Real winner’s story: From high school to high luxury

For high school teachers and Prize Home winners, Barry and Belinda, their decision to make a difference with Endeavour Foundation was inspired by many of the young people they work with in the classroom each day. 

“We’ve worked with a lot of kids that need help, and then they leave school and they're out on their own. So, it's great to have organisations like Endeavour Foundation to help them out. We can see the need for it and the benefits – it’s definitely worthwhile.” 

The couple, from central New South Wales, have bought Endeavour Lotteries Prize Home tickets “on and off” for the last few years, but it was a ticket they snapped up in the Anniversary Prize Home lottery that turned out to be the lucky one.

“You never think you're going to win it!” Belinda said.  

But win they did! And their incredible prize? A breathtaking $3.27 million luxury home perched high on the hill at Little Mountain with panoramic views of the Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. 

Amazingly, coming from interstate, the couple had never walked through an Endeavour Foundation Prize Home until they stepped through the front door of the home they had won. 

But the day before that moment came, they just happened to stumble over our next Prize Home that was open for inspection. 

“We didn't realise people could go and look through the houses, but we saw a sign, so we drove past it and thought, my gosh, if that's the next house, our house is going to be awesome,” Barry said. 

Fast forward to handover day and the couple arrived early, nervous and excited for what was about to unfold. 

“We had to be here at eleven o'clock, so we pulled up a few blocks away, down the bottom of the hill. We went for a walk waiting for the time to pass, and I said to Belinda, ‘I reckon that’s our house just up there’. You could see it from down at the shops in Little Mountain,” he said. 

Up until now, Barry and Belinda had managed to keep their unbelievable win a secret, deciding to wait until they received the keys before sharing their life-changing news with their family and friends. 

“We’ve heard some people have made it a big surprise… so we thought we’d start telling people after we get here and we get in the house,” Barry said. 

“Yeah, it just didn’t seem real until we were here.” Belinda added. 

Once the keys were in their hands, the couple couldn’t wait to call their family to tell them about their eventful few weeks! 

But it wasn’t until later that day, when Barry and Belinda were finally alone in their brand-new home, that the magnitude of what had just happened started to sink in. 

“I told my wife that it felt like when we left the hospital with our first baby. We didn't really know what to do, and here we are, this is ours!” Barry laughed. 

Belinda added, “I pinched Baz and he said, ‘What are you doing?’ and I said, ‘Is it real?’” 

But with every day they spend at Little Mountain, the more it’s starting to feel like their new home away from home. 

“We’ve been very lucky to have a bit of time to be able to stay. The first ten days we stayed at the house we were just trying to get our heads around it. And now we've got a bit more time so we can have a look around the Sunshine Coast.” 

Their new neighbourhood is a world away from their home in rural New South Wales, six hours inland from Sydney. But Barry and Belinda like what they’ve seen so far. 

“Yes, I'm really impressed by it. Having been to the Gold Coast a few times, it's definitely a bit more relaxed here,” Barry said. 

So, the THREE MILLION DOLLAR question is: are our winners going to keep their new luxury dream home or sell? 

“At this stage, it looks like we're going to keep it for a while and see how much we can use it,” Barry said. 

“We’re here for the next couple of months and we'll get a few friends and family up here too.”  

So, would they ever consider making the move to Queensland full time? 

“We’re not sure,” Barry said. 

“There's obviously a lot of family at home and there's no telling where our boys are going to end up. So, yeah, it's possible we could end up this way.”  

But for now, Barry and Belinda are happily living in the moment, enjoying their good fortune. Life has literally never looked better. 

“It's a great view. That's the highlight of the house, I think,” Barry said. 

“Every room's got a view – it’s awesome.” 

Buy tickets in our next Prize Home Lottery.