Michelle was busy cleaning cabins at the caravan park she worked at in Gippsland, VIC, when her phone rang. She couldn’t answer until her lunch break and by then, she had three missed calls.
“I thought, ‘someone’s persistent,’” the mum of four, 41, tells New Idea exclusively. “The messages were from Ben at the RSL, so I reckoned I might have won the $5000 draw.”
Michelle was correct that she’d won something, but was wrong about the prize.
“When I called back, Ben asked if I was sitting down. I wasn’t. I had things to do!” she laughs.
“He told me I’d won $300,000 of gold. By that point I was crouching down. It was pretty amazing news. And then he said that wasn’t all.
“He went into this spiel about a $13.75 million penthouse on the Gold Coast and I thought, ‘OK so, someone’s won that.’ Then he said I’d won that too. I was gobsmacked.”
In a daze, Michelle hung up. Realising her break was about to end, she called her husband Tim, 43, to tell him they’d scooped top prize in RSL Queensland’s Dream Home Art Union Lottery. Then she went back to cleaning.
Even that night as Michelle and Tim told their parents and four kids – two girls and two boys aged six, nine,10 and 11 – it didn’t properly sink in.
Their new riches were such a world away from their current lives. Up until a few weeks before, they’d been travelling around Australia in a caravan, living on top of each other and making ends meet with odd jobs and careful budgeting.
“The kids were jumping up and down… I think we all went through thinking it was a scam,” Michelle says.
It wasn’t, though, and in September, the family travelled to Snapper Rocks in QLD to get the keys to their new home. It also included over $350,000 of furniture and appliances, and as they ran in, all the kids noticed one thing.
“They were so excited about the four-slice toaster,” Michelle says. “We’ve only ever had a two-slice and they loved that they could all eat toast together!”
Michelle and Tim were struck by the incredible ocean views and the five bedrooms with en-suites, meaning they can all have their own rooms… for now.
“We decided we were going to sell it,” Michelle says. “We’d just got the kids settled in school and we knew apartment living wasn’t for us. Tim’s in construction so now we’ll be able to build our dream house with some land.”
During their two-week stay, Michelle admits she was worried about all the fancy, white furniture and number of breakable items with her four, dirty-footed kids.
“I counted over 60 vases and bowls. The irony was that when we got back from our trip, mum bought me flowers and I’d had to put them in a juice container!” Michelle laughs.
“The girls chose a few pieces to take home. It felt like stealing.”
Back in their rental in Victoria, Michelle says they feel blessed with their win and grateful to the RSL.
“We’re going to take our first overseas holiday with the kids and we have the chance to change some people’s worlds with it,” she says. “We’ll work hard to use it really wisely.”
For your chance to win, visit dreamhomeartunion.com.au
