Crawley Edge Boatshed

While it may appear to be an unassuming, small blue house in the distance, the Crawley Edge Boatshed has caught the eye of international advertisers. Tom Nattrass, who owns the “Blue House Boat” with his family, claims the Boatshed has been featured in marketing materials for Singapore Airlines, Qantas, and in Japanese advertisements.

This photogenic house can be found in Crawley, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Thought to have been originally constructed in the early 1930s to house and shelter boats, it has changed ownership numerous times.

In 1944, the property leading to the Boatshed was purchased from Ivy French by Dr Roland and Joyce Nattrass as a site for the family home. At the time, the real estate agent insisted the Boatshed had to be purchased with the block of land, for the additional payment of 5 pounds.

The Nattrass family built a larger, more modern structure around the original Boatshed and utilized it until they gave it to Ron Armstrong, a Patron of the Perth Sea Scouts in 1972. Ownership was passed again to Barry Krollman in the 1990s, a keen sailor from the Royal Perth Yacht Club, until it was returned to the Nattrass’ in 2001.

After changing hands so many times, the Boatshed had become run down, but the Nattrass family was not willing to give up on the property they fought hard to reclaim. At the suggestion of a family friend and local member of parliament, Julie Bishop, the Boatshed was restored and repainted in the bold blue color that remains today.

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