OVERWHELMED: Cr Bobby Bourke of the Community Op Shop reflects on the daunting task ahead as he squeezes through one of the corridors filled with mountains of clothes, furniture and food. Photo: PHILL MURRAY 100510pbob3 150 rooms of rubbish BY LOUISE EDDY 07 Oct, 2010 03:00 AM IT’S Bathurst’s biggest clean-up as volunteers from the Community Op Shop face the massive task of removing mountains of second-hand goods from the old Macquarie Homes site at Gorman’s Hill. When Solo House International Aid program, managed by Jill Britten, was ordered by the courts in May to vacate the building, the Department of Health said local charitable organisations willing to clean up the site could take any goods which were salvageable for redistribution into the community. In addition, they would receive a donation for their efforts. But with the building sealed up and windows covered, no-one realised the full extent of the problem, leading to Councillor Bobby Bourke putting his hand up on behalf of the Community Op Shop. He said when he finally got inside the building he was shocked by what he saw. The items, which have been collected and stored for more than a decade, fill around 150 rooms of the old nursing home from the floor to the ceiling. They also spill out into the corridor, making it virtually impossible to walk from one end of the building to the other. Items have to be removed through the windows because the entire space is so jam-packed there is no other way to get them out …
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