Pittwater Life January 2017 Issue

JANUARY 2017
FREE
pittwaterlife
Locals’ Guide
101 Things You
Can Do
SIMPLE PLAN
STOKES’ MESSAGE ON
PRESERVING PITTWATER
+
DIVINE FOOD YOU’VE GOTTA TRY
WIN A BILLABONG RETREAT GETAWAY
WATERSIDE WITH IAIN & ALEX MURRAY

Editorial
How to stay relaxed... and busy
Sure it’s a cliche but there are
literally 101 things you can
do in and around Pittwater in
January to keep you happy,
healthy and rested. Probably
more.
Locals and visiting holidaymakers
(a big hello to you)
will find dozens of sites and
activities to see and do in our
annual Summer In Pittwater
guide. Compiled with January
in mind, it features the best of
everyday Pittwater living with
special events and programs
slotted into the calendar.
What else? Try some of the 11
meals and snacks recommended
by locals as among the best
(if not the best) of their kind on
the upper beaches.
Check out Pittwater’s creative
side and the artists who will
be showing and selling at the
Avalon Recreation Centre.
Head to one of our surf
beaches (with thanks to Nick
Carroll for his expert appraisal
of each) or Pittwater beaches.
Make a diary note for registrations
for the new seasons
of netball, soccer, rugby and
rugby league.
Choose some summer reading
from our book reviews;
or enter one of the four ocean
swims held in January that
round out this year’s Pittwater
Ocean Swim Series (including
the Big Swim from Palm Beach
to Whale Beach on January 29).
Head to a local nursery and
pick up a bargain, or just get
out in the garden for relaxation...
or the chores that must
be done.
Support our local clubs,
whether they be bowling, golf
or RSL – they offer great value
in a casual, friendly setting.
And whatever you do don’t
forget to enter our competition
to win a three-night getaway to
the fabulous Billabong Retreat –
after a busy month in Pittwater
you’ll be needing the break!
Happy New Year to all...
– Nigel Wall & Lisa Offord

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Tel: 0438 123 096
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Email:
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Website:
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Publisher: Nigel Wall
Managing Editor: Lisa Offord
Graphic Design: CLS Design
Photography: iStock
Contributors: Rosamund
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Hrnjak, Jennifer Harris, Nick
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4
Vol 26 No 6
Celebrating 25 Years
JANUARY 2017
FREE
pittwaterlife
101 Things
Locals’ Guide
You
Can Do
SIMPLE PLAN
STOKES’ MESSAGE ON
PRESERVING PITTWATER
+
DIVINE FOOD YOU’VE GOTTA TRY
WIN A BILLABONG RETREAT GETAWAY
WATERSIDE WITH IAIN & ALEX MURRAY
22
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thislife
COVER: There’s so much to do in and around Pittwater
this month – we provide the where, when and how (p24);
America’s Cup sailing identity Iain Murray and wife
Alex reflect on their days raising their daughters on the
water (p22); we stick out our necks to recommend a great
range of dishes to try over January (p31); check out the
artists who will be showing and selling their works (p34);
Nick Carroll details everything you need to know about
Pittwater’s beaches (p38); and legal correspondent Jennifer
Harris writes about the recent discussions involving Elder
Abuse (p66). COVER IMAGE: Joel Coleman.com
also this month
Editorial 3
Pittwater Community News 6-21
Life Stories: Iain and Alex Murray 22-23
Summer In Pittwater: Locals’ Guide 24-30
A Taste Of Pittwater 31-32
Art Life 34-37
Surfing Life 38-39
Young Life 40-41
Sporting Life 42-45
Health & Wellbeing; Hair & Beauty 46-51
Money & Finance 52-54
Law: Discussion on Elder Abuse 56-57
Food 66-68
Gardening Life 70-72
the goodlife
Restaurants, food, gigs, travel and gardening.
Also find our regular features on beauty, health, surfing,
art, local history, our guide to trades and services, money,
law and our essential maps.
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News
Have passports, they’ll travel
They share the ideal of
Kimberley Coast.
many locals who “never
“There are lots of things
want to leave Pittwater” –
but that hasn’t stopped one
couple from taking a holiday
every month since 2006!
Meet Gary and Jennifer
Henry – Pittwater’s most prolific
travellers.
Married for 40 years,
marine biologist Gary and
company director Jennifer
began travelling at uni.
“But it wasn’t until we retired
in our early 50s that we
started in ernest,” Gary said.
“Since retiring we have been
travelling pretty well every
month for about 10 years –
some months may entail a few
days’ and domestic travel…
other times we may be overseas
for a month.”
With several hundred trips,
the couple offered their top
destinations:
l For spectacular scenery
– think Norwegian Coast,
the Antarctic and South
Georgia;
l Wildlife – Galapagos, Antarctica,
New Guinea.
l Great Cities – New York, St
Petersburg, Tokyo.
l History and Culture – Europe.
l Islands – Hawaiian, Tahitian
and Cook Islands.
l Great Diving – Micronesia
(Shipwrecks); Heron Island
(Coral and Fish)
l Hiking / Bushwalking –
New Zealand.
l Australia’s Best – Kimberley
Coast, Barrier Reef, Tasmanian
South West.
The couple love being
on the water (they owned a
38’ catamaran which they
sailed along the Australian
east coastal and estuarine
waters for 10 years) and
have undertaken cruises on
ships to New Zealand, Asia
(Vietnam, China, Japan),
down the Mekong, along the
Norwegian coast, Patagonia,
Antarctic and South Georgia,
the Galapagos Islands and the
to like about cruising – what
you get out of it depends on
the individual,” said Gary.
“We like comfort (good food,
nice cabin, showers and good
staff) but we also like remote
and interesting locations.
“We appreciate having
wildlife experts aboard to
talk about the location and its
inhabitants and we like getting
off the vessel regularly to
explore.
“This will necessitate being
aboard a small vessel and
small numbers of passengers.”
The couple’s most recent
trip was to the Antarctic and
South Georgia – a “bucket list
destination” they experienced
on a Ponant expedition.
* Sharon Godden from Travel
View Avalon is gearing up
for an Antarctic adventure
in November with Wild Earth
Travel. She’s keen to hear
from potentially interested
locals; phone 9918 6007.
6
JANUARY 2017

Simple plan for the future
News
MP Rob Stokes talks to Lisa Offord about recent local health and community developments.
The flurry of major announcements
in late 2016
will see Pittwater enter exciting
times, says local MP Rob Stokes.
And he has a simple message
to community members
concerned about change: to
preserve the essence of Pittwater
there needs to be some
“give and take”.
With passionate interest
in environmental land use,
planning heritage and sustainability,
Mr Stokes bubbles
with enthusiasm about the
announcement of the new community
at Ingleside.
“I talked about Ingleside in
my maiden speech – it is an
opportunity for us to get things
right on the beaches,” he said.
With up to 3,400 houses and
terraces to be built on 15 hectares
of open space and a further
200 hectares of preserved
bushland, the suburb will set
unprecedented standards for
sustainability, Mr Stokes said.
Draft plans, which include
proposals for electric vehicle
recharging points and LED
street lighting, also feature a
town centre, a neighbourhood
centre, a primary school and
other community facilities.
Mr Stokes said the land
would be developed with environmental
protection levels
higher than ever seen before in
Sydney.
“We want Ingleside to be a
lighthouse development for
sustainability and we are going
to investigate how we can actually
make that work.”
He said there were several
key restraints planners needed
to observe.
“All the water ends up in the
Narrabeen Lagoon catchment
so we need to be careful about
how we manage riparian corridors
and water flow,” he said.
The new expanded suburb
would also be car dependant.
“We have to work out how we
enable electric vehicles (EVs)
and embed that technology
from the very beginning but
also how we encourage people
to use public transport, rather
than their car.
“We are upgrading Mona Vale
Road... we don’t want to fill it
with cars alone – but also with
new buses between Mona Vale
and Macquarie Park,” he said.
Mr Stokes said the challenge
would be keeping a lid on costs
of building the foundations of
a sustainable community.
“You want to get as many of
the sustainability outcomes as
possible, but that puts upward
pressure on house prices and
you don’t want it to be an unaffordable
community either.”
It’s expected the Ingleside development
will be two decades
in the making.
“It is going to take time… it
is calibrated with Mona Vale
Road, which in itself is going to
take a few years,” he said.
(The $90 million upgrade
and widening of Mona Vale
Road between Mona Vale and
Ingleside is expected to be
finished by 2020.)
Mona Vale Hospital
The Mona Vale Hospital precinct
will continue to grow,
with registrations of interest
sought from health care
providers to offer services to
complement those already
delivered or in planning.
Mr Stokes said to make better
use of the land and “protect it
from any short-term decisions
by future governments”, the vision
was for a series of modern
sub-acute health facilities to
be built around a central park
where the current main building
stands.
He said there was a real
opportunity to better link the
future services that can be
offered at the hospital with
the community – which is why
8
JANUARY 2017

HEALTHY CHANGES: Aerial view of the Mona Vale Hospital campus in 2010 (left) and in 2016 (right) showing newly built facilities.
there has been investment in
the pathway through the back
of the adjoining golf course.
It is anticipated registrations
of interest from private operators
might include day surgery,
primary care including general
practice, mental and oral health
care to stand alongside 24/7
urgent care centre, inpatient
rehabilitation units, hydrotherapy
pool, community and
family health services, inpatient
geriatric services, inpatient palliative
care, ambulance service
and helipad.
“It’s a sea change in the provision
of medical services,” Mr
Stokes said. “The key negotiables
are that the entire campus
remains for health uses and it
stays in public ownership… but
aside from that, the sky’s the
limit as to what health services
people might want to provide.”
Hopes for the expression of
interest also include a muchneeded
late-night pharmacy,
café and even small retail offering
near the central park.
“The concept is mums coming
for post-natal class, or baby
health clinic, come and have
a coffee and enjoy it as a community
hub.”
Registrations of interest
close at the end of February.
Confirming no land at the
Mona Vale Hospital site would
be sold, Mr Stokes added he
would be happy to entertain
the idea of longer-term leases
to give the security for health
providers to build on the site.
“My view is I’d like a few
different leases that expire at
different times because then it
makes it harder for any future
government to decide to sell
something off,” he said.
Acknowledging a high
Continued on page 10
News
JANUARY 2017 9

News
Continued from page 9
volume of misinformation
surrounding the future of the
Mona Vale campus and provision
of health care services
on the Northern Beaches, Mr
Stokes reaffirmed there was no
suggestion any existing public
services would be removed
from the northern beaches.
“I get angry when people
say we are closing Mona Vale
Hospital – we already have 56
public beds that are committed
to; we are going to have at least
an additional 10 in palliative
care and at least another 10
allocated to geriatric care.
“That is just what has been
publicly committed to by the
government so far… who
knows what the not-for-profit
and private sector is going to
come up with?”
Amalgamated council
Mr Stokes believes the amalgamation
of the three northern
beaches councils has been so
far, so good.
“Many people I speak to have
been happy with (administrator)
Dick Persson’s performance…
they feel he has been
frank and fearless and has
been able to wander into perennial
arguments that no-one has
been able to resolve.”
An example, Mr Stokes said,
was the management of the
Narrabeen Lagoon – “the most
significant environmental asset
on the beaches”.
“It was face-off across the
lagoon between Pittwater and
Warringah Councils... no-one
was responsible for it.”
One of Mr Persson’s first
moves was to extend the Narrabeen
Lagoon State Park by 60
hectares, with more to come.
Another significant win for
the area is the multimillion
dollar investment to create a
coastal walkway from Palm
Beach to Manly.
“It will be stunning and a
real tourist attraction.”
The Future
“If Pittwater is to stay unique
it needs to tell its story,” Mr
Stokes said.
He cited the shouted-down
plan to utilise Barrenjoey
Lighthouse cottages as public
accommodation and criticism
from some about a lack of
provision for high rise in the Ingleside
plan (included in a 1997
plan) as counter-productive to
ensuring Pittwater retained its
essence.
“When I go in to argue for
us in Parliament I need to be
able say the reason we don’t
have high rise in Ingleside, for
example, is because this area is
different to others in Sydney.
“And we need to allow Barrenjoey
to be used wisely for
something benefiting everyone…
I think there is the opportunity
to regroup there.”
He said that while some
areas of Sydney might have
industrial value, and others
might be dormitory suburbs
for workers or agriculture
areas, Pittwater was “Sydney’s
playground”.
“It is a beautiful place for
people to visit and we need to
protect it for everyone,” he said.
“We should argue for Pittwater
to be different, so it keeps that
beauty for everyone to share.
“So, if I am going to argue
against high rise, we are going
to have to agree to something
like tourist accommodation –
otherwise I can’t win the argument
because there would be
nothing unique about us and
our contribution to everyone
else in Sydney,” he said.
10
JANUARY 2017

6THINGS
THIS MONTH
News
Thank a teacher. Okay
Johnny Carter, we know you
didn’t want us to make a big
deal about this but there will
be plenty of people who won’t
want to miss the opportunity of
swinging by for a quick catch-up
with you and Robey as you mark
your 70th year teaching children
to swim at Palm Beach rock
pool. Legend!
Give Blood. The Australian
Red Cross Mobile Blood Service
will be at Mona Vale Memorial
Hall on Wed 11, 1.30-6.30pm;
Thurs 12, 8.30am-2pm and Fri
13 (lucky for some), 8.30am-
1.30pm. Take your photo ID;
have a good breakfast or lunch
and 3 or 4 glasses of water or
juice in the hours before you donate.
Call 13 95 96 for more info
or book an appointment online.
Get kids set for Term 1.
Holidays will be over before you
know it. Make 2017 the year
you are organised. Beat the
last-minute crush at the mall and
shop locally for shoes, school
bags and lunchboxes. Register
for sport and book art, dance
and music and drama lessons
early to avoid missing out.
Return your bags. Great that
so many people are using the
eco-friendly Boomerang Bags
but as the name suggests they
are meant to come back. So if
you have a few lying around the
home return them to the boxes
in Avalon and Newport and help
reduce the use plastic bags.
Interested in helping this year?
Materials and helpers always
welcome. Workshops start on
Tue 24 at the Avalon Rec Centre
between 11.30am and 5pm.
Wanted: Artist in Residence.
Local artists are
reminded applications close on
Thurs 12 for the 2017 Eramboo/
Northern Beaches Council Artist
in Residence. More info: northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au
A new sensation. 18-andovers
can keep the Australia
Day celebrations alive with two
home-grown tribute bands –
the Australian INXS Show and
special guests the Australian
Divinyls at Dee Why RSL, Fri 27
at 7.30pm; costs $25.
12
JANUARY 2017

News
Vale Graham Sloper:
a man for all seasons
He was a man of warmth
and strength, a family
man, a man who served his
country with distinction
and gave tirelessly of
himself to help others
in the community. This
was Commodore Graham
Sloper AM RAN (Rtd).
I first met Graham
Sloper when he was a
serving officer and I was
Minister for Defence;
this is a man who leaves
big shoes to fill in our
community.
Upon his retirement
from the Navy, home was
established in Avalon.
Dannie, Graham’s wonderful
wife, said after years of
moving as a Navy wife, it
was her turn to choose
where home would be.
Graham then set about
finding ways to serve his
community. He had had
a distinguished record
of command, including
HMAS Ibis, HMAS Perth
and HMAS Success.
HMAS Success saw seven
months’ service in the first
Gulf War in 1990, where
she received the Duke of
Gloucester Cup for the most
efficient ship of the RAN.
This award was created by
the Duke of Gloucester in
1947 when he was Governor
General of Australia. There
are like awards for Army
and Air Force.
But shore postings
had also given Graham
enormous experience
in goal-setting, teambuilding
and instilling
direction in organisations
large and small. His last
command was HMAS
Albatross at Nowra. This
saw him as head of the
largest employer in the
area, commanding 2000
personnel. The result was
Graham being heavily
involved with community
organisations and
activities so community
engagement came
naturally on the Northern
Beaches. He began by
joining Avalon RSL. It
was not long before he
was committee man then
President, then President
of Northern Beaches RSL
District Council.
But Graham placed high
importance on youth and
veterans. He believed
children should learn and
understand the service and
sacrifice of their forbears
– hence the annual awards
for schoolchildren whose
poems, art works and
essays went on public
exhibition at Forestville
RSL. He placed great
store on local cadet units,
knowing that they are the
best source of recruits
PHOTO: Michael Mannington / Volunteer Photography
14
JANUARY 2017

for the ADF and the most
successful as well.
With regard to veterans,
Graham identified that
services delivered to
veterans from DVA could
be better delivered by
involving all Northern
Beaches RSL Sub-Branches
and other veterans groups
including Legacy, Vietnam
Veterans Association,
National Serviceman’s
Association and Peace
Keepers and Peace Makers.
Graham’s leadership
and cooperative work has
resulted in the Northern
Beaches Veterans Centre
now established at Dee
Why RSL. This means that
a hub and spoke operation
has been established with
the Dee Why office, as the
hub and services being
delivered by a number
of specialized, trained
volunteers at the end of a
‘spoke’. So duplication is
avoided and well-trained
specialists are delivering
the best assistance as
required. (I’ve had the
pleasure of supporting
this innovation as a Patron
and it has been followed in
other parts of NSW.)
Graham’s commitment
to veterans and youth came
together with the Annual
Avalon Tattoo, a huge
achievement in anyone’s
language. Displays, massed
pipes and drums, Navy
Orchestra, Ceremonial
Sunset, cadets being
granted the Freedom of the
Municipality and arrivals
by some of us in a lovingly
restored helicopter as
used in Vietnam, with its
very distinctive sound,
and owned by Patrick
Soars of Australian Native
Landscapes.
Commemorating the
centenary of World War
I saw the electorates of
Mackellar and Warringah
join together, with Graham
and a committee helping
organise and fund (through
government funding) a major
event involving thousands of
locals in a parade that ended
at Rat Park.
Vale Graham Sloper; you
were indeed a man for all
seasons.
– The Hon. Bronwyn Bishop
News
JANUARY 2017 15

Patient locals have
high hopes for NBN
More than 8,000 upper-peninsula
homes and businesses
received a welcome early
Christmas present last month
when local Federal MP Jason
Falinski officially switched on
the NBN.
The long-awaited technology
sees Avalon, Palm Beach, Bilgola,
Whale Beach, Clareville as
well as parts of Newport being
able to access what the government
says will be superfast
broadband.
Joined by Communications
Minister Mitch Fifield at the
launch at Chill Bar in Avalon,
Mr Falinski said: “As at the election
the NBN was not available
in Mackellar – I have pushed to
have the roll-out accelerated in
our area.
“The NBN represents a vital
piece of infrastructure needed
to keep our thriving businesses
growing, enabling work from
home, which will reduce traffic
congestion, and for schools to
provide a 21st century education
to our children.”
Homes and business in
the area will be connected
to the NBN using fibre to the
node (FTTN) technology. The
Government says FTTN offers
average wholesale broadband
speeds of around 70 megabits
per second (Mbps), with many
premises able to access speeds
of up to 100 Mbps.
“The NBN will ensure that at
least 90 per cent of the fixedline
footprint will have access
to wholesale download speeds
of 50 Mbps,” Mr Falinski said.
Locals approached by Pittwater
Life remained hopeful
yet skeptical about the touted
benefits of the NBN.
“First experiences haven’t
been great but like anything
time will tell,” said one business
owner.
It typically takes a couple of
weeks to connect to the NBN after
placing an order. More info
on how to connect is available
at www.nbnco.com.au
News
JANUARY 2017 17

