Pittwater Life August 2023 Issue

The Local Voice Since 1991 

AUGUST 2023 

FREE 

pittwaterlife 

SWIMMERS & FISHERS FEUD 

LOBBY TO FIX NARRABEEN SPORTS HIGH FACILITIES SHAME 

LEGAL (SEA) EAGLE NICHOLAS COWDERY / ‘VOICE TO COUNCIL’ 

SEEN... HEARD... ABSURD... / FIRES WARNING / THE WAY WE WERE

Editorial 

Fighting for Narrabeen High 

The shameful, dilapidated 

state of Narrabeen 

Sports High School is a sorry 

indictment of how government 

bureaucracy can fail the people. 

Or in this case our kids, their 

teachers and their parents. 

Five years ago the school was 

slated for a major upgrade. So, 

minor maintenance was put off, 

with the reasoning it was better 

to get the full job done rather 

than replaster walls that had 

just had their cracks plastered 

over (so to speak). 

Then came COVID. Then 

came cost blow-outs. Then 

came a change of Government. 

Consequently the school 

today is a hollow shell of 

inadequacy, compared to other 

educational facilities. 

Which aside from having 

an impact on kids, teachers 

and parents, also impacts the 

future of enrollments, and 

jeopardises the viability of the 

school. (As if the Beaches needs 

one less school...) 

Thankfully, our local MPs 

Rory Amon and Dr Sophie 

Scamps are on the case, 

putting pressure on the new 

State Government to escalate 

improvements (see p6). 

* * * 

Council is investigating ways 

to help support the ‘Yes’ 

campaign in the upcoming 

referendum on the indigenous 

‘Voice to Parliament’. 

They are also looking at how 

a specific ‘Voice to Council’ 

might operate (see p16). 

* * * 

Pittwater Life first saw the 

light of day in August 1991, 

which means this month we 

embark on our 33rd year of 

publication! 

We’re proud of our status 

as the longest continuously 

running print publication on 

the Northern Beaches. 

But we couldn’t have achieved 

that without the support of 

readers and advertisers – our 

thanks to all! – Nigel Wall 


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Website: 

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Publisher: Nigel Wall 

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Photography: Adobe / Staff 

Contributors: Rob Pegley, 

Steve Meacham, Rosamund 

Burton, Gabrielle Bryant, 

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Vol 33 No 1 

Celebrating 33 years 

12 



FREE 

pittwaterlife 

SWIMMERS & FISHERS FEUD 

LOBBY TO FIX NARRABEEN SPORTS HIGH FACILITIES SHAME 

LEGAL (SEA) EAGLE NICHOLAS COWDERY / ‘ VOICE TO COUNCIL’ 

SEEN... HEARD... ABSURD... / FIRES WARNING / THE WAY WE WERE 

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34 

62 

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thislife 

INSIDE: The community and politicians are rallying around 

Narrabeen Sports High School which is in desperate need 

of upgrading (p6); former Mackellar MP Jason Falinski has 

been elected President of the Liberal Party’s NSW Division 

(p10); the possibility of Bongin Bongin Bay becoming an 

aquatic reserve has been referred to the NSW Government 

(p14); Council has revealed it is working on a ‘Voice to 

Council’ (p16); and top barrister Nicholas Cowdery, KC, talks 

about his life on Pittwater and his latest projects. 

COVER: Little lovers / Sharon Green 

also this month 

Editorial 3 

Pittwater Local News & Features 6-33 

The Way We Were 24 

Seen... Heard... Absurd... 25 

Community News 28-33 

Life Story: Nicholas Cowdery AO, KC 34-37 

Art 38 

Author Q&A: Rick Feneley 39 

Hot Property 40-41 

Health & Wellbeing; Hair & Beauty 42-47 

Money; Law 48-49 

Food & Tasty Morsels 56-60 

Crossword 61 

Gardening 62-64 

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AUGUST 2023 The Local Voice Since 1991

Action on school 

facilities ‘disgrace’ 

News 

Our local State and Federal MPs 

say they will continue to fight for 

upgraded facilities at Narrabeen 

Sports High School after bringing the 

dilapidated condition of the school to the 

attention of the State Government last 

month. 

Pittwater MP Rory Amon and Mackellar 

MP Dr Sophie Scamps expressed 

horror and disgust after touring the 

campus separately with P&C committee 

members. 

