Pittwater Life August 2018 Issue
To Your Health. Flood of Complaints. Matt Burke. B-Line U-Turn. Taste of the Beaches.
To Your Health. Flood of Complaints. Matt Burke. B-Line U-Turn. Taste of the Beaches.
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The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
TO YOUR<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
FREE<br />
pittwaterlife<br />
HEALTH...<br />
BEACHES HOSPITAL<br />
‘GREEN STAR’ FIRST<br />
FLOOD OF<br />
COMPLAINTS<br />
THE PLANNING<br />
DECISION THAT<br />
‘MAKES NO SENSE’<br />
MATT BURKE<br />
WALLABIES GREAT<br />
KICKS NEW GOALS<br />
B-LINE U-TURN<br />
SO WHAT IS NEXT<br />
TRANSPORT FIX?<br />
TASTE<br />
OF THE<br />
BEACHES<br />
+ AMAZING CLUB FOOD!
Editorial<br />
‘Slingshot’ rises from ashes<br />
In a remarkable piece<br />
of timing given the<br />
cancellation of the B-Line<br />
extension to Newport,<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> can reveal that<br />
a new charter bus service<br />
is set to trial in <strong>August</strong>,<br />
conveying 40 city workers<br />
non-stop from Newport to<br />
the CBD and back each day,<br />
saving the participants more<br />
than 40 minutes’ travel time<br />
each day.<br />
Slingshot – Chartered<br />
Commute is the brainchild<br />
of Bilgola Plateau resident<br />
Tyson Rose; he has called for<br />
expressions of interest to fill<br />
a privately chartered bus,<br />
with the results set to<br />
determine the ongoing<br />
viability of the route.<br />
The first trial will run<br />
between Newport Beach<br />
Surf Club and the CBD each<br />
day in the week commencing<br />
13th <strong>August</strong>, leaving Newport<br />
7.45am (pulling into Wynyard<br />
8.45am) and departing<br />
Wynyard 5.45pm (arriving<br />
Newport 6.45pm).<br />
Best of all the trial costs<br />
just $46 for a weekly pass.<br />
There is also an early bird<br />
discount of an additional 15%<br />
if people book before the end<br />
of July (while stocks last).<br />
Tyson is also keen to hear<br />
from locals about other<br />
potential routes.<br />
More info bit.ly/Slingshot_<br />
Bookings. (And read Tyson’s<br />
full story and revolutionary<br />
vision for local transport<br />
in next month’s issue of<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>.)<br />
* * *<br />
Community group Protect<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> is still keen<br />
to hear from residents who<br />
would like to recall their<br />
memories of Mona Vale<br />
Hospital, to create a record<br />
for posterity – and they would<br />
particularly like to hear from<br />
anyone born in the hospital.<br />
For more info phone 0439<br />
788 867.<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 3
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Vol 28 No 1<br />
Celebrating 27 years<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
TO YOUR<br />
HEALTH...<br />
BEACHES HOSPITAL<br />
‘GREEN STAR’ FIRST<br />
FLOOD OF<br />
COMPLAINTS<br />
THE PLANNING<br />
DECISION THAT<br />
‘MAKES NO SENSE’<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
FREE<br />
pittwaterlife<br />
MATT BURKE<br />
WALLABIES GREAT<br />
KICKS NEW GOALS<br />
B-LINE U-TURN<br />
SO WHAT IS NEXT<br />
TRANSPORT FIX?<br />
TASTE<br />
OF THE<br />
BEACHES<br />
+ AMAZING CLUB FOOD!<br />
16<br />
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thislife<br />
COVER: With the B-Line extension to Newport scrapped,<br />
what’s next for transport north of Mona Vale (p7); read<br />
how the new Northern Beaches Hospital will help save<br />
the planet while also helping save lives (p10); Council<br />
is desperately trying to overturn a NSW Government<br />
Planning Panel decision for Warriewood that could see<br />
lives placed at risk (p16); what have we ‘Heard’ that’s<br />
going down locally this month (p21)?; and read about the<br />
Federal Government’s controversial ‘My Health Record’<br />
digital database plan – and how it affects you (p54).<br />
COVER IMAGE: Pamela Pauline / Scotland Island.<br />
also this month<br />
Editorial 3<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Local News 6-29<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Stories: Matt Burke 30-31<br />
Diners Clubs: Local Food Promotion 33-37<br />
Art <strong>Life</strong> 38-39<br />
Boating <strong>Life</strong> 40<br />
Surfing <strong>Life</strong> 42-43<br />
Health & Wellbeing; Hair & Beauty 44-51<br />
Money 52<br />
Law 54-55<br />
Trades & Services 56-58<br />
Showtime 59<br />
Food 64-66<br />
Gardening: Postcard from the Red Centre 68-70<br />
the goodlife<br />
Restaurants, food, gigs, travel and gardening.<br />
Also find our regular features on beauty, health, surfing,<br />
art, local history, our guide to trades and services, money,<br />
law and our essential maps.<br />
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4 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Gear shift after B-Li<br />
News<br />
As commuters across<br />
the northern end of<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> come to terms<br />
with the NSW Government’s<br />
decision to ‘tap off’ on its plan<br />
to extend B-Line services from<br />
Mona Vale to Newport, Northern<br />
Beaches Mayor Michael<br />
Regan has launched a bold<br />
bid to have the unused project<br />
funding redirected to pay for<br />
an east-west bus link from Dee<br />
Why to Chatswood.<br />
Other developments following<br />
the end of almost two<br />
years of uncertainty surrounding<br />
the controversial<br />
plan include:<br />
l Disappointed local MP Rob<br />
Stokes hitting out at “scaremongering”<br />
that contributed<br />
to cruelling the project;<br />
l Local residents’ groups demanding<br />
increased frequency<br />
of off-peak bus services<br />
north of Mona Vale;<br />
l A revelation by Transport<br />
for NSW (TfNSW) that the<br />
scope of relocating underground<br />
utility services at the<br />
proposed roundabout site on<br />
the corner of Neptune Road<br />
and Barrenjoey Road played<br />
a pivotal role in the Government’s<br />
backtracking on the<br />
Newport plan;<br />
l Commuters lighting up<br />
social media slamming the<br />
“selfish, self-interested”<br />
opponents of the B-Line extension<br />
who they say rarely<br />
caught bus services anyway;<br />
and<br />
l The release of Government<br />
artist impressions – distributed<br />
to community groups<br />
prior to the plan being<br />
abandoned – that show there<br />
would have been low-impact<br />
on the Newport streetscape<br />
(see below).<br />
Mayor Regan said he was<br />
disappointed the NSW Government<br />
had “given up finding a<br />
solution” for the extension of<br />
the B-Line.<br />
“I think if they had worked<br />
more closely with the community<br />
a compromise could have<br />
been found,” he told <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
<strong>Life</strong>.<br />
“I will be writing to the State<br />
Government to ask them to<br />
redirect the funding set aside<br />
for this project to create the<br />
desperately needed east-west<br />
bus link from Dee Why to<br />
Chatswood.<br />
“We know this five-stop<br />
express B-Line-type service is<br />
affordable and with the new<br />
hospital about to open it’s<br />
more necessary than ever.<br />
“Now they have abandoned<br />
the Newport extension and<br />
have freed-up funds, the Government<br />
has no excuse not to<br />
push the go button.”<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> MP Rob Stokes confirmed<br />
additional complexities<br />
identified during the Neptune<br />
Road site investigations earlier<br />
this year had raised the threat<br />
of roadwork disruptions.<br />
“The reality was the complexity<br />
of the underground<br />
utility relocations, and the<br />
timeframes involved, simply<br />
weren’t practical,” Mr Stokes<br />
told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>.<br />
6 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
ne U-turn<br />
However, he slammed the<br />
“ridiculous and misleading rumours”<br />
that had been spread<br />
around the community.<br />
“There was no proposal to<br />
build a bus terminal in Newport,<br />
no proposal to remove<br />
rows of trees, no proposal<br />
to construct new car parks<br />
and no proposal to introduce<br />
Clearways,” Mr Stokes said.<br />
“The most disappointing<br />
and mischievous rumour<br />
being peddled around the<br />
community was that the B-Line<br />
would somehow change planning<br />
and development rules –<br />
this is simply not true.”<br />
He said ultimately TfNSW<br />
had taken the time to undertake<br />
the necessary investigations,<br />
did its homework and<br />
listened to the community – as<br />
had been promised by Government<br />
and demanded by locals.<br />
“Nevertheless, I’m determined<br />
to see improvements to<br />
public transport services north<br />
of Mona Vale and I’m strongly<br />
advocating for this,” he added.<br />
In its statement, TfNSW<br />
pledged to “continue to investigate<br />
opportunities to improve<br />
existing bus services north<br />
of Mona Vale to align with<br />
demand and customer travel<br />
patterns between the Northern<br />
Beaches, Lower North Shore<br />
and the Sydney CBD”.<br />
It confirmed work will also<br />
continue along the corridor<br />
from Mona Vale to the Sydney<br />
Continued on page 8<br />
Discussion gets ‘Move’ on<br />
Council’s ‘Move Northern Beaches Transport Discussion Paper’<br />
has entered its next phase with the release of a consultation<br />
report which has collated input from hundreds of surveys and<br />
feedback forms, community drop-ins and commuter pop ups.<br />
Immediate findings include that residents want better public<br />
transport and improved parking to get people out of their<br />
cars and reduce traffic congestion.<br />
Mayor Michael Regan said the Northern Beaches transport<br />
strategy would go to Council for endorsement to be released<br />
for further consultation in late <strong>August</strong>.<br />
“We know traffic and transport are number one concerns<br />
for our community so it is fantastic to be engaging with our<br />
residents on these issues so we have a collective vision for our<br />
future,” Cr Regan said.<br />
“Sitting in traffic makes us all frustrated and we really<br />
need a robust plan for how we will manage our roads and<br />
transport now but also in 10 and 20 years.”<br />
Key themes from the consultation included calls for:<br />
l A better integrated transport that includes more frequent<br />
and reliable public transport – including late at night;<br />
l Better public transport connections to Chatswood and<br />
Macquarie Park;<br />
l Improved ‘Park and Ride’ options – especially as B-Line<br />
parking is often full;<br />
l Increased numbers of safe off-road paths for cyclists and<br />
pedestrians;<br />
l Dedicated Bus Lanes and Clearways;<br />
l Bike carriage spaces on buses (identified by young people);<br />
l More feeder buses to and from the B-Line;<br />
l Well-designed urban development which takes traffic impacts<br />
into account; and<br />
l Increased dedicated motorcycle parking.<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 7
News<br />
Continued From page 7<br />
CBD to manage traffic, reliability<br />
of buses and support the<br />
new B-Line bus services.<br />
More than 3,200 new weekly<br />
services to the Northern Beaches<br />
Bus Network kicked off last<br />
November; these included the<br />
introduction of a new, highfrequency<br />
199 service between<br />
Palm Beach and Manly, additional<br />
E88 services between<br />
Avalon Beach and Wynyard,<br />
additional 191 and 192 services<br />
linking Avalon Beach,<br />
Clareville and Bilgola Plateau,<br />
a new E54 route between Mona<br />
Vale and Milsons Point, additional<br />
E60 services between<br />
Mona Vale and Chatswood, additional<br />
156 services between<br />
McCarrs Creek and Mona<br />
Vale, additional E85 services<br />
between Warriewood Valley<br />
and Wynyard and additional<br />
E83 services between Elanora<br />
Heights and Wynyard.<br />
But local residents groups<br />
remain unimpressed.<br />
Palm Beach & Whale Beach<br />
Association (PBWBA) President<br />
Dr Richard West said the<br />
group’s policy was that there<br />
should be an express bus<br />
service from Palm Beach to the<br />
city, with limited stops every<br />
half hour.<br />
“This will give the residents<br />
of North <strong>Pittwater</strong> the same<br />
direct services as the rest of<br />
the residents of the Northern<br />
Beaches – they should not<br />
be forced to change buses or<br />
drive to Mona Vale,” he said.<br />
The Newport Residents<br />
Association (NRA), which<br />
opposed the extension of the<br />
B-Line to Newport, said the<br />
decision to scrap the plan was<br />
“great news for the communities<br />
from Newport to Palm<br />
Beach”.<br />
The results of an online<br />
survey undertaken by the<br />
NRA showed 85% opposition<br />
(from 250 respondents) to the<br />
Newport extension.<br />
“Since mid-2016 when the<br />
NRA first came to hear about a<br />
possible extension the association<br />
considered the benefits<br />
and detriments of any extension<br />
and considered that the<br />
downsides far outweighed the<br />
upsides,” said NRA President<br />
Gavin Butler.<br />
“TfNSW comments that they<br />
have listened to the community<br />
– whether that is the<br />
whole story is irrelevant as the<br />
outcome is what the community<br />
has been saying for over<br />
two years.<br />
“Our next objective is to<br />
improve the bus services for<br />
all communities north of Mona<br />
Vale, which have been degraded<br />
since the introduction<br />
of the B-Line – especially in<br />
non-peak hours – and we have<br />
been advised that new timetables<br />
are to be announced in<br />
September.” – Nigel Wall<br />
In Brief…<br />
n TfNSW presented a draft<br />
concept to construct a<br />
roundabout at the intersection<br />
of Neptune and Barrenjoey<br />
Roads in October 2017.<br />
n The proposal also included<br />
two B-Line bus stops at<br />
the existing northbound<br />
and southbound stops on<br />
Barrenjoey Road at Newport<br />
shops, and a southbound<br />
B-Line stop on Barrenjoey<br />
Road near Newport Beach at<br />
the existing bus stop site.<br />
n Consultation was<br />
undertaken with customers,<br />
residents and community<br />
groups in October 2017.<br />
n Feedback received from the<br />
community and stakeholders,<br />
along with additional<br />
complexities identified<br />
during the site investigations<br />
undertaken earlier this year,<br />
saw TfNSW review options.<br />
n B-Line services are no<br />
longer proposed to extend to<br />
Newport and the construction<br />
of a roundabout at the corner<br />
of Neptune and Barrenjoey<br />
Roads will not proceed.<br />
8 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
News<br />
Saving lives – and the planet<br />
The new Northern<br />
Beaches Hospital has<br />
achieved a best practice<br />
rating for sustainability, setting<br />
the scene for it to become<br />
a world-class healing environment.<br />
The hospital at Frenchs<br />
Forest will be the first 4<br />
Star Green Star – Healthcare<br />
Design & As Built-certified<br />
hospital in NSW.<br />
Designed and constructed<br />
and managed by Healthscope<br />
under contract with the NSW<br />
Government, the nine-storey,<br />
488-bed hospital will provide<br />
care for both public and<br />
private patients when it opens<br />
in October.<br />
Responsible for maintaining<br />
the facility’s green credentials<br />
is Northern Beaches<br />
Hospital Director of Operations<br />
and <strong>Pittwater</strong> local Pat<br />
Taurins.<br />
“We applied for the 4 Star<br />
Green Star rating because<br />
there are so many links<br />
between the quality of your<br />
environment and healing and<br />
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN: The new<br />
hospital’s rating is a NSW first.<br />
well-being,” Mr Taurins told<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>.<br />
“It’s a lengthy process and<br />
a great deal of work involved<br />
but Healthscope feels very<br />
passionately about creating<br />
the best environment possible<br />
for patients, staff, volunteers<br />
and visitors.”<br />
Administered by the Green<br />
Building Council of Australia<br />
(GBCA), Green Star assesses<br />
the sustainable design,<br />
construction and operation<br />
of buildings, fit outs and<br />
communities.<br />
The assessment covers nine<br />
areas: management; indoor<br />
environment quality; energy;<br />
transport; water; materials;<br />
waste; land use and ecology;<br />
and emissions. From this an<br />
overall rating is formulated –<br />
the GBCA’s 4 Star Green Star<br />
rating represents Australian<br />
best practice.<br />
The hospital project team<br />
has been working to achieve<br />
the rating from the outset developing<br />
and following a comprehensive<br />
plan and tracking<br />
and monitoring commitment<br />
to operational sustainability.<br />
As a result, the CBCA says<br />
the hospital is projected to<br />
achieve a 55% reduction in<br />
greenhouse gas consumption<br />
when compared to a benchmark<br />
building.<br />
During construction, 80 per<br />
cent of waste was diverted<br />
from landfill and repurposed,<br />
while environmentally sustainable<br />
materials have been<br />
used throughout to improve<br />
the quality of the indoor<br />
environment.<br />
Constructed using responsibly<br />
sourced steel, concrete,<br />
PVC and joinery and non-toxic<br />
paints and adhesives, the<br />
hospital has been designed to<br />
maximise patient, staff and<br />
visitor comfort and health.<br />
Within the hospital, patients,<br />
staff and visitors will<br />
benefit from high levels of<br />
natural light, indoor air quality,<br />
quality lighting, careful<br />
acoustic design to minimise<br />
noise, spectacular views and<br />
easy access to green outdoor<br />
spaces featuring native plants.<br />
The hospital’s “hi-performance”<br />
façade minimises<br />
heating and cooling power<br />
consumption and high-tech<br />
systems (such as a Co-Gen<br />
system, which generates<br />
electricity from gas and using<br />
waste heat for heating)<br />
employed to increase energy<br />
efficiency.<br />
10 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
‘G’ IS FOR GREEN STAR: NB Hospital’s Director of Operations Pat Taurins.<br />
Other smart energy strategies<br />
include optimising the<br />
orientation of buildings to<br />
minimise unnecessary heat<br />
from the sun and setting up<br />
an extensive electricity and<br />
water metering and reporting<br />
system to track and manage<br />
consumption.<br />
High efficiency fittings<br />
and equipment have been<br />
installed throughout – even<br />
the $3.5 million worth of<br />
sterilising equipment was selected<br />
with the environment<br />
in mind.<br />
“The washers save 30 litres<br />
of water per load, over a year<br />
that’s 50 Olympic sized pools<br />
worth of water that can be<br />
used to water the landscaping<br />
around the hospital,” Mr<br />
Taurins added.<br />
Internationally recognised<br />
advocate and change agent for<br />
sustainability and outstanding<br />
member of the <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
community who also happens<br />
to be the CEO of the Green<br />
Building Council of Australia,<br />
Romilly Madew, described the<br />
hospital’s 4 Star Green Star<br />
certification as a “tremendous<br />
achievement”.<br />
“When it starts operating,<br />
Northern Beaches Hospital<br />
will be a leading sustainable<br />
healthcare facility,” Ms Madew<br />
said.<br />
She said having such a<br />
facility in her local area was<br />
“fantastic”.<br />
“It illustrates to the community<br />
that government has<br />
committed to sustainability<br />
leadership and take not only<br />
their care but costs seriously,”<br />
she said.<br />
“With three active kids I<br />
have had my fair share of<br />
trips to hospital… and not<br />
just from those experiences I<br />
know how important it is that<br />
we design these buildings to<br />
be great places to be in.<br />
“No-one wants to be in a<br />
hospital, so let’s make sure<br />
we make them as good as we<br />
can, both to get out as fast<br />
as we can, but also to make a<br />
difficult time less so.”<br />
Ms Madew explained investments<br />
in improved energy<br />
and water performance lower<br />
operating costs resulting<br />
in more money that can be<br />
directed to patient care.<br />
“There is more than two decades<br />
of compelling evidence<br />
demonstrating that green design<br />
not only makes hospitals<br />
more energy-efficient – it also<br />
has huge benefits for patients,<br />
medical staff, general staff,<br />
visitors and the wider community,”<br />
she said.<br />
There is also evidence<br />
green design can help reduce<br />
hospital stays and improve<br />
patient outcomes.<br />
Ms Madew referred to<br />
research from the World<br />
Green Building Council which<br />
showed that incorporating<br />
green design in hospital<br />
infrastructure could deliver<br />
an 8.5% reduction in hospital<br />
stays, 15% faster recovery<br />
rates, a 22% reduction in the<br />
need for pain medication and<br />
an 11% reduction in secondary<br />
infections.<br />
For staff, a green hospital<br />
Continued on page 21<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 11
News<br />
GP urges ‘opt out’ of digital health record<br />
Newport GP Dr Julian Northover<br />
has warned locals to<br />
do their due diligence before<br />
deciding to remain part of the<br />
Federal Government’s new ‘My<br />
Health Record’ – which automatically<br />
stores individuals’<br />
personal health information in<br />
a massive digital database and<br />
places the onus on people to<br />
‘opt out’ of the program rather<br />
than gain their approval to<br />
participate.<br />
A passionate opponent, Dr<br />
Northover said there were<br />
numerous reasons why he had<br />
already opted out (the window<br />
triggered July 16 and runs<br />
through October 15).<br />
“I did not feel I could trust<br />
the government My Health Record<br />
(‘MyHR’) with my personal<br />
health information which I<br />
disclosed in confidence to my<br />
local doctor,” Dr Northover told<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>.<br />
“Nor did I feel I could trust<br />
the government to not change<br />
the rules about access to my<br />
health data in the future; the<br />
government’s refusal to delete<br />
our records if requested once<br />
they are created; the 900,000-<br />
plus health providers and<br />
administrators with access<br />
rights to MyHR; the 100,000-<br />
plus ‘venerable’<br />
computers accessing<br />
MyHR; the<br />
sharing / cross<br />
match of records<br />
by many government<br />
departments<br />
without my knowledge<br />
or consent;<br />
the potential to<br />
use MyHR to deny<br />
/ reduce access to<br />
health insurance or<br />
life/income insurance;<br />
and the use of MyHR in<br />
any judicial process through<br />
subpoena.”<br />
Dr Northover said other concerns<br />
included the potential<br />
use of MyHR to limit employment<br />
prospects through<br />
‘authorised releases’.<br />
“There’s also the linking of<br />
MyHR to other family members<br />
and peers, as well as to<br />
newer big data tools including<br />
artificial intelligence which<br />
will further interrogate our<br />
OPPOSED: Dr Northover.<br />
records,” he said.<br />
“I do not feel that MyHR is<br />
a prudent thing for society,<br />
where we are at the cusp of<br />
storing genetic<br />
information as<br />
part our patient<br />
records.<br />
“Alarmingly, I<br />
did not feel that<br />
MyHR had been<br />
explained to me<br />
– especially the<br />
costs and risks – in<br />
sufficient detail<br />
(including through<br />
my role as a ‘IT<br />
literate’ general<br />
practitioner).<br />
“And I did not feel that<br />
MyHR will add substantially to<br />
my clinical care as a patient –<br />
nor did I feel that the minimal<br />
patient benefits of emergency<br />
presentations and allergies<br />
justified what we are signing<br />
up to.”<br />
Dr Northover said anyone<br />
old enough to remember the<br />
‘Australia Card’ proposal<br />
would recall the debate it<br />
created and the way it was<br />
“watered down” to the creation<br />
of Tax File Numbers.<br />
“Now we live in a newer<br />
digital age where the level of<br />
interrogation of big data for<br />
government and corporate use<br />
will far exceed anything we<br />
can imagine today.”<br />
He said he did believe however<br />
that further efficiencies<br />
in healthcare information were<br />
required to help better manage<br />
care and its costs – but that the<br />
current format “signs us and<br />
our children to a more onerous<br />
and less-forgiving future”.<br />
“This will become a bigger<br />
story in the media as people<br />
become aware of what they<br />
are getting pushed into,” he<br />
said. “Let’s ‘opt out’ for a better<br />
discussion… and while you’re<br />
at it, the kids too!”<br />
More info can be found at<br />
‘For Sale – Your Privacy and<br />
Your Health Data’ at privacy.<br />
org.au; also read the Australian<br />
Medical Association’s view<br />
ama.com.au/gp-network-news/<br />
my-health-record<br />
* What it means – read Jennifer<br />
Harris’ law column p54.<br />
12 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Book Review<br />
On the<br />
Right Track<br />
by Penelope Janu<br />
Mira, $29.99<br />
If you fell in love with the<br />
hunky Norwegian Naval<br />
Captain, Per Amundsen,<br />
in Avalon-based Penelope<br />
Janu’s debut novel, In At<br />
the Deep End, wait till you<br />
catch up with his brooding<br />
diplomat/spy brother, Tor,<br />
in her latest novel.<br />
This time Janu swaps<br />
Avalon and the surf,<br />
for country and horses.<br />
Golden Saunders carries a serious riding injury,<br />
and an even greater family scandal on her shoulders.<br />
When Tor Amundsen brings allegations of her father’s<br />
race-fixing and money laundering to her quiet farm life,<br />
she is forced to cooperate with his investigation by her<br />
powerful politician stepfather.<br />
Try as she might to fight a growing attraction, and the<br />
potential Tor has to up-end her life, his way with animals<br />
and children threatens to melt her heart. Did I mention he<br />
is also very handsome? A well-written romantic treat for<br />
readers.<br />
Penelope Janu will be sharing her writing journey<br />
at Beachside Bookshop’s Sunday Salon on Sunday 12<br />
<strong>August</strong>. Call 9918 9918 for info.<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 13
News<br />
New CEO’s engagement promise<br />
New Northern Beaches<br />
Council CEO Ray Brownlee<br />
says he has made it his<br />
mission to improve the organisation’s<br />
customer service<br />
and the way it communicates<br />
and engages with residents,<br />
businesses and visitors.<br />
Mr Brownlee, who was appointed<br />
on July 17 following<br />
a three-month recruitment<br />
process, told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong><br />
he was attracted to apply for<br />
the position on the beaches<br />
as it married with his most<br />
recent experience heading<br />
up Randwick City Council in<br />
Sydney’s east (a role he held<br />
from 2004).<br />
“My experience in senior<br />
executive roles in local government,<br />
focus on customer<br />
service and financial management,<br />
and the leadership<br />
and motivation of a diverse<br />
workforce in a coastal urban<br />
environment, were attributes<br />
that aligned with the direction<br />
of the Northern Beaches<br />
Council,” he said.<br />
“The Northern Beaches<br />
Council has the size and<br />
capacity to deliver the economies<br />
of scale to achieve the<br />
financial savings and benefits<br />
to the community from the<br />
merger process.<br />
“I am very excited to work<br />
with the Mayor and Councillors<br />
to build on the successes<br />
of Council. As the CEO, and<br />
with our staff, we will deliver<br />
high quality services and<br />
facilities to our community.”<br />
Mr Brownlee has more than<br />
30 years’ experience in local<br />
government. Married with<br />
two children and a 14-monthold<br />
grandson, he currently resides<br />
outside of the Northern<br />
Beaches.<br />
Northern Beaches Mayor Michael<br />
Regan said Mr Brownlee<br />
“ticked all the boxes”.<br />
“He has an incredible<br />
breadth of experience, a real<br />
focus on customer service<br />
and delivery and is an exceptional<br />
financial manager,” Cr<br />
Regan said.<br />
“His proven track record was<br />
acknowledged in 2015 when he<br />
was awarded a Public Service<br />
Medal for outstanding public<br />
service in an executive role.<br />
“He is extremely highly<br />
regarded, with demonstrated<br />
ability to influence all levels<br />
of government.<br />
“Plus he is very down to<br />
earth, genuine and peoplefocused<br />
– he will be a great fit<br />
for our community.”<br />
Mr Brownlee was also the<br />
driving force behind the coordination<br />
of partnerships with<br />
public and private entities<br />
which enabled the securing<br />
of transformational infrastructure<br />
development for<br />
