The home at 31 High St, Atherton, was once an army water tank. Picture: Supplied.

THIS Atherton home began its life as an army water tank and is rumoured to have played host to Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen during the Loans affair scandal of the 1970s.

The four-bedroom property is on the market at 31 High Street, Atherton, for the first time in 20 years.

Marketing agent Brendan Williams, of First National Atherton, said during the 1970s it was the residence of controversial American Wiley Francher.

Mr Francher, an associate of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, helped the then Queensland premier investigate the Loans affair, a political scandal where the Whitlam Government was accused of attempting to unconstitutionally borrow money from Middle Eastern countries.

Dynamite was used to blast holes in the former water tank for the windows. Picture: Supplied.

The scandal was a precursor to the Constitutional Crisis and the dismissal of the Whitlam Government.

Mr Williams said Sir Joh was rumoured to have visited31 High S
t during the time Mr Francher lived there.

“Sir Joh was friends with Wiley and whenever Sir Joh would visit, he would stay at the house,” he said.

In the aftermath of the Loans affair, it was revealed in Queensland parliament that Mr Francher owed money to numerous people and had declared bankruptcy.

One particular debt, according to historic Hansard records, was for a $14,920.30 phone bill racked up at 31 High St, Atherton, during the time of the Loans affair.

Mr Francher had claimed “the phone was a tool of the Government, a Government request and a Government utility” and therefore he should not be responsible for the debt.

Former Prime minister Gough Whitlam with Former Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen in the early 1970s.

Before its involvement in the scandal, the home also had links to the Australian Army.

The oldest part of the home was once a water tank built by the army in 1943 to supply water to troops during the Second World War.

In the 1950s the Radlof family took ownership of the tank and converted it into a home, using dynamite to blast holes in the thick tank walls for the windows and doors, and adding an extension.

The tank was divided into two levels with a guest bedroom upstairs and a formal lounge room on the ground floor.

The main home was built around the tank and included a kitchen, dining room, living area, bathrooms and bedrooms.

An aerial view of the tank house at 31 High St, Atherton. Picture: Supplied.

“Most people call it the tank house,” Mr Williams said.

“There are a few tank homes around the area but this one is particularly well done and it is very visible.”

Today, the house has 388sq m under roof with a well-equipped kitchen, a patio and a master bedroom with walk-in wardrobe and ensuite.

The water tank section has a living area with fireplace downstairs and a bedroom with beautiful views upstairs.

Mr Williams said buyers were impressed by the 2,023sq m block and the views.

The property is on the market for $465,000.