In 1990 Bryan O'Keefe fell in love with a run-down miner's cottage on his way to work, and he made it his mission to rescue it from demolition.
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At the time he was employed at the Kembla Heights Bowling Club in Harry Graham Drive and the house was almost across the road.
"That was 23 years ago and in those days as soon as one of these places became vacant they would flatten them," O'Keefe recalled.
"I was living with my mother at Balgownie at the time, but kept hounding the agents to let me move in as a tenant until they eventually gave in."
Twenty-three years on he is still paying rent but a few things have changed.
His house and five others in the stand, which are owned by BHP, are protected by a heritage listing under Wollongong City Council's Local Environment Plan, which recognises their historical significance.
In fact, all of the buildings in that stretch have been listed because of important associations with early coalmining in the area.
O'Keefe strong supports the heritage recognition because it saved so many important buildings from the wrecking ball.
"I've seen historical pictures of this road and there were cottages and huts all along it, but most of them are now gone," he says.
O'Keefe and his wife Anne, a former neighbour who he married a few years after moving into the house, have been trying to buy the cottage for years with no luck.
"They say these houses can't be sold because they are on one title and cannot be subdivided, but I'm not so sure about that," O'Keefe says.
He is uncertain of the cottage's age but believes it is close to 100, judging by its size and features.
The O'Keefes have not done any renovations and have left it in character with its rustic charm, bare boards and original kitchen.
"It feels like a privilege to live along here with its history and beauty, so we'll continue to fight for the right to eventually own a piece of it," says O'Keefe.