metropolitan Sydney and the<br />
greater eastern suburbs such<br />
as the CBD and South East<br />
Light Rail project (currently<br />
under construction).<br />
Mr Brownlee commences a<br />
five-year contract on October 1.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
5THINGS<br />
THIS MONTH<br />
Pack birthing kits. Zonta<br />
Club of Northern Beaches and<br />
Barrenjoey High School are<br />
organising a day to pack Birthing<br />
Kits for women in developing<br />
countries. All members of the<br />
community invited to help<br />
assemble the kits containing<br />
six simple items on Sat 18 from<br />
1-4pm. A donation of $3 buys<br />
the materials for one kit and the<br />
training program for its delivery.<br />
Contact Margaret on 0416 182<br />
393 or marg.white@me.com to<br />
register your interest.<br />
Free stay at YHA. Spend two<br />
mornings on the weekend of<br />
<strong>August</strong> 24-26 helping to remove<br />
weeds in the beautiful Ku-ringgai<br />
Chase National Park and<br />
be rewarded with two nights<br />
accommodation, two days<br />
of meals (morning teas, BBQ<br />
lunches and evening dinners) and<br />
kayak use at the award-winning<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Youth Hostel. All you<br />
will need is a $20 contribution.<br />
Contact <strong>Pittwater</strong>@yha.com.au or<br />
9999-5748 to register interest.<br />
Car boot sale. <strong>Pittwater</strong> High<br />
School will be full of great stuff<br />
for sale on Sun 5 from 7.30am-<br />
1.30pm with bargains for buyers,<br />
sausage sizzles, drinks and more.<br />
Eco textile workshop.<br />
Young folk (12-18) are invited<br />
to join in a 6-week course with<br />
local textile artist Ivana Taylor<br />
to learn how to up-cycle textile<br />
waste. Participants will learn<br />
traditional techniques including<br />
Japanese Boro stitching, Indian<br />
Kantha stitching and a variety<br />
of contemporary ways to curate<br />
and re-purpose fabric scraps to<br />
create textile pieces. Thursdays,<br />
5-7pm from Aug 9 to Sept 13<br />
at Warringah Mall Library. Cost<br />
$30; info 9942 7999.<br />
Make herbal home<br />
remedies. This workshop in<br />
Avalon on Sat 18 from 10am-1pm<br />
is for anyone wishing to learn<br />
about simple and natural home<br />
remedies for the colder months.<br />
The workshop will be presented<br />
by Julie Gundlach, who has<br />
more than 20 years’ experience<br />
in many areas of health and<br />
wellbeing. See the Permaculture<br />
Northern Beaches website for<br />
more info.<br />
14 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
A flood of<br />
complaints<br />
Special report by Nigel Wall<br />
News<br />
Northern Beaches Council<br />
has launched a last-ditch<br />
legal bid to overturn a<br />
controversial decision to approve<br />
development on floodprone<br />
land at Warriewood.<br />
It comes as flood expert and<br />
former general manager of <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
Council Angus Gordon<br />
slammed the determination<br />
of the Sydney North Planning<br />
Panel – chaired by former NSW<br />
Liberal leader Peter Debnam –<br />
which he said could put lives<br />
at risk and create a future massive<br />
clean-up with ratepayers<br />
left to foot the bill.<br />
Further, local MP Rob Stokes<br />
has made representations to<br />
Minister for Planning Anthony<br />
Roberts to highlight the ramifications<br />
of the panel’s July 4<br />
decision to amend the <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
Local Environmental Plan,<br />
which will allow the owner of 2<br />
Macpherson Street, Warriewood<br />
to build 22 dwellings on the site<br />
adjoining the new $6 million<br />
Macpherson St Bridge.<br />
The bridge was planned and<br />
constructed to help manage<br />
flooding upstream from Ingleside;<br />
it opened last December.<br />
At an extraordinary meeting<br />
on July 17, Council resolved to<br />
seek urgent legal advice as to<br />
the prospects of overturning<br />
the decision, as well as write to<br />
the Planning Minister expressing<br />
concern in view of the flood<br />
risk and formally request the<br />
plan not be made.<br />
Mayor Michael Regan told<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> that flooding<br />
in Warriewood Valley was a<br />
serious issue, in part because<br />
of the difficulty in evacuating<br />
people when floods occur with<br />
little warning.<br />
“It is clear that the current<br />
framework doesn’t appropriately<br />
deal with the risk of largescale<br />
flooding and Council and<br />
the community are left to deal<br />
with the risks,” he said.<br />
Angus Gordon is a Civil<br />
Engineer who holds a Masters<br />
Degree in Coastal and Water<br />
Engineering; he has more than<br />
40 years’ experience in flood<br />
issues and management, and is<br />
a former Manager of the Manly<br />
Hydraulics Laboratory, which<br />
specialises in water issues<br />
including flood management.<br />
Mr Gordon said the Macpherson<br />
Street site, set up as a<br />
“buffer” zone in the 20-year<br />
Warriewood Valley housing<br />
strategy, had more than a<br />
century of history of being<br />
severely impacted by flooding.<br />
Photo: Angus Gordon<br />
“In the mid-1990s detailed<br />
flood studies confirmed this,<br />
as have more recent refinements<br />
of these flood studies,”<br />
he said. “I have personally<br />
observed the site significantly<br />
flooded on four occasions and<br />
have made several written representations<br />
on the significant<br />
flooding of the site, both as GM<br />
of the former <strong>Pittwater</strong> Council<br />
and as a community member.”<br />
Graphic photos he took of a<br />
major flooding event in 2013<br />
(below) illustrate the danger to<br />
the community.<br />
“It ends up being the volunteers<br />
such as the SES who have<br />
to risk their lives because of<br />
these thoughtless decisions,<br />
and the rest of the community<br />
that have to pick up the cost,”<br />
he said. “It makes no sense.”<br />
“The developer bought the<br />
land knowing it was flood<br />
prone and zoned with a zeroyield<br />
potential. Any reasonable<br />
professional should have<br />
simply pointed this out to the<br />
developer, just as <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
Council did in the past.”<br />
Mr Gordon said the panel<br />
16 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Photo: All Sky Drones / Jay Platt<br />
PUSH TO OVERTURN: Flood issues expert Angus Gordon stands on the Macpherson Street Bridge at Warriewood; the land adjacent has been given the<br />
all-clear to be developed for housing despite still representing a major flood risk. OPPOSITE: The site during the most recent flooding event in 2013.<br />
had erred by using a ‘1:100<br />
years’ flood level to arrive at<br />
its conclusion of “extremely<br />
low probability of the Probable<br />
Maximum Flood Event” – this<br />
he said was using “old world<br />
terminology”.<br />
“The inquest following the<br />
1997 Thredbo disaster made it<br />
quite clear that it was inappropriate<br />
to use criteria such<br />
as the 1% event where lives and<br />
property are placed at risk by<br />
natural hazards,” he said.<br />
“The Panel’s assertions in<br />
regard of flooding impacts on<br />
the site on property and life<br />
demonstrate the panel did not<br />
have the competence necessary<br />
to make the determination<br />
it made. It knowingly has<br />
placed lives and property in<br />
harm’s way – and this despite<br />
the State Government’s policy<br />
to not allow intensification of<br />
flood prone sites, and the more<br />
modern views on risk and risk<br />
management.”<br />
Mr Gordon further rubbished<br />
the panel’s assertion that, when<br />
filled so that the ground floors<br />
of future dwellings would be<br />
above the ‘Probable Maximum<br />
Flood Event’ height, the land<br />
would not materially affect<br />
other land around it.<br />
“The Panel has completely<br />
neglected the impact on adjacent<br />
properties and properties<br />
downstream,” he said.<br />
“It has been long understood<br />
by flood management professionals<br />
that filling a flood<br />
prone site moves the flood<br />
waters onto adjacent properties<br />
– it is like filling a bucket<br />
to the brim and then dropping<br />
in a couple of bricks; the bucket<br />
overflows and inundates the<br />
surrounding area.<br />
“You don’t have to be very<br />
bright to realise this.<br />
“The Panel clearly didn’t understand<br />
the potential adverse<br />
impacts of their decision on<br />
adjacent properties,” he continued.<br />
“There is an important difference<br />
between understanding<br />
the overall concepts of land use<br />
Continued on page 18<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 17
News<br />
Continued from page 17<br />
planning and on understanding<br />
risk management. Clearly<br />
the Panel lacked the necessary<br />
expertise in risk management.”<br />
Adjacent properties and<br />
properties downstream are<br />
those that may suffer, he said.<br />
“The Panel should have insisted<br />
on an independent ‘run’<br />
on the existing, sophisticated,<br />
computer-based flood model<br />
for Warriewood Valley in order<br />
to properly asses the impacts,”<br />
he continued.<br />
“The Flood model has been<br />
developed and refined over<br />
more than two decades and<br />
clearly shows the site as being<br />
significantly impacted. It would<br />
have been a simple matter to rerun<br />
it to properly assess the potential<br />
impacts of the proposed<br />
development on both the site<br />
in question and surrounding<br />
properties. To not insist on the<br />
proper, and independent, use of<br />
the existing flood modelling is<br />
simply incomprehensible.”<br />
Mr Gordon said there was a<br />
time when there was no flood<br />
insurance and the individuals<br />
impacted by floods had to simply<br />
“wear” the consequences.<br />
HISTORY OF FLOODING: The<br />
Macpherson Street site in 2013<br />
(above) and a long-time resident’s<br />
photo of Warriewood flooding in<br />
the 1940s (right).<br />
“Nowadays the community<br />
ends up wearing the costs of<br />
disasters whether that be<br />
through disaster relief funds<br />
from the State and Federal<br />
Government – which after all<br />
are funded through our taxes –<br />
or from Council funds, funded<br />
through our rates, or through<br />
insurance,” he said.<br />
“Many people don’t realise<br />
that since the insurance industry<br />
introduced flood insurance<br />
(under political pressure), both<br />
the industry and government<br />
realised that the burden of<br />
flood insurance premiums<br />
were often too great on the<br />
individuals most impacted and<br />
so in order to offset this, the<br />
burden has been spread over<br />
many properties.<br />
“That is, many of the community<br />
are actually subsidising<br />
the insurance premiums<br />
of flood prone properties. So<br />
when your taxes, council rates<br />
and insurance premiums rise<br />
in the future you can thank the<br />
Photo: Angus Gordon & supplied<br />
Panel members for doing their<br />
bit to intensify development<br />
that puts lives and property<br />
in harm’s way in Warriewood<br />
Valley, and drains money out of<br />
your hip pocket.”<br />
The Planning Panel’s meeting<br />
lasted 31 minutes. Its determination<br />
noted members made<br />
just one site inspection – in<br />
April 2017, before the bridge<br />
was constructed.<br />
It noted 19 written<br />
submissions<br />
– but tellingly in<br />
its ‘Reasons For<br />
Decision’ it stated<br />
“there were no<br />
speakers from the<br />
community at the<br />
public meeting”.<br />
This drew the ire<br />
of Mayor Michael<br />
Regan, who told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>:<br />
“I understand there were very<br />
few community members in attendance<br />
for the Panel meeting.<br />
I’m concerned that there is not<br />
enough advice or information<br />
making its way to our community<br />
before the Panel makes<br />
important decisions – and why<br />
it seems that a verbal submission<br />
is given more weight than<br />
a written one.”<br />
18 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Hospital forum concern<br />
Hundreds of people heard of<br />
concerns about the future<br />
of hospital care in the region at<br />
a forum last month.<br />
Prominent doctor Richard<br />
West said NSW Government<br />
claims that is was retaining<br />
a hospital at Mona Vale when<br />
Northern Beaches Hospital<br />
opens were “fraudulent” and<br />
he said the new hospital would<br />
not be able to treat major<br />
trauma cases because it did not<br />
have neurosurgery facilities.<br />
“The problems are, no major<br />
trauma, cardiac surgery has to<br />
be sorted out, and it has to have<br />
a proper stroke unit where patients<br />
can be treated in a timely<br />
fashion,” he said.<br />
A resolution called on the<br />
NSW Government to retain<br />
Mona Vale Hospital in public<br />
hands at a minimum Level 3<br />
hospital with full emergency<br />
department; retain the main<br />
building; upgrade the existing<br />
facilities and that palliative<br />
care and aged care be kept.<br />
In response, a spokesperson<br />
from Northern Sydney Local<br />
Health District told <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
<strong>Life</strong> all acute healthcare<br />
services provided at Manly and<br />
Mona Vale Hospitals would be<br />
available at the new hospital.<br />
“It will also provide more<br />
complex healthcare than is currently<br />
available on the Northern<br />
Beaches with the potential<br />
to provide even more services<br />
in the future,” he said.<br />
“Mona Vale Hospital would<br />
continue to have an important<br />
role in delivering integrated<br />
services that complement those<br />
provided across the Beaches.”<br />
More than 250 staff will<br />
be employed at Mona Vale<br />
Hospital to provide health services<br />
including the urgent care<br />
centre, rehabilitation inpatient<br />
services, inpatient palliative<br />
care unit and geriatric evaluation<br />
and management unit.<br />
“Residents will continue to<br />
have access to Royal North<br />
Shore Hospital which is the<br />
major adult trauma and acute<br />
thrombolysis and clot retrieval<br />
centre for Northern Sydney<br />
region.”<br />
Mona Vale Hospital will also<br />
have a new ambulance station.<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 19
Dredge plea<br />
News<br />
Businesses in Palm Beach<br />
and across <strong>Pittwater</strong> at<br />
Ettalong are hoping a longterm<br />
solution can be found to<br />
the environmental issue that has<br />
shut down ferry services and cut<br />
off the two tourism destinations<br />
for more than two months.<br />
Massive sand build-up near<br />
Little Box Head forced the closure<br />
of the Ettalong Channel in<br />
May, with dredging required to<br />
clear the waterway – the second<br />
time in two years the channel<br />
has required dredging works<br />
to counter tidal flow deposits<br />
of sand.<br />
Ettalong Tourism & Visitor<br />
Information Centre<br />
administrator at Ettalong<br />
Diggers, Kim Cole, said<br />
the southern-tip Central<br />
Coast community was<br />
desperate for the dredging<br />
to begin and the<br />
ferry service to resume, to<br />
arrest a significant downturn<br />
in business.<br />
“It is imperative for the<br />
survival of small business<br />
in our region which is the<br />
lifeblood of our community,”<br />
Ms Cole said.<br />
“The wharf closure has had<br />
a significant financial impact,<br />
with many highlighting a big<br />
drop-off in trade – it has also<br />
had a big effect on commuters,<br />
tradies and students attending<br />
Northern Beaches schools.”<br />
Wolfgang Zichy, owner of the<br />
Re:Publik Cafe and Art Gallery<br />
on Ocean View, said the flow<br />
of visitors had dried up – with<br />
some shops reporting income<br />
loss of more than 50 per cent.<br />
“It’s the businesses that are<br />
in line with people walking to<br />
and from the ferry who are suffering<br />
the most,” he said.<br />
“Also, we hear Patonga is suffering<br />
from the wash around<br />
the wharf and beach and cars<br />
parked everywhere, so that no<br />
visitors there can find a space,”<br />
he said.<br />
Club Palm Beach general<br />
manager John Sinclair noted<br />
Palm Beach businesses had<br />
also been impacted.<br />
“Where we would normally<br />
CLOGGED: An aerial view showing sand build-up.<br />
BUSINESSES SUFFERING: The Ettalong community have rallied.<br />
expect to welcome 20 visitors<br />
to lunch, at the moment we are<br />
picking up maybe two or three.<br />
And where normally 50 to 60<br />
might get off the ferry at Palm<br />
Beach, now it’s around eight.”<br />
The long-term fix remains<br />
up in the air given an ongoing<br />
dispute between Central Coast<br />
Council and the NSW Government<br />
over responsibility to pay<br />
for the dredging.<br />
The Council refuses to accept<br />
the Government’s definition<br />
that it is a ‘local’ waterway<br />
and is demanding the Berejiklian<br />
Government pay<br />
each time the channel<br />
requires work.<br />
But the Government<br />
maintains that as the<br />
waterway does not<br />
contain any State-owned<br />
maritime structure it<br />
is defined as a regional<br />
waterway, with Council<br />
responsible.<br />
The Government has<br />
stumped up for the bill<br />
on each of the past two<br />
occasions, drawing on<br />
emergency funding; it has also<br />
signed a cheque for $660,000<br />
in new emergency funding<br />
– which will enable a more<br />
extensive dredging job this<br />
time around which it’s hoped<br />
will provide a longer window<br />
between incidents and allow<br />
the Government and Council to<br />
strike accord.<br />
In the meantime, at the Government’s<br />
urging, Council has<br />
applied for emergency assistance<br />
under the Rescuing Our<br />
Waterways program, which<br />
would see Government match<br />
contributions from Council.<br />
New dredging works, which<br />
will take approximately five to<br />
eight weeks, were scheduled to<br />
commence in late July, subject<br />
to weather conditions and seas.<br />
Meanwhile, to help “drive”<br />
people to Ettalong, several offshore<br />
businesses have banded<br />
together under the umbrella<br />
Peninsula Tourism Partners<br />
(PTP).<br />
Its first promotional campaign<br />
has seen the introduction<br />
of ‘Peninsula Dollars’ –<br />
distributed by accommodation<br />
provider Accom, the ‘dollars’<br />
provide discounts and special<br />
deals to visitors.<br />
Mr Zichy said PTP would be<br />
working with Fantasea Ferries<br />
to announce further promotions<br />
as soon as the channel<br />
was reopened.<br />
– Lisa Offord<br />
20 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Photo: Elise Lockwood<br />
HEARD…<br />
ABSURD…<br />
SEEN…<br />
Wow – what a top acting<br />
performance from the cast of new<br />
movie ‘Palm Beach’, which completed<br />
shooting around <strong>Pittwater</strong> last<br />
month. While the crew were dressed<br />
for July’s bitter cold, Bryan Brown,<br />
Jacqueline McKenzie and Richard<br />
E Grant battled the elements in<br />
beach gear. (Nice Hawaiian shirt<br />
and boardies!) Producers Bryan and<br />
Deb Balderstone, along with director<br />
Rachel Ward, asked <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> to<br />
thank the Palm Beach community<br />
for their warmth and support during<br />
the shoot. “It’s not hard to make<br />
paradise look like paradise,” said<br />
Bryan. The movie is expected to be<br />
released next year.<br />
We’re hearing Council’s ‘cold feet’ over the compulsory purchase<br />
of Pasadena has dropped a couple of degrees to ‘very cold’. Latest<br />
whisper, given a high level of community support for the iconic<br />
venue’s retention, is Dee Why HQ is looking at ways to buy the<br />
property but then utilise and manage the existing structure as a<br />
community resource. Top of the list is that they tip the $1 million<br />
funding for the new northern end arts facility into the acquisition<br />
kitty and rebirth Pasadena as an art gallery/creative space with<br />
restaurant/café. Thoughts? In other news, councilor Rory Amon,<br />
reacting to community sentiment, has launched a #SavePasadena campaign, complete<br />
with ‘Save Ferris’ style T-shirts. Amon says he’s garnered 2000 signatures supporting the<br />
retention of Pasadena, along with 85 per cent support on a Facebook poll. “The forcible<br />
acquisition is a huge financial risk and could cost Council $20 million we don’t have,” Amon<br />
said. Council will consider the issue further at a meeting in early <strong>August</strong>.<br />
The misinformation being generated within our community about local Council and<br />
NSW Government projects. All residents of <strong>Pittwater</strong> deserve better. Let’s do away with<br />
self-interest and make sure all facts are on the table. The withholding of information by<br />
some of our community groups and activists simply staggers us – for example, the lack<br />
of reference to the cheap, on-demand Keoride transport service that links suburbs to the<br />
B-Line. Instead we hear renewed demands for more buses out of peak hours… not exactly<br />
eco-friendly.<br />
Hospital saving<br />
lives and planet<br />
Continued from page 11<br />
could create an environment that<br />
reduced stress, measurably improving<br />
performance and delivery of patient<br />
care, she said.<br />
“It also contributes to increased<br />
employee retention which correlates<br />
with reduced turnover, cost savings<br />
and ensuring smoother overall operations,”<br />
Ms Madew said.<br />
“This is really important because<br />
problems with staff retention are consistently<br />
ranked among the top five<br />
issues for hospitals.<br />
“Our doctors, nurses and hospital<br />
administrators are the unsung heroes<br />
of our community... it seems only right<br />
that they should have fantastic places<br />
in which to work.”<br />
Last year the GBCA hosted Gail Vittori,<br />
co-author of ‘Sustainable Healthcare<br />
Architecture’ and co-director<br />
of the Center for Maximum Potential<br />
Building Systems.<br />
According to Ms Vittori, when we get<br />
the balance right with hospitals – considering<br />
clinical needs, social needs<br />
and sustainability – we achieve a “high<br />
performance healing environment”.<br />
She also points out that sustainability<br />
doesn’t just mean saving energy<br />
and water; there needs to be a holistic<br />
approach taking into account factors<br />
such as access to natural light and<br />
open outdoor space – places that give a<br />
sense of connection.<br />
To ensure the facility continues to<br />
shoot for the stars Mr Taurins said<br />
“green issues” would be a big part of<br />
day-to-day business.<br />
“Management and staff throughout<br />
the hospital will have a role to play in<br />
finding smarter ways to look after our<br />
environment,” he said. – Lisa Offord<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 21
<strong>Pittwater</strong> News<br />
News<br />
Course to attract budding beekeepers<br />
The North Shore Beekeepers’ Association (NSBA) is running<br />
a two-day course for beekeeping beginners on Saturday 25<br />
<strong>August</strong> and Saturday 1 September at its Bee Garden and<br />
Club House in Terrey Hills. Club President Keith Pester says<br />
the course has been designed for complete beginners and<br />
is suitable for people who have or are looking to get either<br />
a traditional (Langstroth) or Flowhive. “Participants have<br />
the opportunity to get hands-on experience opening and<br />
inspecting a beehive,” he said. The course costs $250 for the<br />
two days (9am to 4.30pm) including lunch. The NSBA also<br />
runs other events open to the public including Club Open<br />
Days each month (Sunday 12 <strong>August</strong> and Sunday 16 September<br />
from 11am to 1pm) at 1c Myoora Rd (enter at Par-3 Golf<br />
Course), Terrey Hills. More info and registrations nsbka.org.au.<br />
Dee Why RSL vaults<br />
gymnasts into future<br />
Manly Warringah Gymnastics<br />
Club (MWGC) has a new<br />
bounce in its step following<br />
Dee Why RSL’s latest donation<br />
that has enabled it to<br />
purchase an international<br />
standard competition floor.<br />
MWGC CEO Ian Hardy said<br />
the much-needed acquisition<br />
would allow athletes to<br />
train at top-tier competition<br />
standard for the first time, as<br />
well as permit the Club to host<br />
national level sanctioned competitions<br />
at their now competition<br />
standard gymnasium at<br />
Cromer. MWGC is now one of<br />
the largest sporting clubs on<br />
the Northern Beaches and one<br />
of the most awarded gymnastics<br />
clubs in NSW. They broke<br />
records by having 33 athletes<br />
selected in the 290-strong<br />
State team that contested the<br />
recent Australian Gymnastics<br />
Championships in Melbourne.<br />
Mr Hardy says the club’s objective<br />
was to give every member<br />
the opportunity to reach the<br />
highest level that they were capable<br />
of. “To one child the goal<br />
maybe to do a cartwheel, to<br />
another it maybe to become an<br />
Olympic champion,” he said.<br />
Dee Why RSL have been steady<br />
supporters of MWGC for more<br />
than a decade, donating a total<br />
of $115,000, with an additional<br />
$15,000 committed in <strong>2018</strong>-19.<br />
Feel-good concert<br />
for human rights<br />
The light-hearted, uplifting,<br />
ad-hoc troupe of musicians<br />
Loosely Woven will be giving<br />
a free community concert in<br />
Avalon supporting human<br />
rights on Sunday <strong>August</strong> 12.<br />
Led by Wayne Richmond, the<br />
all-new ‘Feeling Good’ concert<br />
will feature 20 instrumentalists<br />
and singers presenting<br />
a wonderful arrangement of<br />
well-known songs, numbers<br />
that address social injustice<br />
and important issues and<br />
some original pieces all performed<br />
acoustically. “There<br />
are always lots of opportunities<br />
for audience participation<br />
24 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
in a Loosely Woven concert<br />
and when they do it sounds<br />
fantastic for all of us!,” Wayne<br />
said. The concert starts<br />
4pm at the Avalon Baptist<br />
Church. Afternoon tea will<br />
be provided with voluntary<br />
donations to Avalon Amnesty<br />
International Group defending<br />
human rights. More info<br />
kath_moody@hotmail.com or<br />
looselywoven.org.<br />
Rowing challenge for<br />
youth mental health<br />
Avalon Beach Surf Club boaties<br />
are hitting the rowing<br />
machines for 24 hours to<br />
raise awareness and funds<br />
for the charities One Eighty<br />
and Gotcha4<strong>Life</strong> – two groups<br />
focused on providing support<br />
to young adults and opportunities<br />
to openly discuss mental<br />
health. They are rowing for 24<br />
hours to highlight the fact that<br />
mental illness is a 24-hour-aday<br />
health issue and to remind<br />
all that there is support 24<br />
hours of each day too. The<br />
action will take place at Avalon<br />
Beach Surf Club, starting at<br />
10am on (the very apt date of)<br />
18/08/18. Support around the<br />
clock appreciated; go to avalonbeachslsc.com.au<br />
for more<br />
info and to make a donation.<br />
Dr Rip eyes purple<br />
patch at Newport<br />
Surf Scientist and worldrenowned<br />
expert Associate<br />
Professor Dr Rob (Rip) Brander<br />
from UNSW is coming to<br />
Newport on Sunday <strong>August</strong><br />
26 with his award-winning<br />
visual multi-media presentation<br />
about our beaches. Great<br />
for ages 8 years and up, Dr Rip<br />
shows the journey each tiny<br />
grain of sand takes to reach<br />
the beach and the impact of<br />
massive swells that roll in<br />
during big storms. And the big<br />
highlight… he explains how<br />
deadly rip currents form and<br />
shows you how you can spot<br />
them by throwing dye into the<br />
surf. Starts 3pm. Bookings<br />
and more info at newportsurfclub.com.au<br />
Continued on page 26<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 25
<strong>Pittwater</strong> News<br />
News<br />
Continued from page 25<br />
Annabelle Chauncy @<br />
RMYC Ladies Lunch<br />
Enjoy a two-course lunch and<br />
talk by inspirational leader<br />
Annabelle Chancy OAM the<br />
CEO and Founding Director<br />
of the not-for-profit School for<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Foundation which builds<br />
schools in rural Uganda to<br />
help create sustainable and<br />
productive communities. This<br />
dynamic young woman will be<br />
special guest at The Royal Motor<br />
Yacht Club’s Ladies Lunch<br />
Local awarded ANU<br />
Tuckwell Scholarship<br />
Congratulations to <strong>Pittwater</strong> House<br />
Head Boy Finlay Dennison who has<br />
been awarded one of 25 coveted<br />
Tuckwell Scholarships to study at<br />
the Australian National University<br />
in Canberra – considered the most<br />
transformational undergraduate<br />
scholarship program in Australia.<br />
Established by philanthropists<br />
Graham and Louise Tuckwell,<br />
the scholarship is aimed at<br />
young Australian leaders who<br />