Later in State Parliament, Mr Amon 

described “black mould” infestations, 

“water damage”, “condemned dilapidated 

stairways”, “whole rooms bordered up 

and blocked off”, with “children’s and 

teachers’ health and safety [compromised]”. 

He said the school had fallen victim 

to a sequence of circumstances that had 

seen much-needed upgrades not undertaken. 

Mr Amon explained that after Narrabeen 

Sports High had its maintenance 

backlog cleared by the former Liberal 

Government in 2018, it was allocated significant 

funding “that would have seen 

world-class, state-of-the-art classrooms 

and facilities for local kids”. 

“In anticipation of new facilities, locals 

could understand the fiscal sense in 

scaling back maintenance programs 

temporarily – why paint or recarpet a 

classroom today that would be knocked 

down and rebuilt in a couple of years’ 

time?” he said. 

He added that a combination of COVID, 

construction industry delays and the 

disproportionately higher construction 

costs today than a couple of years ago 

had seen the school left behind. 

Dr Scamps said she was “utterly 

shocked” and horrified at the state of 

the school and the environment that 

children were having to learn in. 

“It is understandable that children 

feel depressed when they come here,” 

she told the Northern Beaches Advocate. 

“That’s not to say there’s not a wonderful 

student body and the teachers are all 

wonderful and motivated. 

“However, having seen this, I need to 

advocate on behalf of the school and 

schools across Mackellar and the country. 

If this is the state that one school is 

in, in my electorate, basically across the 

road from my office, then what’s happening 

in the rest of the country?” 

It’s understood the NSW Department 

of Education had been allocated around 

$80m for the delivery of the Narrabeen 

Education Precinct. 

Mr Amon has organised an online 

petition urging the Minns Government 

“to allocate the required funding to immediately 

commence a full upgrade of 

Narrabeen Sports High School”. 

In response, a spokesperson for Minister 

for Education and Early Learning Prue 

Car said the NSW Labor Government was 

committed to delivering the upgrades at 

Narrabeen Sports High. 

The spokesperson said maintenance 

and upgrades of the school would go 

6 AUGUST 2023 

The Local Voice Since 1991

PHOTO: Supplied 

SHOCKING: The dilapidated state of Narrabeen Sports High School. 

ahead and a meeting would be held shortly 

with stakeholders to prioritise work. 

“The former Liberal National government 

promised significant upgrades five 

years ago. Since then, the project has 

stalled, and the school community has a 

right to be disappointed about this.” 

Mr Amon said: “Our kids’ education is 

beyond politics. I do not seek to blame 

the old Government. I do not seek to 

blame the public service. In a series of 

unfortunate circumstances, Narrabeen 

Sports High School has fallen through the 

cracks.” – Nigel Wall with NB Advocate 

*Sign the petition calling on urgent 

upgrades – see QR code on page 16. 

Hospital ‘sitting 

on hands’ over 

mental health beds 

Mackellar MP Dr Sophie Scamps has 

urged NSW Health Minister Ryan 

Park to investigate why Northern Beaches 

Hospital has not delivered the four 

acute adolescent mental health care beds 

the former State Government pledged 

funding for more than a year ago. 

“There has been no indication from 

Northern Beaches Hospital of a timeline 

for their implementation – despite being 

asked for this on numerous occasions,” 

said Dr Scamps. 

“The community is desperate for these 

adolescent mental health beds and the 

hospital is not delivering; they’re sitting 

on their hands. 

“From what I can see they’re refusing 

to create the space in the hospital.” 

She accused CEO Andrew Newton of 

“refusing to communicate” on the matter. 

“When I try and try and try to ask 

what’s happening, I’m fobbed off. I’ve 

never come across such unprofessionalism 

and arrogance in my entire professional 

career. 

“If these adolescent mental health 

beds aren’t in place by Christmas this 

year, then the CEO should resign.” – NW 

News 



Loud call for 

noise cameras 

News 

Local State MP Rory Amon has called on 

the NSW Government to include Pittwater 

in its proposed trial of noise cameras 

to combat ongoing hoons and antisocial 

behaviour. 

Last month Pittwater Life revealed the Minns 

Government had announced a plan to trial 

the cameras, aimed at reducing the antisocial 

behaviour of hooning and associated noise. 

