wound up in Nimbin. 

Each occupant pays $10 a week into a kitty for rates and maintenance of community assets such as the access road. 

“Mostly, we’re in our 70s,” Michael adds. “We’re all mates, look out for each other, have a meeting every three months.” 

Many have raised families there. “Raising children is terrific in community life,” he says. “It’s a safe place for them, plenty of room to run around. And the wildlife’s great: wallabies, potoroos, goannas, carpet snakes.” 

But what of the future, as veterans of the Age of Aquarius become the Aged of Aquarius? Michael says shares can be sold; one now asking $650,000. 

“Twelve acres in the Tweed Valley? If it were freehold, it would be $1 million.” 

“There are issues with dysfunctional members, and inadequate mechanisms to deal with defaulting and difficult members.” 

– Mullumbimby lawyer Wroth Wall 

THE OFFICIAL DRAWBACKS 

“Rural land-sharing communities have proven to be problematic,” one NSW council planning document noted a few years ago. Among the reasons listed: 

• Difficulty in obtaining a mortgage due to lack of personal assets. 
• Difficulty in leaving the community for similar reasons to that above. 
• Added burden on the community when members are unemployed. 
• Ability to maintain common property like roads, fences, and vegetation. 
• Maintenance of appropriate bushfire brigade access. 
• Social breakdown as members age and attitudes change. 
• Difficulty transferring ownership of dwellings that lack approval.