are community-minded as well<br />
as academically gifted. Finlay<br />
is a crew member of Reach – an organisation that conducts<br />
youth-led workshops designed to build confidence and selfawareness.<br />
Proud <strong>Pittwater</strong> House Principal Dr Nancy Hillier<br />
described Finlay as a “great fit” for the Tuckwell program.<br />
on <strong>August</strong> 15 from 12pm.<br />
Tickets $75 members; $80 nonmembers.<br />
Bookings royalmotor.com.au.<br />
Probus delivers<br />
talks at coalface<br />
Coal is the hot topic of the next<br />
meeting of <strong>Pittwater</strong> Probus<br />
at Mona Vale Golf Club on<br />
Tuesday <strong>August</strong> 7. Geologist<br />
and mathematician Tony Osman<br />
will deliver his personal<br />
perspective on coal in Indonesia;<br />
during the 2000s commodities<br />
boom the coal mining<br />
industry was very lucrative as<br />
coal prices were comfortably<br />
high. Many Indonesian companies<br />
and wealthy families<br />
decided to acquire coal mining<br />
concessions in Kalimantan –<br />
thereafter coal became known<br />
as the “new gold”. Tony’s talk<br />
will be complemented by Club<br />
Vice President John Porter<br />
who will discuss “clean coal”<br />
in a five-minute briefing. John<br />
says ‘clean coal’ has been the<br />
‘Holy Grail’ of the fossil fuel<br />
industry for decades. “It is<br />
based on the concept of creating<br />
commercially viable ways<br />
of minimising carbon emissions<br />
from coal-fired electricity<br />
plants, which are considered to<br />
contribute to global warming.”<br />
Visitors welcome; meeting<br />
starts 10am. More info Geoff<br />
Sheppard 0437 274 074.<br />
WIN High Tea and<br />
hear of Seven Seas<br />
Here’s the perfect excuse to<br />
head to the city – the chance<br />
for one lucky couple to win<br />
a ‘High Tea’ at the Langham<br />
Hotel and hear about Regent<br />
Seven Seas Cruises, whose<br />
offerings are considered the<br />
world’s most inclusive luxury<br />
experiences at sea. At this<br />
special presentation you’ll<br />
learn more about the coveted<br />
destinations on their 2020-<br />
21 sailing calendar. Event is<br />
10am-12pm on Tuesday 4 September.<br />
Hosted by Travel View<br />
and Regent. To enter, email<br />
win@pittwaterlife.com.au by<br />
Wednesday <strong>August</strong> 21.<br />
26 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
U3A talk looks<br />
to the heavens<br />
A Brief History of Astronomy<br />
is the ‘eye-catching’ subject<br />
of the next University of the<br />
Third Age Northern Beaches<br />
talk at Newport Community<br />
Centre on Wednesday <strong>August</strong><br />
1. Expert Kevin Murray will examine<br />
how different cultures<br />
through the ages have sought<br />
to measure and explain the<br />
movements of the heavens,<br />
while emphasising the scientific<br />
revolution that led to our<br />
modern understanding of the<br />
universe. Talk 1.30-3.30pm;<br />
all welcome. More info Mavis<br />
Bickerton 9970 7161.<br />
Kick a goal with<br />
local sport grants<br />
Sporting clubs in <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
are being urged to apply for<br />
funds under the NSW Government’s<br />
Local Sport Grant<br />
Program which will provide<br />
up to $50,000 for projects<br />
throughout the community.<br />
The four project types (sport<br />
development, community<br />
sport events, sport access, and<br />
facility development) aim to<br />
increase regular and on-going<br />
sport participation. Clubs<br />
must contribute to their chosen<br />
project either financially<br />
or through the use of voluntary<br />
labour, donated materials,<br />
equipment, or other resources<br />
directly related to the project.<br />
Applications close 24 <strong>August</strong>;<br />
more info sport.nsw.gov.au/<br />
clubs/grants/localsport<br />
Love Your<br />
Book Shop Day<br />
The popular Sunday Salons<br />
at Beachside Bookshop have<br />
a packed calendar in <strong>August</strong>.<br />
This month’s in-store and<br />
library schedule includes:<br />
5 <strong>August</strong> – Belinda Castles,<br />
‘Bluebottle’ (free and in store);<br />
12 <strong>August</strong> – Penelope Janu,<br />
‘On the Right Track’ (free and<br />
in store); 19 <strong>August</strong> – Margaret<br />
Morgan, ‘The Second Cure’<br />
(free and in store); and 26 <strong>August</strong><br />
– Amanda Hampson, ‘The<br />
Continued on page 28<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 27
<strong>Pittwater</strong> News<br />
Continued from page 27<br />
Yellow Villa’ (at Avalon Library,<br />
$5). Salons held 3-4pm, including<br />
afternoon tea – bookings<br />
essential on 9918 9918. Plus<br />
it’s ‘Love Your Book Shop Day’<br />
on Saturday 11 <strong>August</strong> and to<br />
celebrate BB are bringing back<br />
their Young Adult Book promotion<br />
– 11% off all teen titles<br />
on Saturday 11 <strong>August</strong>. And<br />
spend $150 in store and you’ll<br />
receive a bonus ‘Keep Cup’.<br />
News<br />
Girl power! Avalon Under-16s<br />
achieve great community goal<br />
A<br />
group of Avalon football players’ off-field conduct<br />
while on tour in Vanuatu last month made local news<br />
headlines… and for all the right reasons. Young women<br />
and parents from Avalon Soccer Club were praised in local<br />
media for their work totally refurbishing a kindergarten<br />
at Matarisu village in north west Efate. In a news item<br />
in the Vanuatu Independent, Lisa Paton explained the<br />
Avalon Soccer Club’s U16s women’s teams had visited the<br />
Pacific Island nation annually since 2012 and had always<br />
given something to local communities such as sporting<br />
equipment and school supplies. “We heard about this<br />
kindy which was in such a state that the kids wouldn’t<br />
come and the teacher left and we wanted to make it good<br />
enough that kids would want to come and the teacher<br />
would come back,” Lisa said. As the picture shows, it was<br />
a job well done. The sporting highlights of the 10-day<br />
tour included several friendly games against local village<br />
sides culminating in matches against Vanuatu’s national<br />
women’s teams in Port Vila.<br />
Creeks in the<br />
Catchment<br />
At the next Friends of Narrabeen<br />
Lagoon forum on Monday<br />
<strong>August</strong> 27, staff members<br />
from Northern Beaches<br />
Council will outline the works<br />
needed to control erosion and<br />
protect against flooding. They<br />
will give information about<br />
the bush regeneration projects<br />
in riparian zones in the catchment.<br />
Venue is Coastal Environment<br />
Centre; from 7pm.<br />
Take things for<br />
‘granted’<br />
Northern Beaches Council has<br />
committed $550,000 to its<br />
Grants Programs for <strong>2018</strong>/19<br />
and is encouraging the<br />
community to apply. The three<br />
grant categories cover a broad<br />
range of interests and sectors<br />
of the community including<br />
Community and Cultural<br />
Development ($240,000 total);<br />
Events ($210,000) and Sports<br />
and Recreation Infrastructure<br />
Grants ($100,000 available<br />
28 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
with a minimum grant value<br />
of $10,000 – last year six<br />
local tennis, rugby, football<br />
and bowling clubs were<br />
successfully awarded a share<br />
of the $100,000 grant). More<br />
info Council website.<br />
Iconic Coast Walk on<br />
track for completion<br />
More than 24km of new<br />
cycleways (off/on road) and<br />
1.7 km of the 9km of walkway<br />
have been completed along<br />
the spectacular Northern<br />
Beaches Coast Walk, on track<br />
to be finished by 2020. The<br />
Coast Walk from Manly to<br />
Palm Beach forms part of<br />
the Connected Communities<br />
Program, a $32.6 million<br />
infrastructure investment,<br />
co-funded through the NSW<br />
Government’s Stronger<br />
Communities Fund. To<br />
date, approximately 20% of<br />
the coastal path has been<br />
completed including sections<br />
at <strong>Pittwater</strong> Road Collaroy<br />
and Narrabeen, Robert Dunn<br />
Reserve Mona Vale, Mona Vale<br />
Golf course, The Boulevarde<br />
and Ross Street Newport,<br />
Bert Payne Reserve, Newport,<br />
Watkins Road Avalon Beach.<br />
The next focus is on North<br />
Narrabeen Headland Reserve<br />
to Robert Dunn Reserve along<br />
Narrabeen Park Parade and<br />
Hillcrest Avenue Mona Vale,<br />
followed by work to Whale<br />
Beach Road from Norma<br />
Road to Florida Road in early<br />
2019. The coastal works are<br />
being complemented by a<br />
series of connected cycling<br />
and walking paths at points<br />
along the route from Manly to<br />
Palm Beach. They connect the<br />
Coastal Walk with areas west<br />
to Frenchs Forest hospital<br />
precinct and Belrose, linking<br />
the B-Line transport hubs<br />
and services to these areas.<br />
Further works are also underway<br />
at missing sections along<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Road Collaroy and<br />
Narrabeen (to be completed in<br />
September); Hillcrest Avenue<br />
Mona Vale (expected to be<br />
completed by December);<br />
and the design and consultation<br />
for Newport to Avalon<br />
beaches.<br />
That’s berry weird!<br />
Who doesn’t love a kooky fruit or<br />
vegetable shape tale? Cue reader<br />
Giulio Vidoni who was amazed to<br />
find this giant butterfly-shaped<br />
strawberry after opening a<br />
punnet he purchased at Aldi at<br />
Warriewood last month. Anyone<br />
else got one? Email readers@pittwaterlife.com.au<br />
Public art push<br />
Council is asking for community<br />
assistance to help make<br />
the Northern Beaches Coast<br />
Walk from Manly to Palm<br />
Beach a uniquely distinct local<br />
attraction. They’re calling for<br />
comment on a strategic plan<br />
to install public art along the<br />
walkway – with a budget of $2<br />
million for pieces over four<br />
years. The 36km walkway is<br />
on track for completion by<br />
2020 (see previous news item).<br />
Council is now exploring ways<br />
to connect people and places<br />
along the way through public<br />
art. As key themes and sites<br />
are identified, Council will<br />
create artist’s briefs to commission<br />
new artworks for the<br />
community to embrace and<br />
enjoy.<br />
For more info and to have<br />
your say visit northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au<br />
Vet<br />
on<br />
call<br />
with<br />
Dr Ben Brown<br />
One of the most common<br />
reasons owners bring<br />
their pets to see our veterinary<br />
staff is because they have<br />
found a lump (or tumour)<br />
somewhere on their animal.<br />
Just like in humans, animals<br />
suffer from many forms of<br />
cancer and sometimes the<br />
first sign can be a lump or<br />
lumps that can be felt within<br />
the skin and fur of our pets.<br />
Tumours are abnormal<br />
growths of cells and can be<br />
benign (non-cancerous) or<br />
malignant (cancerous with<br />
the ability to spread) and<br />
therefore pose different levels<br />
of risk to our pet’s health.<br />
Fortunately, not all tumours<br />
on our pet’s body are<br />
considered a problem but it<br />
can be very difficult to tell<br />
simply based on appearance<br />
and location. All the various<br />
layers and components<br />
of skin and underlying<br />
tissues have the potential<br />
for developing distinctive<br />
tumours. Tumours are usually<br />
small lumps or bumps,<br />
but they also can occur as<br />
hairless, discoloured patches,<br />
rashes, or non-healing ulcers.<br />
Because skin tumours can be<br />
so variable in appearance,<br />
identifying them should be<br />
left to a vet who can perform<br />
an examination and fine<br />
needle aspiration of cells<br />
simply, easily, inexpensively<br />
and relatively pain-free using<br />
a needle and syringe or via a<br />
biopsy.<br />
If the lump or tumour<br />
is found to be a problem<br />
(malignant), we will usually<br />
recommend removal via<br />
surgery. For benign tumours<br />
that are not ulcerated on the<br />
surface and do not affect the<br />
dog’s quality of life, treatment<br />
may not be necessary.<br />
If you have noticed any new<br />
or unusual lumps on or under<br />
your pet’s skin it is important<br />
that you have these checked<br />
by a veterinarian. Drop in to<br />
see either myself or one of our<br />
friendly team who can guide<br />
you through the process.<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 29
Former Wallabies<br />
superstar Matt Burke<br />
is enjoying family<br />
life on the upper<br />
northern beaches as<br />
well as his transition<br />
to sports presenter<br />
for Channel 10.<br />
Story by Matt Cleary<br />
Having<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Stories<br />
a ball<br />
It was May of 2008 when Matt Burke<br />
realised his knee injury would finish<br />
his rugby career. Six months earlier<br />
while playing for Newcastle Falcons in<br />
the north of England he’d ruptured the<br />
anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee<br />
and was told he’d be out for the season. He<br />
did his best with rehab but at 34 years old,<br />
and a veteran of 81 Tests and 232 provincial<br />
matches, he was done and done. And<br />
pining for home.<br />
Because as much as he’d loved Newcastle<br />
– the city, the people, the mates he’d made<br />
playing rugby – the north of England’s<br />
winter can be bleak. And after so long following<br />
rugby seasons around the world – a<br />
wintry existence the opposite of surfers<br />
and cricketers chasing an endless summer<br />
– the idea of living by a beach loomed<br />
large.<br />
And so he and wife Kate began scouring<br />
the Internet for somewhere to live. They’d<br />
sold their place in Willoughby and didn’t<br />
have roots in any particular locale. Options<br />
were open… until they found a place<br />
on the cliff at Bungan Beach. Kate was despatched<br />
home to check it out. Her message<br />
came back: post haste: It’s home.<br />
They’ve been on the northern beaches<br />
ever since.<br />
“I would never have really thought I’d<br />
end up this way,” Burke tells <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
<strong>Life</strong>. “When I was playing rugby, Newport<br />
seemed a long way away! [Laughs] And it<br />
probably still is! But we love it here. Just<br />
love it.”<br />
After five years at Bungan, Burke’s<br />
growing family – which today includes<br />
daughters Hariette, Edie, Giselle and Zsa<br />
Zsa, and a cocker-spaniel called Cooper –<br />
moved across the hill to Newport where<br />
they reside today. Burke says it’s “a pretty<br />
cool place to live”.<br />
Burke was doing commentary work for<br />
Channel 10 during the 2013 British and<br />
Irish Lions series when Ten’s head of sport,<br />
David Barham, asked how he’d feel about<br />
reading the sports news. Burke was taken<br />
aback. He managed words to the effect of:<br />
“I’ve only been here five minutes, I’d feel<br />
like an imposter.”<br />
Barham replied: “If I was coach of the<br />
Wallabies and plucked you out of reserve<br />
grade, would you say to me you weren’t<br />
ready? Or grab it with both hands?”<br />
Well, when you put it like that…<br />
“He said it was a great opportunity and<br />
I could own the job,” says Burke. “It’s been<br />
a lot of fun. I’ve got my rugby background,<br />
obviously, but I’m able to cover all sports.<br />
And it’s led to other things. I’ve done some<br />
radio. It’s opened opportunities.”<br />
Burke looks a natural for television.<br />
Indeed, his mates call him Ron Burgundy.<br />
Yet on day one he was thrown a curve ball.<br />
“It was the Melbourne Cup of 2013 and<br />
the race was won by Gai Waterhouse’s<br />
Fiorente. I was never a horse racing person<br />
and I’d never heard of Fiorente. But I got<br />
the pronunciation and I’m practising<br />
before we went on – Fiorente, Fiorente,<br />
Fiorente.<br />
“Then Sandra Sully’s thrown to me and<br />
I’ve looked down the barrel of the camera<br />
and the little red light’s on and mate, my<br />
heart jumped out of my chest, my hands<br />
went clammy. And I couldn’t spit out<br />
bloody Fiorente! I was like Fonzie when he<br />
couldn’t say sorry! Fi-, Fi-<br />
“I eventually got it out and went a hundred<br />
miles an hour after that.”<br />
He’s been doing it five years since.<br />
“It’s a buzz, live TV. It’s good fun being<br />
in people’s living rooms at 5:45pm, bring-<br />
30 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
ing the sports news. And Sandra’s great to<br />
work with. We’ll be counting down to going<br />
live and she’ll say, ‘Hey Burkey – don’t<br />
stuff up – we’re going live in a sec’.”<br />
On weekends you’ll occasionally find<br />
Burke at The Newport enjoying the beer<br />
garden with like-minded families. He’s<br />
also been sampling the restaurants cropping<br />
up locally. And of course you’ll find<br />
him at the rugby. The game’s in his blood.<br />
Burke played for Eastwood as a young<br />
man and well remembers playing against<br />
Warringah Rats and their fearsome<br />
forward packs which sported such hard<br />
men as Steve Lidbury, Steve Temple, and<br />
Enrique ‘Topo’ Rodriguez. He reckons the<br />
Shute Shield then was almost as good a<br />
standard of rugby as could be played.<br />
“It was almost like a first-class competition,”<br />
according to Burke. “You’d play four<br />
or five games for NSW, three or four Tests<br />
for Australia. So you’d spend most of your<br />
time playing club footy against Test and<br />
state guys. I was only a young pup but<br />
playing against Lidbury and those guys, it<br />
was tough, hard, uncompromising. They<br />
were big strong guys, physically mature. It<br />
was a learning curve!<br />
“But if you went okay it gave you a sense<br />
that you belonged at their level. Those<br />
guys were playing for Australia. And if you<br />
could mix it up and match it, and go okay,<br />
it gave you belief.”<br />
Burke loved playing at Rat Park. Today<br />
he loves watching rugby there. Particularly<br />
the derby game, Warringah v Manly. “The<br />
locals are really into it. It goes to show you<br />
that you’ve got to light the fire at the bottom<br />
and the flames will go up.”<br />
Burke reckons what the derby game<br />
offers is an entertaining, fun day out with<br />
quality rugby sporting that important<br />
ingredient: “tribalism”.<br />
“The Shute Shield is flying and the<br />
rivalries have been a big part of it,” says<br />
Burke. “Randwick has it with Easts. There’s<br />
Norths and Gordon. Eastwood and West<br />
Harbour. And of course Manly and the<br />
Rats. And those games have really hooked<br />
people in. It’s been exceptional. The last<br />
couple of years the grand final has been an<br />
overwhelming success. Last year at North<br />
Sydney Oval was outstanding.”<br />
For Burke, the beauty of club rugby is<br />
its accessibility. He loves taking his kids to<br />
games and admires how the Rats encourages<br />
juniors. “They have gala days and it’s<br />
just good fun, a good initiation for the little<br />
fellahs into the big boys, the next level.<br />
It gives kids that little taste. It’s smart.<br />
“After a match you can hang around the<br />
players. During the game kids can practise<br />
their tackling on the hill, roll down it.<br />
When a big hit goes up the crowd goes up.<br />
When they don’t agree with the referee<br />
they speak their mind. That’s what club<br />
rugby is all about.”<br />
Burke recalls a match against Eastern<br />
Suburbs one year at Woollahra Oval that<br />
illustrates his point. “The rope there at<br />
Woollahra was five metres back from the<br />
sideline, like it was at most grounds,” he<br />
says. “The people in the crowd felt like<br />
they were right on you. And there I was<br />
doing my thing at fullback, barking orders<br />
at the forwards – go here, go there, move<br />
up, go back – when a bloke on the sideline<br />
yells out, “Burke! Bloody pipe down! I’m<br />
trying to watch the game and you’re ruining<br />
my afternoon!’<br />
“[Laughs] And that’s the beauty again<br />
of club footy. Spectators can hear all that<br />
stuff, the chat. It’s the same for players;<br />
they get a buzz out of the crowd being so<br />
close.”<br />
As does Burke to his beach at Newport.<br />
“The beach is a couple hundred metres<br />
away from our house, which is great,” he<br />
says. “The irony is you go away on holiday,<br />
you go to Bali or Fiji or whatever, and you<br />
come back to the beach and think, ‘Why’d<br />
I go there when I have this here? It’s magic.<br />
It’s a walk away.’<br />
“And the locals are great. My daughters<br />
were laughing at me the other day, we<br />
walked the dog, they were on bikes. And<br />
my little one says, ‘Dad, everyone around<br />
here knows you’. And I told her everyone<br />
knows everyone. That’s the great part<br />
about it. You walk down the beach and<br />
have a conversation with anyone. You’re<br />
deemed a local.”<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Stories<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
CLOCKWISE FROM<br />
OPPOSITE: With daughters<br />
Giselle, 8, and Zsa Zsa, 7<br />
at Newport Oval; on the<br />
Swilcan Burn at St Andrews<br />
GC; with the future King of<br />
England after representing<br />
the Barbarians in 2006;<br />
celebrating his 50th Test<br />
cap in 2001; his final Test<br />
on Australian soil in 2004;<br />
the junior long jumper<br />
representing Hornsby<br />
Little Athletics; showing his<br />
renowned goal-kicking form.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 31
DINERS CLUBS<br />
Our local clubs have always<br />
held a reputation for<br />
offering good value food. But<br />
increased competition from<br />
the next gen of restauranteurs<br />
has seen them step up<br />
a gear. The result? More<br />
sophistication, more variety<br />
on the menu. But still with<br />
the same great value. The<br />
traditional ‘Specials’ remain<br />
– although in addition, the<br />
chefs (some Michelin Star, no<br />
less!) have created dishes that<br />
are ‘extra special’. Great for<br />
friends, families or couples.<br />
Here we present the pick of<br />
our local Clubs’ offerings.<br />
Compiled by Lisa Offord<br />
Special Local Promotion<br />
SEAFOOD PIE: Dee Why RSL.<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 33
Special Local Promotion<br />
Avalon Beach RSL<br />
Recently reinvigorated, this venue boasts a range of offerings and<br />
activities for members and guests of all demographics. Its restaurant<br />
Bistro 61 is open 7 days, offering honest, house-made modern<br />
Australian cuisine with relaxed alfresco seating available. All produce<br />
is locally sourced where possible and the menu changes seasonally.<br />
There’s also a large playground just for kids. There are two bars<br />
over two levels with 20 beers on tap, an extensive wine selection<br />
and creative cocktails. Head Chef Mitch Blundell has over 15 years’<br />
experience on the northern beaches. Membership costs $5.50 per<br />
year (three years just $11).<br />
The Vibe: A relaxed and comfortable, family friendly atmosphere<br />
in the bistro area. The Surf Lounge has a more funky and<br />
young vibe, hosting a variety of entertainment. The club has been<br />
extensively renovated over the past 12 months, including the dining<br />
area, outdoor area and the new 18+ area the Surf Lounge on level<br />
one. They’ve also recently opened a new dedicated function room –<br />
The Stella Room.<br />
Must Try: Their Baked Eggs is a breakfast go-to – two free<br />
range eggs, house-made beans, capsicum, chorizo, Danish fetta and<br />
sourdough. For dinner, order the Lamb Shank Pot Pie (12-hour slow<br />
cooked lamb shanks, winter vegetables, crème fraiche pastry, mash<br />
potato, peas). For functions you can’t go past the Sliders Platter<br />
(pork or beef).<br />
The Specials: Plenty to get excited about for lunch and dinner<br />
– $25 Rib Special Mondays; $12 Tacos Special Tuesdays; $15 Chicken<br />
Schnitzel Special Wednesdays; 2-4-1 Pizzas Thursdays; $20 Burger &<br />
Beer Special Fridays; and $5 Kids Meals Sundays.<br />
Other stuff: Happy Hour 4-6pm Monday, Tuesday & Friday<br />
($4 local schooners, $4 house wines and $4.50 house spirits); $10<br />
cocktails in the Surf Lounge Saturdays from 9-10pm; Badge Draw<br />
Fridays – starts at $1,000 and can go up to $10,000 (from 6.15pm);<br />
new monthly Super Raffle starting <strong>August</strong>. Raffle held on 1 st Sunday<br />
of month – each offering more than $1,500 in prizes.<br />
Royal Motor Yacht Club<br />
Popular RMYC, which has operated on the shore of <strong>Pittwater</strong> at<br />
Newport since 1926, boasts versatile facilities to suit all occasions,<br />
from small intimate groups to large social gatherings. Choose from<br />
the Salt Cove Brasserie (with menu overseen by executive chef<br />
Steve Arena), the Garden Forecourt, Compass Terrace, Water View<br />
Terrace, Lounge Bar and balcony.<br />
The Vibe: Salt Cove Brasserie changes with the seasons, both<br />
in atmosphere and menu. In winter a lit fire, heaters and blankets<br />
add warmth to the ambience. Approaching spring the doors open<br />
to take in the fresh breeze off the bay. Management continually<br />
keep areas fresh and appealing, with furniture upgrades, flowers<br />
and more.<br />
Must Try: Return again and again to ensure you sample each<br />
of their hearty food offerings. Order the Beer Battered Flathead<br />
and amazing super-thick, crunchy chips – the best on the beaches,<br />
so the Club says (there’s a grilled option too). The Rosemary Crusted<br />
Lamb Backstrap has become so popular, it now just changes to<br />
suit the season – in winter that means with mash, steamed greens<br />
and a spectacular shiraz jus. And their generous Salt Cove Fresh<br />
Angus Beef Burger is understandably a crowd-pleaser. Plus the<br />
breakfast menu on weekends offers Eggs Benedict and Pancakes.<br />
The Specials: Always four or more each day, with Fish of<br />
the Day a staple and winter warmer dishes on trend through the<br />
cold months. On Tuesdays (Fame Trivia from 7pm) enjoy Chicken<br />
Schnitzel & Chips for $18 – and pay $15 for a bottle of house wine<br />
(normally $26). Currently they serve a great Sunday BBQ Spit Roast<br />
($18) with accompaniments of corn cobs, coleslaw, salad, jacket<br />
potatoes plus sour cream and chives.<br />
Other stuff: Social Memberships cost $160 (includes 5%<br />
discount on all food and drink). General Membership $620 per<br />
year (one-off $500 Joining Fee). Members Badge Draw is held every<br />
Friday from 7pm; ‘Happy Hour’ Monday to Friday from 5.30pm to<br />
6.30pm; shuttle bus 7 days.<br />
34 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Palm Beach Golf Club<br />
Located smack bang in the middle of paradise – on one side sits<br />
world famous Palm Beach and on the other <strong>Pittwater</strong> and Lion Island<br />
– this relaxed Club welcomes visitors to share and enjoy its amazing<br />
facilities, including its leisurely nine-hole layout. The Club’s modern<br />
Australian-style restaurant Beach Road Dining is headed by Martin<br />
Brito (formerly Head Chef of Michelin Star Restaurant Nobu London).<br />
Martin’s expansive menu is accompanied by a thoughtfully compiled<br />
wine list, plus there are 12 different beers on tap.<br />
The Vibe: Recently renovated, the Club boasts an open-air balcony<br />
with breathtaking views over the golf course and to Lion Island<br />
by day, while it transforms into an intimate space at night.<br />
Must Try: For starters order Flash Fried Salt & Pepper squid, chili,<br />
sambal with coriander (matched with a glass of Knee Deep sauvignon<br />
blanc). Follow that up with the 300gram Emerald Bay Grass Fed<br />
Sirloin with eschalot garlic butter, paprika-salted chips and mixed-leaf<br />
salad (matched with 2015 d’Arenberg ‘Love Grass’ shiraz). Or if you’re<br />
in the mood for sharing, consider the Hot & Cold Seafood Platter<br />
for two (subject to availability) crammed with Sydney rock oysters,<br />
Queensland king prawns, smoked salmon, grilled barramundi, panko<br />
calamari, battered fish, chips, salad with a selection of sauces. (Pair it<br />
with a bottle of Helens Hill chardonnay from the Yarra Valley that was<br />
recently awarded a 95-point rating from James Halliday.)<br />
The Specials: Kids eat free on Thursdays through Saturday<br />
nights; also the Club hosts a ‘241’ night on Wednesdays which brings<br />
a full house – bookings recommended.<br />
Other stuff: The Club hosts eight band nights per year, with<br />
big names including Barry Leef, The Classic Kings, and Swinging<br />
Sixties drawing up to 300 people who enjoy a fun night of food, wine<br />
and dancing. Also, Beach Road Dining hosts four 5-course Degustation<br />
Dinners per year. The Club is active in the community, regularly<br />
hosting Probus lunches and other community groups from around<br />
Sydney. Social membership is $25; full playing memberships $1350.<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> RSL<br />
Prides itself as the ‘local community club’. Here members and guests can<br />
enjoy four different styles of dining: Glasshouse embraces the farm-totable<br />
approach in its offering that includes aged, wood-fire-grilled steaks;<br />
Nonna’s Kitchen serves authentic handmade pizzas, pastas, salads,<br />