News
Pittwater News
Swell time to be
had at Big Swim 2017
Organisers of The Big Swim
are searching for any hardy
souls who have completed
10 or more swims since the
iconic annual event’s inception
in 1974.
“We’d like them to contact
us to allow us to share the
credit of their perseverance
and success,” said organiser
Simon Morgan, urging
swimmers with a combined
decade of involvement to
email bigswim@outlook.com
or thebigswim.org.au.
“It is a huge achievement
to complete one swim – and
some have swum in over 30
swims,” said Simon.
Thought to be New South
Wales’ longest continuing
running ocean swim with its
first start in 1974 (clearly earlier
than the Cole), THE BIG
SWIM presented by the Whale
Beach Surf Lifesaving Club in
association with Macquarie is
a ‘journey’ swim.
“It’s not around the buoys
in a bay, or up and down a
beach outside the break but a
true ocean swim, from Palm
Beach to Whale Beach around
the headland through the
Tasman Sea,” said Simon.
Held on the last Sunday
of January each year with a
distance of 2.5 - 2.8 km, it is
known as THE BIG SWIM –
because it is big.
“Conditions vary from dead
calm to testing south-easterly
or uncomfortable nor’easters
which can arrive early in summer
with swells from all directions
making for challenging
swimming when you breathe
to the left,” said Simon.
This year’s swim is on Sunday
January 29; as a pre-cursor
the URM Little Big swim
commences at 8.30am with an
800-metre swim around ‘Kiddies
Corner’ at Palm Beach.
With registration from
7.30am for both events, the
Big Swim starts off with the
Elite group of swimmers at
10am. There’s free transport
from parking areas at Careel
Bay soccer fields or arrive
early for a beachside carpark.
This is the final event of
the Pittwater Swim Series
where by competing in just
three of the northern beaches
swims you can win a trip to
the Byron Bay swim (see P42).
Full details and entries at
www.thebigswim.org.au
– Nigel Wall
Cycle, walk from
Palm Beach to Manly
The NSW Government’s
swathe of council amalgamations
may still have its
opponents but the formation
of the new Northern Beaches
Council is being credited
for triggering one of the
most exciting infrastructure
advancements seen on the
beaches – the spectacular
coastal walkway and cycleway
from Palm Beach to
Manly known as ‘Connecting
Northern Beaches’. Local MP
Rob Stokes said the $22.3
million investment – which
will also link to B-Line transport
hubs and services – had
been on the drawing board
for decades but had never
progressed due to “insufficient
funds and boundary
issues”. Mr Stokes’ comments
were echoed by Council
administrator Dick Persson,
who said: “Removing the
administrative boundaries
has unlocked the potential
to interconnect our villages
and towns via cycleways,
walkways and transport hubs
across the region.”
The government has also
announced a $10.3 million
inclusive and active play program
featuring the creation
of two new major all-abilities
playgrounds, upgrades to
play areas across the Northern
Beaches to make them
inclusive and $4 million for
sporting facilities and Surf
Life Saving Clubs.
Local Heritage boost
Local Heritage projects have
received a $120,000 cash
injection from the State Government,
with the $100,000
set to be used for public
access improvements around
the historic Church Point
General Store and $20,000
towards the development
of a self-guided historical
tour of Mona Vale Cemetery.
“The Church Point precinct
is currently undergoing
generational upgrades – but
it’s essential that public access
to the historic General
Store area is maintained and
improved,” said local MP Rob
Stokes. “And local cemeteries
like Mona Vale provide
a continuous link to those
who have contributed to
Mirage Expo to help plan your perfect wedding
Boutique waterfront venue
Metro Mirage Hotel Newport
is hosting its 2017 Wedding
Expo on Sunday 15 January
from 12noon until 4pm,
giving brides-to-be and their
partners the opportunity
to talk to a host of wedding
suppliers about creating
their once-in-a-lifetime
wedding experience.
Enjoying magnificent
views from Pittwater to Kuring-gai
National Park, the
hotel offers two stunning
wedding ceremony and
reception venues for couples
looking for something
unique and spectacular for
their wedding.
Additionally, florists,
photographers, wedding
stationers, music and
entertainment specialists,
event stylists, photo booth
hire and celebrants and
more will be exhibiting their
products and services.
Couples will also have
the opportunity to view
the wedding ceremony and
reception room styled for
a wedding, to enable them
to picture exactly how their
reception could look, and to
discuss with expert staff the
different styling and catering
options available.
The hotel’s experienced
functions team will be
on hand to help couples
plan their perfect day. For
more info contact Wedding
Consultant Lindy Dean on
(02) 9997 7011.
18
JANUARY 2017

our community over many
generations and it’s important
this is recognised and
celebrated.” The funds will be
distributed by the Northern
Beaches Council.
‘Pasadena’ rejected
Opponents of the plan to upgrade
and develop the vacant
Pasadena site at Church Point
into a revitalised restaurant,
café, motel and day spa
facility are celebrating the
rejection of the owner’s Development
Application, which
Northern Beaches Council
says failed to meet a series
of requirements. Offshore
and mainland residents
had feared massive parking
issues had the DA gone
ahead but in December the
Northern Beaches Independent
Assessment Panel – North
quashed the plan. In its
decision, Council highlighted
that the subject land doesn’t
enjoy the benefits of “existing
use rights”, the proposed
motel use was prohibited
under current zoning laws,
on-site parking provision
was unsatisfactory, and the
development was not in the
public’s interest.
Rare grevillea
preserved
A three-year project to
preserve and restore the
critically endangered
Grevillea caleyi shrub and
endangered Duffys Forest
ecological community has
yielded great results. Driven
by local volunteers through
funding from Greater Sydney
Local Land Services and the
Office of Environment and
Heritage (OEH), the project
focused on protecting
vegetation on the grounds
of the Baha’i Temple which
is home to the endangered
native plant which is only
found in Northern Sydney.
There are currently less than
20 mature plants and around
50 seedlings at the Temple
grounds. The volunteers’ work
included bush regeneration,
mapping of plants, seed
collection, protection of
seedlings and management of
other plant species at the site.
Probus gallery talk
Highlight exhibitions at the
Art Gallery of NSW, including
the Archibald Prize, will be
the focus of a talk at Pittwater
Probus Club on January
10. Delivered by retired
school principal Les Moseley,
the talk starts at 10.30am at
Mona Vale Golf Club and visitors
are welcome. More info
Bill Marshall 9999 5226.
Continued on page 21
News
JANUARY 2017 19

3-NIGHT
WELLNESS
ESCAPE @
BILLABONG
RETREAT
Already stressing out at the
mere thought of returning
to work after your summer
break? Wouldn’t it be great if you had
something to look forward to a few
months down the track that would get
you back in relaxation mode?
This month Pittwater Life and
Billabong Retreat are giving one lucky
reader the chance to win a 3-night
getaway for 2 people, including a
private room with ensuite overlooking
the water, plus all organic meals, drinks
and snacks, twice-daily yoga classes,
evening meditation class plus wellness
workshops – worth $1650!
Billabong Retreat is a magical ecoretreat
offering affordable wellness and
relaxation short-breaks situated just 45
minutes from Sydney’s CBD, yet feeling
like a million miles away.
Go there to unwind, be pampered,
learn simple wellness techniques and
enjoy delicious wholefood organic
cooking. Each retreat includes twicedaily
workshops introducing all aspects
of yoga, mindfulness and meditation
and suitable for any level of experience
or fitness.
The delicious spa cuisine is all included
and offers organic meals made from
wholefood ingredients locally sourced
from producers.
The main retreat centre is perched high
on the escarpment, with its large covered
outdoor lounge nestling in the treetops
overlooking the water. Plus, guests can
now enjoy the stunning new aqua therapy
magnesium mineral swimming pool.
The tranquillity of the retreat will
automatically put you in slow-down
mode; abundant with colourful native
life, you can spot hundreds of bird
species, albino-faced black wallabies, lace
monitors, deer, micro-bats, water lizards
and at night the whole place throbs to the
chorus of frogs and cicadas.
Bush rock escarpments rise from
the water’s edge, with huge boulders
creating lovely nooks that are ideal for
meditating within nature.
Accommodation ranges from dormstyle
(great for groups), cabins with bunk
beds, to tree-house ensuite cabins with
private balconies overlooking the water,
some with outdoor roll top bath.
As well as the wellness program,
guests can use the complimentary onsite
bikes, enjoy inspirational movies in the
cinema, go for bush walks and enjoy
delightful massage and spa treatments
down in the waterside spa pavilion
(treatments extra).
THE PRIZE:
Three nights’ all-inclusive
retreat (Sunday to Wednesday)
for two persons;
Private room with ensuite
overlooking the water;
All organic meals, drinks and snacks;
Twice-daily yoga classes;
Evening meditation class;
Daily specialist wellness workshops;
Live music;
(Valid for stays before 30 September 2017)
TO ENTER:
Email your name and contact phone
number to win@pittwaterlife.com.au
(don’t forget to Like us on facebook);
competition starts December 30, 2016 and
closes January 31, 2017. The winner will be
notified by phone and their name published
in the March issue of Pittwater Life. (Full Ts
& Cs www.pittwaterlife.com.au)

Pittwater News
Continued on page 19
Castles in the sand
Head to Newport Beach on
January 14 for the annual
family friendly ‘Castles In
The Sand’ sand sculpture
competition (right). Staged by
the Newport SLSC and Cystic
Fibrosis NSW, attractions
will include face painting, a
jumping castle and a coffee
cart for parents – plus great
prizes for the best castles.
Cost is $20 for a 1m x 1m site;
runs 10am-1.30pm. Register
online at newportsurfclub.
com.au
Plaque dedications
New plaques were recently
unveiled at Pittwater RSL for
NSW National Servicemen’s
Association and Affiliates,
Sydney Northern Beaches
Sub-Branch and in memory of
1,800 Australian prisoners of
war and internees lost at sea
during WWII. There was also
a plaque rededication for the
former Pittwater RSL Sub-
Branch Women’s Auxiliary.
Turn your house
into a luxury hotel
Palm Beach holidaymakers
can have products and
services delivered to their
door at the push of a button
this summer with a new
app connecting visitors and
part-time residents with a
concierge service. High-end
hospitality company Stedmans
has launched Stedmans
Concierge-On-Demand to
provide the peeps at Palmy
access to bespoke luxury
offerings. At-home services
range from the delivery of
freshly baked breads and
pastries and chilled champagne,
to wellness services
such as remedial massages
and home help such babysitters,
a private butler or
personal chauffeur through
to supplying catering and a
team of waitstaff so summer
gatherings run smoothly.
More info stedmansatpalmbeach.com.au
Surf Club grants
The NSW Government has
urged Pittwater region surf
clubs to apply for grants
of between $40,000 and
$350,000 to help develop
their facilities and address
significant building condition
issues. The grants have
a $2 million pool across have
129 clubs in NSW comprising
74,000 members including
volunteer surf lifesavers who
last year performed 6,672
rescues, 157,986 preventative
actions and 14,708 first
aid treatments. Projects that
could be funded include
construction of new surf club
facilities, enhancement of
the facilities at existing clubs
and providing ancillary and
support facilities at venues.
More info sportandrecreation.nsw.gov.au/grants.
Vet
on
call
with
Dr Ben Brown
Have you ever wondered
why heartworm is
separated out from other
worms on your dog’s worming
medication?
Unlike most intestinal
worms, heartworm is an
extremely serious and
potentially fatal disease,
spread by mosquitoes, that can
be complicated and expensive
to treat once a dog is infected.
The treatment that is available
can take up to 31 months,
require multiple medications
or potentially surgery, and
often leads to serious illness
and death if not caught early
enough. Dogs can also develop
severe complications from
the treatment itself, and may
need to be confined to a cage
for an extended period during
treatment to ensure they don’t
move around and strain their
heart further. Prevention is
definitely better than treatment
when it comes to he artworm!
Some 40% of heartworm
cases in the past few years
have been in dogs using
a monthly preventative
treatment. We know our
clients aim to do the best for
their pets, but we also know
they’re busy (and human!)
and may forget a treatment or
even give it a week or so late.
But, what a lot of dog owners
don’t realise is that even just
one missed, or even late, dose
of their monthly preventative
can leave their dog at risk of
heartworm.
At Sydney Animal Hospitals,
Newport, we recommend
annual injections to prevent
heartworm. That way we’re
sure dogs are protected for the
full year giving us, as vets, and
you, as dog owners, peace of
mind. And it lets you take one
thing off the list each month!
If you’re unsure whether
your dog is protected against
heartworm, give us a call
or drop in. We don’t require
appointments and are open
extended hours: 7am to 9pm,
seven days a week (including
January public holidays from
9am to 4pm).
News
JANUARY 2017 21

Perfect
Balance
Life Stories
Sailing and Pittwater are hand and glove for
Clareville couple Iain and Alex Murray and their
daughters Eliza, Lucy and Imogen.
Story by Rosamund Burton
It’s two weeks before Christmas,
and Iain Murray is preparing for the
Sydney to Hobart Race on Wild Oats
XI, the race record holder and eight-time
line honours winner. He has been part
of the Wild Oats sailing program since
2001, and built the boat which won the
Admiral’s Cup in 2003.
In addition, the Big Fella, as he’s
known, is also gearing up for the Australian
Etchells Class Championship
being run by the Royal Prince Alfred
Yacht Club off Pittwater in January, before
heading to the world championship
in San Francisco this September, with
fellow crew Richie Allanson from Avalon,
and Euan McNicol, his Star coach for the
2008 Olympics. Iain won the Etchells
World Championship in 1984, and 33
years later aged 58 his passion for sailing
hasn’t diminished.
On the slipway below the Murrays’
house on the waterfront at Clareville is
a dilapidated motor boat which Iain’s
father bought in 1965.
“Every Sunday it was in the car down
to Akuna Bay, and off for an adventure in
that boat,” Iain reminisces. “We did that
for many years, going to the Basin, up
the Hawkesbury, over to Gosford.”
Now 93, Iain’s father’s love of Pittwater
22
burns strongly. He is still living in the
same weatherboard house in Seaforth
where Iain grew up, and every Sunday he
puts his kayak into the water at Bayview,
and paddles up to Clareville to visit the
family.
It was in 1987 after returning from the
America’s Cup in Fremantle that Iain and
wife Alex moved into a friend’s boatshed
at Clareville.
“We fell in love with Pittwater, so we
bought a block of land on the waterfront,
and spent three years building a house,”
Alex explains. They had only lived in it
for six months when they had the opportunity
to buy their current doublefrontage
property with its pontoon.
“We tarted it up in about six weeks,
and were always going to knock it down,”
Alex explains. But despite Iain’s redesign
plans over the past 22 years, the original
house still stands, and with the bikes
leaning against the wall at the back,
and dog Tilly wandering in and out, it’s
very much a lived-in family home. Eliza,
their eldest daughter, is now working in
London as a fashion editor, but Lucy, who
is at UTS and Imogen, who is at AFTRS,
both still live at home.
The Murrays have cherished every
moment of their lives at Pittwater. Eliza,
JANUARY 2017
Lucy and Imogen, all got their speedboat
licences when they were 12 years old,
and used to visit their friends by boat,
and after school motored over to Mackerel
Beach for a swim. When they were
waitressing at The Boathouse at Palm
Beach they often went to work by boat
rather than car.
Iain is the patron of the Avalon Sailing
Club, where their three daughters sailed
when they were young, and Alex taught
the local kids on the Murray design Nippas.
“Sailing skills give you an understanding
and respect for the wind and the
power of the sea,” says Iain. “I learnt the
hard way in 1977 when I did my first
Sydney to Hobart race and thought I was
invincible.” Iain was at the helm when
the boat rolled and he fell overboard,
not wearing a lifejacket. “I was lucky to
survive that, and came home with my
tail between my legs.”
Alex grew up in Longueville and started
sailing, aged eight, in a Sabot. When
only 16 and still at school she met Iain at
a dinner at the Lane Cove Sailing Club.
“He was 19, but he had a business and
was buying land and building properties
in Sydney’s West. He was pretty dynamic,
and I didn’t really have much say,” she
MAIN PHOTO: Supplied

says with a smile.
From 1977 to 1982 Iain won six consecutive
World 18-foot skiff championships.
He sailed on Syd Fischer’s 12 Metre
Yacht, Advance, in the 1983 America’s
Cup. Then in 1987, defended the prized
America’s Cup sailing on his and John
Swarbricks designed Kookaburra III.
Iain’s accomplishments are phenomenal
in sailing, and also boat design
manufacturing and marine infrastructure.
He also has been involved in property
development.
“I’m now back to working in the Cup,”
he says, explaining that in his role as the
America’s Cup Regatta Director, which he
also held 2013, he is responsible for the
competition side of the event. In the past
15 months, his team has run nine events
around the world, and he’ll spend five
months of this year in Bermuda.
With her husband as her yardstick
Alex is extremely modest about her
sailing achievements, despite having
days earlier returned from the Melges 24
World Championship in Miami. Aged 20,
she was Sydney’s first female skiff sailor.
Also, she competed on the international
match racing circuit with American-born
Sue Waters, who lives in Bayview, the
Pittwater born-and-bred Kerrie Shimeld,
and her old friend from Lane Cove, three
times Olympian Karyn Gojnich.
They competed in the International’s
Women’s Keelboat Challenge at Newport
Rhode Island.
“The others all left their babies behind,
or had husbands, but because Iain
was in Lake Garda testing boats for the
next Olympics, I took Eliza, and got a sitter
there. When the boat got in I’d run up
the dock and breastfeed.”
Alex, Sue Waters and Kerrie Shimeld
were instrumental in the start in 1995
of the RPAYC Women’s Twilight Series,
which over the past 21 years has truly
empowered women in the sailing community.
On a swing mooring just beyond their
pontoon is a slick, red-hulled yacht.
“It was purpose-built as a present for
Alex, for enduring a long term of marriage,”
Iain says. It’s called Belicymo:
‘Beautiful’, ‘Eliza’, ‘Lucy’ and ‘Imogen’
married into one word, which explains
the weird spelling of it.’
“It was our 20th wedding anniversary,”
Alex recounts, “and I was annoyed that
Iain wouldn’t commit to going to lunch
with me. He rang up, and said, ‘Have you
looked out the window?’ There it was,
with a big bow on it. It was so romantic,
it was ridiculous. We spent the day sailing
it with all his mates who brought it
up from Nowra.
“It has brought me so much joy,” says
Alex, gazing out at the yacht and Pittwater
beyond. “Just to be out there is a
treat for me.”
Life Stories
CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: Iain and
Alex racing on Belicymo; a montage
of the family’s good times sailing on
Pittwater; Lucy having afternoon fun
on a Laser; the family enjoying a cruise
on a Halvorsen up the Hawkesbury
(1998); Alex and Iain in their Pittwater
‘backyard’, with Alex’s second love
Belicymo in the background; the Murray
kids relaxing at favourite spot Lovett
Bay waterfall.
JANUARY 2017 23