Now Mr Amon has urged the Labor 

Government to work with the Northern Beaches 

Police Local Area 

Command and 

Transport for NSW 

in identifying 

suitable sites to 

trial the noise 

cameras, which 

measure decibels 

emitted by 

vehicles. 

He suggested at 

least two locations 

in the Pittwater 

area, including 

Palm Beach and 

McCarrs Creek Rd 

near Church Point 

– both of which have been targeted by hoons 

for decades. 

“Noise cameras have phenomenal capacity to 

reduce the antisocial behaviour of hooning and 

the associated noise,” Mr Amon said. 

“The current methods of enforcing vehicular 

noise restrictions are cumbersome and 

impractical. 

“They require the physical stationing of 

police in certain locations at certain times to 

catch the culprits, but there are almost always 

issues around enforceability, and this also 

diverts resources from other police work. 

“Our local police do amazing work, but they 

cannot be everywhere all the time,” Mr Amon 

added. 

The suggested trial comes after years of 

hooning activity in the Pittwater area, despite 

ongoing and some fruitful operations from 

local police. 

“Noise cameras are the holy grail in 

combating vehicular hooning. For years Palm 

Beach residents and residents in the vicinity 

of McCarrs Creek Rd have been significantly 

impacted by hoons in cars and on motorbikes. 

This has required ongoing police monitoring. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity for the 

Labor Government to show Pittwater that they 

will benefit from new initiatives under this 

Government, just as we did under the former 

government when, for example, the trialling 

of Keoride in Pittwater became a wildly 

successful government initiative which is now 

permanent,” said 

Mr Amon. 

Palm Beach 

& Whale Beach 

Association 

President Dr 

Richard West 

welcomed the 

initiative. 

“We strongly 

support the 

request for a trial 

to commence at 

Palm Beach,” he 

said. 

Palm Beach 

resident ‘Sandra’ 

(not her real name) told Pittwater Life hoons had 

made the lives of locals a misery for decades – 

particularly along the stretch of Barrenjoey Rd 

from ‘Dark Gully’ to the winding descent and 

approach to Palm Beach Golf Club. 

“There have been many accidents and 

incidents over the years, both with groups 

of motorcyclists and hoons with hotted up 

exhaust systems on their cars,” she said. 

She said most recently the hoons were 

presenting almost every day, usually around 

8.30pm. 

“Residents have made dozens of complaints 

to police over the years, and for a while we 

got results when police attended and stood in 

people’s driveways to catch offenders,” she said. 

“But I feel the police felt intimidated, too. 

“I’m so happy to hear about the noise 

cameras – it would definitely be a start.” 

– Nigel Wall 

*What do you think? Tell us at readers@ 


Palmy gridlocks expected until Dec 

Traffic on Barrenjoey Road at 

Palm Beach will be majorly 

disrupted for four months 

while road crews undertake 

slope remediation work in the 

vicinity of ‘Dark Gully.’ 

Transport for NSW advises 

that to reduce the impact 

to motorists, work will 

continue to be carried out up 

to Thursday 30 November 

within the hours of 7am 

and 5pm, for up to 140 

shifts, weather and worksite 

conditions permitting. 

Temporary lane closures, 

traffic controls and reduced 

speed limits will be in place 

for the safety of pedestrians, 

workers and motorists. 

*For the latest traffic 

update download the Live 

Traffic NSW App or visit 

livetraffic.com 



News 

Falinski wants Liberal ‘renewal’ 

New Liberal Party NSW State Division 

President Jason Falinski says he 

wants to counter distraction as he steers 

a course of renewal for the party. 

A moderate, the two-terms former 

Federal Member for Mackellar was elected 

by party members last month. 

While in government, Mr Falinski chaired 

two key House of Representatives economic 

committees, overseeing Treasury, the RBA, 

APRA, ACCC, ASIC and the ATO. 

After losing Mackellar to ‘Teal’ 

Independent Dr Sophie Scamps in May 

2022, Mr Falinski established an in-home 

care company and set up a strategic 

advisory firm. 

“Ahead is a great task of promoting a 

simple but visionary idea that we should 

treat everyone the same as each of us want 

to be treated,” he told Pittwater Life after 

the party’s Division election result. 

“Our Party has been through two 

challenging elections, and now is the 

time to rebuild and revitalise – with new 

campaign techniques, technology and 

reestablishing fundraising networks; 

while countering the vast ecosystem of 

online front groups that pretend to be 

representative. 