starters and shared tapas plates; Little Bok Choy features extensive tasty<br />
authentic Asian cuisine (awesome noodles, fried rice, stir fries, made-toorder<br />
laksa and Yum Cha with Chinese, Thai and Malay influences); and<br />
Potter’s Cafe (open seven days from 9.30am) is where to head for a coffee<br />
catch-up while letting the kids play in the indoor playground. All for a<br />
membership that starts at $10 a year!<br />
The Vibe: Plenty of variety, from relaxing and intimate, to welcoming<br />
and social. As the name suggests, Glasshouse is sleek and sophisticated.<br />
Gorgeously renovated, Nonna’s Kitchen is a warm and versatile space with<br />
booths to banquet tables, plus a large outdoor terrace where you can enjoy<br />
a glass of wine, dinner and the leafy treetops of Mona Vale. And Potter’s<br />
Café is green, lush and full of natural light.<br />
Must Try: The steaks – cooked in their new wood-fired Josper Grill<br />
which, utilising temperatures in excess of 400 degrees, seals and retains<br />
the flavours. They also hot-smoke seafood and vegetables – yum! The<br />
crispy-skin snapper is a crowd-pleaser, served with bright red, baked truss<br />
tomatoes and a moorish potatoes and olive combo.<br />
The Specials: There’s a Seniors Menu currently on offer and a<br />
variety of daily specials ranging from ‘Marinara Mondays’ to Surf-and-<br />
Turf Thursdays’. Look out for their latest deal – a mouthwatering ‘Sunday<br />
Carvery’ – coming soon.<br />
Other Stuff: The Club stocks a wide range of beverages, from old<br />
classics to new and boutique offerings, including local, international and<br />
craft beers; plus a hand-picked wine list including Sauvignon Blancs from<br />
New Zealand and reds from Margaret River. You can enjoy live music<br />
every weekend, from jazz to acoustic rock – plus great live shows with<br />
top artists. Upcoming shows include ABBALANCHE (<strong>August</strong> 25), Diesel<br />
(September 22) and Rose Tattoo (October 27). Community groups such as<br />
Probus, Mona Vale Hospital Auxiliary and Lion’s Club meet and make use<br />
of the Club amenities for free.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 35<br />
Special Local Promotion
Special Local Promotion<br />
Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club<br />
The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (RPAYC) is one of the oldest<br />
and most active sailing clubs in Sydney, with year-round sailing<br />
complemented by wholesome, reasonably priced food and<br />
drinks. From a la carte dining and BBQ specials to casual bistro<br />
service there is something for everyone.<br />
The Vibe: The Club has a relaxed, welcoming vibe and<br />
a beautiful setting on the quiet and picturesque <strong>Pittwater</strong>.<br />
Halyards Bistro has stunning views over the marina and is a<br />
perfect spot to relax while the kids play safely in the gated<br />
playground within view of the restaurant.<br />
Must Try: The Chef-cooked BBQ specials featuring lamb,<br />
beef or seafood or go for an intimate dining experience at The<br />
Alfred’s Table on a Friday evening (6-8.30pm), when you can<br />
choose from the a la carte menu (which changes each week)<br />
in a more formal setting with clothed tables, table service and<br />
candles. Bookings are essential. Halyards opens for breakfast<br />
on weekends from 8-11.30am.<br />
The Specials: The Bistro menu offers fresh seafood,<br />
fish and chips, a variety of burgers, pizza and plenty of daily<br />
blackboard specials and weekday specials to complement the<br />
season for example during winter, guests have been enjoying<br />
a pasta and drink special on Thursdays and a roast of the day<br />
and drink special on Fridays. Food is seasonal, tasty and good<br />
value and there is always something new on the menu to suit<br />
all ages.<br />
Other Stuff: The club runs a comprehensive year-round<br />
racing and cruising program for the whole family, with a<br />
range of social events complementing the sailing. Members’<br />
benefits include 20 per cent off prices on food and drinks and<br />
heavily discounted access to Sailfit and the Club Fitness Centre.<br />
Membership is open and ranges from age 6, youth membership<br />
to adults (either boat owning or general membership). Family<br />
membership packages are also available. The club welcomes all<br />
prospective membership enquiries.<br />
Narrabeen RSL<br />
Hidden away in the valley, with bowling greens and surrounded by<br />
mature trees, this laid-back venue feels a world away from some of<br />
the busier Clubs on the beaches. On the food front, be blown away<br />
at the Monsoon Grill (Tuesday – Sunday) which serves a thoughtful<br />
menu of delicious modern Australian offerings. There’s something<br />
for all tastes and levels of hunger.<br />
The Vibe: Think old school RSL served with a squeeze of<br />
hipster cool. The main bar area has looked much the same for<br />
decades – but thankfully ‘retro’ is cool again, so the Club is in<br />
fashion again! They have their own Cocktail Bar too – ‘Sunk’ –<br />
located by the bowling green, which also serves craft beers.<br />
Must Try: Who doesn’t like Tasmanian Crispy Skin Salmon?<br />
Here it’s served with baby potatoes, asparagus, herbed tomatoes<br />
and olive tapenade mayo. Their tender Eye Fillet is partnered<br />
with caramelised onion mash, red wine jus, roasted capsicum<br />
and mint chutney. And their Burger with The Lot, well it has a lot<br />
going for it.<br />
The Specials: They merry-go-round each week. On<br />
Tuesdays it’s the Panko-crumbed Chicken schnitzel with chips<br />
and gravy; on Wednesdays, buy any two main meals and receive<br />
a free dessert; On Thursdays dig into a 2kg bucket of chicken<br />
wings and a pint of beer for $25; and Pizzas are the Friday go-to.<br />
Their ‘family friendly’ persona ramps up on weekends with a<br />
$50 Saturday meal deal comprising T-Bone steak (with chips and<br />
gravy), plus chicken wings, a beef burger and the choice of any<br />
two children’s meals. And on Sundays kids (under 12) eat free all<br />
day with any adult’s meal purchase.<br />
Other stuff: Happy Hour 4-6pm Monday to Friday; Members<br />
Badge Draw 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays. They<br />
host regular musical acts – including two Pete Murray concerts<br />
last month (both sold out). On Friday <strong>August</strong> 14 head down for the<br />
Razza Dazza Sing Song. Club membership is $11 per year – or five<br />
years for $25. What’s stopping you?<br />
36 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Club Palm Beach<br />
Formerly known as Palm Beach RSL, this welcoming space is conveniently<br />
located a short stroll south from Palm Beach Wharf. Even when<br />
it’s busy you’ll find a nook where you can relax and unwind, and the<br />
staff are as down to earth and friendly as you’ll find anywhere. Membership<br />
costs just $10 per year.<br />
The Vibe: Their popular Barrenjoey Bistro is located at the back<br />
of the Club and adjoins a delightful sun-drenched beer garden with al<br />
fresco dining and accompanying under-shelter tables, plus a peaceful<br />
bird aviary that gives it a back-to-nature feel. You can dine inside as<br />
well. The Club pays homage to its RSL roots with displays of military<br />
collections and memorabilia. There’s a plan to refurbish the auditorium.<br />
Must Try: ‘Cheffie’s Spaghetti’ – perfectly seasoned with a generous<br />
serve of king prawns, garlic, chilli, plump truss tomatoes and a<br />
basil garnish, topped with shards of parmesan. If you’re into offal<br />
their Lamb’s Fry with bacon, mash, peas and onion gravy is a deep,<br />
delightful dish. And the Crumbed Prawns, salad and chips makes a<br />
perfect light lunch. Vegetarians are catered for, with offerings of Polenta<br />
Crusted Pumpkin Risotto Cakes and a Roast vegetable and Goats<br />
Cheese Tart.<br />
The Specials: The Club has earned its reputation as a top-value<br />
eating destination by getting its specials offering just right. For just<br />
$13.50 you can enjoy a different meal Monday to Friday, from traditional<br />
roasts, to rump steak, chicken schnitzel, gourmet home-made pies<br />
and tempura fish and chips.<br />
Other stuff: There’s a Mega Meat raffle every Sunday, plus the<br />
Member’s Badge Draw is held Wednesday and Friday nights (every 30<br />
minutes between 5-7pm). They offer group deals, including ‘Another<br />
Day In Paradise’ – a 30-minute guided tour of Palm Beach plus lunch at<br />
the Club for $13.50 (10 or more); plus ‘Cruising Palm Beach’ – a 1-hour<br />
ferry cruise on <strong>Pittwater</strong> plus lunch at the Club for $25 (10 or more).<br />
The Club has a courtesy bus that makes regular runs Wednesdays, Fridays<br />
and Saturdays between 4.30pm and 9pm; ring to book a pick-up.<br />
Dee Why RSL<br />
Dee Why RSL Club boasts contemporary surroundings and an<br />
expansive menu by executive chef Scott Drinkwater across its six bars,<br />
four restaurants and 13 function spaces. The Club dishes up more than<br />
400,000 main courses each year including bistro classics, Italian, Asian,<br />
and American grill favourites.<br />
The Vibe: The Club opened in 1937 as a venue for returned<br />
service men and women and has stayed true to its roots. Everyone is<br />
welcome.<br />
Must Try: There’s plenty to ponder at the Flame Lounge & Dining,<br />
including the USA Pork Ribs… with secret tequila BBQ sauce; Garlic<br />
Cronut – a garlic-flavoured croissant-doughnut pastry, topped with<br />
garlic butter, rock salt and black pepper; Seafood Pie with fish, king<br />
prawns, calamari, roasted fennel, in semi-dried tomato cream sauce,<br />
topped with brick pastry; and the Grande Brownie Smash – smashed<br />
dark chocolate brownie, with chocolate mousse, vanilla cream and<br />
roasted walnuts. At Aqua Bar & Dining go for the Scaloppine di fungi<br />
– veal, sliced button mushrooms, cream, served with potato and<br />
vegetables; Bolognese, Pea and Parmesan Arancini with Napoli dip; and<br />
Melone & Prosciutto, served with salad leaves and vin cotto. The Bistro<br />
serves a delectable roast pork with crackling and apple sauce (yum);<br />
while you can’t go past the Nasi Goreng at ‘The Asian’.<br />
The Specials: The Bistro hosts ‘Country of Origin’ monthly<br />
food specials. In <strong>August</strong> the focus is Sweden, which will see dishes<br />
like Swedish Meatballs and cheese pie added to the menu. The Club<br />
also celebrates ‘food days’ including World Chocolate Day, National<br />
Milkshake Day and National Burger Day. Aqua Bar & Dining offers daily<br />
specials including: Monday – Winter Warmer, Slow Cooked Italian-Style<br />
Braised Lamb Shanks on Warm Polenta; Tuesday – Tantalising Tower for<br />
Two; Wednesday – All You Can Eat Pizza or Pasta; Thursday – Parmology<br />
(choose from three parmigiana options, chips and side salad). And on<br />
Sunday – Kids Eat Free!<br />
Other Stuff: The Club has a great entertainment calendar<br />
featuring notable line-ups of the best local and international acts, plus<br />
complimentary live music every night. A two-year Membership costs $5.<br />
Special Local Promotion<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 37
Art <strong>Life</strong><br />
Art <strong>Life</strong><br />
Inspiration runs deep<br />
Matt Wilcock of ‘Outfall Art’<br />
and Damian ‘Dooma’ Oswald<br />
of ‘Print My Fish’ draw their<br />
artistic inspiration primarily from<br />
the waters of the Pacific Ocean<br />
and the saltwater that runs in their<br />
veins.<br />
Both are surfers and keen<br />
fishermen; Matt dives for chain on<br />
the ocean floor, creating sculptural<br />
wonders that seem to defy gravity<br />
whilst Dooma practices Gyotaku the<br />
centuries-old Japanese technique of<br />
printing freshly caught fish.<br />
Originally freediving to salvage<br />
old and very heavy chain, Matt has<br />
now incorporated SCUBA to speed<br />
up the process. Once collected he<br />
forges and shapes molten metal<br />
into sculptures that reflect the<br />
elemental nature of the sea and<br />
coast.<br />
His sculptures speak to a deepseated<br />
appreciation of natural form<br />
in a primal material.<br />
“If it’s dangerous, dirty or loud,<br />
I’ll be in the thick of it,” Matt said.<br />
Meanwhile, the age-old<br />
fisherman’s tale of “It was this<br />
big…” doesn’t really wash with<br />
Gyotaku – as its process provides<br />
proof of size and also species right<br />
there in front of you.<br />
Using ink or paint (traditionally<br />
non-toxic, so the subject may then<br />
be eaten or preserved), Dooma<br />
transfers the organic shape and<br />
texture onto Washi or rice paper.<br />
Avalon Art Gallery’s Jennifer<br />
Hill says in Dooma’s skilled and<br />
experienced hands, the detail<br />
and movement captured is<br />
extraordinary.<br />
Dooma and Matt’s works are held<br />
in collections throughout the world<br />
in both commercial settings and<br />
private residences; this month locals<br />
have the chance to view them at an<br />
exhibition at Avalon Art Gallery (in<br />
the Cinema Arcade) from Saturday<br />
<strong>August</strong> 4 through <strong>August</strong> 31.<br />
Opening night is from 6pm on<br />
<strong>August</strong> 4, when you can meet the<br />
artists and hear them talk about<br />
their projects and the fascinating<br />
stories behind their creativity.<br />
It’s cheers to creativity!<br />
Always wanted to try painting<br />
but have reservations “People realise that there is<br />
and coach them through.<br />
about your artistic self? Then no barrier, anyone can enjoy<br />
perhaps you’d like to try the painting and I encourage participants<br />
latest innovation in social art<br />
to leave their judg-<br />
classes – group sessions with ments and misconceptions<br />
a glass of bubbly or wine to about art at the door.<br />
help get the<br />
“This is<br />
creative juices<br />
about giving<br />
flowing.<br />
themselves<br />
Local Reiki<br />
permission to<br />
teacher Jane<br />
play with paint<br />
Hodgett says<br />
and not worrying<br />
she started<br />
about<br />
her social ‘Art<br />
an end result<br />
& Alcohol’<br />
– and they get<br />
evenings two<br />
to go home<br />
years ago to<br />
with an amazing<br />
share her love<br />
painting<br />
of art with<br />
on a canvas!”<br />
people who<br />
Jane’s sessions<br />
would like to paint but were<br />
are generally held on<br />
either too busy to commit to a the fourth Saturday of each<br />
course, or who had always felt month, from 7pm-9.30pm at<br />
that they “couldn’t do it”. her home studio in Mona Vale<br />
“Absolutely anyone can do (next session is <strong>August</strong> 25).<br />
my class – they are strictly for There’s a minimum of 10<br />
fun and no previous experience<br />
people per session (group<br />
is necessary, said Jane. bookings for birthdays and<br />
“Everything is provided – work-bonding sessions also<br />
paints, brushes, table easels, available); cost is $60.<br />
canvas aprons, wine or bubbly;<br />
More info call Jane on 0412<br />
and I provide an image 151 108.<br />
38 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Getting in the ‘Spirit’ for<br />
Newport Sculpture Trail<br />
Planning is well underway for the Sixth Annual ‘Newport<br />
Sculpture Trail’ to be held later this year.<br />
Co-founder Patsy Clayton-Fry says emerging and established<br />
artists are being invited to respond to the <strong>2018</strong> theme<br />
of ‘Spirit’ with sculpture, performance or installation art.<br />
The ‘Newport Sculpture Trail’ is now part of the newly<br />
formed Totem Arts Festival which is currently being developed<br />
as a major long-term contemporary arts festival to energise<br />
the cultural offerings for communities on the northern<br />
end of the peninsula.<br />
“Working closely with local artists, community groups and<br />
business, a calendar of events has been prepared that will<br />
engage everyone,” said Patsy.<br />
“The festival this year will include pop-up activities and<br />
workshops including waste-to-art sculptures, wearable art,<br />
music and performance art.”<br />
The <strong>2018</strong> Newport Sculpture Trail runs from Friday October<br />
26 to Sunday November 11 in Newport village. Artists are<br />
invited to showcase their works in selected local businesses,<br />
attracting more people to both the businesses and the Newport<br />
village.<br />
There will be a curatorial selection for the winner (prize<br />
money to be announced) in addition to a ‘People’s Choice<br />
Award’ with a cash prize of $500.<br />
All artists, including students, are encouraged to apply,<br />
with the final selection determined by an established curator.<br />
Applications close on 1st September; more info email<br />
totemartsfestival@gmail.com<br />
– Lisa Offord<br />
Art <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 39
Boating <strong>Life</strong><br />
Boating <strong>Life</strong><br />
Breeze up to sailing info day<br />
Looking to give sailing a go,<br />
or get your kids involved at<br />
a young age at a fun, relaxed<br />
club? Then consider Avalon<br />
Sailing Club which is holding<br />
an information and registration<br />
day for kids on Sunday <strong>August</strong><br />
26th from 10am to 2pm.<br />
With a modest timber<br />
clubhouse on the shore<br />
between Clareville and<br />
Paradise beaches, Avalon SC<br />
is a unique part of <strong>Pittwater</strong>’s<br />
world class sailing heritage.<br />
This year the Club will<br />
celebrate two important<br />
MILESTONES: Avalon Sailing Club is celebrating 80 years since formation and 60 years since its Clubhouse opened.<br />
anniversaries – 80 years since<br />
the formation of the Club and “Avalon is one of those<br />
60 years since the official iconic ‘wooden shed’ sailing<br />
opening of the Clubhouse. clubs which has a wonderfully<br />
“We’re a volunteer-run Club inclusive culture that welcomes<br />
with 400 active members, newcomers – there are no flash<br />
ranging in age from 8 to 88, restaurants, bars or pokies,<br />
with a comprehensive and just the best place for families<br />
professional sailing program to enjoy a BBQ and a drink<br />
catering to all ages and skills,” post-sailing whilst taking in the<br />
said Club Commodore, Jane best views on <strong>Pittwater</strong>.”<br />
Durham.<br />
Friday evenings on the deck<br />
or on the water in Summer<br />
were a popular, family friendly<br />
way to end the working week.<br />
She said the youth program<br />
which runs on Sunday<br />
mornings from September<br />
through to Easter, starts with<br />
Blue Group which is aimed at<br />
beginners aged 7 – 12. (The<br />
Club Nippas & Pacers are used<br />
for this program.)<br />
“Once the basics have been<br />
learnt, the children progress<br />
to the Red and Gold groups<br />
for further instruction and an<br />
introduction to racing.”<br />
Race preparation for State<br />
and National Titles is also<br />
provided. This season there<br />
will be club dinghies available<br />
for season hire, with no<br />
pressure to commit to buying a<br />
boat immediately.<br />
For teenagers and adults,<br />
there is a very active group<br />
sailing Spirals and dedicated<br />
Spiral coaching days with be<br />
run in spring.<br />
“The Club also runs Spring/<br />
Summer school holiday<br />
camps, open to children of<br />
all ages,” Jane said. “Classes<br />
sailed at Avalon include<br />
Nippas, Pacers, Bics, MJs,<br />
Flying 11s & Spirals.<br />
“Planning is also under way<br />
for Adult learn to sail classes<br />
for the coming season. The<br />
emphasis in all these programs<br />
is that sailing is a fun activity<br />
which teaches many skills<br />
and provides opportunities<br />
for a lifetime. There are<br />
many sailors in their 80s who<br />
regularly enjoy cruising and<br />
racing – not many other sports<br />
can claim that!”<br />
The Club also has a healthy<br />
Yacht division and a revamped<br />
racing program for the coming<br />
season will provide a diversity<br />
of events and casual entries<br />
are encouraged.<br />
“Plus the addition of the<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Couta boat fleet to<br />
ASC this season is a great<br />
bonus and the Couta fleet is<br />
always looking for crews,” she<br />
said. “And for those who like<br />
a more relaxed approach, the<br />
Cruising Division organises<br />
lots of great weekends away<br />
and members can also take<br />
advantage of club moorings<br />
dotted around <strong>Pittwater</strong>.”<br />
Blue Group Learn to Sail is<br />
limited to 25 children, and<br />
along with sailing camps,<br />
positions are provided on a<br />
first-come, first-in basis.<br />
For more info regarding<br />
Registration Day or any<br />
club activities, head to their<br />
Facebook page or email info@<br />
avalonsailingclub.com.au<br />
– Lisa Offord<br />
40 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Surfing <strong>Life</strong><br />
Surfing <strong>Life</strong><br />
A look at the surfers<br />
you never knew existed<br />
First up: The girl from New Jersey who was a Woman’s World Tour trailblazer<br />
A<br />
couple of years ago,<br />
I began scratching<br />
away at a book about<br />
professional surfing. I guess I<br />
was fascinated by a number of<br />
things: the development of pro<br />
sport generally and how surfing<br />
fit into that arc; the way it was<br />
immediately global, unlike<br />
so many other professional<br />
sports, the majority of which<br />
are regional or national by<br />
nature; most of all, the weird<br />
nature of surfing itself, a sport<br />
that thanks to its uniquely<br />
Polynesian roots, in many ways<br />
doesn’t even look like a sport<br />
at all.<br />
Why did surfers decide<br />
to turn pro? And how did<br />
that rebound into its wacky<br />
freewheeling culture?<br />
This is all good stuff for<br />
a book. But what’s really<br />
enlivening it for me and my<br />
co-author Sean Doherty – some<br />
of you will know Sean from<br />
his brilliant biography of the<br />
Queensland legend Michael<br />
Peterson, among other works<br />
– is the way new names are resurfacing<br />
through the research.<br />
People who neither of us knew<br />
existed, yet who were key to<br />
what occurred through the arc<br />
of the tale.<br />
I’ll tell you about a number of<br />
these people over the coming<br />
year, but I want to begin with a<br />
woman named Patti Paniccia.<br />
Recently, pro surfing’s latest<br />
governing body, the World Surf<br />
League, has become interested<br />
in its founders. They even held<br />
an event called the Founders’<br />
Cup, which we wrote about<br />
here a few months ago. The<br />
Founders who appeared at the<br />
event did not include Patti. This<br />
tells you an enormous amount<br />
about professional surfing.<br />
Patti was the daughter of a<br />
New Jersey Italian family whose<br />
father once went away to war.<br />
Patti’s Dad joined the Navy<br />
during WWII and travelled first<br />
to Hawaii, then to California,<br />
where he was based around<br />
Long Beach some time after the<br />
war.<br />
He came back to New Jersey<br />
and told Patti’s mother: “This is<br />
a dump! Come on, there’s better<br />
places in the world.”<br />
The Paniccias moved to<br />
California, where Patti was born.<br />
Thus at the age of 13, in 1967,<br />
Patti found herself hanging out<br />
next to the pier at Huntington<br />
Beach, waiting for people to lose<br />
their boards so she could have<br />
a turn.<br />
Her dad’s building<br />
contractor’s business then<br />
signed up for a job in Hawaii.<br />
The Paniccias moved to a house<br />
at Waialua on Oahu’s North<br />
Shore, a short drive to all the<br />
with Nick Carroll<br />
PIONEERS: Four of the girls on the first Women’s Tour in South Africa in 1976<br />
(from left): Sally Prange, Patti Paniccia, Claudia Bates and Becky Benson.<br />
greatest surf spots on earth.<br />
Patti thinks of Hawaii as part<br />
of the expansion of her life,<br />
in sync with their increasing<br />
prosperity and her growing up.<br />
“I didn’t know any different,”<br />
she told me, “so I just surfed<br />
everywhere. Sunset, Haleiwa,<br />
Laniakea, out front of our<br />
house.” There were hardly any<br />
women doing that. You could<br />
count them on two hands:<br />
Patti’s best surfing friend Sally<br />
Prange, the Benson sisters<br />
Blanche and Becky, Dale Dahlin<br />
who surfed Haleiwa a lot,<br />
and Honolulu’s Lynne Boyer,<br />
who would one day be world<br />
champion.<br />
She doesn’t recall any male<br />
meanness. “Everyone was<br />
real nice to us in the surf. You<br />
fought for your waves, but it’s<br />
not like today.”<br />
All the girls competed in the<br />
Hawaiian Surfing Association<br />
events, when they had enough<br />
money for the entry fee. Patti<br />
worked in Jerry’s Sweet Shop in<br />
Haleiwa, flipping burgers. She’d<br />
have surfed anyway, contests<br />
or not.<br />
In the early 1970s she and the<br />
other girls formed a group they<br />
called the Hawaiian Women’s<br />
Hui. (“Hui” is Hawaiian for club,<br />
or group.) The Hui’s energies<br />
were spent on opening the<br />
door to surfing for girls. They<br />
ran learn-to-surf classes and<br />
ding-fixing classes, and also ran<br />
competitions. Patti became the<br />
Hui’s competition director.<br />
In 1973, as the Hawaiian pro<br />
surfing events began to take<br />
off, the big-time promotor<br />
and former world champ Fred<br />
Hemmings decided to invite a<br />
woman to his keynote event,<br />
the Smirnoff Pro. He chose<br />
Laura Blears Ching. Now Laura<br />
was a good surfer, and the<br />
Women’s Hui respected her,<br />
42 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
PL’s AUGUST SURF CALENDAR<br />
10-21/8: WSL CT men’s Billabong Pro, Teahupoo, Tahiti<br />
This event turns the pro year around. Before it, lots of surfers still<br />
kinda had a shot at a world title, or at least a big ranking; after it,<br />
only five or six will be in it. Teahupoo when it’s on epitomises what<br />
we might call the Core Theory of professional surfing, which runs<br />
thus: The waves are the main game. A great surfer will interest<br />
some people, but epic surf gets everyone. In the case of Chopes,<br />
it’ll be the year’s biggest challenge to the young Brazilian surfers<br />
who’ve dominated much of the competition so far. They rip in<br />
normal surf, but Teahupoo is not remotely normal.<br />
NICK’S AUGUST SURF FORECAST<br />
I have to say, July did way better than I’d expected. It featured<br />
the best six hours of surf this year, when an unexpected northeast<br />
swell popped up off a short-lived wind-band up near Lennox<br />
Head, and two of the biggest swells of the year, one of which – a<br />
massive southerly – pretty much stripped <strong>Pittwater</strong>’s beaches.<br />
Super fun! And also super cold! I think <strong>August</strong> might begin a trend<br />
away from mega-swells. There might be something significant<br />
early in the month from deep winter storms moving south of<br />
Tassie, but once they’re done, expect a long second half of the<br />
month, with light winds, occasional cold westerlies, and mostly,<br />
very small waves. Sorry.<br />
Nick Carroll<br />
but they also suspected the real<br />
reason Fred had invited Laura<br />
to compete, out of all the girl<br />
surfers in Hawaii, was that Laura<br />
had recently appeared in Playboy<br />
magazine.<br />
They elected Patti to go talk<br />
with Fred about this conundrum.<br />
“Fred was like, ‘Who are you<br />
to be telling me how to run<br />
my business?’” she laughed.<br />
“But I went to lunch with him,<br />
and we kept talking… Maybe it<br />
was some of the Italian in me –<br />
scrappy, is that the word?”<br />
Patti and Fred had plenty<br />
of arguments, but finally he<br />
relented, and asked her to run<br />
the women’s events, which<br />
by 1976 had expanded into<br />
something worth calling a Tour.<br />
So Patti actually founded the<br />
Women’s World Tour. She ran<br />
it that year, then for the next<br />
two years during which the first<br />
women’s pro champion, Margo<br />
Oberg of Kauai, was repeatedly<br />
crowned.<br />
By 1979 Patti had had<br />
enough of running contests<br />
and tours, and decided to<br />
challenge herself. She went<br />
back to California and did Law<br />
at Pepperdine University, and<br />
eventually found her way into<br />
journalism, where she was a key<br />
correspondent for the fledgling<br />
CNN, covering everything from<br />
the Reagan Presidency to the<br />
Rodney King riots in LA. When<br />
CNN sacked her in 1994 after<br />
the birth of her second child,<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
she fought a celebrated lawsuit<br />
over the issue of employment<br />
during childbirth, took it to<br />
the Supreme Court, and won.<br />
Subsequently she wrote a<br />
best-selling book, ‘Work Smarts<br />
For Women: The Essential Sex<br />
Discrimination Survival Guide’.<br />
Today Patti is an Adjunct<br />
Professor of Law at Pepperdine,<br />
where she teaches legal theory.<br />
She also still owns the old<br />
family home at Waialua, where<br />
she stays and surfs regularly<br />
through the Hawaiian winter<br />
surf season.<br />
I know of very few ex-pro<br />
surfers who come close to Patti<br />
in terms of achievement in and<br />
beyond the sport, if it really is a<br />
sport. Her efforts began a chain<br />
of events that led directly to<br />