Summer in
Pittwater
LIFE'S A BEACH:
From Palmy
(pictured) to
Narrabeen
you'll find fun
in the sun.
Your guide to a fun and relaxing January, right here.
Special Feature
WEATHER WATCH
There are things you need to
keep in mind when you hit the
waves this summer. For starters,
a beautiful day can have
a stormy ending… and vice
versa. So check the weather
forecast (www.pittwaterweather.com).
Life’s a beach
It goes without saying you
should swim between the
flags which are corkscrewed
into Pittwater’s red sand from
9am-5pm over the summer
months. It’s best to go to the
beach early or later in the day.
There will be fewer people,
and less sunburn because the
sun won’t be at its peak. (See
Nick Carroll’s Beach Guide on
P38).
Lap it up
Pittwater has some fantastic
ocean rock pools. They’re free
and cleaned regularly. But did
you know that the NB Council
publishes the cleaning schedule
on their website? Check it
out and schedule your swim
session to avoid that pesky
seaweed and algae.
Be your best in the surf
Lessons every day for all
age groups across the northern
beaches. Great reputation/
experienced instructors. The
High Performance Surf Centre
offers advanced surf coaching,
high performance and intermediate
surf coaching clinics.
Private lessons adults $100
per hours Kids (17 and under)
$90 per hour. One or two-hour
sessions. manlysurfschool.
com. Call 9932 7000.
GETTING AROUND
PB&H River Cruises
Palm Beach & Hawkesbury River
cruises operates the ferry
between Palm Beach, Patonga
Beach, Cottage Point and the
Hawkesbury River cruise to
Bobbin Head. It’s a great few
hours of leisurely cruising.
Departs 11am, returning
3.30pm. You can also hire the
ferry for private events. palmbeachrivercruises.com.au
Fantasea
Fantasea Palm Beach Ferries
have fast cat ferries which
travel between Palm Beach
to Wagstaffe and Ettalong
Beach on the lower Central
Coast peninsula departing
roughly every hour. Spans
four waterways from Pittwater,
Broken Bay; the entrance
to the Hawkesbury River
and Brisbane Waters. Ferries
also depart hourly from
Palm Beach to Bennett Wharf,
Bonnie Doon, The Basin, Currawong
Beach and Mackerel
Beach. More info palmbeachferries.com.au
Church Point Ferry
Catch a ferry to Scotland
Island, Lovett Bay and Elvina
Bay (departs Church Point
hourly). Western Foreshore
stops include: Elvina Bay, Halls
Wharf (giving access to Morning
Bay), and Lovett Bay. More
info churchpointferryservice.
com
WATER FUN, FITNESS
Avalon Stand Up Paddle
Experience the many pleasures
of Stand Up Paddle at any
level you choose. Located at
the beautiful Clareville Beach,
the tranquil and enclosed
area is ideal for learning. Tony
Henry’s is the place to go and
provides both individual and
group lessons, SUP Hire, parties,
gift certificates, items on
sale and more. Book at avsup.
com.au or call Tony on 0413
363 405.
Pittwater Kayak Tours
Catering to people of all ages
and abilities you can join a variety
of 2-3 hour guided tours.
The Sunrise Tour and the
Morning Tour involve paddling
across Pittwater to a secluded
beach and a bushwalk. There's
24
JANUARY 2017

also a romantic Sunset Tour
for couples. From $60-$90
pittwaterkayaktours.com.au
Barrenjoey Boat Hire
Don't have a boat but fancy
checking out some more
remote spots for a picnic? Or
just enjoying Pittwater’s sparkling
waterways? Barrenjoey
Boat Hire offers a range of
boats including multi-purpose
and aluminium boats as well
as party pontoons and more.
They also have kayak and
paddleboards available for
hire. Located at the Northern
end of Governor Phillip Park,
Palm Beach. Info barrenjoeyboathire.com
or 9974 4229.
Boab Boat Hire
Hire a boat and go fishing,
wakeboarding, or cruising.
They also offer Power Boat
Licence and Personal Water
Craft (jet ski) Licence courses.
Located at the Royal Motor
Yacht Club at Newport. More
info 0414 859 546.
All Points Boating
Discover the waterways in and
around Ku-ring-gai Chase National
Park. Hire a skippered
charter boat for 12 people
which comes with paddle
boards and aqua lily pad for
additional fun. Or you can
take out on of their great looking
tinnies (complete with padded
seats and a sun canopy)
which hold four people. Fuel
and life jackets are provided.
You’ll find Akuna Bay Boat hire
at All Points Boating d’Albora
Marina at Akuna Bay. More
info: allpointsboating.com.au
or 0413 299185.
THE GREAT
OUTDOORS
Be prepared
Download the award-winning
‘Walking Pittwater’ app for
your phone or device. The app
includes maps, local information
and points of interest.
You can even add your own
photos. If you’re considering
visiting Garigal or Ku-ring-gai
Chase National Park, make
sure to check out nationalparks.nsw.gov.au.
Snake & Spider Watch
If you’re thinking about bushwalking
this summer, consider
attending an information
session on snake and spider
awareness. This practical and
easy to understand session
will teach you about first aid
treatment and emergency
procedure as well as snake
and spider identification and
behavior. Jan 15, 11am to 1pm
at the Coastal Environment
Centre in North Narrabeen.
For more info visit pittwater.
nsw.gov.au/cec.
Wetlands Indigenous Walk
Explore the local wetlands of
Narrabeen as an indigenous
guide tells you about human
connections to the land
around you as well as information
on local flora and bush
tucker. The free walk is on Jan
21, 10am-12:30pm. Meet at the
Coastal Environment Centre,
North Narrabeen. For more
info visit pittwater.nsw.gov.
au/cec.
Indigenous Tour
See Ku-ring-gai Chase National
Park from a different perspective.
Karen Smith from the
Aboriginal Heritage Office
will be giving a guided walk
in the Park, an area in which
indigenous peoples thrived
for thousands of years. Pack
a picnic and join the free tour
on Jan 22, 9am-12pm. For
bookings and more info visit
kuringgaieramboo.com.au.
Barrenjoey Lighthouse
The lighthouse can be reached
by a couple of different walks.
For an easy trek, the 1km
walk takes about 30 minutes
one way. Or for those who are
keen for a challenging, steep
yet short hike, take the Smugglers
Track. Bring your camera
along to capture the beauty of
the region, with glorious views
of Broken Bay, Ku-ring-gai
Chase National Park as well as
the Central Coast. Half-hour
guided tours of the lighthouse
are conducted every Sunday
11am–3pm, except in extreme
weather conditions. Adults $5
per person. Child $2 per person.
NB There are no toilets or
drinking water available at the
lighthouse.
Resolute Track Loop
At the far end of West Head.
There are numerous lookouts
along the way. This is a perfect
summer walk as you can
cool down with a swim at Resolute
Beach or Great Mackeral
Beach. Park your car at the
Resolute picnic group at the
end of West Head Rd. The walk
can also be done by catching a
ferry from Palm Beach to Great
Mackeral Beach.
Angophora Reserve
This is the core of the Barrenjoey
Peninsula bordering
Avalon, Clareville and Taylors
point. With more than 18
hectares of urban bushland
the reserve provides a snippet
of what is was like presettlement
with examples of
vegetation and fauna that are
under threat and significant
archaeological sites. Two main
walking tracks: from Palmgrove
Road to Wandeen Road
and Hilltop Road to Chisholm
Avenue.
Narra beach and headland
A moderately difficult walk
only 20 minutes one way.
Highlights include the big
brown timber stairway, lookouts
with amazing views and
a short bush walk. There are
a few tracks to choose from.
The lookout over Turimetta
Beach has disabled access and
parking via Peal Place.
Special Feature
JANUARY 2017 25

Summer in Pittwater
Special Feature
26
JANUARY 2017
CAMPING HEAVEN: The Basin has great swimming spots and bushwalks.
America Bay Track
One of the more popular walking
tracks in the Ku-ring-gai
Chase National Park. Moderate
in difficulty, the walk takes in
waterfalls, aboriginal engravings,
scenic lookouts and an
abundance of natural wildlife.
Leave 1-2 hours, depending on
your ability (or the number of
photos you want to take along
the way).
PICNIC SPOTS &
PLAYGROUNDS
Bert Payne Reserve
Grassy, open space featuring a
brand new inclusive playgound
for kids of all abilities.
Features include a carousel for
kids with or without wheelchairs,
trampoline at ground
level and climbing frame with
ramp. Near the beach at Newport.
Plenty of parking.
Bilarong Reserve
Great for a family picnic or
large groups. Complete with
bike tracks, excellent play
equipment , BBQ set-ups and
ameneties. Next to the Narrabeen
Lagoon (which you can
now safely walk around – the
trail is an easy 8.4km circuit)
on the Wakehurst Parkway.
Clareville Beach
A family friendly spot with the
Taylors Point Baths swimming
enclosure at the southern end.
Access is off Hudson Parade,
Clareville. Limited parking.
Winnererremy Bay
Aka 'Flying Fox Park' this
space is terrific for kids of all
ages. Older kids are kept busy
on an adventurous play area
featuring – you guessed it – a
flying fox and giant spiders
web. Safe shaded area for
younger kids with rockers,
boatshaped play structure and
games. BBQs and space to
picnic and its also skateboardand
scooter-friendly. There's
a popular little cafe in the
park too. Near Pittwater High
School Mona Vale.
The Basin
Take a short ferry ride from
Palm Beach to the Basin on the
western foreshores of Pittwater
Ku-ring-gai Chase National
Park. It will be busy but there’s
plenty to do. There are places
to swim (pack your snorkel)
and several walking tracks. A
day trip is a good way to suss
out the camping area for any
future expeditions.
McCarrs Creek Reserve
Stunning views and a large
grassy area with BBQs and
tables and perfect for picnickers.
Next to the Ku-ring-gai
Chase National Park this a
popular spot to launch a boat
and throw in a fishing line.
Well-behaved dogs (and their
owners) welcome.
QUIET REFLECTION
Bible Garden
Situated high on the escarpment,
the Bible Garden in
Mitchell Road, Palm Beach
offers magnificent views over
the ocean, Pittwater and Barrenjoey.
The garden features
every plant mentioned in the
Old and New Testaments a
pond, seats, table and a Bible.
All are welcome.
The Baha’i Temple
This beautiful house of worship
and nine hectares of gardens
open to people of all beliefs
is an ideal place to find peace
of mind. A place of prayer
and meditation, the magnificent
nine-sided structure
– a symbol of the unity of the
world religions – is the highest
point in the area and one of
seven Baha’i Temples across
the world. There’s a Visitors
Centre (with guides available to
answer questions), a bookshop
and an open-air picnic area.
The temple is open in January
from 9-5 weekdays and until
7pm weekends. Admission is
free. A public service is held
every Sunday at 11am; 173
Mona Vale Rd, Ingleside.

Special Feature
Summer in Pittwater
KIDS’ PLAY
Kids on the Coast
Get your kids of their devices
and into the environment
around them! Northern Beaches
Council are running a series
of day-long activities at the
Coastal Environment Centre in
North Narrabeen. From being
a marine biologist to learning
circus skills and tricks, there
are 13 activities to choose
from scheduled between
January 9-25. All activities run
10am – 3pm and cost $60. For
bookings and more info visit
pittwater.nsw.gov.au/cec
Tide Art Workshop
Bring art and science together.
Artist Joshua Yeldham and scientist
Mia Dalby-Ball will lead a
special workshop for kids aged
between 7-12. Participants will
explore the marine environment
around them, searching
for curious animals and plants,
using some of the coastal
riches they’ve collected to
create a mandala. Parents are
welcome to get involved too!
The $30 workshop will be held
on January 24 at 10am-12pm or
2-4pm, McCarrs Creek Reserve,
Church Point. For bookings or
more information visit kuringgaieramboo.com.au
LEGO Workshops
Bricks 4 Kidz are hosting holiday
workshops in Mona Vale,
Newport and Avalon half-day,
full-day and two day sessions
suitable for 5-12 years. More
info visit bricks4kidz.com.au
Ghost Jam
Music, ghost stories and silliness!
Join Sean Murphy at the
Mona Vale Library as he searches
for the world’s best ghost
tales. It’s going to be spooky
(and possibly hilarious). January
17, for ages 5-12, tickets are $5.
Bookings 9970 1600.
TOES IN THE GRASS: Try barefoot bowls.
Creek Critters
Join experts at the Irrawong
Waterfall to learn about what
lives in our creeks and rivers.
Half-day session involves collecting
and identifying creek
critters of all shapes and sizes.
Fun for all ages! 9am-12pm,
January 14. Bookings essential.
More info pittwater.nsw.
gov.au/cec
Tennis Camp
Goodwin’s offers beginner
to advanced instruction on
strokes, round robin, games
and match play. Lots of prizes.
Racquets provided if needed.
There are school holiday tennis
camps running throughout
January at Careel Bay and
Mona Vale Tennis Clubs as
well as Narrabeen Community
and Tennis Centre. Full and
half day sessions are available
and Lunch is provided on the
last day. Bookings essential
0410 523 726.
Surf camps
Run by Matt Grainger and
his team. For kids with skill
– technique, contest strategies,
skateboarding and
fitness. Half day $50; full day
$100. Four days of classes
9am-12pm at Long Reef then
12pm-3pm at the HPSC centre
$200 or 9am-3pm $400. For
beginners – Palm Beach, Long
Reef and Manly Mon-Thurs,
every week of the holidays.
Daily rate $50; four days $150.
Bookings 9932 7000.
Sailing
School holiday sailing programs
at the Royal Prince
Alfred Yacht Club at Newport
provide a fun, safe and affordable
introduction to sailing
and the marine environment.
Programs are tailored to age
groups and conducted in the
safety of Pittwater, under the
28
JANUARY 2017

supervision of fully qualified
instructors. There are a range
of courses available in January,
from learning to sail to
zipping around on Hobie Cats.
Non-members welcome. More
info rpayc.com.au
Sport and Recreation
The sport and rec academy at
Narrabeen is holding a number
of Kids’ Club day camps
from 8.30am-5pm throughout
the holidays. Packed with
exciting activities and games
designed for ages 7-12 including
ropes courses, flying fox,
abseiling, Kayaking, canoeing,
swimming, tennis athletics
archery, cookout, orienteering
and bushwalking. Cost $235
includes lunch; call 13 13 02.
Kids and teens art classes
Sydney Art Space at Mona Vale
is running a number of casual
classes, workshops and artmaking
activities throughout
the holidays for youngsters of
all ages. sydneyartspace.com
SPORTS
Tennis
Grab the family and head to
your local tennis court. Newport
Community Centre and
North Narrabeen Community
and Tennis Centre have courts
available for $17 per hour.
For bookings visit northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au.
Squash
After its heydays of the ’80s
and ’90s, squash is making a
comeback! Easy to learn and
insanely addictive. Give it a go
at the Elanora Squash Centre,
50 Kalang Rd, Elanora Heights.
Court hire is only $7 for the
kids, with adult rates starting
from $16. Racket hire is available.
Bookings 9913 9003 or
visit elanorasquash.com.au.
Barefoot bowls
Grab a beer (or a pink lemonade)
and head for the greens
at Avalon, Newport, Mona Vale
Bowling Clubs and Narrabeen
RSL to enjoy barefoot bowls.
No experience necessary.
Keep your Crackerjack impersonations
at home! Contact
the clubs for details; ask about
happy hours and meal deals.
Polo By The Sea
Enjoy some light entertainment
and a few beverages as
you revel at the polo action
on Saturday, January 14th in
Hitchcock Park, Palm Beach.
polobythesea.com.au
Special Feature
JANUARY 2017 29

Summer in Pittwater
Special Feature
Model Boat Racing
Pittwater is the home of the
Maritime Model Boat Club of
NSW. They meet every 1st and
3rd Saturday of each month
at Middle Creek in Narrabeen.
Why not make the most of the
summer weather and check out
the miniaturised action on the
water. If you’re lucky someone
might give you a turn at
driving their boat… More info
modelboatclubnsw.com
Skate Park
A predominantly street-style
park with a mini bowl and a
refurbished vert ramp, the
new Mona Vale Skate Park is
huge hit with skateboarders,
bladers and BMX and scooterusers
of all ages and abilities
– and their parents. Situated
in Kitchener Park, the 1800m2
space has features that allow
progression of skill from beginner
to advanced.
On ya bike!
The BMX track at the JJ
Melbourne Hills Memorial
Reserve, Thompson Drive, Terrey
Hills is one of the best in
Sydney, especially for teens. It
has been upgraded and is now
at competition standard. The
Bairne track – starting at West
GLORIOUS FOOD: PB Market.
Head Road, 6.2km from the
junction with McCarrs Creek
Road – is an easy quiet ride
with great views and ideal for
beginners.
THE GREAT INDOORS
See a movie
If the weather has taken a turn
for the worse or you just need
to escape the summer heat,
why not catch a film at a local
cinema. Take your pick between
Avalon Cinema (39 Old
Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon) and
Warriewood Cinema (4 Vuko
Place, Warriewood). unitedcinemas.com.au
Summer Reading Club
Head to your nearest Northern
Beaches Council Library
to pick up a summer reading
guide and discover a wide
range of books to enjoy over
summer. There’s one available
for kids and adults. The
more you read, the better your
chance of winning books and
vouchers! northernbeaches.
nsw.gov.au.
Maritime Model Museum
See over 150 model ships,
including dioramas and working
scale models and maritime
artifacts. One boat was made
from over 12,000 matchsticks.
The museum also provides a
restoration service and they
can build models on commission
there is also a wide range
of memorabilia for sale. 15/20
Bungan St, Mona Vale.
Crazy Science Show
After sold-out performances
in 2016 the entertaining,
educational, quirky and oh so
different Crazy Science which
blends magic with science
returns for another big show
at Dee Why RSL Club on Jan
12 10.30am-12pm. Great value
too with tickets $10 for Adults
and Kids.Bookings 9454 4000.
Chocolate Making Courses
Never run out of chocolate
again! Learn to make your own
creations from the experts
– our local chocolatiers at
Lindsay & Edmunds Handmade
Organic Chocolate in Warriewood.
There are limited spots
available in January. lindsayandedmunds.com.au
MARKET FORCES
Beaches Market
Quality, fresh farmer’s produce,
baked goods, dairy,
fish and deli, jams, spices
and honey, clothes, jewellery
and hot food from around the
world. Every Friday rain, hail
or shine at Pittwater Rugby
Park, Warriewood.
Palm Beach Market
Head to Governor Phillip Park
on Sunday 22 Jan; browse and
buy homewares, fashion and
jewellery and chow down on
some great food. Buy a loaf
of fresh Brickfields bread,
grab some French or local
cheese or take home some
famous Mayfarm flowers;
for sustenance, have an Acai
super-food bowl or smoothie,
a Vietnamese Pho soup or a
great coffee.
30
JANUARY 2017

Summer in Pittwater
Pizza
The home-made bases at
Lucky and Pep’s are topped
with generous dollops of
ingredients. Try the Four
Seasons – cheese, tomato,
ham, prawns, mushrooms and
capsicum. ($13/$15.50/$21) The
local landmark is a great place
to star-gaze (as is celebs).
315 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport
Lunch Box
The Bento Boxes at Ninja are a
fresh kiss of goodness. Opt for
the Deluxe Bento, with tuna and
salmon sashimi, crisp tempura,
teriyaki salmon and trademark
Ninja Potatoes (deep fried, with
soy-based sweet syrup and
sesame seeds). ($24)
Shop 6 11-13 Avalon Pde, Avalon
Cheeseburger
The Rukus crew
specialise in organic,
raw and healthy
fare – but also offer
an American-style
cheeseburger, with
grain-fed beef , housemade
pickles, cheesy
ooze and secret
burger sauce ($11).
Vegie option, too. Shop
5c, 7 Robertson Rd,
Newport
Tacos
The fish tacos at Mexicano and MX have just the right amount of
batter, plus colourful slaw, chipotle mayo and pineapple chutney
(2 for $12). Also pork belly, beef brisket or grilled chicken. 2/209-211
Ocean St, North Narrabeen & 4a/1 Waratah St Mona Vale
Taste it!
. . . & tell ’em Pittwater Life sent you! *
Steak & ‘Chips’
The go-to at Avalon’s Bistro Boulevard is the Steak Frites
with Café de Paris Butter – eye fillet of beef smothered in
a home-made butter of spices, anchovies and fresh herbs
with (true) French fries ($36). Wicked! Also rib of beef (on
the bone) for 2 ($85). 40 Avalon Pde, Avalon
32
JANUARY 2017

Acai Bowl
Start the day the healthy
way with this energy combo
from Café Racer: granola,
banana, berries, edible
flowers, shredded coconut,
pear and organic bee pollen
($14). Plus new, nutritionistdevised
take-away summer
salads.
1 Park St, Mona Vale
Cold Seafood Platter
The tasting plate at The Boathouse is chockers with Sydney
Rock oysters, Tiger prawns, trout pate, smoked salmon, Kingfish
ceviche, tuna on crackers and a salad of kale, quinoa, beetroot,
labne, chickpeas, pomegranate and tahini-based dressing ($95).
Governor Phillip Park, Palm Beach
Splash Out
Let Jonah’s executive chef Logan
Campbell wow you – try fried
zucchini flowers stuffed with
prawns; Bass Grouper with peas,
eggplant, apple verbena puree and
crisp guanciale; passionfruit soufflé
with violet ice-cream and lychee
sauce. (Starts from 2 courses $88). 69
Bynya Rd, Whale Beach
Gelato
Is your body crying out for something
to lower its temperature? Head to Chill
Bar; 32 flavours made on site, offering
scoops ($4.50 for 1 through $8.50 for 3) plus
take-home packs. Try the Ferrero Rocher,
chocolate, mango or mandarin.
74 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon
Big Brekkie
This offering from Beco@
Chelsea hits the spot – 2
poached eggs, bacon, sausages
(chorizo), grilled tomato,
mushrooms, chilli beans, hash
brown, spinach and toast ($20).
They also do arguably the
best bacon + egg rolls ($7.50)
on the peninsula. 2/48 Old
Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon
Fish & Chips
Waterfront Cafe & General Store
celebrates flaky fillets of flathead
in a smidgeon of batter paired with
crispy chips, lemon and a tangy
homemade tartare. With views!
($29). Grilled option available. 1860
Pittwater Rd, Church Point
*No payments were received for the compilation of these reviews.
Special Feature
JANUARY 2017 33