“We will continue to work with the 

community and encourage people across 

the state to join us in fighting for a better 

future for NSW and Australia.” 

Pittwater Life asked Mr Falinski the 

following: 

Why did you run? 

“Because humanity’s best idea needs 

defending and you cannot keep looking 

the other way.” 

What is the major platform that secured 

your vote? 

“To modernise the party’s campaign and 

policy development tools from revitalising 

our policy branches, reaching out to the 

community and inviting them in, and 

building skill sets amongst candidates and 

campaigners amongst other ideas.” 

What’s your critique of the Federal 

Opposition over the past 12 months? 

GREAT TASK: Jason Falinski (with former Pittwater MP, the now retired Rob Stokes, and re-elected 

Manly MP James Griffin pictured during campaigning for the Federal Election in 2022). 

“They have done a good job getting out 

there and talking to people, listening 

to what they have to say, in some cases 

some very uncomfortable things, they 

have started a dialogue and that is 

important. The first 12 months is always 

the hardest, and they have created a good 

platform from which to build. 

What’s your vision for the Liberal Party? 

“The Liberal Party is, was and always 

will be the political movement 

of empowerment, fairness and 

opportunity. We are the political arm of 

humanity’s best idea. My vision is a party 

that effectively communicates and listens, 

that fights to win hearts and minds, and 

build a compassionate and fair society 

full of opportunities, not for us, but 

for all Australians especially the next 

generation.” 

To win the next election the Liberals 

will need to win back seats lost to Teals 

nationally; how do they do that? 

“I am not sure that is right. We will 

certainly give people a choice, but no-one 

should be under the misapprehension that 

the only way for the Liberal Party to win 

the next election is to win back seats from 

the Teals.” 

Your observation of the (Federal) Teals to 

date? 

“That is up to the Australian people; I 

would say it has only been just over 12 

months, so I do think people need to give 

the Teals a chance to deliver on something 

that makes our lives better or easier.” 

Locally, is double-dose Labor bad for the 

Northern Beaches? 

“To be fair to Labor, it is actually triple 

dose: Teal, Labor and Green. So far, the 

combination of our local, State and Federal 

representation has not been great, with 

major projects defunded all over the place; 

and no-one seems to want to fight for us 

and the projects that will make our lives in 

Pittwater better and easier.” – Nigel Wall 





Richard’s trans-Tasman 

News 

Earlier this year, 

Narrabeen resident 

Dr Richard Barnes 

completed the first ever solo, 

non-stop 2000-kilometre 

kayak trip from Australia to 

New Zealand, in 67 days. His 

next adventure might take a 

full year. 

One assumes that you’d 

have to be mad to even 

attempt the trip in the 

first place; but ask Richard 

whether 67 days alone in a 

kayak drove him slightly 

crazy and he is circumspect. 

“There was actually a 

complete sense of freedom,” 

he replies. “… completely 

cut off and free from any 

responsibility. 

“Me and the boat were a 

partnership and I’d talk to 

the boat a lot of the time – 

and I managed to solve every 

one of the world’s problems! 

The time just went.” 

Richard, a mechanical 

engineer by profession, 

spent Christmas alone in the 

Tasman Sea, although there 

was also wildlife to keep 

him company – some more 

wanted than others. 

“I saw plenty of albatross 

every day and other smaller 

sea birds. There were a pair 

of whales one day and a few 

sharks along the way. 

“And I did have a satellite 

phone that I’d get information 

on every day and send back a 

story from my day.” 

He completed the crossing 

on February 18. 

This was his second 

attempt; the first came in 

2021 but he had to give up 

after 75 days due to bad 

weather in the form of 

Cyclone Seth. 

His feat makes him only 

the second solo kayaker to 

ever paddle “the gauntlet” 

(after Scott Donaldson in 

2018), and the first person 

to do so solo, non-stop, and 

unassisted. (Donaldson’s 

crossing included a stop 

at Lord Howe Island and a 

FLOATING HIS DREAM: 

Richard’s bold selfie 

in the Tasman; and 

the closest to a ham 

Christmas lunch. 

resupply.) 

If it wasn’t mentally 

too tough, then surely it 

was physically very hard? 

Rather like the mental 

battle he mastered, Richard 

is fairly laconic about his 

superhuman efforts. 