Steph Gilmore’s fantastic recent<br />
win at Jeffreys Bay. But why had<br />
I never heard of her before I<br />
started scratching away at this<br />
book? Simple: no surf mag had<br />
ever published a story about<br />
her, or featuring her, or really<br />
anything about the Hawaiian<br />
women surfers of the time at all.<br />
Surfers of the time thought<br />
they were radical people living<br />
a radical life, and in some<br />
senses they were. But when<br />
it came to seeing women and<br />
men as equals, they were as<br />
conservative as any of their<br />
parents.<br />
More from this mad research<br />
from time to time in coming<br />
months!<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 43<br />
Surfing <strong>Life</strong>
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
‘Joint’ initiative to empower locals<br />
We are increasingly<br />
becoming a nation of<br />
dodgy knees and wornout<br />
hips – but before you trade<br />
yours in, there are a few things<br />
you should know.<br />
Dr Paul Miniter, head of the<br />
Northern Beaches Orthopaedic<br />
Centre, has recenty opened<br />
rooms in Mona Vale providing<br />
state-of-the-art assessment and<br />
surgery for all disorders of the<br />
lower limb.<br />
With a special interest in joint<br />
preservation surgery of the<br />
knee and hip as well as injuries<br />
relating to the knee, foot and<br />
ankle, Dr Miniter and team are<br />
passionate about<br />
continuing education,<br />
regularly attending<br />
conferences<br />
and joining other<br />
specialists operating<br />
overseas to learn the<br />
latest advancements<br />
in bone and joint<br />
preservation, alternative<br />
approaches<br />
to complex issues,<br />
pain management<br />
and surgical techniques.<br />
And the public will have the<br />
opportunity to share in Dr<br />
Miniter’s knowledge at a series<br />
of free public health seminars to<br />
be held from next month, with<br />
the first focusing on hips and<br />
knee (details see page 7).<br />
“The aim is to help people understand<br />
whether they need to<br />
be thinking about surgery in the<br />
context of their joint problems<br />
– not all people need a joint<br />
replacement even if their X-rays<br />
look terrible,” Dr Miniter said.<br />
SEMINARS: Dr Miniter.<br />
ADVANCES: New techniques could see replacement surgery postponed.<br />
“During the seminars we’ll<br />
discuss other modalities of<br />
treatment such as exercise,<br />
weight loss and physiotherapy.<br />
“Recovery from surgery will<br />
also be covered off as well as<br />
techniques to preserve joints<br />
from wear and tear.<br />
“Importantly, we will be<br />
welcoming questions to help<br />
people understand whether<br />
they actually need treatment.”<br />
Dr Miniter explained there<br />
were many new techniques that<br />
allowed doctors to recommend<br />
conservative treatment and<br />
even postpone joint replacements<br />
in certain patients.<br />
“Also there have<br />
been many exciting<br />
developments in<br />
joint replacement<br />
allowing people<br />
who have suffered<br />
serious disability<br />
to restore function<br />
and lead active<br />
lives,” he said.<br />
Dr Miniter said<br />
advances in orthopaedic<br />
medicine<br />
and surgical equipment now<br />
allowed for specialists to assist<br />
patients closer to their homes<br />
– in many cases alleviating the<br />
need to travel to major hospitals<br />
for procedures and follow-ups.<br />
“The most exciting development<br />
in my opinion is the<br />
speed of recovery and quality of<br />
results that is seen with modern<br />
surgery,” Dr Miniter said.<br />
“In the USA – and soon here –<br />
up to 70 per cent of treatment is<br />
now done in a day surgery; that<br />
means less risks of complications,<br />
less pain and faster return<br />
to work and activities.”<br />
Dr Miniter starts day surgery<br />
procedures, such as knee and<br />
ankle arthroscopy and reconstruction<br />
at the expanded <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
Day Surgery in Mona Vale<br />
from the first week of <strong>August</strong>.<br />
Dr Miniter undertook postgraduate<br />
medical qualification<br />
at Royal North Shore Hospital.<br />
After graduating as an Orthopaedic<br />
Surgeon he went overseas<br />
for fellowship training in<br />
joint replacement and paediatric<br />
orthopaedics in Scotland.<br />
Over the years Dr Miniter has<br />
formed close associations with<br />
world-renowned orthopaedic<br />
surgeons, allowing for an easy<br />
exchange of professional medical<br />
opinions and ideas.<br />
Each year he shares his surgical<br />
expertise pro-bono, dealing<br />
with an array of orthopaedic<br />
conditions in the very poorest<br />
communities in India and Africa.<br />
Although he has owned a<br />
house in Avalon with wife Kate<br />
for nearly two decades, Dr<br />
Miniter has spent a chunk of<br />
that period in the ACT as a sub<br />
specialist Orthopaedic Surgeon<br />
and teaching medical students.<br />
“I have always wanted to<br />
spend more time on the Northern<br />
Beaches… it feels like I am<br />
coming home,” he said.<br />
For those who are sporty and<br />
whose bones and joints are taking<br />
a pounding in efforts to stay<br />
fit and healthy, it’s good to note<br />
Dr Miniter and The Northern<br />
Beaches Orthopaedic Centre<br />
team also have a particular<br />
interest in treating ankle injury.<br />
“Ankle injury is the most common<br />
sporting injury; up to 20<br />
per cent of people have ongoing<br />
issues with the ankle after<br />
injury,” he said.<br />
Fractures and sprains that<br />
are ignored or aren’t treated<br />
properly when they occur could<br />
lead to long-term chronic problems<br />
such as repeated injury,<br />
ankle weakness and arthritis, Dr<br />
Miniter explained.<br />
“If recovery does not occur<br />
with physiotherapy, strengthening<br />
and mobility exercises,<br />
ankle injury requires specialist<br />
assessment and treatment,” Dr<br />
Miniter said.<br />
“We are always on the lookout<br />
for new avenues to further<br />
speed up recovery and deal with<br />
these complex injuries.”<br />
* Plans are also ‘afoot’ for a<br />
weekly acute sports injury<br />
clinic at <strong>Pittwater</strong> Day Surgery<br />
beginning later this month.<br />
For more info and/or to<br />
reserve your place at the Free<br />
Information Session or sports<br />
injury clinic go to nbocentre.<br />
com.au/infonight or call 1300<br />
901 805. – Lisa Offord<br />
44 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Free grief and loss course<br />
Everyone experiences loss at some time and grief is a<br />
normal and natural response to loss that can affect every<br />
part of our lives.<br />
Research has shown that grief and loss experienced by caregivers<br />
of a loved one occurs at different stages of the caring<br />
journey, bringing significant emotional stress.<br />
This can be the result of receiving a diagnosis; changes related<br />
to financial circumstances; deterioration of symptoms;<br />
prospects of new treatments; relinquishing of care; imminence<br />
of death; or the death of a loved one.<br />
Everyone experiences grief in their own way – some people<br />
express their grief in private and do not show it in public;<br />
some want to express their grief through crying and talking.<br />
Others may be reluctant to talk and prefer to keep busy and<br />
people may behave differently at different times.<br />
There is no ‘correct’ way to grieve, and no way to ‘fix<br />
it’ but understanding more about what you may be going<br />
through can help.<br />
If you’re grieving, it’s important to know that you’re not<br />
alone and help is available.<br />
Northern Beaches Community Connect is running a free<br />
five-week Grief and Loss Course for Carers commencing on<br />
Monday 6 <strong>August</strong>.<br />
The course focusses on restoration of your emotional functioning<br />
by understanding the theory behind grief, normalising<br />
feelings, engaging in exploration of unique personal experiences,<br />
experiential learning and peer support.<br />
The course will be held on Mondays – 6 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug,<br />
27 Aug, 3 Sep – from 10.30am to 1.30pm at Dee Why RSL Club<br />
(morning tea and light lunch included).<br />
For more information call Robyn on 9931 7777. – LO<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 45
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Skin needling treatments<br />
offer rejuvenation benefit<br />
Using small needles to<br />
penetrate the skin is now<br />
well established as a technique<br />
to minimise pore size, tighten<br />
skin, rejuvenate skin texture or<br />
surface, minimise wrinkles, reduce<br />
scars and improve stretch<br />
marks.<br />
The theory is that controlled<br />
needles penetrate the dermis<br />
or strength layer of the skin.<br />
Collagen in this layer is induced<br />
or stimulated to heal. With healing,<br />
more collagen is deposited,<br />
which thickens the skin. All<br />
scars contract, so this contraction<br />
tightens the skin. Thicker<br />
skin appears more youthful.<br />
Another big advantage is the<br />
skin needling allows penetration<br />
of therapeutic products.<br />
Skin is a very effective barrier.<br />
Every day our skin protects<br />
against desiccation, bacteria,<br />
chemicals, toxins and solutions.<br />
Such an effective barrier<br />
makes penetration of skin care<br />
products difficult. We all know<br />
vitamins A, B and C are beneficial<br />
to skin care. However,<br />
getting them into the skin<br />
has been a major limitation in<br />
therapeutic effectiveness. Many<br />
skin care solutions list these<br />
products but the concentration<br />
or form may not allow penetration.<br />
Having thousands of tiny<br />
holes markedly increases this<br />
penetration.<br />
There are two main systems<br />
of commonly used skin<br />
needling – rollers and vertical<br />
needling.<br />
Rollers contain fixed needles,<br />
which as the roller is rolled over<br />
the skin, penetrate the dermis.<br />
Different rollers have different<br />
needle lengths. Generally the<br />
longer needles are used by skin<br />
therapists, with the shorter needles<br />
being used at home. A few<br />
factors limit their use. Smaller,<br />
contoured areas of the face –<br />
such as near the nose, lips or<br />
eyes – may be difficult to reach.<br />
Needle length is not changeable;<br />
the whole roller needs<br />
to be changed. The action of<br />
the roller over the skin may<br />
cause small cuts or flicks as the<br />
needles emerge from the skin,<br />
resulting in linear cuts rather<br />
than needle-shaped punctures.<br />
Vertical needling has sterile,<br />
disposable, spring-loaded<br />
needles attached to a vibrating<br />
wand or stem. By vibrating in<br />
a vertical direction, the needle<br />
tracks are controlled, predictable<br />
and vertical. It is considered<br />
less painful and with faster<br />
healing and repair. Needle<br />
lengths can be altered during<br />
a treatment and vibration<br />
speeds can also be changed.<br />
This allows different areas with<br />
different skin thickness or characteristics<br />
to be treated. Having<br />
a smaller surface area, they<br />
are useful on the nose, near<br />
the eyes and lips. There are 11<br />
needles and the length can be<br />
varied from 0.25 – 2.5mm.<br />
All treatments should be<br />
preceded by a time of optimising<br />
skin health. For rejuvenation,<br />
generally 4-6 treatments<br />
four weeks apart are advised.<br />
For acne scars, 6 treatments<br />
six weeks apart and for stretch<br />
marks up to 10 treatments 4-6<br />
weeks apart. Results are seen<br />
from about four weeks and<br />
improvement continues for 6-12<br />
months. A good post-treatment<br />
with Dr John Kippen<br />
regime is suggested, and<br />
intermittent retreatments are<br />
advised.<br />
Downtime and recovery are<br />
proportional to needle depth<br />
and treatment type. This can<br />
vary from mild redness that<br />
may last a few hours, to quite<br />
marked redness lasting 12-24<br />
hours for more intense treatments.<br />
Small amounts of bleeding<br />
may occur near. (Deeper<br />
treatments are often combined<br />
with topical numbing creams.)<br />
In general, skin needling is<br />
a very popular treatment with<br />
very good results. Pore size can<br />
be reduced, skin rejuvenated,<br />
wrinkles reduced, texture improved<br />
and skin tightened. The<br />
vertical needling gives greater<br />
accuracy over a wider variety of<br />
skin types and allows eyelids,<br />
lips and noses to be treated.<br />
Our columnist Dr John<br />
Kippen is a qualified, fully<br />
certified consultant specialist<br />
in Cosmetic, Plastic and<br />
Reconstructive surgery.<br />
Australian trained, he also<br />
has additional Australian and<br />
International Fellowships.<br />
Dr Kippen works from custom-built<br />
premises in Mona<br />
Vale. He welcomes enquiries<br />
and questions. Please<br />
contact him via johnkippen.<br />
com.au or by email: doctor@<br />
johnkippen.com.au<br />
46 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
‘Specialties’ evolves with family dental<br />
Digital dentistry is not the<br />
future – it’s already very<br />
much in the present with<br />
local specialists leading the way<br />
blending high-tech systems<br />
with traditional dental care and<br />
personal attention.<br />
Highly regarded specialist<br />
prosthodontist Dr Tom Giblin<br />
was an early adopter of modern<br />
dental technology when he<br />
opened his practice in Mona<br />
Vale six years ago.<br />
Often likened to an architect<br />
or engineer of the mouth, a<br />
prosthodontist specialises in<br />
the restoration and replacement<br />
of teeth, planning cases not just<br />
for aesthetics but also for long<br />
term function, durability and<br />
easy maintenance.<br />
Operating out of his state-ofthe-art<br />
premises which boasts<br />
its own dental laboratory for<br />
making crowns, veneers and<br />
dentures in-house, Dr Giblin is<br />
also an educator and is regularly<br />
invited to speak about his<br />
work in Australia<br />
and overseas.<br />
“Being a ‘digital’<br />
practice we have<br />
incorporated the<br />
latest in hightech<br />
equipment,<br />
including 3D<br />
Digital imaging for<br />
implant planning<br />
and diagnosis as<br />
well as the latest in<br />
intraoral scanners<br />
that mean often we<br />
simply take a 3D<br />
scan of your teeth<br />
rather than taking<br />
the traditional putty impressions,”<br />
he explained.<br />
“From there we can digitally<br />
‘mock-up’ your smile for you to<br />
see and try in, or design your<br />
new crowns or veneers using<br />
our powerful design software,<br />
before being milled or 3D<br />
printed and then hand-finished<br />
in our dental laboratory.”<br />
Fast-forward to <strong>2018</strong> and<br />
CHANGE: Dr Tom Giblin.<br />
it’s not only new<br />
technology that’s<br />
enhancing local<br />
patient care… Dr<br />
Giblin’s practice<br />
has evolved – it<br />
is now known as<br />
Northern Dental<br />
Implants & Prosthodontics<br />
and<br />
it also includes a<br />
large family and<br />
general dental service<br />
– Barrenjoey<br />
Dental.<br />
He explained<br />
with our ageing<br />
population and busy lifestyles,<br />
patients now more than ever<br />
covet convenience alongside<br />
quality of care.<br />
“Barrenjoey Dental is focused<br />
on providing honest, high-quality<br />
dental care to our patients<br />
and families,” Dr Giblin said.<br />
“By combining a general practice<br />
with the specialist practice,<br />
we can better serve our patients<br />
by offering affordable, quality<br />
everyday dentistry with specialist<br />
restorative care when it is<br />
needed, all in one location,” Dr<br />
Giblin said.<br />
The respected team at Barrenjoey<br />
Dental include Dr Laura<br />
Siebels and Dr John Lockwood<br />
AM, who provide a broad range<br />
of services from check-ups and<br />
cleans to root canals, fillings<br />
and tooth whitening.<br />
“Laura enjoys all aspects of<br />
dentistry, especially working<br />
with children, as well as root<br />
canal therapy and treating gum<br />
conditions,” Dr Giblin said.<br />
She is studying for a Masters<br />
degree in Orofacial Pain.<br />
“Dr John Lockwood moved<br />
his long-standing practice under<br />
our roof two years ago and<br />
he brings decades of experience<br />
in all aspects of general<br />
dentistry,” Dr Giblin said.<br />
Find the team under one<br />
roof at Shop 1, 1731 <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
Rd Mona Vale; P: 9997 1122.<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 47
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Fulfilling ‘gap’ year<br />
FROM BELFAST TO AVALON: Dr Ceri Cashell with husband Alisdair Knight,<br />
daughter Izzy and sons Ruairdh and Domhnall.<br />
General Practitioner Dr Ceri Cashell returns to Avalon this<br />
month following a year of working in the UK which she says<br />
revealed differences in the way health provision is delivered<br />
compared to Australia.<br />
“I have had a very busy year working between Belfast and Edinburgh,”<br />
Dr Cashell said. “The volume of work in a day is much<br />
greater in the UK although the types of problems are for the<br />
most part the same as Sydney. And all surgeries offer a maximum<br />
10-minute appointment time.”<br />
She said that professionally she found it hard to have so little<br />
time with her patients.<br />
“And working in lots of different practices meant I lost the<br />
continuity of care that I really valued in Avalon.”<br />
Dr Cashell noted the UK’s National Health Scheme (NHS) had been<br />
very proactive at encouraging patient self-care in minor illness over<br />
the past 15-20 years, with pharmacies often running minor ailment<br />
schemes which avoided the need to see a doctor at all.<br />
“Patients’ health knowledge is similar to what I’ve experienced<br />
in Sydney and varies according to demographic group,” she said.<br />
“However, everything is more protocol-l and guideline-driven in the<br />
UK – and this has encouraged me to update my evidence-based<br />
practice; I have attended several excellent GP update courses.”<br />
The family – including husband Alisdair Knight and kids<br />
Ruairdh, 12, Domhnall, 9, and Izzy, 1 uprooted and returned to<br />
Belfast, Northern Ireland, to spend more time with their parents<br />
as they grew older.<br />
“It has been a very fulfilling year doing things that we have<br />
missed out on living in Sydney,” Dr Cashell said. “Our children<br />
have loved having their Granny Moira around and we have had<br />
lots of wonderful weekends in her mountain cottage with no<br />
WiFi, climbing the Mourne Mountains and mountain biking in<br />
Tollymore Forest.<br />
“We had ski trips to Scotland and the Alps in France as well as<br />
surf camp safaris to the west of Ireland.<br />
“Of course, we missed the blue skies and the beaches but<br />
we were very fortunate to be in the UK for the first four-month<br />
heatwave in over 20 years!” she said. “And a sunny Irish beach is<br />
hard to beat!”<br />
Dr Cashell is looking forward to taking on new patients at<br />
Avalon Family Medical Practice where she will practice Mondays,<br />
Wednesdays and Thursdays.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
Eco Corner<br />
You need<br />
info to<br />
ensure you<br />
get the correct<br />
solar inverter<br />
for your<br />
current and<br />
future needs.<br />
Battery storage<br />
will influence<br />
your decision.<br />
A solar inverter (or PV<br />
with<br />
Jono Burke<br />
inverter) is a type of electrical<br />
converter which converts<br />
the variable direct current<br />
(DC) output of a photovoltaic<br />
(PV) solar panel into a utility<br />
frequency alternating current<br />
AC. This means that when<br />
the sun is out you can use the<br />
power in your house directly<br />
from the solar panels.<br />
But the sun doesn’t shine<br />
24 hours! I am always getting<br />
asked about battery storage as<br />
a way to reduce energy costs.<br />
Along with a solar system that<br />
minimises your costs during<br />
sunlight hours, batteries can<br />
store energy to be used after<br />
the sun goes down.<br />
Household or business<br />
energy usage patterns vary<br />
greatly. You may be using most<br />
of your energy during the day<br />
with a business that is open<br />
during normal hours. You may<br />
have equipment or appliances<br />
running well into the night. It’s<br />
important to determine energy<br />
usage patterns before deciding<br />
whether batteries are a viable<br />
option.<br />
When considering using your<br />
solar system to reduce energy<br />
costs for the entire 24-hour<br />
period you must be aware that<br />
not all solar inverters enable<br />
the DC energy to be converted<br />
into the battery storage. The<br />
solar inverter you choose must<br />
be ‘battery ready’.<br />
You need to get a system<br />
with a hybrid solar inverter<br />
that is compatible with the<br />
battery brand you are planning<br />
on installing. My advice is to<br />
plan for the future and install<br />
a ‘battery ready’ inverter.<br />
Batteries have almost halved<br />
in price in the past 12 months<br />
making them more costeffective<br />
than ever. Plan ahead!<br />
* Jono is a Partner with Solar<br />
Energy Enterprises (see ad p28).<br />
48 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 49
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Rewire your brain<br />
through meditation<br />
Neuroplasticity – the ability to rewire your brain to improve your<br />
wellbeing – continues to be a focus of the scientific world.<br />
And meditation is seen as a key activator for this change, helping<br />
individuals reorganise their brain and its function to help overcome<br />
trauma and disease and deal with depression and addiction.<br />
Neuroplasticity has been thoroughly researched, with hundreds of<br />
scientific articles showing regular meditators were able to grow their<br />
prefrontal cerebral cortex, a part of the brain responsible for paying<br />
attention, emotional regulation and sensory management.<br />
Billabong Retreat founder Paul von Bergen agrees that<br />
mindfulness is an attention-training exercise for the brain.<br />
“It involves deliberately trying to focus on one thing at a time, be<br />
it your breath, your physical sensations in your body or for more<br />
advanced practitioners, the stream of thoughts or emotions coming<br />
into your mind,” he said. “This process activates and therefore grows<br />
the prefrontal cerebral cortex, the part of the brain responsible for<br />
your ability to pay attention. This ‘executive control function’ is the<br />
most evolved part of any primate brain and the part you really want<br />
to be developing.”<br />
Paul said that once your ability to pay attention increases you<br />
will start to notice your stream of consciousness – particularly the<br />
underlying patterns of repetitive thoughts, physical sensations and<br />
emotions that can influence your behaviors and decision-making.<br />
“This ability to be able to observe your thoughts, emotions and<br />
sensations is called meta-cognition and is perhaps the most evolved<br />
of all human brain functions,” he said.<br />
Paul added that once an individual had set the intention to learn<br />
meditation it was important they were realistic with expectations.<br />
“It might take a while to find the right teacher, the right training<br />
or the right method,” he continued. “What’s right for me is not<br />
necessarily right for you.<br />
“This is brain reprogramming and it doesn’t happen overnight.”<br />
Paul runs Mindfulness Training programs at Billabong Retreat<br />
every four weeks; for more info phone (02) 4573 6080 or visit<br />
billabongretreat.com.au<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
50 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Hair & Beauty<br />
Your lymphatic system:<br />
the mirror to skin health<br />
with Sue Carroll<br />
The science of anti-aging<br />
has always been at the<br />
forefront of human<br />
endeavour. Anti-aging has been<br />
linked through the lymphatic<br />
system, which is also known as<br />
the ‘Elixir of <strong>Life</strong>’. The lymphatic<br />
system is a vital component<br />
of our immune system and is<br />
one of the most intriguing and<br />
dynamic relationships the body<br />
possesses.<br />
The lymphatic system is the<br />
body’s drainage mechanism<br />
for collection and disposal of<br />
unwanted waste products. It<br />
is a network of tissues and<br />
organs that help rid the body<br />
of toxins, waste and other<br />
unwanted materials. As part<br />
of the circulatory system<br />
and a vital component of our<br />
immune system, the lymphatic<br />
system comprises a network<br />
of lymphatic vessels that carry<br />
lymph – a fluid containing<br />
infection-fighting white blood<br />
cells – throughout the body.<br />
From an aesthetic<br />
perspective, one of the most<br />
famous practitioners of<br />
lymphatic drainage is Danish<br />
physician Emil Vodder, M.D., and<br />
his wife Estrid who developed<br />
the famous Vodder method and<br />
philosophy of manual lymphatic<br />
drainage (MLD). The Vodders<br />
developed a light, rhythmic<br />
massage with stretching<br />
movements to stimulate lymph<br />
flow throughout the body. In<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
1936, this technique started<br />
to become recognised by the<br />
medical community when<br />
the Vodders presented their<br />
findings to the public at a health<br />
and beauty congress in Paris.<br />
Since then, many physicians<br />
and lymphologists have come<br />
up with their own techniques<br />
for stimulating the lymphatic<br />
system, most of which involve<br />
many of the same basic<br />
principles used in the Vodder<br />
method.<br />
Another form of lymphatic<br />
drainage is pressure therapy.<br />
This is where specialised<br />
equipment is programmed<br />
with compressed air to actively<br />
massage the lymphatic<br />
system. The system may be<br />
used alone or in conjunction<br />
with a wrapping technique,<br />
using cosmetic-rich active<br />
ingredients to enhance the<br />
drainage process. Both MLD<br />
and pressure therapy may be<br />
used for treatment on the legs,<br />
abdomen, buttocks, and arms<br />
for both men and women.<br />
A well-functioning lymphatic<br />
system will influence the tone,<br />
colour and clarity of the skin.<br />
As a consequence of the aging<br />
process, our lymphatics become<br />
less active and facial oedema<br />
may occur. Inadequate lymph<br />
activity is directly attributed to<br />
puffiness and dark circles under<br />
the eyes, as well as swelling of<br />
the face and ankles.<br />
Other physical areas of<br />
concern where lymphatic<br />
drainage may be of use are:<br />
n To assist with reducing<br />
puffiness after a long flight;<br />
n To treat acne and rosacea<br />
where the facilitation of<br />
unwanted bacteria and<br />
cellular debris will be drained<br />
away from the pustulous<br />
region;<br />
n To reduce the effects of<br />
bruising after surgery;<br />
n To reduce the appearance of<br />
cellulite;<br />
n To assist with weight loss<br />
programs;<br />
n To reduce the lactic acid after<br />
a strenuous exercise session;<br />
n If water retention is a problem<br />
this will assist to reduce<br />
puffiness along with a good<br />
health/lifestyle program; and<br />
n In conjunction with a doctor<br />
to treat lymphodema.<br />
The vitality of the lymphatic<br />
system mirrors the skin’s health<br />
and ultimately, one’s overall<br />
health. Lymphatic drainage<br />
remains one of the most effective<br />
methods to assist in the<br />
management of problematic<br />
and congestive skin and health<br />
conditions.<br />
Sue Carroll of Skin<br />
Inspiration has been a qualified<br />
Aesthetician for 33 years.<br />
Sue has owned and<br />
operated successful beauty<br />
clinics and day spas on<br />
the Northern Beaches.<br />
info@skininspiration.com.au<br />
www.skininspiration.com.au<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 51<br />
Health Hair & Wellbeing Beauty
Business <strong>Life</strong>: Money<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong><br />
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resources, The app public works relations, in a couple<br />
of telemarketing ways: by taking and, a yes, data even<br />
feed financial from services your spending all potentially<br />
accounts fall into the and category rounding of what up the<br />
purchases Graeber calls you ‘Bullshit make to jobs’. the<br />
nearest Do read dollar this and book investing if you<br />
these want to accumulated have a laugh balances while also<br />
into enjoying a mix a thought-provoking<br />
of exchange traded<br />
funds look at listed modern on work the ASX, – especially or,<br />
by aspects you debiting such as how an amount society or<br />
regular undervalues payment jobs from that directly your<br />
bank benefit account mankind to – your such Acorns as<br />
account. teaching, nursing Most users or caregiving enjoy the<br />
round – and elevates up feature those of jobs Acorns that as<br />