Art Life
Art Life
Generations on show
A
new spacious gallery
supporting home grown
and interstate artists has
opened in Pittwater supported
by the talents of three generations
of local women.
Meet artists Anita Newman,
daughter Velia and 14-year-old
granddaughter Brittany from
Newmans Fine Art Mona Vale.
Born in the UK, Anita attended
the Worcester School of
Arts where she was educated
in all facets of art including
conservation.
After arriving in Australia she
met and married art dealer and
restorer Ian Luscombe Newman.
They moved to the Northern
Beaches in the 1960s where
they raised a family of four.
Anita continued attending art
classes in oil and mixed media
with Marjorie Penglase and
with natural talent became a
well-known Australian Romantic
Impressionist Oil painter,
selling in shows and galleries
around Sydney.
Ian started to frame Anita’s
paintings – and from there Bayview
Gallery was formed.
The Gallery operated for
more than 30 years before
closing when Ian passed away
in 2012.
Eldest daughter Velia grew
up among the oil paint and
picture frames, forming a close
bond with her father, learning
the trade and accompanying
him on visits to Sydney’s galleries
and art dealers.
“He was old school and a
very kind man, he helped many
artists get back on their feet
and supported several galleries,”
she said.
Velia started painting in
the 1980s and has been a
full-time artist (employing a
palette knife in thick-textured
bold strokes of colour) for
more than 16 years, selling in
America and Asia.
“I have wonderful clients all
over the globe – the strongest
demand comes from the USA,
they just love them,” Velia said.
Just as she was guided into
art at a young age the legacy
continues with her daughter
Brittany who has taken to producing
“Pollock-style” canvases.
“We recently did a threegenerations
show in Canberra,
with Brittany selling several
artworks,” Velia said proudly.
As well as showcasing a
large variety of styles, subjects
and sizes, Newmans Fine Art
has several investment paintings
for sale.
“Drawn from my late father’s
collections, the pieces include
works by Archibald winner
Geoff Dyer and the late David
Boyd,” Velia said.
The Gallery offers a ‘try before
you buy’, plus art restoration
and appraisals services are
available.
Open Mon-Fri at shop 7 / 1
Mona Vale Road (10am-5pm)
and weekends by appointment;
0410 612 467. – Lisa Offord
Eric’s palette
embraces
dramatic
waterways art
Newport artist Eric Martel’s
annual exhibition and art sale
runs from January 2-8. Selling
both locally and internationally,
Eric is an established northern
beaches artist renowned
for his vibrant interpretations
of Sydney’s stunning waterways,
cityscapes and signature
sailing boat series.
He combines his traditional
artistic background with the
freedom and texture of a
palette knife to authentically
capture the elements of wind
and water. Freehand splashes
of colour add contrast, drawing
the viewer into the work.
Eric’s art will appeal to anyone
with a love of seafaring, or
an appreciation of Sydney’s city
and waterscapes.
The exhibition and sale is on
at the Avalon Recreation Centre,
running from 10am-4pm
from Monday January 2 through
Sunday January 8. More info
0414 564 351.
34
JANUARY 2017

Artists Mark Rhodes and
Linda Crawford met when
they worked in the props department
for the closing ceremony
of the 2000 Olympics.
Fast forward to 2017 and
the pair are exhibiting together
at the Avalon Recreation
Centre from January 2-8.
“I always wanted to do an
exhibition with Linda – I greatly
admire her varied skills, a
great sense of aesthetics and
understanding of structural
form,” said Mark.
MRVA teachers delivering for all
Meredith Rasdall Visual Art continues to
achieve outstanding outcomes for the
local arts community, with students of all ages
benefitting from their highly trained mentors.
Meredith reports adult students sold a
record number of artworks at the Avalon
Market Day exhibition in November and their
Year 12 students achieved stellar results this
year – with all students receiving a Band 6 in
Visual Arts.
“Our children’s classes continue to develop
the confidence of our young artists, who have
produced some outstanding work,” Meredith
said. “At all times we encourage individual
expression.”
MRVA runs classes for school-aged children,
high school, HSC students and adults.
Teachers are all university-trained visual arts
high school teachers with over 30 years’
experience, including HSC body of work
marking.
MRVA works regularly in primary schools
running visual arts programs and teachers’
inservices. Teachers include Meredith (BEd
Assemblages and landscapes in harmony
The two have combined
their talents to produce a harmonious
show of assemblage
and landscape painting.
Mark’s says his paintings,
whilst still being reflective of
his definitive style, have further
developed with increased
definition and tonal contrast.
“I have been increasing the
layers, exploring colours that I
would not normally touch and
am enjoying the freedom of
greater variation,” he said.
Linda says her organic assemblages
explore the importance
of family, those we adopt
into our world and the magic
they weave into our lives.
Made from mixed media,
her work (in many materials
including cane, ceramics,
fabric, wire and found objects)
varies in scale, form and
complexity.
“The shadows that it creates
are quite striking with
the appropriate lighting and
placement,” she said. “My
current art practice is focusing
Visual Art; Liz Dunn (BEd Visual Art) and Nicky
Hodgson (BA Hons Graphic Design with postgrad
teaching certificate).
All teachers lecture in Visual Arts education
at Australian Catholic University.
Among this year’s HSC crop, Cait
Halsted (top left) was chosen to exhibit in
ARTEXPRESS and Ben Kusturin was chosen for
Manly Art Gallery’s ‘Express Yourself’.
MRVA are taking bookings for 2017, with
classes starting on Monday February 14.
Children and high school classes are held
at the Avalon Recreation Centre, with adult
classes held at the Avalon Sailing Club on the
shores of Pittwater.
Children’s holiday art workshops (left)
this January are ‘Under The Sea’ canvas
painting on Wednesday 18th and ‘Clay Owls’
on Thursday 19th. The workshops run from
10am-12pm and are suitable for children 5-12
years; cost is $50 per child.
Meredith is also available for private
tutoring; more info 0402 121 184 or meredith.
rasdall@westnet.com.au – Nigel Wall
on using mostly natural or
recycled materials.”
Mark and Linda’s Exhibition
2017 is open 10am-5pm daily;
more info 0425 268 198.
Art Life
JANUARY 2017 35

Art Life
Art Life
Sally’s new showing ‘in the pink’
Textile designer
Sally Campbell
is exhibiting a new
summer collection
of quilts, throws,
cushions, scarves
and clothing, at the
Avalon Recreation
Centre in January.
Her palette for the
New Year is raspberry,
musky pinks, teals
and muddy naturals.
All textiles are
designed by Sally and
hand-made by artisans in India – they are contemporary
designs made with ancient skills.
Sally works with weavers in Bengal to create
a unique range of hand-woven cotton reversible
quilts. Master craftsmen in Gujarat produce
Sally’s hand-embroidered silk and wool
throws in natural dyes of indigo and exotic
reds. And from villages in Rajasthan, expert
artisans hand block
prints for quilts and
cushions.
Sally prefers to
use natural dyes and
organic cottons which
are eco-friendly and
preserve sustainability.
Sally also reworks
old textiles and has
a great range of
vintage throws for
adults and babies,
as well as a unique
cushion range made from stunning old hand
embroideries – these special pieces are becoming
increasingly difficult to source.
This is the 10th year Sally has exhibited in
the New Year on the northern beaches. Find
her at the Avalon Recreation Centre from
January 11-7 (10am-5pm); more info www.
sallycampbell.com.au
Sailcloth
art takes
innovative
tack
This January marks the fifth
exhibition for innovative
artist Gemma Rasdall and her
renowned paintings on recycled
sailcloth.
For a born and bred sailor,
sailcloth was an obvious
choice of canvas for the young
artist to start with and she has
embraced the medium ever
since. The beautiful texture of
the weathered sails, donated
by family, friends or rescued
from the side of the road,
complement the watery illusions
of paints that run down
their surfaces.
Gemma’s latest collection of
work captures seascapes from
Palm Beach to Sydney Harbour,
drawing on memories from
her upbringing in beautiful
Pittwater alongside influences
from her new home in the
heart of the city.
Her exhibition is to run
as part of Northern Beaches
Council’s ‘Summer Art Space’
initiative at the Avalon Recreation
Centre alongside a group
of talented artists and designers
from January 3-8.
You can follow Gemma’s
artwork on Instagram @gemmarasdall
or contact her info@
gemmarasdall.com for more
information.
Opening night is Tuesday
January 3 (6-9pm) and thereafter
from 10am-5pm through
January 8. – Lisa Offord
36
JANUARY 2017

Serendipitous mix of flora and fauna
The art collaboration between
Julie Hickson and Tara
Winona is a tale of serendipity.
Living across the globe from
one another – Tara in London
and Julie in Sydney – the pair
met by chance through a mutual
friend, Sue Cruikshank of Redleaf
Gallery in Wahroonga. They
quickly bonded through their
love of art – and began to plot.
Several shared exhibitions
in England and Scotland later,
they are exhibiting in Australia
together for the first time in
January in Avalon.
Julie has enjoyed living in Newport
for the past 11 years and
since being in Pittwater has developed
her painting technique
using hand-cut stencils. Her
love of our unique botanic plant
forms and colour are explored
through a macro lens – resulting
in a stylised essence sometimes
bordering on the abstract.
Now newly returned to Australian
shores, this is the first time
that original paintings by Tara
will be shown here. Inspired by
a love affair with nature, Tara
shares emotions and tells stories
of her life journey through the
eyes of her animals.
Tara is represented by galleries
in the UK, Europe and Australia.
View the pair’s works at their
Summer Art Space at the Avalon
Recreation Centre; opening night
is on Monday January 2 (6-8pm)
and then from January 3 through
10. – Nigel Wall
Art Life
JANUARY 2017 37

Surfing Life
Saltwater cure: holiday
guide to our beaches
with Nick Carroll
Surfing Life
January here is like
nowhere else. I mean
really, it isn’t. Nowhere
else in the world do whole
nations just basically shut
the gate and go to the beach
for weeks. You want to take
advantage of this freakish
historical moment – the way
in which a basically European
winter holiday has somehow
grafted itself on to the
Southern Hemisphere summer,
in cahoots with national
wealth so great it can afford
for so many of us to kinda
vague out till mid-January. But
where to do your saltwater
wallowing? If you’re a visitor to
these beaches, here’s a brief
guide to the peninsula’s best.
Palm Beach
I’m always a bit irritated by
the press around Palmy at this
time of year. It’s always about
which celebrity is renting the
most expensive house, who
was seen at The Boathouse,
blah blah blah. It completely
ignores the Palm Beach coastal
and estuary environment,
which is extraordinary, everchanging,
and free of charge.
There’s so much space to
roam here, and most of it can
be navigated by pretty much
anyone, with care. The entire
northern half – Barrenjoey
and its isthmus – is worth a
couple of days on its own,
not to mention the beaches,
38
inhabited and otherwise, on
the western shore of northern
Pittwater, which you can
access by ferry and walking.
If you are super adventurous
and in the company of skilled
water-people, paddling a
kayak or surf-ski down the
northern side of the Joey will
blow your mind.
Whale Beach
A short beach with a lot of
headland on its southern rim,
Whaley is attractive real estate
but can be a dicey surf zone
proposition – the headlands
refract and focus swell energy,
and the beach often features
half-visible rips, backwashes
and other challenging water
features. It also has the
most ridiculously teeny rock
swimming pool on the northern
beaches! So cute. Otherwise,
“swim between the flags” kind
of goes twice as sternly here.
Avalon
Another fairly short beach
(below) with some underwater
rock zones near the shoreline,
a pretty cool and occasionally
surf-invaded rock pool at the
south end, heaps of surfers,
and large numbers of other
people, many of whom have
been made gentle fun of by
local film-makers in the ‘Avalon
Now’ series. The beach also
features the biggest single surf
club building on the beaches.
JANUARY 2017
It’s got a cafe and a restaurant
so you may as well make use
of it.
Bilgola
Possibly the least overdone
of all the beaches, Bilgola
(above, with Newport beyond)
has a good claim to the title
of Best North End. Sheltered
by a high-cliffed headland
that forms one end of a big
bay framed at the other end
by Newport Reef, north Billy
in sun and a late afternoon
north-east seabreeze is a fullon
sublime experience. It also
has the best rock pool north
of Narrabeen. But it also has
bugger-all parking. Don’t risk
a no-parking zone; there’s a
handful of residents who just
love alerting the rangers.
Newport
Expansive beach, exposed
to the north and sheltered to
some degree from the south
by the Diamond-Head-like
headland and by Little Reef,
which stretches 400 metres
or so to sea. Plenty of parking
and generally a safe enough
beach to swim. There’s a nice
rock pool at the southern end,
tucked under some fabulously
expensive real estate; if you’re
up for some rock-hopping, it’s
worth exploring that end and
its associated rock platforms,
but make sure it’s low tide
when you do it.
Bungan
Author’s disclaimer: I grew up
opposite Bungan Beach, at a
time when Barrenjoey Road
was a two-lane path with no
gutters. You could walk across
the main road whenever you
wanted because frequently,
several minutes would pass
between cars. The Bungan
escarpment has been built on
quite a bit since then, in some
cases by people with absolutely
no taste whatsoever! Spanish
tiles! I mean come on! But it’s
extraordinary how much of
the old beach’s feel of vague
remoteness remains. Unlike
Bilgola, there’s no rock pool;
like Bilgola, there’s bugger-all
parking.
Mona Vale
A bit like Newport, wide open
and expansive, this time
sheltered a bit from the north
by the ex-Bungan headland
and the rare and fascinating
Bongin Bongin basin, where
the northern beaches’ most
recent shark attack occurred,
in 2010, when a man was
bitten on the foot by a vaguely
pissed-off wobbegong. Don’t
let this turn you off wandering
around the Basin and taking
a walk up the headland
track, which is so riddled
with scenic views it’s almost
embarrassing. Gorgeous short
rock pool in the mid-beach
platform. Heaps of parking.

WOW! NICK’S FULL-YEAR SURF
FORECAST/OUTLOOK FOR 2017!
This year looks like it’ll be neutral on the ENSO scale, and
not likely to swing either El Nino’s or La Nina’s way, at least
in the first half, which means we’re likely to see very typical
conditions throughout, with some increased potential for
mid-year weather bombs and surf energy out of the southwest
Pacific (though we won’t see anything like this past
June’s megaswell). January will be cooler in parts than might
be expected, with some remainder south swell here and
there in the first half. Cloudy with sou-east winds in between
bursts of nor-east seabreezes and heat. This pattern will tail
off in February and March, and be followed by long hot flat
days without much wind and with occasional rushes of ENE
tradewind swell. April will bring an early hint of autumn/winter
with a shift toward offshore morning winds and appallingly
gorgeous conditions, but not much swell. May, some offseason
icy days, bursts of swell, sunny periods with little wind,
but without the nuclear-bomb ECL swells we see in more active
years. This should continue into June before we are afflicted
with a long and terrible flat spell well into July – winter swells
are likely to run pretty late. When they do establish themselves,
the winter’s classic south swells may be broken with an
apparently out of season north-east swell or two thanks to that
potentially more active SW Pacific. Spring and summer are a
bit far off but I’ll be surprised if they prove as active surf-wise
as the last months of 2016. This was an unusual year and the
patterns are unlikely to repeat themselves. Happy New Year!
Warriewood
Oddly aspected beach, facing
directly upwind in the classic
seabreeze, sheltered like a
reverse Bilgola in a southerly.
Something about the aspect
and the shape of the headland
feels very old, which is a bit
weird because this whole
coastline is pretty young
by geographic standards.
Warriewood has some tricks
– an occasionally heavy rip in
the south corner is one – and
the infamous Blowhole inside
the cliff line is both fun and
an injury waiting to happen.
Don’t be an idiot on this
beach.
The General Stuff
l Don’t worry about sharks.
This advice won’t help with
a true phobia, but honestly,
sharks are just not in any
way a significant concern
along the northern beaches.
Every beach is meshed and
patrolled in daylight hours.
l Be careful where you swim
directly after rain. Sewagepolluted
stormwater run-off
is the northern beaches’
dirty little secret. Pittwater
can be horrendous, with
numerous “overflow points”
along its eastern shoreline,
Nick Carroll
but the ocean beaches
aren’t as pure as they look
either. Normally the bacteria
will be killed off by salt
and sun exposure within a
few hours, so take the time
before jumping back in.
l Drinking alcohol and the
surf zone sooo don’t mix.
l It’s easy to overexpose. The
sun will fry you through
cloud and even a moderate
seabreeze will dehydrate
you in time. Move in and
out of direct exposure to
all the elements, and if you
wake up feeling drained and
headachey, stay indoors and
drink water all day.
l There’s no law saying you
have to swim between the
flags. It’s a choice. The flags
are there to show you the
safest place to swim. This
is especially important if
you’ve got kids or you’re not
a very experienced or strong
swimmer. Make a smart
choice about it.
Nick Carroll is a leading
Australian and international
surf writer, author, filmmaker
and surfer, and one
of Newport’s own. Email:
ncsurf@ozemail.com.au
JANUARY 2017 39
Surfing Life

Young Life
Barrenjoey
bands wow
Apple Isle
Young Life
Late November saw 59 students
from the combined
Barrenjoey High School
Bands embark on a 10-day tour
of Tasmania. John Stone, the
music coordinator at Barrenjoey,
set up a diverse array of
performance and workshop
opportunities to showcase
their talents.
The packed tour schedule
meant their first performance
was straight off the plane,
at the iconic MONA Gallery.
Throughout, they showcased
the broad scope of talent at
Barrenjoey High from the symphonic
wind ensemble, jazz
combos, rock band, soloists
and the acapella group.
Barrenjoey Bands and sing-
ers drew huge crowds on the
grass at Salamanca markets
– with the ultimate accolade
being audience members posing
for selfies in front of them
while playing.
They performed at several
primary and high schools – the
first a workshop at Taroona
High School on the shores of
the Derwent, where there is an
innovative, inclusive band program
involving every student
in Year 7 as a member of a
school band.
The final tour performance
included the Symphonic Wind
Orchestra playing the haunting
‘Southern Hymn’ in the
convict church at historic Port
Arthur (above), led by their tal-
GET YOUR TEENS ON SCREEN
With a combined 50 years’ experience, Toni Pearen and
Raelee Hill offer a fabulous opportunity for young actors
to discover tricks of the trade. Through Talent Co, the pair offer
acting courses on the northern beaches throughout the year.
Next term (Feb 8 – March 29) Toni and Raelee will run the popular
screen acting program for ages 12-17 at the Avalon Annexe.
Act now – classes are strictly limited to eight students. For
more info go to www.thetalentco.biz or call 9918 3440.
As well as juggling classes with motherhood Toni and Raelee
have been busy; Toni’s ‘Let’s Do Coffee’ program goes into its
third season for Channel 10 and Raelee has recently completed
filming the web series ‘Event: Zero’ and will narrate the Sydney
Festival production ‘You and Me and The Space Between’.
ented conductor Josh Hughes.
However, it wasn’t all performing.
The students were
given an insight into Tasmanian
culture and history whilst
exploring the sights. They
walked the beach at The Bay of
Fires, saw a fresh approach to
art at MONA, hiked to the Wine
Glass Bay lookout, rambled
through Salamanca Markets,
witnessed Mount Wellington’s
height from its peak, played
soccer in a Hobart park and
experienced Tasmania’s chilly
ocean at Freycinet peninsula.
The tour included experienced
senior students with
recent Year 12 graduates opting
to go on Band tour instead
of ‘schoolies’. The mentoring
and bonding across all ages
from Years 7 to 12 presented
an enriching experience.
A highlight for students was
seeing the Grigoryan Brothers,
world-renowned Australian
classical guitarists, playing at
the MONA Gallery, just a week
after the students themselves
played on the same stage.
– Heidi Wiseman (Yr 9)
Beach reading: the ultimate guide
T
he last crumbs of the Christmas cake
have been swept away, the new year’s
arrival celebrated… it’s time to relax and
read.
Top of our reading pile this summer is
an oldie but a goodie: Crazy Rich Asians
by Kevin Kwan ($22.99) – a delicious,
pacey and cleverly written satirical romp
through Singapore and the lives of the
incredibly wealthy and powerful family
who inhabit the tiny nation island.
Next up, Jaspar Jones by Craig Silvey
($23.99) has finally been made into a
film, so now is the time to read, or reread,
this moody fascinating 1960s Australian coming-of-age
novel set in a small regional mining town,
which is often billed as the Australian To Kill
a Mockingbird.
And finally, we expect to see Martin Cruz
Smith’s The Girl from Venice ($32.99) popping
up beach- and poolside for the year to come.
With so many “war” novels set during the
London Blitz, or occupation of Paris, Cruz
Smith’s use of Italy for his suspenseful story
of two estranged brothers uniting to rescue
a young Jewish girl during the dying days of
the German occupation was fascinating. A
book with broad appeal to many readers.
– Libby Armstrong
40
JANUARY 2017

