MEET DEBBIE AND DEE THE TEAM BEHIND RAINE & HORNE AYR’S FRONT DESK

If you’ve walked through Raine & Horne’s doors in Ayr over the past three months, you may already have met Debbie Shanahan and Dee Farley. Photo: Jacob Casha

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If you’ve walked through Raine & Horne’s doors in Ayr over the past three months, you may already have met Debbie Shanahan and Dee Farley.

But beyond what meets the eye are two different journeys that led to one formidable work friendship.

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Debbie, a North Queenslander all her life, settled in the Burdekin in 2010, where she eventually joined the team at Raine & Horne after stints as a veterinary nurse, swimming coach, teacher’s aide and childcare worker.

She made the transition to administration after previously serving as property manager upstairs, and hasn’t looked back since.

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Dee's story began a little further away, in Wollongong, New South Wales. She’s spent over 35 years between managing bars and nursing before making her way up to the Burdekin—which she calls her “new home.”

Ironically, it was when buying her new home that she was asked about working at Raine & Horne, kicking off her journey at the company seven months ago.

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That’s when the pair met, and they’ve “had a good working relationship ever since,” says Dee.

Debbie said the catalyst of their chemistry isn't all that complicated: “Communication. Sick sense of humour.”

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Dee added: “We like to make light of things—sometimes you’re under the pump, and if you can’t have a laugh, you’ll end up in tears.

“We do look at things very similarly in the office and outside in life. We can look at each other sometimes and know exactly what the other is thinking.”

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They both share a love for animals outside of work—Debbie with her horses and dogs, and Dee with her Neapolitan Mastiff-cross, Nash.

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On the job, the pair’s easy rapport doesn't mean they never get on each other’s nerves.

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“We bounce off each other, we communicate, we get the poos with each other—but we get over it,” Dee said.