it mainly allows shuffle them paper to save around while or<br />
they contain spend. the word As a ‘strategic’ parent of in<br />
teenagers the title. Bear I think mind, I’ve come however,<br />
to that the Graeber’s conclusion views that are apps not<br />
such mainstream as Acorns economics using a and blend are<br />
of highly psychology debatable. and technology<br />
may And be it the was only pure effective coincidence way<br />
to that get during modern the kids month to I save had<br />
because Graeber’s they book sure fresh do know<br />
how in my to mind spend. I managed<br />
to Acorns have three works close because the<br />
principles encounters underlying with its design<br />
what I suspect is<br />
the pinnacle of all<br />
useless occupations<br />
– the call centre<br />
representative.<br />
The first encounter was<br />
with Optus – I have one of<br />
their mobiles on a corporate<br />
plan and I contacted them to<br />
arrange a travel pack for an<br />
overseas trip – the $10 per day<br />
‘all-you-can-eat’ phone deal<br />
are for when firmly you rooted are overseas. in behavioural It<br />
finance: turned out investing that they small don’t allow<br />
amounts corporate on customers a regular to basis access that<br />
won’t travel packs. be missed When combined I asked them with<br />
investing if corporate over customers an extended don’t<br />
period travel overseas of time to the average person was<br />
into gushingly the markets apologetic smoothing and said<br />
out they peaks understood and troughs. my concerns Of<br />
course at which it point doesn’t it was hurt just that easier it<br />
does to give all up. of The these next things day within they<br />
the sent framework a text asking of a highly about my<br />
attractive and functional user<br />
interface – fancy words for the<br />
app looks and feels very cool.<br />
While these principles have<br />
proven to be sound over time<br />
Acorns goes on to provide an<br />
indirect benefit to its users<br />
in the form of education and<br />
improved financial literacy.<br />
Get two or more people in the<br />
room who have an account and<br />
you’ll find out what I mean –<br />
when did you start? What are<br />
customer service experience,<br />
I duly ignored it. The day after<br />
they sent me the text again;<br />
bugger it, I filled it out and gave<br />
them all zeros. The next day<br />
someone from Optus actually<br />
called me… but not to fix the<br />
you problem saving or for? to suggest What returns a work<br />
have around you but had? to apologise It’s inherently and<br />
competitive empathise again but when – Aarrrgh! it’s<br />
combined Thanks, but with get the lost! tools and<br />
information The next encounter that the app was with<br />
provides Woolworths. it’s I also have extremely had one of<br />
informative their branded – as credit a regular cards from user<br />
you the days can’t when help it but churned become out<br />
more many informed frequent flyer about points the to<br />
behaviour now when it of doesn’t markets but whether once a<br />
you month are it looking gives you to 10% or not off – your the<br />
with Brian Hrnjak<br />
balance grocery bill, of your a tangible Acorns feature account<br />
rises in a card and when falls in so line many with of them<br />
movements promise so much in markets but deliver during<br />
the so little. course Lately, of the however, trading this day.<br />
feature One of hasn’t the challenges been working<br />
any properly: finance no app automatic would deduction have<br />
encouraging at the checkout, young which people means to<br />
save a half and hour invest on the is phone to remain with<br />
relevant a call centre. in their After eyes. a week Over I get<br />
the past year an a number email with of an<br />
enhancements official-looking<br />
have taken place<br />
following user case feedback, number the<br />
headline ones thanking being: me<br />
Found Money for partners my enquiry, – users<br />
can shop online saying with brands that the<br />
such as Bonds, management<br />
Dan Murphy’s,<br />
BCF, Uber etc. and team these are still<br />
partners usually investigating<br />
deposit bonus<br />
amounts how and why or extra this occurred round ups and<br />
into that they users will advise account; further once<br />
My their Finance investigations feature have – uses been<br />
artificial completed. intelligence This time to I took track a<br />
and moment categorise to reply, spending thanking and them<br />
calculate for their email, free cash advising flow; that in<br />
Super my view fund the cause linkages of the – allows problem<br />
users was their to make rubbish deposits systems to and a<br />
range that if they of industry don’t expedite and public a $50<br />
offer gift voucher superannuation like they did funds; the last<br />
Emerald time the system Portfolio broke – a I socially would<br />
responsible expedite seeking portfolio a new option card<br />
introduced provider and following new supermarket member<br />
feedback; – the problem was apparently<br />
Little solved Acorns the next – sub working accounts day.<br />
designed The last to encounter allow investment was with<br />
on Origin behalf Energy. of children Where we or other live in<br />
dependants <strong>Pittwater</strong> there under is no the gas age supply of 18.<br />
56 52 DECEMBER AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 2017<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
to the street so we rely on bottled<br />
gas which in our case comes from<br />
Origin. On the day that delivery<br />
was expected I received a text<br />
saying that delivery had failed<br />
and they would reattempt the<br />
following day. No big deal. The<br />
next day I receive another<br />
text, delivery has failed again.<br />
Fantastic news; this represented<br />
another chance to deal with a call<br />
centre. When I finally navigated<br />
the menu to a human I was told<br />
that our long-standing driver<br />
now considered the site access<br />
too steep in light of their new<br />
workplace health and safety<br />
policy. Ok, I asked, so what was<br />
the point of the text message<br />
about reattempting delivery<br />
the next day – did they expect<br />
the site to magically level itself<br />
overnight? After more circular<br />
discussion I worked out that<br />
Origin had unilaterally withdrawn<br />
the supply of gas due to a policy<br />
change, with no plan of informing<br />
us. So after organising to move<br />
the gas bottles to a new policyfriendly<br />
location I made two more<br />
calls to the call centre to arrange<br />
delivery, each time being assured<br />
that that it would be next day. As<br />
anyone who relies on bottled gas<br />
knows you only call when you<br />
have emptied one cylinder and<br />
switched to the next (which was<br />
weeks ago by this stage) so we<br />
were rapidly spiralling towards a<br />
four-long-haired-girl-householdbathroom-crisis-Armageddon.<br />
The bottles arrived four days<br />
later, barely in the nick of time.<br />
While Willie Nelson implored<br />
mothers not to let their children<br />
grow up to be cowboys, ladies<br />
I’m suggesting it could be worse,<br />
much worse if they wind up<br />
as drones in call centres being<br />
professional apologisers. What<br />
could be worse than being that<br />
person on the end of the line<br />
with absolutely no authority<br />
or resources to fix a problem,<br />
armed only with an internal<br />
training course on how to deal<br />
with difficult people and being<br />
‘recorded for training purposes’?<br />
It will be interesting to see if<br />
our large corporates continue<br />
with this cookie cutter approach<br />
to managing customers and<br />
issues. Corporate Australia<br />
along with many of our large<br />
institutions are facing an ongoing<br />
loss of trust – the following words<br />
were written by Patrick Durkin in<br />
the Australian Financial Review in<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
March this year reporting on the<br />
Edelman Trust Barometer: “Trust<br />
in business slid from 48 to 45 per<br />
cent, government fell from 37 to<br />
35 per cent, media from 32 to 31<br />
per cent and NGOs from 52 to 48<br />
per cent. Australia rates just four<br />
percentage points above Russia,<br />
the world’s least-trusting nation,<br />
and our trust index score places<br />
us in the bottom-third of nations.”<br />
Of course, since then we’ve<br />
had further revelations from<br />
the Banking Royal Commission,<br />
Optus botched the Football World<br />
Cup streaming then botched the<br />
refunds, Woolworths and Coles<br />
upset their customers by selling<br />
them plastic bags they used<br />
to get for free and Bill Shorten<br />
backflipped on small company<br />
tax cuts.<br />
Perhaps to improve trust and<br />
make jobs interesting again<br />
our big businesses could turn<br />
the customer relationship on<br />
its head. Stop listening to those<br />
people with the word strategic in<br />
their job titles, end the ceaseless<br />
rounds of internal meetings, the<br />
obsession with KPIs, targets and<br />
bonus culture and stop hiding<br />
behind the internet.<br />
What if a bank came along that<br />
reinstated the role and status<br />
of the local manager, stopped<br />
trying to sell you stuff every time<br />
you went in there, published the<br />
phone number of the local branch<br />
on their website, kept relationship<br />
managers in their roles for more<br />
than 6 months, put their best<br />
staff who can also speak English<br />
on the end of the enquiry line and<br />
actively rewarded customers for<br />
loyalty and not just those who are<br />
about to walk? We could name<br />
it after an old brand from the<br />
1980s: ‘Mirage Bank’ – too good<br />
to be true.<br />
Brian Hrnjak B Bus CPA (FPS) is<br />
a Director of GHR Accounting<br />
Group Pty Ltd, Certified<br />
Practising Accountants. Offices<br />
at: Suite 12, Ground Floor,<br />
20 Bungan Street Mona Vale<br />
NSW 2103 and Shop 8, 9 – 15<br />
Central Ave Manly NSW 2095,<br />
Telephone: 02 9979-4300,<br />
Webs: www.ghr.com.au and<br />
www.altre.com.au Email:<br />
brian@ghr.com.au<br />
These comments are of a<br />
general nature only and are<br />
not intended as a substitute<br />
for professional advice.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 53<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong>
Business <strong>Life</strong>: Law<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong><br />
Privacy concerns over<br />
new ‘My Health Record’<br />
Last month readers will<br />
have likely seen headlines<br />
or heard television and<br />
radio commentary concerning<br />
My Health Record, being an<br />
online summary of individual’s<br />
health information, such<br />
as medication prescribed,<br />
medical conditions diagnosed,<br />
treatments received, allergies<br />
noted and pathology test<br />
results as for example blood<br />
tests to be held in an eHealth<br />
record.<br />
It is the Federal<br />
Government’s aim to have a<br />
My Health Record for every<br />
Australian at the end of <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
So how has this come<br />
about? And why has there<br />
been so little information<br />
available to warn people that<br />
My Health Record is a system<br />
involving every individual who<br />
on consideration of the issues<br />
involved may choose to ‘opt<br />
out’ of the system but can<br />
only do so between 16th July<br />
and 15th October <strong>2018</strong>?<br />
The government has<br />
not conducted a formal<br />
advertising or information<br />
campaign about this major<br />
change to our health system.<br />
In 2012, the then Labor<br />
government introduced and<br />
passed My Health Records<br />
Act and My Health Records<br />
Regulation. Subsequently<br />
the Coalition government<br />
introduced and passed My<br />
Records Rule in 2016.<br />
ONLINE RECORD: The Government is pushing a digital database model.<br />
The scheme as devised by<br />
the Labor government was to<br />
roll out a voluntary, shared<br />
digital health record for all<br />
Australians. The then Attorney<br />
General, Nicola Roxon said “I<br />
want to make sure we bring<br />
consumers with us in the<br />
e-Health journey by adopting<br />
an ‘opt in’ model allowing<br />
them to choose when to sign<br />
on. I believe that the benefits<br />
of giving the Australian public<br />
the choice as to whether they<br />
participate will be key to the<br />
successful implementation...<br />
I think moving to an ‘opt out’<br />
position would be a serious<br />
mistake.”<br />
At the National Press Club<br />
in May this year the CEO of<br />
the Australian Digital Health<br />
Agency (ADHA), Tim Kelsey<br />
spoke on ‘Your Health in your<br />
with Jennifer Harris<br />
hands – the digital evolution of<br />
health and care in Australia’.<br />
He said that last <strong>August</strong>,<br />
the Council of Australian<br />
Governments unanimously<br />
agreed on a new National<br />
Digital Health Strategy.<br />
This involved three<br />
overriding principles:<br />
n Participation: empower<br />
people to take more control<br />
of their health and care;<br />
n Collaboration: co-design<br />
services with care<br />
professionals and the<br />
community – so that they<br />
serve real need. Always be<br />
evidenced-based and always<br />
listen; and<br />
n Innovation: create platforms<br />
for industry, developers,<br />
entrepreneurs, and<br />
researchers so that their<br />
creativity and businesses can<br />
flourish and health outcomes<br />
in Australia benefit.<br />
In the years since Nicola<br />
Roxon suggested that it<br />
would be a serious mistake to<br />
move to an ‘opt out’ position,<br />
that is precisely what has<br />
happened – and unless you<br />
do so by 15th October <strong>2018</strong><br />
you will automatically have<br />
a digital health record by<br />
the end of the year. Such a<br />
record will be available to your<br />
doctors, hospitals and other<br />
health care providers… such<br />
as physiotherapists to view<br />
your health information, in<br />
accordance with your access<br />
54 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
controls. You are also able to<br />
access it online yourself.<br />
However, concern has and is<br />
being expressed about privacy<br />
and the protection of data.<br />
Security expert Paul Power<br />
has stated “… a centralised<br />
e-Health database accessible<br />
over the internet to more than<br />
100,000 legitimate access<br />
points, each of which has<br />
access to the entire database,<br />
is fundamentally indefensible.”<br />
Insurance companies will not<br />
have access to the data base<br />
and the data can’t be used for<br />
commercial and non-healthrelated<br />
purposes, including<br />
direct marketing to consumers,<br />
insurance assessments, and<br />
eligibility for welfare benefits.<br />
Dr Steve Hambleton from<br />
ADHA has said that strict<br />
safeguards are in place: “I<br />
can absolutely categorically<br />
state that none of the apps<br />
and none of the use of the My<br />
Health Record data will be able<br />
to be sold to third parties –<br />
that’s absolutely prohibited,”<br />
he said.<br />
It certainly is – and<br />
penalties include two years’<br />
imprisonment.<br />
However, in June this year<br />
Australia’s largest online doctor<br />
booking service, Healthengine<br />
– one of My Health Record’s<br />
partner apps – was revealed<br />
as selling and passing on<br />
patient information to third<br />
parties, including law firms.<br />
The Minister Greg Hunt has<br />
ordered an “urgent review” of<br />
the platform and the company<br />
has announced that it would<br />
stop sharing patient data.<br />
It is assumed by the creators<br />
of the seismic shift to the<br />
digital evolution of health<br />
and care in Australia that all<br />
citizens are computer literate<br />
and will be able to negotiate<br />
the system to ‘opt out’ or if<br />
they wish to remain, ‘opt in’,<br />
and that they will choose if<br />
they want their data shared<br />
for research and healthcare<br />
improvement by switching ‘on’<br />
or ‘off’ a ‘Withdraw Consent’<br />
button in their record. The<br />
system is not simple – rather<br />
like that other system MyGov:<br />
almost impossible to navigate.<br />
Similarly, the numerous<br />
Privacy fact sheets published<br />
by the Office of the Australian<br />
Information Commissioner<br />
suggest among other matters<br />
you should “… be aware of<br />
the different access settings<br />
available to you… consider<br />
setting advanced access<br />
controls [and a]… Record<br />
Access Code… talk to your<br />
healthcare providers regularly<br />
about what information they<br />
will be adding to and accessing<br />
from your my Health Record…<br />
ask how they will involve you<br />
in this process… check your<br />
my Health Record access<br />
history regularly… [and] set up<br />
notifications.”<br />
It’s difficult to think that<br />
many people will have time<br />
enough to engage in this<br />
bureaucratic nightmare<br />
of monitoring their health<br />
records, and who else might<br />
have access to them.<br />
Comment supplied by<br />
Jennifer Harris, of Jennifer<br />
Harris & Associates, Solicitors,<br />
4/57 Avalon Parade,<br />
Avalon Beach.<br />
T: 9973 2011. F: 9918 3290.<br />
E: jennifer@jenniferharris.com.au<br />
W: www.jenniferharris.com.au<br />
Merger of two<br />
local legal firms<br />
S<br />
tuart Latham Solicitors of Avalon and Matthew<br />
Huntingdon Solicitor & Notary Public of Newport have<br />
merged their legal practices.<br />
With effect from 1 July, Stuart and Matthew have<br />
combined their knowledge and experience with the aim of<br />
achieving high-quality, affordable outcomes for their clients.<br />
“The merger allows both firms to expand, with offices in<br />
Avalon Beach and Newport,” said Stuart.<br />
Stuart’s office will remain at Suite 5, 49 Old Barrenjoey<br />
Road, Avalon Beach; Matthew’s office will remain at Suite 8,<br />
355 Barrenjoey Road, Newport.<br />
“The combined firm will have four practising solicitors,<br />
two paralegals/office managers (who both have law<br />
degrees), plus a law clerk (who is currently completing her<br />
law degree),” said Stuart.<br />
“Our combined practice areas will include Property law,<br />
including conveyancing, leasing and developments; Business<br />
law, servicing small to medium enterprises and covering all<br />
forms of commercial agreements; Estate planning including<br />
Wills, Power of Attorney, Guardianship Appointments &<br />
Testamentary Trusts; Estate Administration including Probate<br />
and Letters of Administration applications; Retirement village<br />
contracts; Notarial services; and Dispute resolution.”<br />
Clients may continue to contact them on their usual<br />
phone numbers and email addresses, and Matthew can now<br />
also be contacted at matthew@stuartlatham.com.au<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 55
Trades & Services<br />
AUTO REPAIRS<br />
British & Swedish Motors<br />
BOAT SERVICES<br />
Avalon Marine Upholstery<br />
CLEANING<br />
The Aqua Clean Team<br />
PAINTING<br />
Modern Colour<br />
Trades & Services<br />
Call 9970 6654<br />
Services Range Rover, Land Rover,<br />
Saab and Volvo with the latest in<br />
diagnostic equipment.<br />
Narrabeen Tyrepower<br />
Call 9970 6670<br />
Stocks all popular brands including<br />
Cooper 4WD. Plus they’ll do all<br />
mechanical repairs and rego<br />
inspections.<br />
Barrenjoey Smash Repairs<br />
Call 9970 8207<br />
barrenjoeysmashrepairs.com.au<br />
Re-sprays a specialty, plus<br />
restoration of your favourite vehicle.<br />
Commercial specialist.<br />
Call Simon 9918 9803<br />
Makes cushions for boats, patio and<br />
pool furniture, window seats.<br />
ELECTRICAL<br />
Eamon Dowling Electrical<br />
Call 0410 457 373<br />
For all electrical, phone, TV, data and<br />
security needs.<br />
FLOOR COVERINGS<br />
Blue Tongue Carpets<br />
Call Stephan 9979 7292<br />
Family owned and run. Carpet, rugs,<br />
runners, timber, bamboo, vinyl, tiles &<br />
laminates. Open 6 days.<br />
GARDENS<br />
Graham Brooks<br />
Call 0412 281 580<br />
Tree pruning and removals. Reports<br />
regarding DA tree management,<br />
arborist reports.<br />
Precision Tree Services<br />
Call Adam 0410 736 105<br />
Adam Bridger; professional tree<br />
care by qualified arborists and tree<br />
surgeons.<br />
Call Mark 0449 049 101<br />
Quality window washing,<br />
pressure cleaning, carpet<br />
washing, building soft wash.<br />
Martin Earl House Wash<br />
Call 0405 583 305<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong>-based owner on site at all<br />
times. No travellers or uninsured casuals<br />
on your property.<br />
MASSAGE & FITNESS<br />
Avalon Physiotherapy<br />
Call 9918 3373<br />
Provide specialist treatment for neck &<br />
back pain, sports injuries, orthopaedic<br />
problems.<br />
Avalon Physiotherapy<br />
& Clinical Pilates<br />
Call 9918 0230<br />
Dry needling and acupuncture, falls<br />
prevention and balance<br />
enhancement programs.<br />
Avalon Beach Chiropractic<br />
Call Sam 9918 0070<br />
Professional care for all ages. Treatment<br />
for chronic and acute pain,<br />
sports injuries.<br />
Francois Naef/Osteopath<br />
Call Francois 9918 2288<br />
Diagnosis, treatment and prevention for<br />
back pain and sciatica, sports injuries,<br />
muscle soreness and strain, pregnancyrelated<br />
pain, postural imbalance.<br />
Call 0406 150 555<br />
Simon Bergin offers painting and<br />
decorating; clean, tidy, quality detail you<br />
will notice. Dependable and on time.<br />
AJJ Painting & Decorating<br />
Call 0418 116 700<br />
Andrew is a master painter with 30<br />
years’ experience. Domestic and commercial;<br />
reasonable rates, free quotes.<br />
UPHOLSTERY<br />
All Foam<br />
Call 9973 1731<br />
Cut to measure quality foam for day<br />
beds, boats, caravans and more. Discounted<br />
prices, reliable local service.<br />
Free measure / quote.<br />
Luxafoam North<br />
Call 9999 5567<br />
Local specialists in all aspects of<br />
outdoor & indoor seating.<br />
Custom service, expert advice.<br />
Essyou Design<br />
Call Susan 0422 466 880<br />
Specialist in day bed and outdoor<br />
areas. Reliable local service. Offering<br />
domestic & commercial.<br />
Leather Hero<br />
Call Leanne 0490 796 012<br />
Specialists in leather cleaning,<br />
revamps, repairs and colour restoration<br />
for lounges, cars and boats.<br />
56 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Trades & Services<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 57
Trades & Services<br />
TUITION<br />
Northern Beaches<br />
Home Tutoring<br />
Call John 9972 1469<br />
1-ON-1 individual tutoring in your<br />
home. All ages and subjects K-Uni.<br />
Qualified tutors. WWC child protection<br />
checked. Since 2009.<br />
PEST CONTROL<br />
Predator Pest Control<br />
Call 0417 276 962<br />
predatorpestcontrol.com.au<br />
Environmental services at their best.<br />
Comprehensive control. Eliminate all<br />
DISCLAIMER: The editorial and advertising<br />
content in <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> has been provided by a<br />
number of sources. Any opinions expressed are<br />
not necessarily those of the Editor or Publisher of<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> and no responsibility is taken for<br />
the accuracy of the information contained within.<br />
Readers should make their own enquiries directly<br />
to any organisations or businesses prior to making<br />
any plans or taking any action.<br />
manner of pests. They provide a 24-<br />
hour service.<br />
PUMPS & TANKS<br />
Water Warehouse<br />
Call 9913 7988<br />
waterwarehouse.com.au<br />
Rainwater tanks & pumps. Irrigation &<br />
filter supply specialists.<br />
RENOVATIONS<br />
Rob Burgers<br />
Call 0416 066 159<br />
Qualified builder provides all carpentry<br />
needs; decks, pergolas, carports,<br />
renos & repairs.<br />
BlindLight<br />
Call Dave 0403 466 350<br />
Specialists is window tinting and glass<br />
coatings. Act now for summer.<br />
Trades & Services<br />
TUITION<br />
Northern Beaches Home Tu tor ing<br />
Call John 9972 1469<br />
1-ON-1 individual tutoring in your home. All ages and subjects K-Uni.<br />
Qualified tutors. WWC child protection checked. Since 2009.<br />
58 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
the<br />
good<br />
life<br />
dining<br />
food<br />
crossword<br />
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60<br />
64<br />
67<br />
68<br />
72<br />
Showtime<br />
Something for everyone<br />
‘Romantic’ return<br />
One of Australia’s best-loved pianists, Simon<br />
Tedeschi returns to the northern beaches<br />
in a concert of Romantic Classics to sweep you<br />
off your feet.<br />
Joined by Roger Benedict, Sydney Symphony’s<br />
Principal Viola and Director of the SSO Fellows,<br />
Simon and Roger will perform Schubert’s<br />
ever-popular Arpeggione Sonata and Songs<br />
from Winterreise as well as works by Brahms<br />
and Schumann, from their new studio album<br />
for ABC Classics, A Winter’s Tale.<br />
Everyone is invited to enjoy an evening with<br />
two of our finest musicians and some of the<br />
most beautiful music ever written for viola and<br />
piano, at St Luke’s Grammar School Bayview<br />
campus (1977 <strong>Pittwater</strong> Rd).<br />
The concert, brought to us by Peninsula<br />
Music Club, will be held on Friday <strong>August</strong> 17 at<br />
HEADLINE ACTS: ABBALANCHE (left) and Shannon Noll.<br />
Here’s a snapshot of some<br />
of the live shows you can<br />
catch not too far from home<br />
this month…<br />
Shade Of Red. Northern<br />
Beaches locals, Craig ‘Finny’<br />
Finniss, Mike Han and Steve<br />
Buiaroski are the Sydney/<br />
North Coast-based Rock and<br />
Pop Trio, Shade Of Red. Catch<br />
the much-loved local legends<br />
performing songs you just<br />
have to get up and dance to at<br />
Avalon Beach RSL Club on Sat<br />
11 from 9pm-12am.<br />
Bard ‘bad’-aption. Give the<br />
kids a slapstick introduction<br />
to Shakespeare and live<br />
theatre at The Tragedy of<br />
Hamlet; Prince of Skidmark<br />
– an hour-long comedy show<br />
packed with silliness, sword<br />
fights, ghosts, bodily fluids<br />
and spooky stuff. Plus ninjas.<br />
And zombies. On Fri 17 and<br />
Sat 18 at Glen Street Theatre.<br />
Adults at kids’ prices! glenstreet.com.au.<br />
Better be good. Everyone’s<br />
favourite runner-up Shannon<br />
Noll hits Dee Why RSL Club on<br />
Fri 17. Catch Nollsie’s gutsy<br />
voice when he shares music<br />
from his new album Unbroken.<br />
Doors open 7.30pm go to deewhyrsl.com.au<br />
for more info.<br />
Here we go again. Playing to<br />
sell-out crowds since 1995 (and<br />
they say they’re not tired!) the<br />
award-winning totally live Abba<br />
Tribute Show ABBALANCHE<br />
will take you on an entertaining<br />
ride through the hits we all<br />
know so well, with plenty of<br />
crowd participation, sing-along<br />
ballads and dance-floor<br />
hits with a dash of humour.<br />
The group is back at <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
RSL Club on Sat 25. Tickets $25<br />
with limited seating. Call 9997<br />
3833 or go to pittwaterrsl.com.<br />
au for more info.<br />
Singing a different tune.<br />
Known for performing classical<br />
choral music, the wonderful<br />
Manly Warringah Choir<br />
is doing something a little<br />
bit different for its winter<br />
concert this month by lending<br />
its voice to some lighter<br />
pieces. Members of the 100<br />
strong choir and orchestra will<br />
perform a medley from the<br />
all-time favouri te musical West<br />
Side Story, Hebrew love songs,<br />
sonnets and songs from<br />
Shakespeare and a little Jazz<br />
music at the beautiful Cardinal<br />
Cerretti Chapel in Manly. The<br />
concert Love, Peace and all<br />
that Jazz conducted by Dr<br />
Carlos Alvarados will be held<br />
on Sun 26 from 2.30pm. More<br />
info manlywarringahchoir.org.<br />
au or 9953 2443.<br />
Burlesque in the basement.<br />
Walk down the stairs of the<br />
Kave Bar on Barrenjoey Rd<br />
Newport and be transported<br />
to 1920s New York, Chicago,<br />
London or Paris as you enter<br />
the raunchy and raucous cabaret<br />
that is ‘The Cats Meow’.<br />
Sat 25 from 7-11.55pm.<br />
WINTER WARMERS: Tedeschi (left) with Benedict<br />
8pm, doors open at 7.30pm. Tickets $25 and<br />
students $10 (under 16 free when accompanied<br />
by an adult).<br />
Enquires 0407 441 213 or 0413 077 749 (tickets<br />
available at the door). More info peninsulamusicclub.com.au.<br />
Supper will be served after the performance.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 59<br />
Showtime
Dining Guide<br />
Dining Guide<br />
<strong>August</strong>'s best restaurants, functions, events and reader deals...<br />
Bistro 61<br />
Avalon Beach RSL<br />
1 Bowling Green Lane<br />
Avalon Beach<br />
OPENING HOURS<br />
Open 7 days<br />
Lunch 12pm-2:30pm<br />
Dinner 5:30-8:30pm<br />
CUISINE<br />
Modern Aust / pub food<br />
PRICE RANGE<br />
Meals $8-$30<br />
Specials $12-$15<br />
BOOKINGS 9918 2201<br />
Avalon Beach RSL’s Bistro 61<br />
is a great place to head for<br />
a local meal, offering tasty<br />
modern Australian dishes at<br />
affordable prices.<br />
In <strong>August</strong>, catch the<br />