Local Knox boys celebrate HSC success
Knox Grammar is celebrating
outstanding results in
the 2016 Higher School Certificate,
with more than 105 boys
attaining an ATAR of 90+.
Jackson Chen achieved the
‘perfect score’ of 99.95, while
18 boys achieved ATARs of 99+
Headmaster John Weeks
commented the results were
some of the best ever for the
school.
“Our teachers are over the
moon and so happy for the
boys,” Mr Weeks said. “We are
confident that our boys will be
heading off to their course and
university of choice in 2017 because
of these strong results.”
Knox ranked 28th out of
650 schools (Sydney Morning
Herald ranking, 15 December
2016), with 602 Band 6 results
(subject results of 90+).
“As a non-selective boys’
school, we are extremely
pleased with the rise in the
ATAR ranks. Each boy’s result
reflects his own commitment,
dedication and focus,”
continued Mr Weeks.
Twenty-six Knox boys
were placed on the Board
of Studies’ All Rounders
Achiever’s List for achieving
90 or higher in their
best 10 units, including
locals Tom Adams (Palm
Beach), Oscar Bruck
(Bayview) and Hayden Todoroski
(Collaroy). The others
were Jackson Chen, William
Bernhardt, Joshua Cannon,
Robert Clarke, Benjamin
Close, Callum Davis, James
de Meyrick, Timothy de
Solom, Joshua Geng, Neel
Iyer, Jake Jerogin, Thomas
Jiang, Nicholas Lane, Jerry
Li, Andrew Lin, Alexander
McConnell, Connor McFadden,
Scott Nelson, James Paik,
Seyoon Ragavan, Henry Shen,
Arran Thatcher and Jarrod
Watts.
Four Knox students placed in
the Top Achiever’s List for placing
in the top 20 in NSW in a
course: Timothy de Solom (3rd
in Music Extension), Nicholas
Lane (9th in Mathematics General
2), Seyoon Ragavan (9th in
Mathematics Extension 2 and
9th Software Design and
Development) and Arran
Thatcher (15th in Business
Studies).
Additionally, two Knox
students had their Visual
Arts Major Works selected
for exhibition in the ART-
EXPRESS showcase: Charlie
Grellman for ‘Bone Dry’
(Moree Plains Gallery) and
Spencer Wagner for ‘Natural
Aesthetics: balance, beauty
and harmony’ (The Armory,
Sydney Olympic Park).
A group of five Knox students
had their HSC Group
Drama Performance selected
for the OnSTAGE Showcase
event: Ned Campbell, Will
Cottle, Harry Newbery, Jack
Robson and Callum Thornton.
Young Life
JANUARY 2017 41

Sporting Life
Sporting Life
Sisters warm to Inter Branch
The experience sisters Madison
and Jodie Louw gained Jodie and Madi-
L-R: Sisters
son Louw; Joel
with the Sydney Northern
Piper; Olivia
Beaches representative team Heaton.
at the NSW Inter Branch Surf
Life Saving Championships is
something they won’t forget
and would like to do again if
given the opportunity.
Older sister Madison, 15, says
the environment was just so different
to what she has experienced
with the Sydney Breakers
in water polo.
“It was a lot more relaxed and
the coaches made the athletes
feel at ease,” Madison said
about the two-day carnival, held
at The Lakes on the Central
Coast last month.
“They stressed it was more
about the team than individual
performances and I felt that
took some of the pressure off
us. It was a really nice environment,”
she added.
Jodie agreed: “It was just
amazing. I loved it.”
But the girls, who were raised
in Bergvliet in South Africa and
settled in Sydney at the ages
of six and four, were seriously
considering moving away from
surf sports.
Both started to make a real
impact with their club Newport
last season.
Maddie revealed she just
didn’t like the short boards.
“But once I started paddling
longer boards I knew then
that’s what I really liked. It’s my
favourite,” she said.
“My coaches James (Brooks),
Nick (Carroll) and Trent (Herring)
have kept me going.
“I also swim at Carlile Swimming
and my times over 400m
and 800m have gotten so
much better, I can thank my
coach Ryo (Kito) for that.”
Apart from having her sister
in the same team, Maddie also
had good friend Eliza Curll
(Manly) competing with her in
the under 15s.
“We’ve been away together in
water polo teams at Nationals
and Pan Pacs,” Maddie said.
“It was so good racing with
her at the Central Coast.”
Maddie, who came third in
the iron at Inter Branch and
looked set for a top-three finish
on the board until a pack came
through on a wave, will now
turn her focus to the big Manly
and Freshwater carnivals on
January 28 and 29.
Jodie doesn’t remember
much about her life growing up
in South Africa. “I know it was a
lot colder over there,” she said.
When she arrived in Australia,
the family made Narrabeen
their first home and the girls
joined Collaroy nippers.
Ocean swims a huge benefit to SLS clubs
Thousands of swimmers are expected
to descend on Pittwater for the
annual Pittwater Ocean Swim Series in
the New Year over January.
The first of the series was held on 11
December at Bilgola with the balance of the
swims to be held at Newport on 8 January,
Avalon 15 January, Mona Vale 22 January
and the Big Swim (Palm Beach to Whale
Beach) completing the series on 29 January.
The series is sponsored by Northern
Beaches Council and swimmers who
complete three of the five swims,
including Bilgola, will go in the draw for
a luxury trip to Byron Bay.
One of the organisers of the series,
John Guthrie, said it was literally a
bonanza for ocean swimmers who come
to Pittwater to enjoy an ocean swim
almost every weekend in January.
“Ocean swimming has become very
popular with swimmers of all ages and
we are expecting swimmers from around
Australia and many overseas countries to
take part. It’s a major boost for tourism
and local businesses as most ocean
swimmers bring friends and family
members with them.
42
“The ocean swims are major fund
raisers for each surf club involved with
money raised going towards vital life
saving equipment. It’s a win-win for
everyone because it helps to make the
clubs more efficient and in turn the
beaches are safer,” said John.
“There are swimmers of all capabilities,
including champion swimmers, down
to the hackers like myself who enjoy the
challenge of getting out through the break
and completing the course. Each swim has
a large safety craft contingent to monitor
swimmers as well as pick up those who
have run out of puff.
JANUARY 2017
“All swimmers regardless of their swim
time will go in the draw for the major
series prize of a trip for two to Byron
Bay with entry into the Byron Bay Classic
ocean swim.
“The prize includes air fares and
transfers courtesy of Travel View Avalon
and the winners will be staying at Bay
Royal Luxury Apartments for three
nights. It’s a great prize and all the clubs
also have a range of prizes on the day of
their swims,” John added.
Paul Hardcastle, last year’s winner
of the Byron Bay luxury trip, said: “To
have been chosen as the winner of this
event is really the icing on the cake!
My wife and I enjoyed a long weekend
at Byron Bay with our accommodation
being excellent with the bonus of being
directly opposite the race SLSC.”
Each club has a shorter swim course
for those who would like to try an ocean
swim; these have proven very popular in
recent years.
To enter visit www.oceanswims.com
– you’ll find full details of each swim,
including entry fees, starting times and
other info.

But they later moved to
Newport.
“It’s such a nice community
and I can hear the waves from
where I live,” Jodie said.
Jodie revealed she wasn’t enjoying
it (surfing) last season.
“The fact that there are now
more girls training is good and
I just love the swim,” she said.
Jodie won the under-13 surf
race at Inter Branch. “I really
can’t wait for the State titles
now,” she said.
But, for the time being, she
has water polo commitments.
Their Newport clubmates
Olivia Heaton and Joel Piper
were two of the top performers
at Inter Branch.
Olivia is getting stronger and
stronger on the board and took
out the youth female board, as
well as the ski.
Joel won the under-13 surf
and ironman but had bad luck
in the board race. He was leading
but had a mishap around
the last buoy. He came off and
the board went through on the
inside of the buoy. Joel hopped
back on and was first home.
However, judges disqualified
him as he had to be on the
board when turning the last
can.
Sydney Northern Beaches
failed to retain the title, losing
by 16 points to Sydney Branch.
– John Taylor
Sporting Life
JANUARY 2017 43

Sporting Life
Sporting Life
PP Netball 2017 program dates
Excitement and
anticipation for the
2017 season is building
for Pittwater Peninsula
Netball, who are preparing
a host of programs for
both established and new
members.
The long-established club
boasts a catchcry of ‘Come
join us for fun, fitness and
friends’.
NetSetGo (7 years in 2017)
is an eight-week program
for players turning seven in
2017. The real satisfaction
and enjoyment for young
players is the learning and
mastering of game skills
and the ability to interact
with friends. Modified
facilities and equipment
are used in this enjoyable
and educational program
which commences on Friday
28th April in the Avalon
Recreation Centre (5pm-
6pm). It’s a wonderful
introduction to the sport,
with players joining this
program as individuals, not
as a team
Also, NetSetGo Netta (for
8/9yrs) Skill Development
Clinics for registered players
will be held on consecutive
Fridays (February 10 and
17) from 4.30pm-5.30pm in
Avalon Recreation Centre.
This program is for players
turning 8/9yrs in 2017; it’s
an introductory program
which is modified to provide
the following benefits:
it’s safe to play, but still
challenging; it places
emphasis on fun and the
development of skill; and
it adopts modified netball
rules.
Importantly, junior team
formation – for players
turning age 10 up to age
15 in 2017 – commences on
Monday February 6 at the
Avalon Recreation Centre.
Save The Dates
Ages and dates are:
10 years – Mon 6th & 13th
Feb (4.30pm-6pm)
11 years – Tues 7th & 14th
Feb (4.30pm-6pm)
12 years – Wed 8th & 15th
Feb (4.30pm-
6pm)
13 years – Wed 8th & 15th
Feb (6pm-7pm)
14 years – Thurs 9th & 16th
Feb (5pm-6pm)
15 years – Thurs, 9th & 16th
Feb (6pm-7pm)
Other teams (Under-17s and
Seniors) are on Wednesday
8th Feb at 7pm.
44
JANUARY 2017
For more information
email peninsulanetball@
hotmail.com

Avalon aims for
success in 2017
Avalon Soccer Club is
gearing up for another
great year down at ‘The Bay’
and would like to welcome
members, current and new, to
season 2017.
Online registrations open
Mon 9 January, 2017 via www.
avalonsoccerclub.com.au.
This is also the best source
for general information about
the club and the season ahead.
The Club will be holding their
registration/information days
at the Careel Bay Clubhouse
on successive Saturdays – 4th
February and 11th February
from 9am-1pm – as well as
Wednesday 8th February from
7-9pm. They will also be selling
new playing gear and club
merchandise at great prices.
Avalon SC prides itself
on a friendly, family club
environment. The club
comprises over 1,100 players
aged from 5 to 70, who enjoy
playing the beautiful game at a
variety of levels and is entirely
run by a group of highly
dedicated volunteers.
AVSC strives to provide
the best possible playing and
coaching environment with
the resources at their disposal.
They put a great emphasis on
player development and coach
education at all skill levels.
They are fortunate to
boast two experienced and
professional coaches as
their Directors of Coaching.
This allows them to provide
members with quality coach
education and academy-style
coaching ‘in-house’.
Their dedication to player
development has led to some
great success in recent seasons
and they look to build on this
in 2017.
Some of their recent
achievements include:
n MWFA Women’s Premier
League FA Cup Winners 2016
(pictured);
n W14-1 Champion of Champions
Finalist 2016;
n W18-1 Champion of Champions
Finalist 2015;
n W16-1 Champion of Champions
Winners 2013
& 2014;
n MWFA Presidents Cup for Best
Junior Club 2013;
n FFA Junior Team of the Year
2012 (W16-1);
n Five successful tours to
Vanuatu, promoting cultural
exchange and women’s football
in the region.
Planning and fundraising for
their 2017 tour of Vanuatu is well
advanced. Due to the success
of the annual Vanuatu Tour for
girls there are now plans for an
equivalent youth boy’s tour. The
Club will again be encouraging
teams to take part in the 2017
Kanga Cup in Canberra.
As part of their effort to
continually improve the facilities
at Careel Bay, new lighting was
installed on the mini fields in 2016
which will greatly increase the
area available for training after
dark and future night matches.
New fencing has been erected
around field 1, with plans to
complete the other fields in 2017.
A lot of the Club’s success
is due to the hard work of the
great committee and volunteers
at Careel Bay, who really
make everyone welcome and
ensure the atmosphere is one
of a friendly community club.
More info contact president@
avalonsoccerclub.com.au
– John Kowtan
JANUARY 2017 45
Sporting Life

Health & Wellbeing
Clear message on UV
& sunglass protection
with Rowena Beckenham
Health & Wellbeing
Protecting your eyes
from harmful UV rays is
essential to minimise the
risk of eye disease. The longterm
effects of sunburned
eyes are cumulative.
Cataract, pterygium, macular
degeneration and melanomas
of older age likely begin with
childhood UV exposure.
Polarised prescription and
non-prescription sunglasses
enhance contrast and provide
greater colour perception than
traditional sun lenses for all
outdoor activities, especially
around water. These lenses
eliminate dangerous glare and
provide greater clarity and
safety.
Clinical studies have
measured driver reaction
times whilst wearing polarised
lenses versus ordinary tinted
sunglasses. It was found driver
reaction times were improved,
with a car travelling at 80km/h
stopping 7m sooner. That’s
the length of an intersection
and could mean the difference
between being in an accident,
or avoiding one.
Locally I ran a study
with Avalon Beach
volunteer lifeguards, which
demonstrated the benefits
of polarising lenses over
non-polarising lenses across
several activities during a
day. Interestingly, the results
showed polarised lenses
performed far better on dull
days (as well as bright days)
when UV exposure is still very
high, but when most people
take their sunglasses off.
The message from these
studies is, that while we have
high standards for sunglasses
in Australia, polarised
lenses provide superior eye
protection and clarity. (If
you’re not sure how good your
sunglass lenses are, call in to
Beckenham Optometrist for
a free service and we can run
your sunglasses through a UV
meter and measure the lens
performance.)
Finally, children should
be wearing sunglasses as
they are outdoors much
more than adults. Half their
lifetime exposure to the sun
will occur within their first 20
years. The message is: the
earlier kids wear sunglasses,
the less risk of eye disease
later in life.
Comment supplied by Rowena Beckenham, of
Beckenham Optometrist in Avalon (9918 0616). Rowena
has been involved in all facets of independent private
practice optometry in Avalon for 16 years, in addition
to working as a consultant to the optometric and
pharmaceutical industry, and regularly volunteering in
Aboriginal eyecare programs in regional NSW.
Learn bridge, boost the brain
Fun is the focus of the beginners’
classes at Peninsula
Bridge Club, Warriewood, with
follow-up practice games
helping novices grow in confidence.
Lessons start February:
Thurs mornings 9am-11.30am
and Mon nights 7pm-9pm.
Registration from mid-January.
The club’s Cath Whiddon says
over 100 newcomers have said
they feel bridge has boosted
their brain power. More info
phone 9979 5752.
46
JANUARY 2017

Eat smart, maintain weight
On average Australians
gain 0.8-1.5kg over the
January holiday period. Here
are some things you can do
now, compiled with some tips
from the experts at Nutrition
Australia, to prevent unwanted
weight gain.
l Avoid going hungry to
parties; it reduces your
chances of snacking on high
calorie party food.
Party foods to enjoy include:
l Vegetable sticks, pretzels,
rice crackers, hummus,
beetroot, tzatziki, avocado
dip, sushi, sandwiches,
quiches, fruit salad with
yoghurt.
l Watch your portion sizes. If
you tend to finish everything
in front of you, use an entrée
plate instead of a dinner
plate. That way you will eat
less.
l Watch what you drink.
Drinking alcohol (1 or 2
standard drinks a day) may
add to enjoyment at events,
but drinking too much
alcohol can lead to weight
gain.
l Be careful with top-ups.
Topping up your glass can
lead to you losing count of
the amount you have been
drinking. Finish one glass
before accepting a top-up.
l Start your day with some
exercise, as it can set you
up for better behaviour for
the rest of the day. Research
shows women who squeezed
in a work out in the morning
moved more during the day
and had less cravings for
high fat foods.
l Set yourself an exercise
challenge for the New Year
such as a big swim or fun run
or a paddle or coastal walk.
l Play with your kids. They
enjoy it when you watch their
games, but they love it when
you join in with them. Think
outdoor cricket, throwing
a Frisbee, bike riding,
swimming, surfing.
Health & Wellbeing
JANUARY 2017 47

Health & Wellbeing
48
JANUARY 2017

Health & Wellbeing
Eco Corner
How long should stuff last?
In these days of built-in
obsolescence, we forget that
plastic lasts forever.
And we’re surrounded by it,
store food in it, drink from it
and even wear it. But we now
realise that its widespread
use is catastrophic to the
environment. It was hailed
as a new wonder and it’s
here to stay, so let’s focus on
avoidance of single-use plastic
and reduce, reuse and recycle!
Fortunately, the
environmentally aware and
enterprising are addressing
our exposure by seeking
innovative ways to reuse
plastic; plastic (PET) bottles
are now recycled to make eco
filling for pillows, for example.
But it’s not all plain sailing,
as in the case of recycling PET
bottles to make clothing. We’re
now aware of microfibers.
These are less than 1mm in
size and are thought to be the
greatest source of plastic in
the ocean, which come from
washing synthetic clothes.
So mid-holiday season, with
recycling bins overflowing, be
sure to do the right thing and
recycle packaging correctly.
It’s great to see social
media playing a positive
role enabling Buy Swap
Sell platforms to flourish,
testament to the old adage
“one man’s trash is another
man’s treasure”. This supports
the Northern Beaches’ ‘Sort it
Out’ campaign, encouraging
a shift away from kerb-side
collection to reuse and recycle.
And from 1st July you’ll be,
able to swap your cans and
bottles for cash, thanks to the
Container Deposit Scheme – a
strategy to reduce waste by
almost half by 2020.
Diamonds are scarce and
last forever. Unfortunately,
plastic is abundant and
also lasts forever, so use it
sparingly.
Pursuit of happiness:
put down that screen
Wishing for a happy and
healthy 2017? The fact
you are reading something
that isn’t on a computer or
phone signals you are off to a
good start.
Strong social relationships
and offline human
connections are the key to
happiness for Australians,
according to new research
conducted by the Australian
Psychological Society (APS).
According to the Compass
for Life Survey, human
connections took the top spot
on Australia’s wellbeing scale,
with the survey finding people
who connected with family,
partner and/or children daily,
and those who caught up with
colleagues socially as well as
those who were connected into
their communities in a variety
of ways, had higher wellbeing
scores than those who didn’t.
The survey also found
adults reporting a high usage
of social media, a platform
designed to bring people
closer together, reported
significantly higher levels
of loneliness and negative
emotions.
Overall the survey of 1,000
Australian adults and 518
adolescents found Australians
report a positive sense of
wellbeing.
Other factors linked to a
more satisfied life included:
getting a good night’s sleep,
keeping active, engaging in
relaxation, eating well and
having a hobby and being
open to new experiences,
including travel and learning.
The survey found the
happiest Australians practise
mindfulness and “live in the
moment”.
Interestingly older
Australians (aged 65-plus)
have significantly higher levels
of wellbeing and lower levels
of loneliness and negative
emotions than the rest of the
population.
People aged 25-34 scored
significantly higher on
loneliness than adults 35
years and over.
And although money and
wealth are rated in the top
three things that come to
mind when Australians are
asked what makes a good
life, household income was
unrelated to wellbeing.
The APS noted an
unexpected finding was
that adolescents who
consumed food from fast
food restaurants every day
reported higher scores on
several indicators of overall
wellbeing.
The research suggests a
possible explanation for this
result is that eating at such
venues engages young people
in social activity, contributing
to overall wellbeing.
– Lisa Offord
Health & Wellbeing
Russell
Lamb is the
Founder of
ecodownunder
JANUARY 2017 49

Health & Wellbeing
Health & Wellbeing
Become a ‘robo’ bowler
If you are interested in taking
up lawn bowls at any
level, or have been injured
and want to get back into
the game, give the Newport
Bowling Club a bell.
The little spot on the
corner of Palm Rd and Barrenjoey
Road is bracing for
a big year, with the game
on the Northern Beaches
going through changing
times, according to President
Bruce Dell.
“Lawn bowls is a game
for all ages, in fact the
average age of the current
Australian Lawn Bowls
team is lower than that
of the Australian Cricket
Team.
“Barefoot bowlers and
baby boomers are predicted
to help boost player
numbers in the future,”
Bruce said.
One of Newport’s
initiatives has been to
pioneer the introduction of
mechanical bowling arms.
The arms allow players
with back, shoulder or knee
problems to continue in
the sport despite physical
setbacks.
The club has the only
accredited bowling arm
coaches on the northern
beaches.
“We now have 12 bowlers
using these arms –
women’s coach Chris Hastie
(pictured) and men’s
coach Eric Martel are very
competitive “arm” bowlers
and would also welcome
enquiries to assist other
clubs,” Bruce said.
Newport welcomes new
bowling members (free
coaching is provided),
barefoot bowlers and
social members.
For more info call 9999
1661 or visit newportbowlingclub.com.au
50
JANUARY 2017

