Sun, Surf and… a pile of gold! Winner makes a seachange

A dream of being able to retire to the Sunshine Coast is quickly becoming a reality for one Endeavour Foundation lottery winner.  

“We always had a game plan to move up there and retire,” said Craig, a small business owner from Western Sydney. 

And now, thanks to winning a literal pile of gold bullion valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars, Craig and his wife aren’t wasting any time in turning their dream into a reality.

“We’re actually travelling up to the Sunshine Coast tomorrow for four days to have a look up there,” he said.

“We want to go up into the mountains a bit because you can get a lot more bang for your buck up there and still be not too far from the beach,” Craig explained.

“It’s just a matter of picking the spot!”

The day Craig’s life changed started like any other. He was at work with his wife in their shop when he got the call from Head of Lotteries, Kirsty Moore. 

“It was my daughter’s birthday yesterday, and mine a few days ago, and I said if we’re lucky we’ll win the Ram,” an overwhelmed Craig told Kirsty.

Sure enough, as the first prize winner, Craig had indeed won the opportunity to drive into the sunset with his family in a new Ram 2500, towing a tough-as-nails Zone RV off-road caravan behind him. 

But when it came to the crunch, he wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted after all.

That’s because Craig and his wife also had the option to take the whole prize as cashable gold bullion. 

“We spent a little bit more than a week thinking about which way we should go, but once we decided on the cash it was a very quick and painless process,” Craig said.

“Endeavour Foundation put us in touch with the gold bullion people and just wham bam, it was all done.”

Now that their bank account is looking healthier, Craig and his wife are being careful to make the most of their new windfall.  

“We’ve split it up into being able to reward ourselves for having a nice win and then we’re tucking the rest away for the new house we want to build,” Craig said. 

And with a bit of planning, that new home will be built in their dream location in Queensland. 

“I don’t think over the years our game plan has really changed – we’ve always wanted to move up there.” 

“I’m getting close to retiring so we’ll make the move in the next twelve to twenty-four months,” Craig added.

“We’ve been up there a couple of times and gone driving around to have a good look at areas and prices.” 

“Once you go into the hinterland there seems to be quite a lot of new development and smaller developments up there which is quite nice.”

While they’re out exploring on the Sunshine Coast for their dream block of land, Craig and his wife might even check out Endeavour Foundation’s latest Prize Home for a bit of inspiration for their new build. 

And what’s more, they’ll be in the draw to win it. 

“I’m still a supporter!” Craig laughed.

“We’ll always continue to support.”

As a valued Star Supporter, Craig has been backing Endeavour Foundation for well over a decade. 

“Oh, goodness, it would have to be over fifteen years,” he said.

“You’ve got to do it for the cause. At the end of the day, it can be a win/win but your motivation has to be for supporting the cause more than anything else.

“If you work hard and put the time in, you can carve out a decent life for yourself and you should be able to be smart enough to share some of that with people that are less fortunate or have grief or issues,” Craig added.

“You get back as much as you put in.”

And after giving so much, now it’s time for Craig and his wife to enjoy what they have received and look forward to a new life on the Sunshine Coast.