Couple surprised to see Tony Abbott as buyer of their used fridge
The couple would have never thought while posting an ad to sell their fridge online that they would see former Prime Minister Tony Abbott at their doorsteps as their customer.
Fridge owner Emily Hastings said that the bid worth $300 was made by a customer named Margie, but she never expected her to be Abbott’s wife Margie Abbott. Her 320-litre fridge was purchased by the ex-PM and his wife. Hastings told Buzzfeed that she was moving overseas along with her husband. Hence, she had to sell their old appliances.
“Tony Abbott the proud new owner of our 3 year old Daewoo fridge bought on gumtree for $330 #gumtree #tonyabbott,” Hastings posted on Instagram. “Tony was just a regular dude in a baseball cap,” she added, according to Buzzfeed.
After leaving their residence at Kirribilli House, Abbott and his wife searched for various household products and appliances on ecommerce website Gumtree. They planned to buy a refrigerator that would come in handy on Christmas. The Abbotts visited the seller’s house at Newport Beach to buy the home appliance.
Hastings took a picture of the former prime minister, who was dressed up in a brown T-shirt and black cap. She said that Margie was very down-to-earth and the couple were in a hurry. “Plus I’m pretty sure there were some security outside,” she surmised.
It may be the first time Abbott himself picked up a purchased item from Gumtree, but it’s not the first time his name was linked to the site. In August, after documents leaked from Abbott’s ministerial cabinet, comedy writer James Jericho posted a Gumtree ad selling a wooden furniture cabinet in a poor condition. With the seller’s name as “Tony,” the cabinet was advertised with the caption “Functioning Exceptionally Well,” showing a talking point in one of the leaked documents in news.
The ad content contained a sarcastic description that read that the cabinet “does leak from time to time.”
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