Hair & Beauty
Help your skin face the
challenges of summer
with Sue Carroll
There are several issues
that can challenge
the appearance of the
body’s skin. When it comes
to the body, we all strive for a
smooth tone and texture, and
a youthful, firm appearance
of the skin. Beyond the visual
signs of aging, the body skin
is subject to a host of other
skin issues such as cellulite,
eczema and keratosis pilaris
– particularly in summer
when the skin is exposed, self
esteem can be significantly
impacted. But there are a host
of solutions available to be
performed both in the clinic
and at home.
Eczema is not contained
to a specific part of the
body and may present as an
itchy, red rash; it can also
be dry and can cause severe
cracking of the skin. The
cause of eczema is not known
but some doctors believe it
may be inherited or linked
to allergic diseases. Triggers
to aggravate eczema may
include soaps and detergents,
extreme temperatures, pollen
and dust, foods like dairy and
soy and last but not the least,
stress.
The goal with eczema is
to heal, nourish and hydrate.
In the treatment room the
key will be gentle exfoliation
and nourishment for the skin
topically, along with deep
relaxation. At home, hot
or cold baths and showers
should be avoided, while
a humidifier in dry, cold
conditions may provide
some relief. Also, loose
soft natural fibre clothing
will limit irritation to the
skin. For topical home care,
products containing omega 3
essential fatty acids, growth
factors and hydrocortisone
ingredients will provide some
nourishment and relief.
Cellulite occurs more often
in women than in men. It is
the protrusion or cleaving
of subcutaneous fat within
fibrous connective tissue
which causes the skin to
dimple. Fat is certainly one
component of the appearance
of cellulite. Fibrous connective
tissue adheres skin to the
muscle beneath. As the body
ages, this connective tissue
contracts and stiffens, causing
it to pull down or tighten
the skin to push fat cells out
against the skin. While there is
no absolute cure for cellulite,
a healthy lifestyle will go far to
prevent and correct it.
Treatments in the clinic will
increase circulation, flushing
toxins and strengthening
collagen. Home care will
involve daily dry body
brushing and the application
of gels or creams after this to
help stimulate the circulation
and smooth the appearance of
the skin.
Keratosis Pilaris, (KP) is a
common skin condition that
causes rough patches and
small red bumps, resulting
from clogged follicles. KP is
found typically around hair
follicles on the arms, thighs,
cheeks and buttocks. While
painless and non-contagious,
it can be a chronic skin
condition that troubles many
due to the ‘goose bump’
appearance. KP tends to worsen
in dry conditions, and can be
increased with over-exposure
to the sun. In the treatment
room, peels containing L-Lactic
acid and Salicylic acid will
be the most effective way
to approach KP. This will be
finished with skin building
and healing ingredients like
growth factors, amino acids
and oxygenators to stimulate
respiration and circulation. For
home care, dry body brushing
should be performed daily
prior to showering. This is then
followed with an application of
a solution with a 10% L-Lactic
acid and Salicylic acid with a
pH of 3. During the day and
evening, an application of a
topical product containing
ingredients such as willow herb,
tocopherols, omega 3s and
epidermal growth factors will
hydrate, nourish and reduce
inflammation of the skin.
With the beginning of the
new year it is a great time
to focus on yourself. Start
working on those areas of
your skin you had previously
covered up or tried to
camouflage with makeup.
Working on both the inside
and the outside of your body
will provide faster and longerlasting
results.
Sue Carroll of Skin
Inspiration writes on
beauty trends and treatments
for Pittwater Life.
She has been a fully qualified
Aesthetician for 33 years.
Sue has owned and
operated successful beauty
clinics and day spas on
the Northern Beaches.
info@skininspiration.com.au
www.skininspiration.com.au
JANUARY 2017 51
Hair & Beauty

Business Life: Money
Business Life
Was Eddie the problem
or merely a symptom?
So they finally locked up
Eddie Obeid and the
headlines the next day
screamed ‘Justice!’ While there
seems to be little doubt that
Eddie deserved to be sent away,
the charges they finally got him
on were on par with jailing Al
Capone for tax evasion. The
trouble with Eddie Obeid and
others like him is that when we
discover them and send them
away we also lose a sizable
chunk of confidence in the
‘System’, the System being
our Australian politico-legaleconomic
world in which we live
and work.
And it would seem the System
has been copping a bit of a
hiding lately.
Simple crooks, like Obeid,
have been around for as long
as the world has had more than
two people in it competing for
scarce resources. It seems to
me that the bigger problem is
that the System itself is under
some strain and we need to
be more concerned about that
than a single spiv jailed for
feathering his nest.
Faith and trust in the System
is being challenged because
so many of the key building
blocks are under threat. I
haven’t got the space here
to outline all of the recently
publicised woes of our old
and significant institutions
but I think you understand
the main ones I am referring
to – our banks with their
financial planning and rate
fixing scandals; corruption
through large parts of the
union movement laid bare by
a recent Royal Commission;
examples of self-serving
behaviour of churches and
educational institutions also
laid bare by a recent Royal
Commission; sporting clubs
struggling with issues such as
match fixing and the behaviour
of highly paid superstars.
In any discussion about the
System, the head of the snake
is always the political class and
just as with any profession,
random acts of stupidity will
always be a feature. In this
context Barry O’Farrell’s bottle
of Grange, Sam Dastyari’s
dislike of paying travel
expenses or Bronwyn Bishop’s
helicopter ride are all pretty
good examples. In a similar
vein people understand that
within our particular system,
partisanship happens with
examples like Joe Hockey being
installed as US ambassador or
George Brandis recently naming
two former Liberal MPs to plum
roles as Federal Commissioners
on $200k salaries.
But what is more worrying
about politics to me (and I
suspect many others as well)
is the question of what were
the other pollies or highly paid
servants of the public doing
while Eddie was feathering
his nest? According to Kate
McClymont’s reporting in
The Sydney Morning Herald
Eddie was gainfully occupied
orchestrating non-arm’s
length deals with various NSW
government departments from
his time as a newly minted
backbencher all the way through
to when he was an esteemed
member of cabinet.
with Brian Hrnjak
He was a Labor right
wing powerbroker, part
of the so-called Terrigal’s
group, a major fund-raiser
in the ALP who was able to
influence if not determine
the choice and fate of the
Premier of NSW. He is alleged
to have lobbied elected
members and public servants
extensively; in other words
the man did not operate in a
vacuum.
McClymont reported that
when the issue of Offset
Alpine was raised in the
NSW Parliament in 2012, ALP
police minister Mike Gallacher
apparently said: “I hear people
saying that a name is missing
from that list: Where there is
smoke, there is Eddie.”
The most heavily traded
commodity in political circles is
gossip. Governments and the
public service leak like sieves
(to both sides of politics and
the press) yet Eddie apparently
came to grief over some
perjured evidence given to ICAC
by his son Moses.
This year more than any
other was a watershed one for
politics. This is the year that
the voting public confounded
the betting markets and the
52
JANUARY 2017

pollsters by giving us Brexit, the
return of One Nation and the
election of Donald Trump, in
that order.
Average people have long
thought that our politicians have
evolved into a separate political
class and that they are out of
touch with the needs, wants
and aspirations of the average
voter. The day after Eddie Obeid
was sentenced to five years’
jail it probably wasn’t the best
look to have photos appear in
the Australian and the Financial
Review newspapers of past
and present political leaders
(although not the current PM),
heads of banking and the media
(two of our most regulated
industries), at a Christmas
function at ‘Aussie‘ John
Symonds harbour side mansion.
The court of public opinion
doesn’t operate under the same
rules as our legal system – in
this forum perception is reality.
To restore faith in the System,
even though he was eventually
jailed, our political leaders still
need to reassure the public that
the System did not in any way
protect Obeid through silence
or omission.
Brian Hrnjak B Bus CPA (FPS) LREA is a Director of GHR
Accounting Group Pty Ltd, Certified Practising Accountants,
Authorised Representative of Australian Unity Personal
Financial Services Ltd, ABN: 26 098 725 145, Australian
Financial Services Licence Number 234459 and licensee in
charge of AltRE Real Estate. Offices: Suite 12, Ground Floor, 20
Bungan Street Mona Vale NSW 2103 and Shop 8, 9 – 15 Central
Ave Manly NSW 2095, Telephone: 02 9979-4300, Webs: www.
ghr.com.au and www.altre.com.au Email: brian@ghr.com.au
These comments are of a general nature only and are not
intended as a substitute for professional advice. This article
is not an offer or recommendation of any securities or other
financial products offered by any company or person.
Business Life
JANUARY 2017 53

Business Life: Finance
Business Life
Welcome to 2017 – and
the much bigger picture
Writing a monthly
article about the stock
market presents a few
timing challenges. Between
the time that an article is
submitted and the date of
publication (even if just days),
the world can be turned on its
head – and quite often is.
At the time of writing this
column the Dow Jones Index
of the top 30 stocks was
nudging 20,000. Where it will
be at the time of publication
is anyone’s guess.
Such is the nature of how
the markets have become
increasingly short term
focused, so, the task at hand
takes on more of a biggerpicture
strategy, which is where
we attempt to guide people to
in any case. In 2017 volatility
and risk are going to go into
overdrive as investors look to
any utterance from Donald
Trump for clues about potential
investment opportunities either
locally or abroad.
There is even a firm in
the US that has created an
algorithm to trade in and
out of stocks based on the
potential instantaneous
reaction to ‘tweets’ put out by
President elect Donald Trump.
There are algorithm trading
platforms where investors
can react to minute-by-minute
newsfeeds, whether real or
fake. A couple of months
ago a fake news item caused
a European stock to fall as
much as 30% in a matter of
minutes – by the time the
company had reacted and
disclosed to the market that
the news release was false
and fraudulent, investors who
traded on the news release
had lost significant amounts
of money.
Due to the instantaneous
nature of political and
economic events markets are
being continually whipsawed
and these moves will only
intensify. So if you don’t
understand risk, don’t invest.
54
When we look for growth
and businesses to invest
in we spend months and
sometimes years looking at
the industry, the sector, their
people, their prospects and
the bigger picture. It’s
extremely distracting
for investors to look at
the miniature of every
nuance and react and
then regret.
The difference with
owning an investment
property as opposed
to owning listed
securities is that you
can’t look up the price
of the property every
minute of every day
like you can in the
stock market. We place
a great deal of faith in
the people behind the
company and below
I have listed some
signposts to look for
when researching
smaller companies.
The People
Good people behind a
company make a difference
– especially for small
companies that have big
growth potential.
Here are the key things to
look for:
n A proven track record
in building successful
businesses.
n A well-established network
of connections and ability to
nurture strategic relations.
n Ability to raise capital in a
tough economic environment.
n Skin in the game: ownership
of shares in the company
represents a real stake in the
future prospects.
n Management that is
respectful of shareholder
funds: not spending excessive
money on General and
Administrative expenses or
overpaying themselves.
In 2017 we will continue
to see growth come from
emerging economies. Just
JANUARY 2017
watching the scale of the
development in Asia is
something to behold. By
way of example, whilst here
we argue and lobby about
the new Sydney Airport, in
with Simon Bond
(APM) system connecting
Terminal 2 with the new
passenger building and
capable of transporting up to
10,800 passengers her hour.
– A new Baggage Handling
System (BHS) linking
Terminal 2 with the
new Third Runway
Passenger Building.
– Construction of
other associated airport
support infrastructure,
a road network and
transportation facilities.
On completion of
the 3RS project, HKIA
will be able to serve 30
million more passengers
annually, as forecasted
in the HKIA Master Plan
2030. As a point of
comparison, the airport
had served 68.5 million
passengers and handled
4.38 million tonnes of
cargo and 406,000 air
traffic movements in
2015.
The master plan
accommodates further
expansion of the passenger
building facilities in the
future, as needed.
That’s progress. The World
Economic Forum regularly
publishes its expectations
for world growth and the
economies just north of us
feature prominently into their
views and predictions for the
future.
people, their prospects and the new Sydney Airport, in A new Baggage Handling
Hong Kong there is a not
insignificant expansion
underway.
The scope of the Hong
Kong 3RS project approaches
the design and construction
of a new airport:
– Reclamation of
approximately 650 hectares
of land north of the existing
airport island, using nondredge
methods such as
a deep cement mixing
technique.
– A new 3,800-metre
runway and supporting
taxiway systems, as well
as reconfiguration of the
existing north runway.
– A Third Runway Passenger
Building with more than
280,000 square metres of
floor space, 57 new parking
spaces, and an apron.
– Expansion of the existing
Terminal 2 to provide
arrival, departure and other
passenger services.
– A new 2,600-metre
Automated People Mover
Simon Bond of Morgans
Newport (9998 4200) has
been actively involved in
all aspects of Stockbroking
since 1987. Simon’s area of
expertise includes equities,
portfolio management,
short-term trading, longterm
strategies, derivatives
and fixed interest. His focus
is on how technology is
changing the investment
landscape, demographic
trends and how they
influence equity markets.

JANUARY 2017 55

Business Life: Law
Business Life
Inquiry into Elder Abuse
& proposals for change
resentative roles, including:
1. prevention of abuse
2. mitigation of abuse
3. reporting of abuse
4. remedies for abuse
5. penalties for abuse, and
n provide specific protections
against elder abuse.
An Issues Paper was released
in June this year and
in response to it, more than
200 submissions from the
aged care sector, lawyers,
advocates and victims of elder
abuse were received by the
ALRC, which issued a Discussion
paper last month.
The Discussion paper
proposes:
n A national register of powers
of attorney;
n That enduring powers of
attorney be witnessed by two
people;
n That the Code of Banking
Practice requires banks try to
prevent financial elder abuse;
n A new national employment
screening process for Australian
Government aged care
workers;
n A reportable incidents
scheme in aged care that
requires staff to report to
Aged Care Complaints Commissioner;
n That the Law Council of Australia
review the guidelines for
with Jennifer Harris
Early this year the Federal
Attorney General Senator
George Brandis issued
terms of reference to the
Australian Law Reform Commission
(ALRC) for inquiry and
report on
n “Existing Commonwealth
laws and frameworks
which seek to safeguard
and protect older persons
from misuse or abuse by
formal and informal carers,
supporters, representatives
and others.” These included
regulation of:
1. Financial institutions
2. Superannuation
3. Social Security
4. Living care arrangements,
and
5. Health
n The interaction and relationship
of these laws with state
and territory laws.
In conducting the inquiry,
the ALRC was tasked with
considering best practice laws,
as well as legal frameworks including
but not limited to, the
National Disability Insurance
Scheme and the Aged Care
framework, which:
n promote and support older
people’s ability to participate
equally in their community
and access services
and advice;
n protect against misuse or
advantage taken of informal
and formal supporter or repthe
preparation and execution
of Wills.
The ALRC is seeking
feedback on its proposals by
February 27, 2017 and it will
deliver its final report in May
2017.
So… what is ‘elder abuse’?
The discussion paper
states:
“Elder abuse may be broadly
defined as causing harm to an
older person. It usually refers
to deliberate harm, such as
assaulting an older person or
stealing their money, but it
may also be harm caused by
neglect, such as failing to feed
or provide prescribed medications
to an older person. Elder
abuse usually refers to abuse
by family, friends, carers and
other people the older person
may trust, rather than abuse
by strangers. Most elder abuse
therefore has ‘similar features’
to family violence.”
There are various categories
of elder abuse, the commonly
recognised include:
Emotional abuse, financial
abuse, physical abuse, neglect
and sexual abuse.
Using drugs to sedate older
people when unnecessary is
an abuse sometimes called
chemical abuse.
Examples of emotional or
psychological abuse are:
n Verbal abuse, name calling,
bulling and harassment,
56
JANUARY 2017

pressuring, intimidating
or bullying/ harassment.
Other examples listed are
repeatedly telling an older
person they have dementia;
threatening to withdraw
affection; and threatening
to put an older person in a
nursing home.
n Stopping an older person
from seeing family and friends
may also be ‘social abuse’.
Financial abuse
This kind of abuse is quite
common and examples are as
follows:
n Someone incurring bills for
which the older person is
responsible;
n Someone living in an older
person’s home for reasons
other than for the benefit of
the older person;
n Someone stealing the older
person’s goods – threatening,
coercing or forcing an
older person into handing
over an asset, and abusing
power of attorney arrangements.
Other examples of financial
abuse may include refusing to
repay a loan; living with someone
without helping to pay for
expenses or failing to care for
someone, after agreeing to do
so, in exchange for money or
property; and forcing someone
to sign a will, contract or
power of attorney.
Physical abuse
Includes pushing or shoving;
kicking, punching, slapping,
biting or burning and rough
handling.
The introduction of ‘restrictive
practices’ in hospitals and
residential care facilities, such
as restraining a person with
ropes or belts, locking someone
in a room, or unnecessarily
giving a patient a sedative.
Neglect
Failing to provide an older
person with food, shelter or
medical care. This may involve
family members or staff in
residential care facilities.
Sexual abuse
Is not as common as the other
categories of abuse described
above but it includes rape and
unwanted sexual contact.
All of the examples noted
above are found in the discussion
paper and were reported
to the ALRC in submissions
following publication of the
Issues Paper in June.
(Unfortunately it is not possible
to reflect on each of the
proposals contained in the
discussion paper in this issue
so we will take up other proposals
in Part 2 of this subject
in column next month.)
Enduring powers of attorney
and enduring guardianships
have become quite common.
Powers of attorney have
been used for centuries. In
short, POAs give legal power
to one person – the ‘attorney’
– to deal with financial and
property matters on behalf
of the person granting the
power.
The relationship created
is one of agency with the attorney
having power as agent
for the principal. This concept
was unsatisfactory for people
who wished to make a power
of attorney in the event that
they lost capacity, as the
principal-agent relationship
is a personal one and the
agent has no authority to do
anything the principal cannot
lawfully do.
As this arrangement did not
meet the needs of people who
wanted someone to manage
their affairs if they lost capacity,
the states and territories
enacted legislation during the
1970s and 1980s to establish
‘enduring’ powers of attorney
– i.e. powers of attorney that
continue (or endure) notwithstanding
that the principal has
lost capacity.
As with so much in this federation
there are significant
differences in the forms of
documentation e.g. Queensland
and Victoria provide
for a combined financial and
personal enduring document.
New South Wales has separate
documents for enduring powers
of attorney and enduring
guardianship. South Australia
has legislation for advance
care directives which permits
a person to appoint a substitute
decision maker (equivalent
to an enduring guardian
in New South Wales) but keeps
separate documents for enduring
powers of attorney for
financial matters.
Only in Tasmania is it
compulsory to register
enduring documents, powers
of attorney and enduring
guardianship. Overall outside
Tasmania there is no general
requirement for registration of
enduring documents.
The ALRC proposal is “a
national on line register of
enduring documents, and
court and tribunal orders, for
the appointment of guardians
and financial administrators
should be established…”
We will continue analysis
of the Discussion paper next
month...
Comment supplied by
Jennifer Harris, of Jennifer
Harris & Associates, Solicitors,
4/57 Avalon Parade,
Avalon Beach.
T: 9973 2011. F: 9918 3290.
E: jenniferha@pacific.net.au
W: www.jenniferharris.com.au
Business Life
JANUARY 2017 57