Surf Lounge Sessions every<br />
Saturday night with free live<br />
music from 9pm.<br />
And now available for free<br />
download – the brand new<br />
Avalon Beach RSL Club App.<br />
Earn rewards, prizes and<br />
member points by logging in<br />
daily.<br />
See what's on, check out<br />
events, view menus and more!<br />
Don't miss the Super Sunday<br />
raffle on the first Sunday of<br />
every month – there's more<br />
than $1500 in prizes to be won.<br />
Bistro 61 is open for<br />
breakfast from 9am to<br />
11.30am. Open for lunch<br />
and dinner seven days, with<br />
extensive outdoor dining<br />
areas, Bistro 61 offers a variety<br />
of specials (lunch and dinner)<br />
during the week, including<br />
$12 tacos (Tues), $15 Chicken<br />
Schnitzels (Wed), 2-4-1 pizzas<br />
(Thurs), and a $20 burger +<br />
beer (Fri).<br />
Seniors are well catered<br />
for – there are daily Seniors<br />
specials, including beerbattered<br />
flathead – plus they<br />
do a $5 kids meals on Sundays!<br />
(There’s a playground, too.)<br />
From the menu, chef<br />
Mitch recommends his twist<br />
on nachos – pulled beef and<br />
blackbeans with chipotle, corn<br />
chips, guacamole, Danish fetta<br />
and coriander.<br />
Members get discounts on<br />
meals purchased. Membership<br />
starts from $5.50.<br />
The club is licensed, with<br />
no BYO. Bookings online or<br />
call 9918 2201 – large groups<br />
welcome.<br />
Barrenjoey<br />
Bistro<br />
Club Palm Beach<br />
1087 Barrenjoey Rd,<br />
Palm Beach<br />
BISTRO OPENING HOURS<br />
Lunch 11:30am-2.30pm<br />
Dinner 6pm-8.30pm<br />
PRICE RANGE<br />
Lunch and dinner<br />
specials $13.50<br />
BOOKINGS 9974 5566<br />
18 (see ad opposite). Assemble<br />
outside the Club for an 11am<br />
service followed by finger food<br />
lunch (bookings essential).<br />
Barrenjoey Bistro is open<br />
for lunch (11.30am to 2.30pm)<br />
and dinner (6pm to 9pm) seven<br />
days, plus there's a Snack Menu<br />
available 2.30pm-6pm.<br />
The Bistro serves top-value a<br />
la carte meals plus daily $13.50<br />
specials of roasts (Mondays),<br />
rump steak with chips and<br />
salad (Tuesdays), chicken<br />
schnitzel with chips and salad<br />
(Wednesdays), homemade<br />
gourmet pies with chips and<br />
salad (Thursdays) and tempura<br />
fish and chips with salad<br />
(Fridays), except public hols.<br />
The Members’ lucky badge<br />
draw is held Wednesday and<br />
Friday night (every 30 mins<br />
between 5pm-7pm), and<br />
jackpots by $100 each week.<br />
Enjoy Trivia Night from<br />
5.30pm on Wednesdays, plus<br />
Bingo 10am on Fridays.<br />
The club has a courtesy<br />
bus that makes regular runs<br />
Wednesdays, Fridays and<br />
Saturdays from 4.30pm to 9pm.<br />
Ring to book a pick-up.<br />
The Mirage<br />
Restaurant<br />
at Metro Mirage<br />
Hotel Newport<br />
2 Queens Parade West,<br />
Newport<br />
CUISINE<br />
Modern Australian<br />
PRICE RANGE<br />
Breakfast – $25 adults,<br />
$12.50 kids (5-12)<br />
Dinner – entrees<br />
from $7-$17,<br />
Mains from $21-$30,<br />
Desserts from $13-$25<br />
BOOKINGS 9997 7011<br />
Local residents are finding<br />
the peaceful ambience<br />
of The Mirage restaurant<br />
overlooking spectacular<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong>, the perfect<br />
waterfront venue to enjoy<br />
breakfast or dinner.<br />
Located in boutique Metro<br />
Hotel Mirage Newport, The<br />
Mirage restaurant is a popular<br />
7-10am seven days a week,<br />
offering a fixed-price full hot<br />
and cold buffet, including a<br />
selection of cereals, seasonal<br />
fruit and freshly made juice,<br />
toast and pastries and<br />
sausages, eggs, has browns,<br />
bacon and tomato served with<br />
the Chef’s Special of the day.<br />
The Mirage restaurant is<br />
also open for dinner from<br />
Monday to Saturday from<br />
5.30pm – 8.30pm and can<br />
be hired, along with all the<br />
hotel’s function rooms, for<br />
private and corporate events<br />
of between 60-110 guests.<br />
Hong Kong<br />
Chinese Restaurant<br />
332 Barrenjoey Rd,<br />
Newport<br />
OPENING HOURS<br />
Dinner Tues-Sun 5pm<br />
CUISINE<br />
Chinese & Asian<br />
PRICE RANGE<br />
Entrees $5-20<br />
Mains $12.90-26.50<br />
*Deliver Whale Beach - Narrabeen<br />
BOOKINGS 9997 4157<br />
Book a table at this<br />
popular Newport eatery in<br />
<strong>August</strong> and your family is<br />
guaranteed a great night<br />
out with a feast for the eyes<br />
and the tastebuds.<br />
Order ahead for their<br />
wonderful Peking Duck which<br />
is offered as a dine-in-only<br />
special Thursdays through<br />
Sundays in Winter.<br />
There are two traditional<br />
courses: Peking Duck<br />
pancakes & duck sang choy<br />
bow (bookings essential;<br />
mention the ad when you call).<br />
This long-established<br />
restaurant on the eastern<br />
side of Barrenjoey Rd has<br />
an extensive menu based<br />
on traditional flavoursome<br />
Cantonese with touches of<br />
spicy Szechuan and other<br />
Asian dishes and fresh<br />
seasonal vegetables.<br />
Entrees start at just $6<br />
while mains are great value<br />
too, starting at $16.80.<br />
Head to Club Palm Beach,<br />
located just a short stroll from<br />
Palm Beach Wharf, for a huge<br />
month of specials in <strong>August</strong>.<br />
The annual Vietnam Vets<br />
Luncheon is on Saturday <strong>August</strong> choice for breakfast from<br />
60 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
LIC<br />
BYO<br />
All<br />
P
The menu ranges from<br />
adventurous, like a Sizzling<br />
Szechuan-style platter of<br />
king prawns and fillets of<br />
chicken, to contemporary,<br />
featuring spicy salt and<br />
pepper king prawns, to<br />
traditional, with favourites<br />
including Mongolian lamb,<br />
Honey king prawns and<br />
Honey chicken.<br />
New dishes are introduced<br />
regularly so check out the<br />
blackboard specials.<br />
The team are only too<br />
happy to home deliver your<br />
meal, with a range that takes<br />
in Narrabeen to the south to<br />
Palm Beach in the north.<br />
Fully licensed or BYO.<br />
Royal Motor<br />
Yacht Club<br />
Salt Cove on <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
46 Prince Alfred<br />
Parade, Newport<br />
OPENING HOURS<br />
Breakfast Lunch & Dinner<br />
Mon-Fri from 8.30am<br />
Weekends from 8am<br />
PRICE RANGE<br />
Breakfast from $8-$18<br />
Entrees from $9-$21<br />
Mains from $16-$26<br />
BOOKINGS 9997 5511<br />
RMYC’s restaurant Salt Cove<br />
on <strong>Pittwater</strong>’s menu has been<br />
updated for winter – but it still<br />
offers affordable meals and<br />
generous servings including<br />
a variety of starters and share<br />
plates, seafood, burgers,<br />
grills, salads, desserts and<br />
woodfired pizza.<br />
You're invited to the RMYC's<br />
special 'Traditional Mexican<br />
Fiesta' night on Thursday<br />
<strong>August</strong> 9. Discover Mexico<br />
through great food at Salt Cove<br />
from 6pm; $55 members, $60<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
non-members, $25 kids (12<br />
and under). Includes a drink on<br />
arrival.<br />
Friday night music kicks off<br />
in the Lounge Bar from 6.30pm.<br />
Great acts in <strong>August</strong> include<br />
Peter Kinch (3rd); Jim Gannon<br />
(10th); Geoff Kendall (17th); and<br />
Phil Simmons (24th).<br />
Catch up with the Travel View<br />
/ Cruise View Travel Club at the<br />
meeting in the lounge bar from<br />
10.30am on Monday 6th.<br />
And don't miss the Ladies<br />
Lunch with Annabelle Chauncy<br />
on Wednesday 15th <strong>August</strong>.<br />
A dynamic leader and social<br />
entrepreneur, over the past nine<br />
years through her foundation<br />
'School For <strong>Life</strong>', Annablle has<br />
built three schools in Uganda<br />
that provide quality education<br />
to 680 students and outreach<br />
to more than 2000 people. Twocourse<br />
lunch from 12 noon ($75<br />
members, $80 non-members).<br />
Trivia is held every Tuesday<br />
night from 7.30pm (great prizes<br />
and vouchers).<br />
Club Boat and Social<br />
memberships are now available<br />
for just $160.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 61<br />
Dining Guide
Tasty Morsels<br />
Wine dinners a corker of an idea<br />
Flash yet sophisticatedly rejuvenated<br />
local hospitality site Park<br />
House have launched a fabulous<br />
Wine Dinner initiative showcasing<br />
unique and interesting wines and<br />
winemakers, matched with outstanding<br />
cuisine created by head<br />
chef Jason Stuart.<br />
The dinners kicked off in July<br />
with guests feasting on a stunning<br />
menu in the Park House private<br />
dining space, The Loft, hosted<br />
by Ben Tolstoshev from The Lane<br />
Vineyard wines.<br />
Canapes were enjoyed on arrival,<br />
followed by a three-course<br />
set menu with perfectly matched<br />
premium wines from The Lane<br />
Vineyard.<br />
Entrée was Tiradito of Hiramasa<br />
Kingfish, Sliced & Marinated<br />
with Chilli Lime, Frozen Avocado<br />
Guacamole (paired with The<br />
Lane Block 1A Chardonnay); the<br />
main comprised Applewood<br />
Smoked Chicken, Charred Cos,<br />
Mushroom, Pumpkin and Humble<br />
Greens (matched with The Lane<br />
19th Meeting Cabernet Sauvignon);<br />
while dessert was a deep<br />
Chocolate, Hazelnut, Date Trifle<br />
(accompanied by The Lane Block<br />
5 Shiraz).<br />
More wine dinners are planned<br />
at Park House over coming<br />
months – stay tuned!<br />
Park House Food and Liquor<br />
holds a big, happy family of<br />
restaurants, pop-up markets, food<br />
trucks, cocktail bars and a brew<br />
bar.<br />
Each has its own distinctive<br />
personality, but the family DNA is<br />
fresh, local and flavoursome.<br />
Park House Food Merchants is<br />
an industrial warehouse of flavours<br />
– big, bold and brazen. With<br />
180 seats, an outdoor cocktail bar,<br />
fireplaces and comfy couches plus<br />
a retractable roof, this gathering<br />
place ensures seamless good<br />
times, rain or shine. The menu’s a<br />
freewheeling Southern California<br />
road trip, infused with Mexican,<br />
Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern<br />
tastes and seasonal ingredients.<br />
Front Yard Brews & Burgers is<br />
where craft beers live – with 40<br />
taps! And then there are the epic<br />
burgers. From the slip-sloppy<br />
delights of the Messy AF, with its<br />
cheese, glazed pulled lamb, slaw<br />
pickles and aioli; to a cracking<br />
glazed crispy southern chicken<br />
spectacular; to a mouthwatering<br />
no-meat burger that ensures<br />
vegetarians can party too.<br />
Outside, Truck Stop (opening<br />
Spring <strong>2018</strong>) will feature a 1950s<br />
Airstream bar and pizza kitchen,<br />
heaps of activities for the kids and<br />
a rolling program of food trucks,<br />
live entertainment, markets and<br />
festivals for all ages to enjoy<br />
together.<br />
Cast your vote in <strong>2018</strong> Fish and Chips Awards<br />
Does <strong>Pittwater</strong> have Australia’s<br />
Best Fish and Chips? – We<br />
think so, but we’ll only get<br />
the gong if the shop opted<br />
to register with the Seafood<br />
Industry Australia competition<br />
and the public gets behind them.<br />
Designed to highlight the<br />
importance of buying fresh, local,<br />
seafood, last year’s Australian Fish<br />
and Chip Awards reeled in more<br />
than 100,000 votes, across 800<br />
stores.<br />
More than 2000 shops have<br />
registered for this year’s fry-off.<br />
There are two categories including:<br />
people’s choice and a judge’s<br />
choice. So whether you like your<br />
fish grilled, battered or crumbed,<br />
from <strong>August</strong> 1 you can vote for<br />
the best fish and chips in the<br />
country.<br />
The winners from each state<br />
and territories will go through to<br />
compete for the national title of<br />
Best Fish and Chips <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
Voting runs from <strong>August</strong> 1 to<br />
September 16, with the national<br />
winner announced on October 15.<br />
For more information and an<br />
oppor –tuna-ty (sorry!) to vote<br />
for your favourite fish and chip<br />
shop visit www.fishandchipsawards.com.au.<br />
62 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Taste of the<br />
Beaches a fun<br />
foodie festival<br />
The second annual Taste of the Beaches<br />
is back this month – bigger and better<br />
than ever with gastronomical delights and<br />
top-notch wineries all set on the beautiful<br />
backdrop of the <strong>Pittwater</strong> foreshore.<br />
The event will be held on Sunday 19<br />
<strong>August</strong> (11am-5pm) at Winnererremy Bay<br />
(aka Flying Fox Park) in Mona Street, Mona<br />
Vale – hopefully with plenty of beautiful<br />
late winter sunshine.<br />
On offer will be a selection of foods<br />
from some of the Northern Beaches’ finest<br />
local restaurants and cafes, complemented<br />
by local craft beer brewers and wines from<br />
the Mudgee region.<br />
There will also be a selection of<br />
international cuisine including dumplings,<br />
gourmet burgers, paella and sweet treats.<br />
Locals are urged to grab a picnic rug<br />
and soak up one of the most picturesque<br />
settings on the Northern Beaches and<br />
enjoy the free entertainment on offer<br />
including live music and kids’ activities.<br />
Council’s event partner in <strong>2018</strong> is with<br />
the Mudgee Wine Region – the third largest<br />
grape-growing region in NSW and one<br />
of the oldest wine regions in the state.<br />
Visitors will be able to meet wine-makers<br />
and participate in tastings by purchasing a<br />
Tasting Glass and tokens on the day.<br />
The young ones won't be short of<br />
activities to do with KidzKlub setting up<br />
a Kids Activity Zone which includes art<br />
and craft workshops, a photo booth, giant<br />
board games, face painting and an active<br />
area with skipping ropes, stilts, hoop<br />
games and more!<br />
If you want to kick back and have a few<br />
beverages, then Council has transport<br />
covered as well. Leave the car at home and<br />
take advantage the complimentary shuttle<br />
between 11am and 5.30pm – the bus will<br />
do loops from the Corner of Bungan Lane<br />
and <strong>Pittwater</strong> Road, Mona Vale, to the Bay.<br />
(Our tip: Catch the shuttle back to Mona<br />
Vale, book a Keoride and arrange to be<br />
picked up from the B-Line bus stop on<br />
Barrenjoey Rd; they’ll drop you at your<br />
door.)<br />
For more info visit northern beaches.<br />
nsw.gov.au<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 63
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
For more recipes go to www.janellebloom.com.au<br />
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
Recipes: Janelle Bloom Photos: Ben Dearnley & Benito Martin<br />
Slow cooking ticks boxes<br />
for winter warmer meals<br />
Now we are two thirds of the way through winter, like me<br />
I am guessing you are a little ‘over’ soup and searching<br />
for new warming winter inspiration to keep the family<br />
satisfied. Whether you use a slow cooker, Crock Pot or the oven<br />
long, slow cooking ticks many boxes. Once the prep has been<br />
done you can walk away and allow the rich, warm aroma to fill<br />
the house; plus you can save money by using cheaper cuts and<br />
make enough to freeze for another meal.<br />
Slow-cooked lamb<br />
with chorizo rice<br />
Serves 6<br />
2 chorizo, finely chopped<br />
1 tbs oil<br />
1 brown onion, finely chopped<br />
1 cinnamon stick<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed<br />
1¾ cups chicken stock<br />
1 cup drained can chickpeas,<br />
rinsed<br />
1 cup coriander leaves<br />
2kg shoulder of lamb<br />
2 tbs olive oil<br />
1 lemon, rind finely grated,<br />
juiced<br />
2 garlic cloves, crushed<br />
1 cup chicken stock<br />
Janelle’s Tip: You can shred<br />
6 sprigs thyme<br />
1. Preheat oven to 130°C fanforced.<br />
the lamb on a board and toss<br />
Greek yoghurt to serve<br />
Score the top of the it through the rice; spoon into<br />
Chorizo rice<br />
lamb fat in a criss-cross pat-<br />
bowls and serve with yoghurt.<br />
64 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
tern. Combine the olive oil,<br />
lemon rind, 1 tablespoon<br />
juice and garlic. Spoon over<br />
both sides of the lamb,<br />
rubbing into the lamb with<br />
fingertips. Season with salt<br />
and pepper. Pour stock into<br />
roasting pan to cover the<br />
base. Place lamb in pan and<br />
scatter with thyme. Press a<br />
piece of baking paper right<br />
down on the surface of the<br />
lamb. Cover the dish with<br />
tight-fitting lid or 2 layers<br />
heavy duty foil. Cook for 6<br />
hours without removing the<br />
lid or foil.<br />
2. Remove from the oven. Preheat<br />
grill on high. Remove<br />
the lid or foil from the lamb,<br />
put it under the grill 5-7<br />
minutes or until golden and<br />
crisp.<br />
3. Thirty minutes before<br />
the lamb comes out of<br />
the oven, cook the finely<br />
chopped chorizo in a<br />
saucepan over medium<br />
heat, stirring often until<br />
light golden. Remove to<br />
a plate. Add the oil and<br />
onion and cook, stirring<br />
occasionally until soft.<br />
Add the cinnamon and<br />
bay leaves, cook, stirring<br />
until aromatic. Stir in the<br />
rice followed by the stock.<br />
Bring to the boil. Reduce<br />
heat to low, cover tightly<br />
and simmer gently for 15<br />
minutes or until the rice<br />
is tender and all the stock<br />
is absorbed. Remove the<br />
pan from the heat and<br />
set aside, covered, for 5<br />
minutes. Remove the bay<br />
leaves and cinnamon, stir<br />
in the chorizo and chickpeas.<br />
Cover and stand<br />
3 minutes. Stir through<br />
coriander.<br />
4. Spoon rice onto serving<br />
platter, top with lamb and<br />
serve with yoghurt.<br />
with Janelle Bloom<br />
Chicken biryani<br />
Serves 6<br />
2 tbs ghee or vegetable oil<br />
750g chicken thigh fillet,<br />
trimmed, chopped 4cm pieces<br />
2 brown onions, finely<br />
chopped<br />
18 fresh curry leaves<br />
1/3 cup biryani curry paste<br />
1¼ cups basmati rice, rinsed<br />
2½ cups chicken stock<br />
½ cup raisins<br />
2/3 cup salted toasted cashew<br />
nuts<br />
½ cup mint leaves<br />
Minted yoghurt and poppadoms,<br />
to serve<br />
1. Heat half the ghee (or oil)<br />
in a large heavy-based frying<br />
pan over medium-high<br />
heat. Add chicken, cook for<br />
1 minute each side or until<br />
browned. Transfer to a bowl.<br />
2. Reduce heat to medium,
add remaining ghee (or oil)<br />
with the onion and curry<br />
leaves, cook, stirring, for<br />
5 minutes until onion is<br />
softened. Add curry paste,<br />
then cook for 1 minute.<br />
Add rice, stirring to coat in<br />
paste, then add stock and<br />
raisins. Transfer to a slow<br />
cooker, stir in the chicken.<br />
Cover and cook on low for<br />
5-6 hours until almost all<br />
the stock has absorbed.<br />
3. Scatter over with cashews<br />
and mint. Serve with yoghurt<br />
and poppadoms.<br />
NB: If you don’t have a slow<br />
cooker, transfer the mixture<br />
to an ovenproof dish. Stir in<br />
the chicken. Cover with a lid.<br />
Place into a slow oven, 150°C<br />
and cook for 1½-2 hours or<br />
until rice is tender and has absorbed<br />
all the stock. Remove<br />
from the oven, stand covered<br />
for 10 minutes. Scatter over<br />
the cashews and mint. Serve<br />
with yoghurt and pappadoms.<br />
Janelle’s Tips: If you can’t<br />
find biryani curry paste you<br />
can use Balti or Korma. Also,<br />
for minted yoghurt, chop ¼<br />
cup fresh mint leaves and stir<br />
through 1 cup thick, Greekstyle<br />
yoghurt. Season.<br />
Slow-cooked Boston<br />
baked beans<br />
Serves 4<br />
500g dried white beans, rinsed<br />
1 tbs olive oil<br />
1 brown onion, finely chopped<br />
300g speck or bacon, rind<br />
removed, finely chopped<br />
2 tbs tomato paste<br />
¼ cup golden syrup<br />
¼ cup brown sugar<br />
2 tbs Dijon mustard<br />
1 tbs Worcestershire sauce<br />
1 tbs hot chilli sauce<br />
4 cups chicken stock<br />
Toasted sour dough, baby<br />
spinach & poached egg, to<br />
serve.<br />
cooker, transfer the mixture<br />
to ovenproof casserole with a<br />
tight-fitting lid. Cook in a slow<br />
oven 150°C for 3 hours, stirring<br />
once every hour, or until<br />
beans are tender and liquid<br />
has thickened.<br />
Roasted pear<br />
crumbles<br />
Makes 12<br />
¾ cup roasted unsalted peanuts<br />
1 cup self-raising flour<br />
½ cup plain flour<br />
2 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
150g butter, chopped<br />
1 cup brown sugar<br />
½ cup rolled oats<br />
1/3 cup raspberry jam<br />
6 Beurre bosc pears, halved,<br />
cored<br />
Icing sugar & vanilla icecream,<br />
to serve<br />
1. Preheat oven to 180°C fan<br />
forced. Lightly grease a<br />
large baking dish.<br />
2. Put peanuts into a food processor,<br />
process until finely<br />
chopped. Add the flours,<br />
cinnamon and butter. Pulse<br />
until the mixture resembles<br />
coarse breadcrumbs. Remove<br />
to a large bowl. Add<br />
the brown sugar and oats<br />
and use fingers to mix until<br />
crumble starts to form big<br />
clumps.<br />
3. Place the pears into the baking<br />
dish. Spoon a little jam<br />
into the centre of each pear<br />
half. Press crumble mixture<br />
evenly over the surface of<br />
the pears. Bake for 20 minutes<br />
or until pears are just<br />
tender and crumble golden<br />
(if the top begins to brown<br />
too much before pears become<br />
tender, cover loosely<br />
with foil during cooking; it<br />
will depend on the size and<br />
ripeness of your pears).<br />
4. Dust with icing sugar and<br />
serve warm or cold with icecream<br />
if desired.<br />
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
1. Place beans in a large bowl.<br />
Cover with cold water.<br />
Place in the fridge to soak<br />
overnight. Drain then rinse<br />
beans. Place in a large<br />
saucepan, cover with cold<br />
water and bring to boil.<br />
Simmer, covered for 30<br />
minutes. Drain.<br />
2. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add<br />
onion and speck, cook 3<br />
minutes until softened. Add<br />
tomato paste, cook stirring<br />
1 minute. Add Golden Syrup,<br />
sugar, mustard, sauces<br />
and stock. Bring to the boil.<br />
Pour into a slow cooker. Stir<br />
in the beans. Cook, covered,<br />
over low heat for 8 hours,<br />
then uncover and cook<br />
for a further hour or until<br />
the mixture is thickened<br />
slightly. Season to taste.<br />
3. Serve on toasted sour<br />
dough with baby spinach<br />
and poached egg.<br />
NB: If you don’t have a slow<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 65
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
In Season<br />
Chinese broccoli<br />
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
Chinese broccoli is also<br />
known as Gai lan and<br />
Chinese Kale. It’s closely<br />
related to broccoli, cabbage<br />
and Brussels sprouts. It has<br />
thick stems and dark green<br />
leaves, both of which are<br />
edible.<br />
Buying<br />
When buying Chinese broccoli,<br />
make sure the leaves<br />
are bright green and not<br />
discolored or wilted. Avoid<br />
bunches that contain insect<br />
damage.<br />
Storing<br />
Store unwashed Chinese<br />
broccoli in a sealed container<br />
or bag, and store in the<br />
fridge for up to five days.<br />
Before using, make sure to<br />
wash well under cold water.<br />
Nutrition<br />
Chinese broccoli is an excellent<br />
source of vitamin A, C<br />
and K. Chinese broccoli is<br />
also a great source of folic<br />
acid, and it contains a high<br />
amount of dietary fibre.<br />
Also In Season<br />
<strong>August</strong><br />
Apples; Bananas;<br />
Grapefruit; Mandarins,<br />
Kiwi Fruit; Australian<br />
Navel, Blood and Cara<br />
Cara Oranges; Tangelos;<br />
Pears; Quince, Rhubarb<br />
and winter Strawberries.<br />
Also shop for Avocados;<br />
Beetroot; Broccolini<br />
and Broccoli; Brussels<br />
sprouts; Chinese Broccoli,<br />
Cauliflower; Celery;<br />
Leeks, Fennel; Jerusalem<br />
Artichokes; Pumpkin;<br />
Sweet Potato; Spinach<br />
& Silverbeet; Kale and<br />
Turnips.<br />
Yum Cha Chinese Broccoli<br />
with Oyster Sauce<br />
Serves 2 (as a side)<br />
1 bunch Chinese broccoli,<br />
ends trimmed, washed<br />
2 tbs oyster sauce<br />
1 garlic clove, crushed<br />
1 tbs soy sauce<br />
1 tsp caster sugar<br />
1 tbs peanut oil<br />
1 tsp sesame oil<br />
Fried shallots & sliced red<br />
chilli, to serve<br />
1. Cut the stems from the<br />
leaves of Chinese broccoli.<br />
Combine the oyster sauce,<br />
garlic, soy and sugar in a<br />
small bowl.<br />
2. Heat a wok over high heat<br />
until very hot. Add the<br />
oil and Chinese broccoli<br />
stems, stir-fry 30 seconds.<br />
Add 1 teaspoon water,<br />
quickly cover the wok.<br />
Cook 20 seconds, shaking<br />
the wok without removing<br />
the lid. Remove the lid,<br />
add the leaves and oyster<br />
sauce mixture. Stir-fry<br />
30 seconds until leaves<br />
wilted. Remove from the<br />
heat. Drizzle with sesame<br />
oil and top with shallots<br />
and chilli.<br />
66 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Puzzler<br />
Compiled by David Stickley<br />
CLUE: 2 Down.<br />
29 Author of On The Right Track and In<br />
At The Deep End, _______ Janu (8)<br />
ACROSS<br />
1 One who works for <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>,<br />
perhaps (8)<br />
5 US state that had a big impact on<br />
pioneering lady surfer, Patti Paniccia (6)<br />
10 Making a loud sound (5)<br />
11 The Newport Sculpture Trail is part of<br />
_____ ____ Festival (5,4)<br />
12 Land bordering the ocean, for example<br />
(9)<br />
13 Boat fleet new this season to the Avalon<br />
Sailing Club (5)<br />
14 Shellfish favoured by diners and as bait<br />
for fishermen (6)<br />
15 NSW ski village (7)<br />
17 Structures built out of sand on a beach<br />
(7)<br />
20 Husband or wife (6)<br />
22 An aircraft without a pilot that is<br />
operated by remote control (5)<br />
23 Scenic pedestrian route from Manly to<br />
Palm Beach currently under construction<br />
(5,4)<br />
25 Newport resident and former Wallaby<br />
who reads the sports news for Channel<br />
10 (4,5)<br />
27 First in a series (5)<br />
28 Focus of many churches on the<br />
Northern Beaches (6)<br />
DOWN<br />
1 Take out another subscription (5)<br />
2 A white one seen by a swimmer might<br />
be cause for alarm (7)<br />
3 New CEO of Northern Beaches Council<br />
(3,8)<br />
4 People or things competing in a race,<br />
contest, etc (7)<br />
6 A division of some larger or more<br />
complex organisation (3)<br />
7 Stuck on the bottom of shallow water<br />
(7)<br />
8 Ripe, fit and ready for use (2,6)<br />
9 Thoroughfare like Gladstone or<br />
Beaconsfield in Newport (6)<br />
13 Fundraiser held on <strong>August</strong> 5th for<br />
the <strong>Pittwater</strong> High School Performing<br />
Ensembles 2020 band (3,4,4)<br />
16 Professor or lecturer (8)<br />
18 One employed to locate whales from<br />
a high point on shore (7)<br />
19 Free from danger (6)<br />
20 Breed of cat (7)<br />
21 Service no doubt available at Papillon<br />
Hair in Avalon (7)<br />
24 Jack in cards (5)<br />
26 Main transport service on the<br />
Northern Beaches (3)<br />
[Solution page 70]<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Puzzler<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 67
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
Delight Postcard in from the Red amazing Centre<br />
colours where nature’s of hydrangeas in harmony with Gabrielle Bryant<br />
AThe lways<br />
‘Red<br />
a favourite<br />
Centre’<br />
for<br />
is a<br />
Christmas wonderful colour, place hydrangeas<br />
to<br />
visit<br />
are<br />
if you<br />
flowering<br />
are a keen<br />
their<br />
heads<br />
gardener<br />
off!<br />
or<br />
They<br />
appreciate<br />
look wonderful<br />
the<br />
beauty<br />
in the<br />
of<br />
garden,<br />
our natural<br />
brightening<br />
flora –<br />
the<br />
as my<br />
semi-shaded<br />
husband and<br />
areas<br />
I recently<br />
and<br />
glowing<br />
discovered.<br />
in the<br />
We<br />
full,<br />
set<br />
protected<br />
out from<br />
sunlight.<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
Once<br />
and after<br />
the older<br />
1600<br />
varieties<br />
kilometres<br />
were<br />
and<br />
either<br />
three<br />
pink<br />
days’<br />
or<br />
blue<br />
driving<br />
depending<br />
through<br />
on<br />
pastures,<br />
the soil,<br />
additional<br />
lush green<br />
lime<br />
country<br />
will deepen<br />
and<br />
the<br />
harsh,<br />
pinks<br />
drought-stricken<br />
and blueing tonic<br />
land,<br />
(sulphate<br />
at Port <strong>August</strong>a,<br />
of aluminium)<br />
we finally<br />
will<br />
heighten<br />
turned north<br />
the blues,<br />
to the<br />
but<br />
desert<br />
the<br />
new<br />
centre.<br />
named varieties will<br />
maintain<br />
No sign<br />
their<br />
of the<br />
colour.<br />
dusty<br />
White<br />
red<br />
never<br />
road that<br />
changes.<br />
I had expected;<br />
There are<br />
the<br />
hydrangeas<br />
road ahead was<br />
of every<br />
in fact<br />
size<br />
finer<br />
from<br />
the<br />
than<br />
tiny<br />
any<br />
dwarf<br />
Expressway.<br />
Piamina<br />
Dead<br />
to the<br />
tall<br />
straight<br />
