June Opie Cottage

June Opie Cottage offers affordable accessible tourist accommodation for wheelchair travellers.

This cottage, which sleeps up to 7 people, has been specially modified for wheelchair guests. It is fully self-contained with private facilities and a direct view of Queens Lake. The cottage is 8.1m X 6.2m and consists of two bedrooms, a bathroom, lounge and kitchen. Access is via a ramp and the view from the deck across Queens Lake is unique. Blankets and pillows are supplied, linen and towels are available for hire.

June, an author and polio victim, was a long term resident of Laurieton Lakefront. She was confined to a wheelchair and lived in this cottage with its prime position overlooking Queens Lake.

June inspired people worldwide with her tireless work on behalf of people with disabilities. She died in 1999, leaving behind her a legacy of determined independence and individualism that is clearly portrayed in her best selling book, “Over My Dead Body” and its sequel, “Over My Dead Body 40 Years On”. Since her death, June’s cottage has been modified and modernised to create a facility especially adapted for wheelchair living.

“I am a double amputee and I found June Opie Cottage to be very accessible. It was wonderful, thank you.”

“We have a daughter with cerebral palsy and this has been the first accommodation in 3 weeks which has made showering her easy. Thank you so much”

Special Features of the Cottage

Outside

• Ramp 1 metre wide with a 1.14 gradient
• Attached covered carport 3.5 metres wide with room for getting into a wheelchair
• Front door access is 800mm sliding door
• Glass in front door has safety markings
• Front door is ramped for easy access

Lounge

• TV placed low for easy access to control
• Room to manoeuvre a wheelchair
• Wide 1.5 metre entrance through to kitchen

Hallway

• 1.1metres wide large sliding door

Main Bedroom

• Sliding door 820mm wide
• Bed 480mm high (lower than normal) with 250mm access beneath and compressed matress
• Touch lamps
• Light switch lowered for easy access
• Small dressing table with underneath space and mirror 820mm from floor
• Distance between bed and wall 1.45 metres to accommodate a wheelchair
• Distance from end of bed to window 900mm
• All windows low enough to see out from a wheelchair
• Wardrobe with low hanging rail for easy access

Second Bedroom

• Sliding door 900mm wide
• Bunk with double bed bottom and single top
• Plenty of space beside bed, 150mm beneath bed
• Wardrobe with low hanging rail for easy access
• Open shelving for clothes

Kitchen

• Refrigerator with large handles for easy opening
• Sink with lever action tap at front
• Room for wheelchair under sink and stove with barrier to protect against contact with hot pipes
• Large drawers for crockery, cutlery and saucepans for easy access
• Power points for jug, toaster and air conditioner within easy reach
• Accessible microwave

Bathroom

• Wide open door with ramped entrance for easy accessain for extra space
• Sliding door with alternative curt
• An “open plan” wheel in design shower
• Mobile shower chair available
• Capstan taps and portable adjustable shower head
• Fittings within easy reach
• Grab rails near toilet and shower
• Space beside toilet for a wheelchair to reverse in
• Toilet paper holder within easy reach
• Regular toilet, raised toilet seat available
• Low mirror
• Wash basin with leg room beneath and lever action taps
• Towel rings and hooks within easy reach
• LINEN AND TOWELS PROVIDED

“The cottage suited my needs like no other holiday cottage I’ve been in. You have done a marvelous job, for which many disabled folk will be so grateful. I have never met anyone who cared enough and has done so much to provide a suitable place so the disabled could have a holiday feeling they were coping and enjoying their holiday like a “normal” person”

For further information on resources for people with disabilities, check out www.e-bility.com.au

Contact Us Now to make an enquiry or booking!