Trades & Services
Trades & Services
AIRCONDITIONING
Avalon Air
Call 0414 944 894
Local and dependable. They
specialise in domestic ducted
airconditioning, split systems and
central heating.
AUTO REPAIRS
British & Swedish
Motors
Call 9970 6654
Services Range Rover, Land
Rover, Saab and Volvo with the
latest in diagnostic equipment.
Narrabeen Tyrepower
Call 9970 6670
Stocks all popular brands including
Cooper 4WD. Plus they’ll do
all mechanical repairs and rego
inspections.
Barrenjoey
Smash Repairs
Call 9970 8207
barrenjoeysmashrepairs.com.au
Re-sprays a specialty, plus
restoration of your favourite vehicle.
Commercial vehicle specialist.
BOAT SERVICES
Avalon Marine
Upholstery
Call Simon 9918 9803
Makes cushions for boats,
patio and pool furniture,
window seats.
ELECTRICAL
Eamon Dowling
Electrical
Call 0410 457 373
For all electrical, phone, TV, data
and security needs.
FLOOR COVERINGS
Blue Tongue Carpets
Call Stephan 9979 7292
Family owned and run. Carpet,
rugs, runners, timber, bamboo,
vinyl, tiles & laminates.
Open 6 days.
GARDENS
Graham Brooks
Call 0412 281 580
Tree pruning and removals.
Reports regarding DA tree management,
arborist reports.
Palm Beach Property
Call David 0418 269 565
Total landscape, garden and
property maintenance, established
1988, fully insured.
Arbor Master Tree Group
Call Jason 0404 922 223
Environmentally friendy service;
Level 5 & Level 8 arborists.
Specialists in crane work. Stump
grinding and chipping.
Precision Tree Services
Call Adam 0410 736 105
Adam Bridger; professional tree
care by qualified arborists and
tree surgeons.
CLEANING
House Washing
Northern Beaches
Call 0408 682 525
Specialists in soft washing house
exteriors and high-pressure
cleaning of paved areas.
The Aqua Clean Team
Call Mark 0449 049 101
Quality window washing,
Advertise
your Business
in Trades &
Services
section
pressure cleaning, carpet
washing, building soft wash.
Martin Earl House Wash
Call 0405 583 305
Pittwater-based owner/operator
on site at all times. No travellers
or uninsured casuals on your
property. Ideal for selling.
MASSAGE & FITNESS
Avalon Physiotherapy
Call 9918 3373
Provide specialist treatment for
neck & back pain, sports injuries,
niggling orthopaedic problems.
Avalon Physiotherapy
& Clinical Pilates
Call 9918 0230
Dry needling and acupuncture,
falls prevention and balance
enhancement programs.
Treatment for neck and back pain.
Avalon Beach
Chiropractic
Call 9918 0070
Chiropractic, massage, dry
needling. Professional care for all
ages. Treatment for chronic and
acute pain, sports injuries, postural
correction & pregancy care.
Fix & Flex Pilates / Physio
Call Jen 0404 804 441
Equipment pilates sessions run by
physios. Mona Vale-based. Help
improve posture and reduce pain
while improving core strength.
PAINTING
Contrast Colour
Call 0431 004 421
Locals Josef and Richard offer
quality painting services. Tidy,
reliable, they’ll help consult
on the best type of paint for
your job.
Modern Colour
Phone
0438 123 096
Call 0406 150 555
Simon Bergin offers painting and
decorating; clean, tidy, quality
detail you will notice. Dependable
and on time.
58
JANUARY 2017

JANUARY 2017 59
Trades & Services

Trades & Services
PEST CONTROL
Predator Pest Control
Call 0417 276 962
predatorpestcontrol.com.au
Environmental services at their
best. Comprehensive control.
They provide a 24-hour service.
PUMPS & TANKS
Water Warehouse
Call 9913 7988
waterwarehouse.com.au
Rainwater tanks & pumps. Irrigation
& filter supply specialists.
RENOVATIONS
Rob Burgers
Call 0416 066 159
Qualified builder provides all
carpentry needs; decks, pergolas,
carports, renovations and repairs.
B & RD Williams
Call Brian 0416 182 774
Kitchen and bathroom renovations,
decks and pergolas. Small
extensions specialists.
SunSpec
Call Dustin 0413 737 934
sunspec.com.au
All-aluminium, rust-proof remotecontrolled
opening roofs & awnings.
Beat competitor’s prices.
SECURITY
Sure Security
Call 1300 55 12 10
Northern Beaches-based specialists
in Alarms, Intercoms, Access
Control and CCTV Surveillance
with solutions to fit your needs.
DISCLAIMER: The
editorial and advertising
content in Pittwater Life
has been provided by a
number of sources. Any
opinions expressed are
not necessarily those of
the Editor or Publisher
of Pittwater Life and
no responsibility is
taken for the accuracy
of the information
contained within. Readers
should make their own
enquiries directly to any
organisations or businesses
prior to making any plans
or taking any action.
Trades & Services
60
JANUARY 2017

the
good
life
dining
food
crossword
62
66
69
Showtime
Players just love to
be beside the seaside
Local amateur drama
group the Elanora Players
enter their 51st year of
productions on the Northern
Beaches in in 2017, kicking
off with Australian playwright
Hannie Rayson’s ‘Hotel
Sorrento’ in January.
Set in the Victorian town of
Sorrento on the Mornington
Peninsula, it tells the story of
a family reunion in the quiet
bayside/seaside resort. Hilary
is the eldest of three sisters.
She has remained in the town
caring for her father, Wal, and
her teenage daughter, Tory.
Her sisters, Meg and Pippi,
are returning from a 10-year
absence overseas. Meg, who
has been living in the UK, is
the author of a novel which
is short listed for the Booker
Prize. Pippi has made her
mark in marketing in the USA.
Against the background of a
holiday township where not a
lot changes, the play explores
the intricacies of family life:
the ties that bind and the tensions
that divide. This is done
with a mixture of warmth
and humour and moments of
intense drama.
The cast is a blend of
familiar faces and new and
recent comers to the Players.
The newest recruit is Alison
Akhurst in the role of teenage
daughter Tory. Samantha
Dickenson plays Pippi,
following her recent debut
with the Players as a Russian
mobster’s girlfriend in ‘Old
Actors Never Die: They Simply
Lose the Plot’. Chris Richardson
as Hilary, Robert Longley
as Wal, Tracey Keene as Meg
and Gerard Hawkins as Meg’s
English husband Edwin will be
readily recognised by regular
patrons of EP. Audiences will
also recognise, from appearances
in recent EP productions,
Vicki Castorina and Matt Burke
(pictured) as townsfolk with
an interest in the novel and its
connections with the family.
Director Jen Davidson, who
has appeared in numerous EP
productions over recent years,
makes her debut as a firsttime
director, with Bill Akhurst
as assistant director.
“Jen’s energetic style of
direction has produced similarly
energetic performances
from her cast,” says Bill. “This
promises a highly entertaining
season of performances.”
The play will be staged at
the Elanora Community Centre
from January 13 to 21; bookings
9979 9694.
Showtime
gardening
70
travel
74
JANUARY 2017 61

Dining Guide
Dining Guide
January’s best restaurants, functions, events and reader deals...
Hong Kong
Chinese Restaurant
332 Barrenjoey Rd,
Newport
OPENING HOURS
Dinner Tues-Sun 5pm
CUISINE
Chinese & Asian
PRICE RANGE
Entrees $5-20
Mains $12.90-26.50
*Deliver Whale Beach - Narrabeen
BOOKINGS 9997 4157
LIC
BYO
All
Who doesn’t love great Chinese
food? At this popular
Newport eatery you will be
amazed at the variety of
great dishes.
Order ahead for their wonderful
Peking Duck which
is offered as a dine-in-only
special Thursdays through
P
Amici
di Toni
Ristorante
Lunch Tues - Fri 12–3pm
Dinner Mon - Sat from 6pm
Fully Licensed & BYO
(Bottled wine only)
Sunday evenings.
There are two traditional
courses: Peking Duck pancakes
& duck sang choy bow
(bookings essential; mention
the ad when you call).
This long-established restaurant
on the eastern side of
Barrenjoey Rd has an extensive
menu based on traditional
flavoursome Cantonese with
touches of spicy Szechuan and
other Asian dishes and fresh
seasonal vegetables.
Entrees start at just $5
while mains are reasonable
too, starting at $12.90.
The menu ranges from adventurous,
like a Mongolian
chicken hot pot, to contemporary,
spicy salt and pepper
king prawns, to traditional,
fillet steak with snow peas
and bean sprouts.
New dishes are introduced
regularly so make sure you
check out the blackboard
specials.
The team are only too
happy to home deliver your
meal, with a range that takes
in Narrabeen to the south
to Palm Beach in the north.
Phone 9997 8379.
Barrenjoey
Bistro
Club Palm Beach
1087 Barrenjoey Rd,
Palm Beach
BISTRO OPENING HOURS
Lunch 11:30am-2.30pm
Dinner 6pm-8.30pm
PRICE RANGE
Lunch and dinner
specials $13.50
BOOKINGS 9974 5566
LIC
All
P
Head to Club Palm Beach,
conveniently located just a
short stroll from Palm Beach
Wharf, for great meal specials
in January.
The Members’ lucky badge
draw is held Wednesday and
Friday night (every 30 minutes
between 5pm-7pm), and
jackpots by $100 each week.
Wednesday and Sunday
are meat raffle nights, with a
whopping 14 trays to be won.
In January, catch the cricket
on the big screen, with the Test
Series against Pakistan and
also the Bib Bash League.
Enjoy Trivia Night from
5.30pm on Wednesdays, plus
Bingo at 10am on Fridays.
The club’s Barrenjoey Bistro
is open for lunch (11.30am
to 2.30pm) and dinner (6pm
to 8.30pm) seven days. The
Bistro serves top-value a la
carte meals plus daily $13.50
specials of roasts (Mondays),
rump steak with chips and
salad (Tuesdays), chicken
schnitzel with chips and salad
(Wednesdays), homemade
gourmet pies with chips and
salad (Thursdays) and fish
and chips with salad (Fridays),
except on public holidays.
Entrees on the a la carte
menu range from $10.50 to
$17.50 (mains $14.50 to $25).
The club has a courtesy
bus which meets the 11am
ferry from Ettalong at the Palm
Beach Wharf at 11.20am daily,
returning on request.
It also makes regular runs
Wednesdays, Fridays and
Saturdays from 4.30pm to
9pm. Ring to book a pick-up.
* Club Palm Beach celebrates
its 60th anniversary in 2017;
the call is out for locals to
contribute their stories about
the early days. P: 9974 5566.
The Beach Port
Café and Restaurant
7/331 Barrenjoey Rd
Newport
OPENING HOURS
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Open 8am 7 days
(Closed from 4pm Wed)
CUISINE
Modern Australian
PRICE RANGE
Breakfast $4.50-$19.90
Lunch $8.50-$13.50
Dinner $8.50-$24.90
Kids menu $6.50-$9
BOOKINGS 9446 9844
BYO
All
P
Choice of main & dessert.
Only with bookings.
Group menus online.
www.amiciditoni.com.au
62
LUNCH $30.00
Tuesday - Friday
PH: 9999 2588
Level 1, 1775 Pittwater Rd,
Mona Vale
JANUARY 2017
This casual eatery set back
from the main road in the
Newport Village Arcade is a
real find.
Chefs Jotti and Georgia’s
menus are always evolving;
while The Beach Port offers
all the usual fare for breakfast
and lunch, at dinner time their
main meals really shine thanks
to the cooking technique Jotti
specialises in – sous vide.
Jotti who previously worked
as head chef at Ripples, Pyrmont
and the Sugar Lounge
in Manly, explains sous vide
is a cooking method that uses

immersion in hot water to
cook food over long periods
low and slow. Not only does
this method result in some
of the most succulent and
tender meat you’ve eaten, it’s
healthier than traditional baking
and frying as there is no
need to use extra fats.
All chicken, pork and beef
dishes here are sous vide, ensuring
flavours are locked in.
The Beach Port’s famous
70 degrees Smoked BBQ Beef
Ribs ($24.90) are sous-vide
for 48hrs and then finished
off under the grill before they
are tastefully presented with
a pickled carrot-daikon and
tamarind sauce.
Kids’ meals come with a
drink and a scoop of ice cream
for only $5 when purchased
with a main meal.
The Beach Port is offering
Pittwater Life readers a special
deal for summer – present the
ad below for a FREE dessert
with every main meal (valid
through Jan 31). Check out
their weekly specials online.
Oceanviews
Restaurant
Shop 4, 120 Narrabeen Park
Pde, Warriewood Beach.
OPENING HOURS
Open 7 days lunch and dinner
CUISINE
Vietnamese
PRICE RANGE
Entrees $2-$9.80
Mains $13.80-$19.80
Noodles $13.80
Lunch specials.
1/2 price daily deals.
BOOKINGS 9979 9449
BYO
All
P
Book now for a great table
for lunch or dinner at this
friendy and popular Vietnamese
eatery.
Full ocean views across
Warriewood Beach may be
enjoyed from the restaurant
which offers one of the most
popular of Asian cuisines.
Eat in and take-away meals
are available; plus they offer
free home delivery for orders
over $35.
Tantalising lunch specials
from $2 to $10.80 include egg
custard buns (two for $4.40),
Money Bags (four for $5.80),
prawn dumplings, fresh rice
paper rolls, pork dumplings
soup, noodles with veggies and
chicken or beef with rice $10.80.
Chef’s specials include
mango king prawns, stir fry
scallops, red curry duck and
chicken laksa.
Each day there is a half-price
deal for evening diners-in (limit
of one deal per table of diners).
They include: on Thursday
satay king prawn for $10.40, on
Monday salt and pepper squid
for $10.40 and on Saturday lemongrass
chicken for $8.90.
Prices reduced across the
board, as well as lunch specials
and the daily half-price deals.
Find Daniel and the friendly
team at 120 Narrabeen Park
Parade, Warriewood Beach.
Dining Guide
JANUARY 2017 63

Dining Guide
Dining Guide
Royal Motor
Yacht Club
Salt Cove on Pittwater
46 Prince Alfred
Parade, Newport
OPENING HOURS
Breakfast Lunch & Dinner
Mon-Fri from 8.30am
Weekends from 8am
PRICE RANGE
Breakfast from $8-$18
Entrees from $9-$21
Mains from $16-$26
BOOKINGS 9997 5511
LIC
All
P
RMYC’s restaurant Salt Cove
on Pittwater offers affordable
prices and generous servings
of dishes including pies,
fritattas, fish and seafood
dishes, burgers, grills,
salads and desserts. Plus the
new summer menu is now
available with daily specials.
In January, Friday night
entertainment kicks off in
the Lounge Bar from 7.30pm.
Great acts appearing this
month include Chris Hallowes
(6th), Geoff Kendall (13th),
Keff McCullough (20th) and
Jesse (27th).
Sunday Sessions are
continuing in the Compass
Terrace and Garden Forecourt
from 2pm-5pm every Sunday
in Summer.
Don’t miss Fireworks
Over Pittwater from 9pm &
midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Trivia is held every
Tuesday night from 7.30pm
(great prizes and vouchers).
Also, save the date for the
great ‘Swinging Sixties’ Show
on Saturday January 14, plus
from Canada, Bobby Bruce
returns with his uncanny
Neil Diamond tribute show
on Saturday February 11.
Bookings are essential for
all events; early booking
advisable.
Club social memberships are
available for just $160.
www.royalmotor.com.au
Ninja
6/11-13 Avalon Pde,
Avalon Beach
OPENING HOURS
Dinner Tues-Sun 6-10pm
Lunch Tues-Fri 11.30am-2.30pm
CUISINE
Japanese Restaurant
PRICE RANGE
Entrees $6.80-19.80
Main $16.80-36
Corkage $2.50pp
*Takeaway available
BOOKINGS 9918 9963
LIC
BYO
Visa
MasterCard
Dine indoors or outside under
stylish new awnings, catching
the cool sea breeze at Ninja in
Avalon – it’s the perfect space
for a great dining experience
in authentic surrounds.
Ninja serves tantalising
Japanese dishes including fresh
sushi and sashimi, assorted
tempura, agedashi tofu and
char-grilled salmon teriyaki.
Owner/chef Hideaki
Serizawa is a qualified Japanese
chef, who graduated from Barrenjoey
High, and was trained
in popular restaurants in the
Akasaka district of Tokyo where
he learnt their secret recipes.
Recommended entrees
include the grilled premium
wagyu beef, and deep fried soft
shell crab with ponzu sauce.
Mains include Japanese-style
steak, California rolls, prawn
tempura and mixed sushi/sashimi
platter. Particularly popular
is the Grilled Hirimasa Kingfish,
chargrilled with your choice of
teriyaki or wasabi tartare sauce.
Ninja serves a mouthwatering
Agedashi tofu and
their Ninja Potatoes (deep fried
Advertise
in our
Dining
Guide!
P
sweet potatoes with soy-based
sweet syrup and black sesame)
are a true taste experience.
Also, for a local lunch on
the run, Ninja offer takeaway
specials Tues-Fri, 11.30am-3pm,
including Chicken Teriyaki with
rice ($6) and Vegetarian Spring
Rolls (3 for $4).
Ninja can accommodate up
to 40 guests in the main dining
room – it’s perfect for parties
or for those special family get
togethers.
www.ninjarestaurant.com.au
The Avalon
on the Beach
Avalon Beach, Avalon
OPENING HOURS
The Avalon on the Beach:
Tues-Fri – midday til late
Sat/Sun – 8am til late
Kiosk: Tues-Sun 7am-4pm
CUISINE
Modern Aust / Seafood
PRICE RANGE
Breakfast: $15-$23
Lunch & Dinner:
Starters $15-$28
Mains $22-$33
P: 1300 339 093
LIC
All
P
Enjoy summer at The Avalon
on the Beach, so close to the
sea you can dip your toes
in the sand! Located on the
upper level of Avalon Beach
Surf Life Saving Club, this
modern restaurant space
boasts stylish designs and
picturesque 180-degree
ocean views.
Their summer menu has
some exciting dishes and
enticing themes.
Phone
0438 123 096
64
JANUARY 2017

Great dishes include
The Avalon fish and
chips, the ‘Round Table’
burger (with Black Angus
beef, shoestring fries
and onion rings), chicken
katsu drumsticks, fresh
fish of the day, pasture
fed rib eye and spice
rubbed flat iron steak.
And what better
way to enjoy their new
menu than with a weekly BYO
Wednesday dinner, where
your private collection is
raided and you can bring
your favourite drop – with no
corkage fee!
With Daylight
Saving ushering in the
longer days, there’s
more time to enjoy the
downstairs Kiosk, now
with extended trading
hours and more seating
with table service. With
direct access to Avalon
Beach and the nearby
reserve, the Kiosk is an
open, contemporary
and relaxed beach-side
experience.
Grab your friends and
head down for Happy Hour on
Friday to Sunday, 4pm-6pm,
including a glass of house
red, white or sparkling for
$5, plus $5 Coronas, $5 premixed
spirits and $8 mojitos.
Thinking about all those
extra days off you have
coming up? The Avalon on the
Beach is open on all the major
public holidays, including
New Year’s Eve and New
Year’s Day, plus Australia Day.
More info visit www.
theavalononthebeach.com.au
Dining Guide
JANUARY 2017 65

Food Life
Ice creams to help bring
the temperature down
Don’t you just love January! Days spent at the beach... lots
of yummy salads, seafood and barbecues. But with the
summer sun comes the need to lower the body temperature
- cue this month’s raft of easy-to-make ice creams and
‘popsicles’. Plus, turn the page for a great recipe for Fish Tacos
using the ever-popular and in-season mango! Happy New Year!
with Janelle Bloom
Food Life
Recipes: Janelle Bloom Photos: Benito Martin & Steve Brown; thanks to Perfection Fresh for use of Calypso Mango images
Coconut
watermelon
popsicles
Makes 12
½ cup white sugar
1 cup coconut water
2 tbs lemon juice
¼ (1.5kg) seedless
watermelon, peeled, coarsely
chopped
1. Stir the sugar, coconut
water and lemon juice
together in a small
saucepan over low heat
until the sugar dissolves.
Increase heat to high. Boil
gently for 5 minutes or until
the syrup thickens slightly.
Set aside to cool.
66
2. Meanwhile, blend or process
the watermelon until
smooth. Strain through a
fine sieve into a jug. Add the
coconut syrup.
3. Pour into 12 x 125ml (½-cup
capacity) popsicles molds.
Insert the sticks, freeze
overnight.
Adult Version: Pop the
popsicles into a glass of chilled
Rose.
Frozen pina colada
Makes 8
1 litre pineapple juice
200ml white rum
1 cup coconut milk
¼ cup finely chopped palm sugar
JANUARY 2017
1 cup ice cubes
1. Place the pineapple juice,
rum, coconut milk and palm
sugar in a jug. Mix well.
Pour into a large snap lock
bag and freeze overnight.
2. Pour half the frozen
pineapple mixture into a
blender with ½ cup ice.
Blend until well combined.
Pour into a jug and repeat
with remaining pineapple
mixture and ice. Serve
immediately.
Rocky Road
ice-cream wafer
sandwiches
Makes 8
200g good quality dark or
milk chocolate, chopped
16 ice-cream wafers
1 quantity caramel Rocky
Road ice-cream (see below)
Cocoa powder or drinking
chocolate, to serve
Caramel Rocky Road ice-cream
2 litres vanilla ice-cream (blue
ribbon brand)
500g premium vanilla custard
(Pauls brand)
200g pkt marshmallows,
chopped
1 cup peanuts, chopped
caramel fudge sauce
395g can sweetened
condensed milk
2 tbs Golden Syrup
50g butter, chopped
1. For the caramel fudge
sauce, combine the
condensed milk, Golden
Syrup and butter in an
8-cup capacity heatproof,
microwave-safe Pyrex
bowl or jug. Microwave,
uncovered for 3-4 minutes
on High/100%, whisking
every minute until light
golden and thickened
slightly. Set aside to cool
for 10 minutes.
2. Line base and side of 8cm
x 26cm (8-cup capacity)
loaf pan with baking
paper. Remove the icecream
from the freezer
and spoon into a large
bowl, set aside to soften
(not melt completely).
Stir in the custard. Stir
the marshmallows and
peanuts into the icecream
mixture until
just combined. Pour
over warm fudge sauce,
quickly swirl through the
ice-cream. Spoon into loaf
pan. Cover tightly with
plastic wrap and foil then

