HOME THAT CAPTURED A NATION

THE Gold Coast’s Big Brother house may be gone but memories of its heyday remain.

Construction began on the house at Dreamworld in February 2001, soon after the announcement the popular Dutch reality series was getting an Australian adaptation.

It was the same month auditions began for the series.

The first images of the under-construction compound were revealed a month later.

The housemates entered on April 23, 2001 in what was described as “the biggest television event since the papal tour of Australia in 1986”.

The purpose-built house had some interesting features:

26 cameras and 32 microphones were placed in every room, including the toilet and showers to capture every moment. The housemates were forced to wear microphones at all times except when sleeping and showering.

Hidden under the white roof of the warehouse-sized structure were two bedrooms – each containing six beds – bathroom, toilet and an open-plan living area consisting of a lounge, dining area and kitchen.

There was the famed confessional “diary room’’ where the contestants had to talk to Big Brother at least once a day and disclose their feelings and observations about housemates.

Double doors led from the house into an outdoor enclosure complete with swimming pool, vegie garden and chook house.

The house was full of twoway mirrors which allowed the camera crews to film the cast.

Australians became intimately familiar with the complex during the three months the first season was airing.

Once a housemate was evicted they left through a door and were taken by golf buggy down a path to reach the auditorium near the Dreamworld carpark where they met host Gretel Killeen.

Upon the completion of season one, the house became a tourist attraction through late 2001 and early 2002 before it was closed and refurbished ahead of that year’s season.

Big Brother was cancelled by Channel 10 in mid-2008 and the house was reopened to the public and saw occasional use as a function space.

The show was revived by Channel 9 in 2012 but didn’t prove as popular and it was cancelled after the 2014 season.