traditional<br />
we drove<br />
Mop<br />
for<br />
Heads.<br />
a further<br />
With<br />
1000<br />
so<br />
kilometres,<br />
many to choose<br />
passing<br />
from<br />
just<br />
it<br />
a few<br />
is almost<br />
road trains<br />
too difficult<br />
going south<br />
to<br />
decide.<br />
and with<br />
There<br />
the odd<br />
are<br />
caravan<br />
the delicate<br />
lace<br />
ahead.<br />
caps,<br />
The<br />
the<br />
road<br />
huge<br />
in front<br />
blooms<br />
was straight to the horizon.<br />
No sign of civilisation in any<br />
direction, just the endless<br />
cattle grids, a couple of emus,<br />
a huge Wedge Tailed Eagle<br />
feasting on the carcass of a<br />
kangaroo… and silence. We<br />
were entering a new, magical<br />
world of which I knew nothing.<br />
We were now in the red<br />
heart of Australia, a land of<br />
amazing beauty, with fiery<br />
red rocky ranges that turn to<br />
violet at sunset, dry river beds,<br />
red ochre soil, chasms and<br />
canyons that lead to hidden<br />
waterholes, a land of legends<br />
and mythology that has been<br />
of the traditional mop heads,<br />
the cone-shaped flowers of<br />
hydrangea paniculata bushes<br />
passed down over thousands<br />
of years.<br />
As I learn more on the<br />
thousands of plants, insects ,<br />
animals and people that have<br />
that can be two metres tall.<br />
The recently introduced<br />
smaller growing Picotee<br />
varieties with two-tone flower<br />
heads are hard to leave behind<br />
and if you have a semishaded<br />
wall, the climbing<br />
hydrangea petiolaris is just<br />
beautiful.<br />
Hydrangeas are forgiving<br />
plants that are easy to grow.<br />
They like regular water and<br />
any good garden soil. Mulch<br />
the roots with compost to<br />
keep them cool and feed<br />
them in early spring to get<br />
learned to survive the harsh<br />
them going. Grow them in<br />
desert conditions, I wonder<br />
pots, or in the garden; bring<br />
how a desert could ever have<br />
them inside when in flower<br />
been described as dead. Every<br />
or cut the blooms – they last<br />
plant, tree, lizard, bird and<br />
well in water.<br />
Cherry Guava a<br />
sweet surprise<br />
In full flower in my veggie<br />
garden is my Cherry Guava,<br />
sometimes known as a Strawberry<br />
Guava. This delightful<br />
evergreen shrub never fails to<br />
produce a heavy crop of cherry<br />
guavas in early autumn.<br />
It is a small, pretty tree with<br />
rounded, glossy green leaves<br />
that only grows to about<br />
three metres in height. Keep it<br />
trimmed into shape after fruiting.<br />
The delicate fluffy flowers<br />
are creamy white, growing close<br />
to the branches. They are followed<br />
by the tangy flavoured,<br />
sweet, berry-sized, cherry red<br />
fruit that are high in vitamin C.<br />
Unlike the taller-growing deciduous<br />
yellow guava that needs<br />
cooking, the fruit can be eaten<br />
raw straight from the tree or<br />
animal used in has cooking, its part jellies, to play drinks,<br />
this sauces extraordinary jams. chain of<br />
survival. You should protect the fruit<br />
from Every fruit dead fly with log or a fruit burntout<br />
tree stump is home<br />
fly bait.<br />
to<br />
Get into the<br />
‘swing’ of Xmas<br />
It is time to relax and enjoy<br />
your garden. Look at your<br />
outdoor seating requirements<br />
– the shops are full of<br />
amazing chairs and tables.<br />
Hanging cane egg chairs have<br />
been trendy for the past few<br />
years and now the ‘Swing<br />
Seat’ is back. Nothing is more<br />
peaceful than swinging in a<br />
seat for two, sheltered from<br />
the weather with a roof to<br />
shade from the sun – makes a<br />
great Christmas present too!<br />
72 68 DECEMBER AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 2017<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
lizards , dragons and geckos;<br />
the rocks hide the burrows of<br />
desert rats and snakes; even<br />
the spiders live underground<br />
where it is cool in summer<br />
and warm(er) in the zero<br />
temperatures of the cold<br />
desert winter nights. The<br />
banks of the dry river beds<br />
are home to the burrowing<br />
desert frog, yabbies and fish<br />
spawn that is waiting for the<br />
rain, while the rocky outcrops<br />
provide shelter for the dingos’<br />
dens.<br />
The soft spinifex with its<br />
sticky resin that is used as<br />
a glue; the tall millet grass<br />
whose seeds are used for<br />
flour; the kangaroo grass,<br />
the desert blue grass and the<br />
sand hill cane grass are all<br />
camouflage for the legless<br />
spinifex lizard.<br />
The plant life amazes me<br />
the most. We all read about<br />
the wonderful wildflowers of<br />
Western Australia, but why<br />
don’t we hear of the flowers of<br />
the Red Centre? Even in winter<br />
the prickly wattle, the silver<br />
cassia, the honey grevilleas,<br />
the native violet fuchsias are<br />
in full bloom along the sandy<br />
ridges. The red ochre ground<br />
is covered with the brightly<br />
coloured yellow sunflower<br />
daisies, the aptly named<br />
‘poached egg’ daisies and the<br />
rosy dock is starting to flower.<br />
All the trees have developed<br />
defence mechanisms to<br />
protect themselves from the<br />
harsh conditions. The River<br />
Red wood gums that line<br />
the riverbeds have leathery<br />
leaves with hairs to save them<br />
from the sun; the Desert<br />
Oaks grow tall and straight<br />
with drooping foliage that<br />
protects the trunk from heat<br />
until their roots reach the<br />
water below, then they spread<br />
out into wide shade trees.<br />
The wattles, the long-leafed<br />
Corkwood tree and grevilleas<br />
have straight pencil leaves<br />
with cupped shape to funnel<br />
the water towards the trunk.<br />
And the Red Mulga bush, with<br />
its distinctive curly red bark,<br />
grows in a tulip shape to use<br />
every drop of water available.<br />
The tall white ghost gums<br />
have a white powdery bark<br />
that works as a natural<br />
sunscreen. The young<br />
Ironwood trees have prickly<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
foliage to protect them as<br />
they grow, before they grow<br />
into tall, weeping shade<br />
trees. Thick glossy leaves,<br />
wax coatings, thorny foliage<br />
and fine hair all save water<br />
and warmth. Flaky bark is a<br />
protection against fire.<br />
The trees are important to<br />
the fragile eco system. It would<br />
seem many are hosts to food.<br />
The Desert bloodwood has<br />
galls the size of cricket balls<br />
that festoon the branches. The<br />
coating is edible and the grub<br />
inside is a delicacy. The roots<br />
of the Mallee trees are home<br />
to the witchety grubs and it is<br />
said that water can be found<br />
in the roots of the Kurrajong<br />
tree. The more I ask, the more<br />
amazing are the things I find<br />
out.<br />
The trees in the unexpected<br />
woodland areas are home to<br />
the most wonderful bird life.<br />
Tiny blue fairy wrens, painted<br />
finches, the honey eaters, the<br />
crested pigeons, the spinifex<br />
bird, clouds of zebra finches<br />
(to name just a few) that I have<br />
seen live close to the ground,<br />
nesting in shrubs and lowgrowing<br />
bushes. The scarlet<br />
throated mistletoe bird carries<br />
the mistletoe from tree to<br />
tree and the orange chat runs<br />
through the dusky grey salt<br />
bush.<br />
High above, the eagles,<br />
falcons and buzzards<br />
fly, waiting to dive on<br />
unsuspecting prey, and the<br />
black cockatoos circle. The<br />
mulga parrots, the purple<br />
headed Australian ring necks<br />
parrots and the Bourke’s<br />
parrot sit in the trees eating<br />
the eucalyptus flowers and<br />
cracking the nuts with their<br />
powerful beaks.<br />
The colours or silver,<br />
orange, red and olive green<br />
against the relentless dark<br />
blue sky can never be<br />
forgotten. The sound of the<br />
birds, the insects and the<br />
silence are something I will<br />
always remember. I am sure<br />
that this is nothing new to<br />
the many who have been here<br />
before me.<br />
It is a long way to travel<br />
from Sydney, but it is a<br />
journey that every Australian<br />
should make. I wish that I<br />
could be here in a few weeks’<br />
time to see the desert wake<br />
from its winter hibernation as<br />
the wildflowers open and life<br />
begins anew!<br />
My grandfather once told<br />
me that I should never go<br />
to bed until I had learnt<br />
something new during the<br />
day. I would have to live for<br />
a thousand years to know all<br />
about this magical place.<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 69<br />
Garden <strong>Life</strong>
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
Jobs this Month<br />
<strong>August</strong><br />
<strong>August</strong> is a busy month;<br />
there is a lot to do to<br />
prepare your garden<br />
for the warmer, growing<br />
months ahead. After the very<br />
wet autumn, winter has been<br />
very cold and mostly dry. It<br />
is time for some TLC; wrap<br />
up warmly, put on your boots<br />
and find your gloves and<br />
secateurs!<br />
Summer vegies<br />
Get the summer veggies<br />
growing. Early tomatoes,<br />
zucchinis, capsicum, silverbeet,<br />
eggplants, lettuce and<br />
cucumbers can all go in now.<br />
Also sow seeds of carrots.<br />
Mix the fine seed with dry<br />
sand before sowing into rows.<br />
Carrots need to be sown into<br />
deep soil that doesn’t have any<br />
fresh cow manure or stones.<br />
Otherwise the carrots will be<br />
stunted or forked. Remember<br />
to rotate the veggies in the<br />
veggie garden. You should<br />
try to have a three-year cycle.<br />
Before you plant add plenty of<br />
compost and cow manure.<br />
Seed cliveas<br />
Cliveas are expensive to buy<br />
but are very easy to grow from<br />
seed. Seeds are ripe now and<br />
ready to harvest if you left the<br />
flowers last spring. Open the<br />
pod and you will find around<br />
6 or 8 seeds inside. Red seeds<br />
will produce red flowers and if<br />
you can find some yellow seed<br />
pods you will have the very<br />
special cream-coloured plants.<br />
Take notice of clivea flowers this<br />
spring and make a note of the<br />
flowers that you like. Crosspollinate<br />
the flowers so that next<br />
winter you can harvest the seeds<br />
that you want.<br />
Stick a fork in it<br />
Our lawns have compacted.<br />
Aerate the ground with a fork<br />
or buy a pair of spiked metal<br />
soles for your shoes – this<br />
makes the task much easier,<br />
as you can stomp around and<br />
do the job. Then feed the lawn<br />
with a hose-on fertiliser. If the<br />
ground is very hard, water first<br />
with Eco-hydrate to help the<br />
water to penetrate the soil.<br />
Super succulents<br />
Spring is the time for ‘babies’.<br />
Succulents grow from just one<br />
leaf! Spread the leaves out on<br />
a dry tray in a warm spot and<br />
within a few weeks you will find<br />
that new plantlets have grown.<br />
Wait until the tiny roots appear<br />
and then place the leaf onto a<br />
tray of seed-raising mix. Once<br />
the roots establish, plant out<br />
your new succulent babies.<br />
Caterpillar warning<br />
The lily caterpillar can destroy your cliveas in<br />
just one night, as they eat their way down the<br />
back of leaves to the heart of the bulbs. At<br />
the first sign of damage, cut off the affected<br />
leaves and put them, caterpillars and all into<br />
a plastic bag in the bin. Spray with Eco oil to<br />
prevent any new infestations.<br />
Bulb care<br />
Spring bulbs, daffodils,<br />
jonquils, snowdrops and<br />
tulips, are finishing as the<br />
weather warms up. Make sure<br />
that you keep feeding and<br />
watering them as they die<br />
down. Resist the temptation<br />
to tidy them before the leaves<br />
shrivel up. This is when they<br />
store the nourishment for next<br />
year’s flowers.<br />
Get the good oil<br />
Protect your citrus trees from<br />
leaf miner and fruit fly. Spray<br />
with Eco oil every fortnight. As<br />
soon as the blossom opens, it<br />
is well worth the investment to<br />
buy a fruit fly trap to protect<br />
your crop.<br />
Perennial problem<br />
Now that spring is around the<br />
corner split up overcrowded<br />
perennials. Gingers,<br />
agapanthus bulbs, gazanias,<br />
phlox, begonias, liriope,<br />
mondo grass can all be divided<br />
now. Also, spray azaleas with<br />
Zayleton to protect them from<br />
petal blight. Petal blight can<br />
destroy the flowers on Azaleas<br />
overnight. In dry conditions,<br />
the flowers will last but one<br />
rainy day can destroy them.<br />
Start a worm farm<br />
If you don’t already have one,<br />
start a worm farm today. The<br />
worms will consume all your<br />
kitchen waste and the liquid<br />
from the farm is the most<br />
amazing fertiliser.<br />
Lime spray<br />
It’s your last chance to spray<br />
lime sulphur on roses, fruit trees<br />
and frangipani to destroy the<br />
fungal spores from last season.<br />
Colour explosion<br />
Replant pots and baskets with<br />
seedlings for summer. Petunias,<br />
alyssum, portulacca, French<br />
marigolds, snapdragons,<br />
pansies and dianthus, give a<br />
brilliant display of colour.<br />
Crossword solution from page 67<br />
Mystery location: WARRIEWOOD<br />
70 AUGUST <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Times Past<br />
Earliest ocean pools<br />
hand-built by locals<br />
Is this the ultimate in<br />
wearable and disposable<br />
swimming costumes?<br />
These five bathing belles<br />
have been photographed in<br />
one of the ‘hand-crafted’<br />
rock pools which existed<br />
at varying times at North<br />
Avalon.<br />
Local permanent residents<br />
and ‘weekenders’ hand-built<br />
several rock pools between<br />
the 1920s through to the<br />
1940s. This one in particular<br />
appears to have been<br />
what later became the<br />
most structurally sound<br />
– and possibly the one<br />
which shows very clearly<br />
as a distinct rectangle<br />
in the accompanying<br />
detail from a 1941 aerial<br />
photo. One early resident<br />
who still lives in Marine<br />
Parade commented that<br />
it was likely this same<br />
pool was later formalised<br />
somewhat, using concrete,<br />
and this created the very<br />
visible rectangle shape.<br />
She also assured me<br />
that if you know where<br />
to look, you can still see<br />
some rocks with a dash of<br />
concrete attached.<br />
This pool is sited almost<br />
directly in front of 19 Marine<br />
Parade, which was built as<br />
a weekender in 1929 and<br />
called ‘Eurota’ (it still stands).<br />
According to Julie Keegan<br />
(nee Pownceby) “… each of<br />
the waterfront houses in<br />
Marine Parade had its own<br />
private rock pool on an<br />
individual council lease”.<br />
Ms Keegan claimed<br />
remnants of several of the<br />
pools were able to be seen<br />
as recently as 10 years ago<br />
and with a low tide and only<br />
a little imagination this<br />
still seems possible. She<br />
recollected “… this is where I<br />
taught myself to swim. After<br />
much practice I discovered<br />
I could dog-paddle without<br />
touching the bottom”.<br />
She also added that after<br />
school she frequently went<br />
down to one of the pools with<br />
her friend Jill Parker to cool<br />
off.<br />
Grace Hopewell remembers<br />
her father purchasing a<br />
house at 5 Marine Parade<br />
into which the family<br />
moved when the Palm Beach<br />
camping area was closed<br />
in 1952. She not only swam<br />
in the pool directly in front<br />
of their house but learnt to<br />
surf at North Avalon. She<br />
was the first woman to ride<br />
a surfboard at North Avalon<br />
and in 1969 won the Women’s<br />
title at Bells Beach.<br />
I was loaned this<br />
fascinating photo many<br />
years ago to copy for the<br />
Avalon Beach Historical<br />
Society. Unfortunately I<br />
didn’t take sufficient details<br />
and since then, the woman<br />
who loaned it has since<br />
passed on. If any early<br />
resident can assist with<br />
identification of the girls in<br />
the photo the Society would<br />
love to hear from you!<br />
TIMES PAST is supplied<br />
by local historian<br />
and President of the<br />
Avalon Beach Historical<br />
Society GEOFF SEARL.<br />
Visit the Society’s<br />
showroom in Bowling<br />
Green Lane, Avalon<br />
Beach.<br />
Times Past<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
AUGUST <strong>2018</strong> 71
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
Travel <strong>Life</strong>: The Insider<br />
Why short breaks are<br />
important for the soul<br />
It’s funny, but it’s<br />
said native New<br />
Yorkers never<br />
visit the Statue of<br />
Liberty – until they<br />
host visitors! We’re a<br />
big believer the same<br />
notion holds true for<br />
Sydneysiders. Recently<br />
I had occasion to<br />
spread our travel net<br />
broadly across NSW<br />
and the discovery for short<br />
breaks and mini-durationholidays<br />
was remarkable.<br />
Over 10 million visitors<br />
descend on Sydney each year<br />
and NSW Tourism proudly<br />
promotes a fabulous basketfull<br />
of historic places, adventures,<br />
eateries and activities to<br />
consider. Most are less than a<br />
half-day’s drive from our <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
front door.<br />
Mini-stays are good for the<br />
soul. Short, self-drive getaways<br />
come with fringe benefits.<br />
Staying ‘local’ avoids airports:<br />
no regimented check-points, or<br />
meandering lines. We keep our<br />
shoes and belts on.<br />
Sydneysiders are ‘splendidly<br />
surrounded’ by great getaway<br />
options. We’ll drop a few<br />
breadcrumbs, starting with:<br />
Pleasing Port Macquarie!<br />
Recently, with an invitation<br />
from my good pal, Kamahl,<br />
I had occasion to spread my<br />
travel net beyond Sydney’s<br />
suburbs and had a truly<br />
memorable Port Macquarie<br />
experience. Even getting there<br />
was enjoyable – just a little<br />
over four hours up the M1.<br />
(Kamahl headed to Port Mac<br />
for a ‘sold out’ performance at<br />
the city’s famous Glasshouse<br />
Theatre. Check out the Glasshouse<br />
events calendar.)<br />
Bunking Down<br />
We checked into Rydges on<br />
the waterfront; the entire<br />
village and foreshore was at<br />
our doorstep, so we walked<br />
everywhere. We selected the<br />
breakfast inclusive deal and<br />
for dinner, meandered a few<br />
blocks to Bill’s Fishhouse.<br />
Eating Out<br />
I was toted to dinner by<br />
Kamahl... on my birthday! I’d<br />
assumed it was a well-kept secret.<br />
I was wrong. The feel and<br />
fresh food at Bill’s was fabulous,<br />
and as I travel for a living,<br />
I love the rare occasion when I<br />
rock up to be treated like family.<br />
I noted, the same honest<br />
Contacts you need<br />
The best way to find your very own short-break destination is<br />
to simply move your mouse around beforehand. We’ve provided<br />
a short list, and there are numerous ‘walk-in’ locations<br />
for hand-help information and collaterals. Here are a few shortstay<br />
sites you might want to try:<br />
Tourism New South Wales: visitnsw.com<br />
Tourism Port Macquarie NSW: portmacquarieinfo.com.au<br />
Top 10 things to do in Port Macquarie: tripadvisor.com<br />
Hotel Rydges: Rydges.com<br />
Bill’s Fishouse: billsfishhouse.com.au<br />
The Glasshouse Entertainment Centre: glasshouse.org.au<br />
The Koala Hospital: koalahospital.org.au<br />
We love feedback from our readers. Some of our very best<br />
enlightenments come from friends. And if you have any questions,<br />
please ask.<br />
Feel free to drop us an e-mail: readers@pittwaterlife.com.au<br />
attention to all the other tables<br />
surrounding ours.<br />
Foodie heaven<br />
Here you can take a road less<br />
travelled and visit a working<br />
organic market farm where<br />
you can harvest fresh produce,<br />
visit a strawberry farm<br />
and pluck the freshest ripest<br />
berries from the vines, or visit<br />
an oyster lease and sample<br />
plump oysters direct from the<br />
estuaries.<br />
Cultural stuff<br />
The public artworks, artist<br />
galleries and studios scattered<br />
throughout the region will<br />
delight and inspire. Enjoy a diverse<br />
collection of exhibitions,<br />
artist talks, workshops and<br />
education programs to appeal<br />
for all. You can even take a<br />
trail throughout the region and<br />
discover 60 large scale koala<br />
sculptures hand painted by<br />
selected artists.<br />
Koala Hospital<br />
I try to learn something new<br />
each day. This venue delivered<br />
a month’s worth of Sunday<br />
sessions. Dedicated volunteers<br />
are the proud backbone of the<br />
marvellous setting. The Koala<br />
Walk arts are priceless; admission<br />
is free.<br />
Eco wonders<br />
Some of the state’s best<br />
nature experiences are right<br />
here waiting for you. Discover<br />
picturesque river systems, a<br />
coastal rainforest with walking<br />
platforms amongst the trees<br />
and over 40,000 hectares<br />
with Mark Sheehan<br />
of National Parks and State<br />
Forests. Follow walking tracks<br />
with breathtaking views up<br />
and down unspoilt coastlines;<br />
find the perfect spot to enjoy a<br />
picnic alongside waterfalls and<br />
swimming holes; or marvel at<br />
the abundant wildlife.<br />
Shopping<br />
Fabulous boutique and name<br />
brand shops are within a baseball<br />
toss in this town, and I<br />
made some marvellous discoveries<br />
in the well-placed thrift<br />
shops and Vinnies venues.<br />
Eateries along the main drag<br />
run the spectrum, from quick<br />
bites to full-on feasting. Study<br />
the curb-side menus.<br />
The Sunday Stroll<br />
The boulders and rocks that<br />
line the foreshore walkway<br />
have been creatively decorated<br />
by families, overseas visitors<br />
and others and the walk is<br />
simply wonderful. Wear comfy<br />
shoes and tote the camera<br />
along. Go to the 19th century<br />
Tacking Point Lighthouse if<br />
you’re keen, or turn around<br />
and double-back for a completely<br />
different perspective at<br />
the playground.<br />
It’s a Wrap<br />
Next time, we’ll catch up on<br />
whale and dolphin watching,<br />
and I might just tote the<br />
camper and nest for a night<br />
at the Sundowner Breakwall<br />
Holiday Park.<br />
Mark Sheehan is an<br />
entrepreneur and travel<br />
specialist who has helped<br />
build iconic brands such<br />
as TrekAmerica, Insight,<br />
Elite, F2T, Scenic, Trafalgar,<br />
and AmeriCan Adventures.<br />
Mark helped Sir Richard<br />
Branson launch V Australia<br />
(now Virgin Australia), while<br />
penning over 200 travel<br />
guides for onboard Tour<br />
Directors. His best-selling<br />
Know BEFORE You GO Guide<br />
– America Over Easy! Is in<br />
its fifth reprint.<br />
72 JULY <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
New Sails heads into Port<br />
After a multi-milliondollar<br />
design and<br />
construction, Sails<br />
Port Macquarie has opened<br />
its doors to reveal a glamourous,<br />
Hamptons style<br />
inspired coastal leisure,<br />
conference and event<br />
destination.<br />
The iconic coastal<br />
Rydges-owned resort has<br />
undergone a stunning<br />
transformation to capitalise<br />
on its riverside location<br />
with 92 guest rooms and<br />
suites, a swimming pool<br />
with entertainment terrace,<br />
private jetty, The<br />
Boathouse Bar & Restaurant,<br />
The Cape Ballroom,<br />
waterfront wedding chapel<br />
and event pavilion and tennis<br />
court.<br />
Wedding, business and<br />
leisure travellers will appreciate<br />
this all-in-one resort, with<br />
its poolside cabanas, alfresco<br />
fire table, cocktails, French<br />
Champagne and oyster bars.<br />
The project architects have<br />
created a stunning fusion<br />
of worlds, with Hamptonsinspired<br />
architecture blending<br />
seamlessly with the lush<br />
coastal surrounds – featuring<br />
fresh, white gables overlooking<br />
the manicured lawns,<br />
tropical gardens and sweeping<br />
water views.<br />
Just four hours’ drive north<br />
of Sydney or a one-hour flight<br />
from Sydney and Brisbane,<br />
Sails Port Macquarie will no<br />
doubt attract plenty of new<br />
wedding and business bookings.<br />
A standout feature is an<br />
impressive three-storey grand<br />
atrium featuring glass elevators<br />
and an atrium bar; while<br />
the Cape Ballroom is a gorgeous<br />
pillar-less event space<br />
designed to cater for up to<br />
600 in a cocktail-style or 300<br />
for a banquet-style event.<br />
The resort is kicking off with<br />
some ‘Winter Warmer’ deals<br />
for couples and families.<br />
Their ‘Luxe Winter Mini<br />
Break for Couples’ includes<br />
a cheese platter and bottle<br />
of bubbly on arrival. Stay<br />
overnight in a King Water<br />
View Room overlooking the<br />
glistening bay (or upgrade to<br />
an Executive Suite). Enjoy a<br />
full buffet breakfast for two in<br />
The Boathouse Bar + Restaurant,<br />
and have some fun with<br />
their solar heated pool and<br />
spa, paddle boards and tennis<br />
courts. There’s also free WiFi,<br />
complimentary off-street parking<br />
and late checkout; from<br />
$274 per night.<br />
The ‘Winter Escape for Families’<br />
features an overnight stay<br />
in a King Garden Suite for up<br />
to 2 adults and 2 children 12<br />
years and under (or upgrade to<br />
a Water View Suite or add<br />
on another rollaway bed).<br />
Everyone will be happy<br />
with the two complimentary<br />
milkshakes and two<br />
cocktails on arrival. Stay<br />
overnight in a King Garden<br />
Suite for up to 2 adults<br />
and 2 children 12 years<br />
and under (or upgrade to a<br />
Water View Suite or add on<br />
another rollaway bed). Fill<br />
up with a full buffet breakfast<br />
for four in The Boathouse<br />
Bar + Restaurant.<br />
Keep the kids busy with<br />
complimentary kids show<br />
bags, solar heated pool<br />
and spa, paddle boards,<br />
tennis courts, in-room<br />
media ports, free WiFi and<br />
kids channel. Also comes with<br />
complimentary off-street parking<br />
and late checkout; from<br />
$289 per night.<br />
More info www.sailsportmacquarie.com.au<br />
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
JULY <strong>2018</strong> 73
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
On track for stellar European experience<br />
The road to<br />
Western Europe<br />
is well-trodden:<br />
London, Paris, Rome<br />
– tick, tick, tick!<br />
But what about the<br />
east? Moscow? St<br />
Petersburg? Warsaw?<br />
Prague? Cities of<br />
intrigue and mystery,<br />
once hidden behind<br />
the Iron Curtain, await<br />
discovery.<br />
With history and<br />
culture as ancient as Roman<br />
times contrasting against the<br />
more recent events of the<br />
20th century – communism,<br />
totalitarian states and now<br />
peace and democracy. Much<br />
of it within our lifetime.<br />
Eastern Europe is filled with<br />
history – recent and distant.<br />
But the region doesn’t hang<br />
its hat purely on history, says<br />
TravelView Avalon’s Sharon<br />
Godden, adding culture has<br />
equal weighting.<br />
“St Petersburg’s Hermitage<br />
tory and culture that drive<br />
people to visit Eastern<br />
Europe it’s the landscapes<br />
and beauty of the cities that<br />
amaze travellers the most.<br />
“That comes as no<br />
surprise once you’ve seen<br />
Prague’s Old Town – more<br />
delightful and smugly<br />
quaint than most French<br />
cities,” she said.<br />
“But it’s not all about the<br />
cities… imagine the green<br />
mountains and forests of<br />
Poland drifting by when<br />
you’re lounging back on a raft<br />
steered down the Dunajec<br />
by an expert paddler. Or<br />
is the world’s second<br />
largest museum, with<br />
the largest collections of<br />
paintings anywhere,” she<br />
said. “With over three<br />
million pieces of artwork<br />
it would take years to see<br />
each piece!”<br />
Sharon added that fans<br />
of performance art were rarely<br />
far from a bucket list treat –<br />
including the Russian ballet,<br />
the Viennese opera, and, for<br />
something different, the folk<br />
dancing of Poland.<br />
Also, while it’s the hissubmitting<br />
to the mesmerising<br />
rhythm of a train – and what<br />
better way to thread the lands<br />
of Eastern Europe together<br />
than with this most romantic<br />
of all transportation types.”<br />
Sharon recommends Constellation<br />
Journeys’ private<br />
train adventure through Eastern<br />
Europe.<br />
“Constellation Journeys has<br />
privately chartered a modern<br />
German engineered train for<br />
a 22-day trip from Moscow to<br />
Berlin,” she said. “Accommodation<br />
is provided in five-star hotels<br />
at each destination. Guests<br />
are treated to fine dining – on<br />
board the train and in the top<br />
restaurants of each city. Luggage<br />
is portered from the train<br />
to your hotel and experienced<br />
Journey Leaders work with local<br />
guides for an unsurpassed<br />
experience of Eastern Europe.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
* Want to know more? Call<br />
TravelView on 9918 4444 or<br />
9999 0444.<br />
74 JULY <strong>2018</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991