Pittwater Life April 2018 Issue

Ben’s ‘Blue’ sky thinking
Mobile mechanic and
Narrabeen local Ben
Murdock is still pinching
himself seven months after
taking control of his own business
which he says is changing
people’s perceptions of the
automotive industry.
Ben runs Blue Toro Mobile
Mechanics, with a territory
covering the whole
of the Northern Beaches.
His services include everything
a standard workshop
mechanic operation offers,
including new car servicing
that won’t void warrantees,
plus repairs and breakdown
assistance.
The difference is, he
comes to you – saving
time, money and all-round
hassle. Plus, customers
receive a 20,000km, 12-month
warranty on all work.
Ben cut his teeth as an apprentice
at a local dealership and
small workshop before joining the
NRMA where he worked for the
past eight years, gaining in-depth
experience on all makes, models
and problems with vehicles.
Almost 40 years after she
made her first hanging
mosquito net, Kaye Quiney is
closing Ozzie Mozzie Nets at
Avalon.
Kaye, who has occupied several
local shop sites over 36 years,
intends to go back to her true
cottage industry roots, selling
online and arranging pick-ups for
her loyal customers.
She says when the shop closes
this month it will “complete the
circle” after she moved to the area
in 1976, settled down and raised a
family while growing her specialist
business to great reviews.
“I started out with a stall at
Paddington Market… my days
were spent at the beach in the
mornings and at the sewing machine
in the afternoons, sewing
clothing and soft furnishings to
sell at the weekend at my stall,”
she said.
Kaye had sewn for herself
The Local Voice Since 1991
Ben reasoned the Blue Toro
company would change the
quality of his life while allowing
him to remain passionate about
his chosen career.
“Blue Toro is a family-run
organisation which shares many
of the same values as mine,”
he said. “Mobile mechanics are
becoming increasingly popular,
with most of my customers citing
that they simply don’t have
the time to drop their car to a
workshop and have the hassle
of public transport, organising
alternate transport or waiting
around a shopping centre all
day… my customers love the
convenience mobile servicing
provides.”
He said vehicle servicing
started from $205, depending
on the type of vehicle and level
of service.
“For breakdowns or
repairs, I provide a free,
no-obligation quote which
is more than competitive
within the market,” he said.
Ben added the majority
jobs were completed on
the same day, within a few
hours, with the exception
of larger jobs where parts
may not be readily assessable
on the same day.
“I love that I get to work in
a different location every
day, meet great people
and help to take hassle out of
people’s lives by taking care
of their vehicles at a time and
place that suits them,” he said.
“And you can’t beat my ‘office’
– I love how friendly people
of the Northern Beaches are.”
More info 0420 851 706.
– NW
Raine &
Horne
launch
Forty years after Denis
McDonagh started
the first Raine & Horne
real estate agency in
Avalon, his daughter
Lara Rowell is following
in his footsteps.
Along with wellknown
local real estate
identities Nina and
Slava Sokolov, the trio
have launched the latest
branch of the familiar
black and gold brand,
with their prestige
market territory
including Avalon and
Palm Beach.
Raine & Horne was
involved in subdivisional
sales in Palm
Beach as far back as the
late 19th century.
Formerly of Fine &
Country, Nina, Slava and
Lara will continue to
operate out of the iconic
former Westpac building
on Avalon Parade, with
a Palm Beach office also
planned.
New hangout for Ozzie Mozzie
a few different canopy-style dispatching to stores throughout
Mozzie Nets which she hung Australia and New Zealand,” Kaye
from the ceiling using fishing said.
line and wire.
“There was a lot of interest
“I became good friends with from country areas, so I started
Judy Bray, a local architect who a mail order business to supply
had also made some cotton mosquito
remote areas and produced my
nets and we combined our first mail order catalogue in 1990
designs to come up with the first – by then the range had grown
Ozzie Mozzie Net,” she said. to include three styles of Mozzie
“The nets were so popular we Nets, plus bed linen.”
decided to start a business and Kaye opened her first shop on
enthusiastically embarked on the corner of Whale Beach Road
manufacturing the nets for sale and Barrenjoey Road in 1991, operating
– we were lucky enough to have
for 11 years before mov-
a story in Vogue magazine and ing to Old Barrenjoey Rd – and
the product was launched into a the days of the famous ‘Avalon
wider audience.”
Waffle Blankets’.
While Judy withdrew to concentrate
“I will miss seeing the friendly
on her career, Kaye faces and chatting with the lovely
expanded her product offering, customers, many of whom have
making bed linen which she sold become good friends,” Kaye said.
wholesale.
“But it will allow me to spend
“I employed a few friends to more time at the beach with my
help with the production of the grandchildren and visit friends in
bed linen and nets and we were the country.” – Lisa Offord
APRIL 2018 43
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