For more recipes go to www.janellebloom.com.au
freeze overnight until
firm.
3. Place the chocolate on
a shallow, heatproof
microwave-safe plate.
Microwave, uncovered
in 1-minute bursts on
medium/50%, stirring every
minute with a metal spoon
until melted and smooth.
Line a large flat tray with
baking paper. One wafer at
a time, coat one side of each
wafer in the chocolate. Place
onto the tray, chocolate
side up. Refrigerate until
set. Repeat, coating the
other side of each wafer in
chocolate.
4. Remove the ice-cream
from the loaf pan and cut
into 2cm thick pieces.
Sandwich each piece
ice-cream between two
chocolate coated wafers,
dust with cocoa powder.
Serve immediately.
Salted caramel
mango ice cream
cake
Serves 10
1¼ cup self-raising flour
80g butter, chilled, chopped
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup honey roasted
macadamia nuts, roughly
chopped
3 litres vanilla ice cream
5 Calypso mangoes
Quick salted caramel
½ cup thickened cream
2 x 135g packet Werther’s
chewy toffees, unwrapped
2 tsp salt flakes, crushed
1. Preheat oven to 180°C
fan-forced. Combine
the flour and butter in a
food processor. Process
until mixture resembles
fine breadcrumbs. Add
sugar and ½ cup of the
macadamia nuts, process
until crumble forms
clumps. Spread out on a
baking tray, bake for 15
minutes or until golden.
Cool.
2. Meanwhile, to make the
quick salted caramel,
pour the cream into
small saucepan, add
the caramels. Stir over
medium-high heat for 3-4
minutes until cream comes
to the boil. Remove from
the heat and stir until
caramels have melted and
sauce is smooth. Stir in the
salt. Set aside to cool.
3. Line base and side 4cm
deep, 20cm x 30cm (base)
baking dish with baking
paper, allowing a 2cm
overhang at both long
sides. Scatter the crumble
over the base of the pan to
cover.
4. Peel three of the mangoes.
Chop the fruit. Swirl
chopped mango, remaining
macadamia nuts and ¾ cup
salted caramel through the
ice cream. Spoon over the
crumble base. Smooth the
surface. Cover and freeze
overnight.
5. Peel and chop the
remaining two mangoes,
spoon over the ice cream.
Cut into pieces and serve
drizzled with remaining
salted caramel.
ADVERTISE IN FEBRUARY
Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas
Book Now!
P: 0438 123 096
February issue out Feb 1
JANUARY 2017 67
Food Life

Food Life
In Season
Calypso Mangoes
Food Life
Not only do they look
great with bright
pink blush, they taste
great, have a smaller seed,
and they’re fibre-free (which
means no bits get stuck in
your teeth). The flesh is firm
and juicy, making them great
for slicing, dicing, cooking
and – of course – eating!
(Technically speaking, it’s
Also In Season
January
Apricots, Berries
(Blackberries, Blueberries,
Raspberries &
Strawberries), Cherries,
Grapes, Limes, Lychees,
Nectarines, Passionfruit,
Peaches, Plums and
Pineapples; plus Avocado,
Asparagus, Beans (green
& flat), Celery, Cucumber,
Eggplant, Capsicum,
Lettuce, Peas, Radish, Corn
(great for ‘on the cob’),
Tomatoes and Zucchini.
68
called B74 variety – a cross
between a Kensington Pride
and a Sensation.)
Buying
Select those of us which are
firm and bright with a distinct
pleasant aroma. The colour
should be characteristic of
variety. Avoid any with black
or soft spots.
Storage
Ripen at room temperature.
Store ripe fruit in the
vegetable crisper or in a
plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Use within 3 days.
Nutrition
Mangos are an excellent
source of Vitamin A and
flavonoids like beta-carotene,
alpha-carotene, and betacryptoxanthin.
A very
good source of vitamin-B6
(pyridoxine), vitamin C and
vitamin E and a good source
of potassium.
JANUARY 2017
Fish tacos with
Calypso mango
& jalapeno salsa
Serves 4
1 large avocado, mashed
2 tbs sour cream
½ lime, juiced
600g thick white fish fillets
(such as ling)
2 tbs fajita seasoning
1 tbs plain flour
vegetable oil, for cooking
3 cups finely shredded green
cabbage
8 mini-flour tortillas warmed
to serve
Mango and Jalapeno Salsa
2 Calypso Mangoes
2 tbs sliced jalapenos,
drained, chopped
2 tbs coriander leaves, finely
chopped.
1. To make the salsa, cut the
cheeks from the mangoes.
Using a large spoon remove
the mango fruit from the
cheeks and cut into 1cm
cubes. Combine with
remaining salsa ingredients.
2. Combine avocado, sour
cream and 1tbs lime juice.
Season. Cut fish into
3cm-wide pieces. Combine
seasoning and flour in a
shallow dish.
3. Heat enough oil to cover
base of a large, non-stick
frying pan over a mediumhigh
heat. Dip half the fish
in flour mixture, shaking
off excess. Add to hot oil.
Cook, turning occasionally,
for 2-3 minutes, or until
fish is cooked. Remove
to a plate. Repeat with
remaining fish and flour
mixture.
4. To serve, spread tortillas
with avocado. Top with
cabbage, fish and mango
salsa.

25 26 27 28 29
Pittwater Puzzler
30 31 32 33 34 35 36
37 38 39
40 41
42
43 44
Compiled by David Stickley
of Dee Why RSL (8,6)
27 One putting on a show (9)
28 A bluebottle bite, for instance (5)
29 Type of ship belonging to Governor
Phillip that’s reportedly represented in
rock art on the western foreshores of
Pittwater (6)
30 Completely sane (3,5)
ACROSS
1 One of a breed of dogs with black or
golden coats (8)
5 On the water (6)
9 A triangular tract of deposited earth,
alluvium, etc, at the mouth of a river,
formed by its diverging outlets (5)
10 Areas of land delineated for some
administrative or other purpose (9)
12 Local amateur drama group kicking
off 2017 with Australian playwright
Hannie Rayson’s Hotel Sorrento (7,7)
14 A bushwalking track that ends up at
the starting point (4)
15 Italian bread available from Pizza
Capanna, Warriewood, say (8)
19 A type of walk that can be undertaken
without local expert (8)
20 Artists ____ Winona and Julie
Hickson will be exhibiting in Avalon in
January (4)
23 Support facility for returned servicemen
and servicewomen operating out
DOWN
1 The meeting-place of a branch of
some societies, eg Freemasons (5)
2 Getaway offering organic meals,
yoga classes, meditation classes plus
wellness workshops, __________
Retreat (9)
3 Domain.com.au’s over-the-top webonly
series set in a Northern Beaches
suburb, ______ Now (6)
4 Out of fashion (3-3)
6 Captain, perhaps, of The Myra or
Golden Spirit, for example (8)
7 Take place (5)
8 A form of examination for evaluating
the performance and capabilities of a
student or class (4)
11 Fish that might be caught off the
Northern Beaches (6)
13 A festive or special occasion (4)
14 Northern Beaches surf lifesaving
family featuring sisters Jodie and
Madison (4)
16 Geographic feature where the land
meets the sea (9)
17 Type of golf course in Palm Beach
(4-4)
18 Make still (6)
21 Belonging to the stars (6)
22 One-room flat (6)
24 Native bird that can be found on
the Northern Beaches, Great _____ (5)
25 Good golf score (5)
26 Very impressive (4)
[Solution page 72]
Pittwater Puzzler
JANUARY 2017 69

Garden Life
Garden Life
Think ahead for lots of
shade next Christmas
January’s scorching heat and
the dazzling glare of the
sun provides a reminder
to think about summer shade.
There are a couple of flowering
trees to consider that will
provide enjoyment in the
garden.
The Cape Chestnut –
calodendrum capense – was
first discovered in the South
African Cape by William
Burchell in the early 1800s,
where it grows wild in the
forests and gorges.
In its natural environment the
Cape Chestnut (pictured) will
grow to a height of 20m but in
cultivation it is small tree of just
7m. The round canopy spreads
wide, making it a wonderful
shade or specimen tree in lawns
or as a street tree.
The glossy dark green
leaves are almost completely
covered by the exquisite
lavender pink flowers from
October to December. Once
the spring blossoms finish,
the Cape Chestnuts burst into
flower. This is a beautiful tree
that should be grown more
often in peninsular gardens.
It is usually grown from
cuttings taken in early
summer. Once established it
will grow fast – it can grow
as much as one metre each
year. It loves a moist soil, full
sun or semi-shade, with some
protection from strong wind.
It is exciting to discover
the extensive work being
done with our own native
trees. We all know and love
the Illawarra Flame Trees that
glow scarlet against the violet
flowers of the Jacarandas in
early summer, but not so well
known is the very beautiful
sugar pink ‘Bella Donna’
– brachychiton acerifolia x
populneus – a crossed variety
between the scarlet Flame
Tree and the Kurrajong Tree.
The spectacular racemes
of cascading pink bells
stand out against the bright
glossy leaves. Unlike its
flamboyant scarlet cousin, it
only sheds some of its leaves
as the flowers appear. It is
a pyramid-shaped tree that
grows 5-6m tall. An added
attraction is the bright red
colour of the young leaves in
spring.
with Gabrielle Bryant
Jerrilderie Red is another
crossed variety that has hot
pink flowers. More colours will
soon be available. This is a
grafted tree which means that
the flowers will always be true
to colour. Seed grown trees
can vary. If you can find this
tree it is one of the loveliest
native trees I have seen. Look
for it online if the garden
centres cannot source it.
If you have space for a tree
that’s fun, plant Black Sapote –
diospyros digyna – also known
as the Chocolate Pudding
Tree. It is a tropical fruit like a
persimmon.
The thin-skinned fruits
are dark green with brown
spots, and when the almost
black flesh is ripe it tastes like
chocolate pudding when it is
mixed with milk or cream. The
creamy soft flesh can be eaten
as a fruit with a spoon, used
to flavour sauce, eaten with
ice cream or made in a cake.
The fruit is very rich in
vitamin C. It may not be
available in supermarkets
but can usually be found in
organic fruit shops. The fruit
has between 2-10 large brown
seeds inside.
They will germinate in about
30 days, so if you can’t find the
tree try growing one yourself.
The Black Sapote is an
evergreen tree from Mexico;
it is an attractive upright tree
that grows slowly to a height
of 6m. To make it easier to
harvest the fruit, cut the
top out of the tree once it
reaches the height of 2m, to
encourage side growth and
reduce the height of the tree.
Plant the tree in full sun where
the drainage is good (it hates
wet feet).
70
JANUARY 2017

Time to patch up your vegies
Now Christmas is over it is time to catch up in the veggie
patch. There are still several months of warm weather to
come. Take stock of your veggies. Mildew and sunburn have
taken their toll on some and
others may be finishing.
Pull out any that aren’t behaving
well. Feed the garden with a
Powerfeed. Spray it onto the soil
and the foliage for quick results.
It is not too late for more beans,
zuchinis and tomatoes (if you
buy established seedlings).
Make sure that raised metal garden beds are not too
hot. Shade the edges by planting ground covers or annuals
outside the beds. You can plant more carrots, lettuce onions
and leeks. For a quick crop, plant some Bok Choy.
Seed tapes make life very easy. Roll them out and cover
them lightly with seed raising mix. Just make sure that you
leave some room for February planting.
Recent rain has made tomatoes split. These plants are
greedy and will use as much water as they can get. Pick the
ones that have overeaten before the fruit fly get in, and use
them in cooking. Renew your fruit fly baits.
Scarlet a
colourful,
social
climber
The Scarlet Bleeding Heart
vine – Clerodendron
speciossum – climbs and
rambles over paling fences,
trellises, on lattice or over
archways. It is a strong plant
that needs good support.
This very beautiful climber is
very easy to control. It will lose
some leaves in winter but then
burst into the most amazing
scarlet flowers in early summer
and continue to flower until
the weather cools down.
The violet bracts remain
on the vine for many weeks
after the flowers are finished,
making a colourful display
until they fade in winter. It
will grow in full sun or part
shade.
Mine twines and turns in my
hibiscus hedge, adding the
most wonderful splashes of
colour against the rich green
bushes. Prune it back in early
spring and then let it go for
the summer months.
Garden Life
JANUARY 2017 71

Garden Life
Garden Life
January
Jobs this Month
With summer weather
that has featured
everything from
mild rain through torrential
thunderstorm downpours, plus
blistering sun then massive
cooling overnight, our poor
gardens on the northern
beaches are bewildered and
confused. Take time to trim and
heal your garden. January is a
month for maintenance. Put off
planting new shrubs until the
weather cools down.
Poinsettia care
Give your Christmas poinsettias
a new lease of life. Trim
the faded bracts and plant
them into the garden This will
give them time to recover and
flower again in Winter.
Grow again
Look after living Christmas
trees. Keep them in the shade
when they first go back outside.
Gradually harden them
up. Trees that get sunburnt
needles will die.
Mildew watch
Watch out for mildew and
fungal problems that can attack
damaged foliage. At the
first sign of a problem spray
with Eco Fungicide; this can be
used on any plant including
vegetables.
‘Shaggy’ lawns
It’s a tough time for lawns;
keep the lawn grass a little
longer than usual. If you cut it
too short the hot sun will burn
the roots.
Colour flow
Pinch back summer annuals and
you will get another flush of
flowers to last until the weather
cools, when it will be time for
bulbs and winter colour.
Ole oleanders!
Oleanders (below), a favourite
of the ’60s and ’70s are back
in favour. Sometimes they are
given a bad name because
their leaves are poisonous, but
so are many other shrubs that
we love. I have never heard
of a problem. They flower for
nearly 12 months of the year.
Very fashionable in Europe
this year are pure white oleanders
grown in large tubs.
Dwarf and tall varieties make
great hedges or pot plants.
Feed hibiscus
Hibiscus (above) and bougainvilleas
are looking good. Feed
them with a fertiliser that is
low in nitrogen and high in
phosphorous, and they will
flower well into autumn.
Mulch month
Mulch the garden with a thick
layer of mulch. Mix some compost
or cow manure into the
mulch before putting it around
the garden to hold in the moisture.
This will add food and
condition the soil at the same
time and give your shrubs
some extra energy to cope
with the hot days to come.
Indoors tip
If you are going away, put
indoor plants into the bath
or shower and fill to a depth
of 2.5cm. This cool moist
environment should keep
your plants watered for a
couple of weeks. Plants
grouped together take longer
to dry out.
Sweep palm seeds
Make sure that you clean up
palm seeds that fall. They
bring fruit fly into the garden,
and they can be dangerous if
trodden on as they roll under
foot and can cause a fall.
Bug bother
Look out for bronze citrus bugs
on your citrus trees. Be very
careful they can spit and if the
poison gets onto your skin it
can cause a rash or if it is in
your eye it can cause blindness.
Wear gloves. I use a doggy bag
as a glove and pull them off
into the plastic bag. You can
hose them off onto the ground
but often this just annoys them
and they fly away.
Colourful Crotons
Crotons love the heat and
give colour all the year round.
Plant them now while the
weather is warm and the
soil is damp. They will grow
in full sun or bright shade.
They are slow to get going
but eventually reach a height
of 2m or more, so don’t
underestimate their size.
Crossword solution from page 69
Mystery Location: THE BASIN
72
JANUARY 2017

Times Past
Incredible rock art of the
Governor’s Cutter?
The sandstone of Kuring-gai
Chase and
Pittwater abounds
with Aboriginal engravings
(also called petroglyphs).
Hawkesbury sandstone
is naturally a softer
sedimentary rock, and so
conducive to being engraved
using a harder rock.
It is assumed (because
there were no eyewitness
descriptions) that the subject
was ‘sketched’ by outlining
a shadow of a fish, animal
or man (petroglyphs of
women are extremely rare) by
scratching the rock surface.
Holes were then ‘drilled’ at
regular intervals along the line
using a pointed hard stone
(maybe with another used as a
hammer) or a shell. A similar
hard, sharp stone was then
rubbed along the line joining
the holes to form a continuous
outline of the shape.
Many different and
familiar subjects have
been recorded – some even
showing a thylacine and
other now-extinct animals.
Aboriginal culture
website Creative Spirits,
whose information has been
archived by the National
Library of Australia since
2011, notes: “For non-
Aboriginal people it is easy to
view rock art as an individual
piece of art – we admire the
beauty and the intricacy of it,
then walk to the next piece,
just like in a museum. Most
Aboriginal art sites were not
intended that way. They form
an interconnected grid of
sites, or places which are all a
part of an overall story which
is more than its parts.”
Like the many different
facets of their song lines,
these engravings provide
information such as what
food, animals or fish may be
in the area, as well as which
language group may occupy
the area etc.
The “simple, figurative”
style of engravings found in
Ku-ring-gai Chase has been
dated at around 5,000 years
ago; other engravings show
European ships and so cannot
be more than 225 years old.
While there is an engraving
of a whale measuring 13
metres in the Chase, there
are also engravings of
schools of tiny fish.
The engraving shown
here is from the western
foreshores of Pittwater.
To the uneducated eye it
certainly appears to be a
petroglyph but professional
verification is being sought.
The original holes are still
clearly visible and many in
number, although some of the
connecting lines are slowly
becoming less obvious.
It appears to be a very
accurate representation of
Governor Phillip’s cutter,
which shows in several
of Lieutenant Bradley’s
watercolours of Port Jackson
and Pittwater (inset). If so,
then it can be accurately
dated to around 6 or 7 March
1788 when Phillip examined
Pittwater in his cutter
(accompanied by the longboat)
reaching as far south as
the present Taylors Point in
search of arable land.
Why the petroglyph would
have been made would have
been known only to members
of the Garigal clan – maybe
simply illustrating the
awareness of the presence of
non-Aboriginals in the area.
TIMES PAST is supplied by local
historian and President of the Avalon Beach
Historical Society GEOFF SEARL. Visit the Society’s
showroom in Bowling Green Lane, Avalon Beach.
PHOTO: State Library of NSW
Times Past
JANUARY 2017 73

Travel Life
Travel Life
Discover glittering Cuba and Caribbean jewels
While the impact of the
death of Fidel Castro is
yet to be fully understood,
it’s expected Cuba will be
the focus of heightened
tourism interest in coming
years – so here’s your chance
to experience its grand
architecture, culture, sights
and wildlife before any major
changes.
In October, Silverseas’
luxury ship Silver Explorer
will depart the Bahamas with
just 130 guests on a cruise to
discover the jewels of Cuba,
Colombia and Panama.
“The benefit of this beautifully
crafted ship is that due
to its smaller size, it can reach
much more remote areas, and
there is also a fleet of Zodiac
boats with experts including
marine biologists and ornithologists,
which allow guests
to go even further off the
beaten track,” said Travel View
Cruise View’s Karen Robinson.
As well as immersing in
Cuban culture
guests can
enjoy a variety of
activities such as
diving, hiking and snorkeling –
all part of the carefully created
guest itineraries.
“Whether you want to
explore Havana, being
driven around in a vintage
car stopping off at places like
cigar factories, or admire the
marine life and coral reefs that
surround Cuba, this cruise
will have something for you,”
Karen said.
An expedition highlight is
the day trip
to Punta
Frances, Isle
of Youth.
This beautiful
powdery
white sand island was discovered
by Columbus in 1494;
the on-board marine biologist
will act as your guides as well
as take you on a snorkelling
tour, where there is the chance
to see turtles and parrot fish,
among many other species.
“There is also the opportunity
to explore the island on
foot – we would recommend
this as well as the snorkelling,
as it’s a great place for iguana
spotting!” said
Karen.
The beautiful Silver
Explorer offers
a range of relaxing
spaces; there are
two dining venues
on board – The Restaurant
and The Grill
– while public areas
include the Observation
Lounge (boasting exceptional
views overlooking the
ocean); the Panorama Lounge
(a sophisticated yet amicable
space where you can relax and
unwind); The Theatre (where
you can hear fascinating tales
of adventure or learn about
the region’s endemic wildlife
and remarkable nature); and
The Spa (to indulge in a luxurious
spa treatment).
The cruise departs Nassau
on October 6, 2017; save 10%
with an Early Booking Bonus
– for more info phone Travel
View Cruise View on 1300 885
215.
74
JANUARY 2017