“It was 9 or 10 hours of 

paddling every day for 67 

days, so yes, it was quite 

hard. But canoeing is my 

thing and I’ve paddled for 

40 years now. And it was 

more like a walking pace, as 

I wasn’t trying to break any 

record times.” 

When you realise quite 

how big Richard’s kayak was, 

however, then it just adds 

weight – literally – to his 

achievement. 

“Yes, it’s a big kayak 

– 10 metres long, by 850 



kayak triumph 

centimetres wide. There was 

a cockpit where I could put 

my wet clothes and a sleeping 

area where I could stretch 

right out. The maximum 

speed was around 3km/h 

rather than the 7 to 10km/h 

I’d do in a normal kayak.” 

Richard designed and built 

the kayak himself, taking 18 

months in his garage. The 

size made the craft more 

PHOTO: Supplied 

stable, although Richard still 

capsized twice due to freak 

waves. 

“One of those was at night 

when I was asleep, which was a 

bit of a surprise. But it was selfrighting, 

so when it stabilised I 

just went back to sleep.” 

Cool as a cucumber. 

So, 18 months to build, two 

months to complete, but the 

idea first surfaced nine years 

ago on New Year’s Eve at a 

Scout Camp, amidst some 

fairly mundane resolutions. 

“We were discussing our 

New Year’s resolutions and 

most of the boys were talking 

about which girl they were 

going to go out with. I said 

I was going to kayak from 

Australia to New Zealand.” 

Nine years later he 

delivered on his promise. 

Admittedly Richard had 

already crossed Bass Strait 

six times in a kayak by 

then, and paddled around 

Tasmania back in 2007, so it 

wasn’t completely out of the 

blue. But his next adventure 

could take things to a whole 

new level. 

“I want to paddle around 

Australia. I’d sleep on land 

every night for that one, but 

it would take around a year 

to do.” 

And it would need a new 

canoe, as Blue Moon – the 

self-built recent model 

– has been donated to 

the Tasmanian Maritime 

Museum, after Richard 

started his trans-Tasman 

journey in Hobart. 

“First I’ve got a fun 

whitewater trip to Mexico 

and then on 28 October is the 

annual Hawkesbury Canoe 

Classic – 111km overnight 

down the Hawkesbury,” he 

enthuses. 

“That’s a great trip for all 

standards of kayakers and 

a great way to start doing 

adventures.” 

And like Richard, who 

knows where that journey 

might take you. – Rob Pegley 

News 



Council deflects aquatic 

News 

Bongin Bongin is the 

name the first Australians 

gave to what most of 

us now call Mona Vale beach. 

It translates into English as 

“the bay of many shells”. 

Today, however, it’s the bay 

of many conflicts, having 

divided both the community 

and Northern Beaches Council 

as definitely as the 1930s 

Depression era rock pool does 

physically to the bay itself. 

The opposing sides are 

unlikely enemies: fishermen 

and swimmers. 

And the marine “battleground” 

embraces everything 

from the environment to 

indigenous rights. 

Council’s July meeting witnessed 

both sides give voice 

on an issue first raised by 

Pittwater Life. 

It was prompted when a 

group of ocean swimmers 

– ‘The Friends of Bongin 

Bongin Bay’ (FOBBB) – began 

proceedings initially to turn 

a 45-hectare section north of 

the rock pool up to Bungan 

Beach into a ‘no-take’ fishing 

zone/aquatic reserve. 

The ‘no-take’ rule, as 

dictated by the NSW Government’s 

Department of 

Primary Industries, means 

that only recreational fishing 

by rod and line are allowed – 

with “all fish caught (being) 

swiftly returned to their 

natural environment with the 

least possible injury”. 

COMMITTED: The Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay. 

If mandated, ‘no-take’ 

would include bans on spear 

fishing, any fish being caught 

and taken home to eat, or 

any shellfish gathered from 

the rock shelves which guard 

each end of Bongin Bongin. 

There are four aquatic 

reserves on the Northern 

Beaches: Cabbage Tree Bay in 

Manly, Narrabeen, Long Reef 

and Barrenjoey Head. Only 

Cabbage Tree Bay is ‘no-take’. 

Five speakers addressed the 

more-than-hour-long Council 

meeting last month, three of 

them against the proposal. 

Greg Pride, a key instigator 

of the swimming group’s 

initiative, said the petition for 

the ‘no-take aquatic reserve’ 

had attracted 6,163 signatures 

in just 16 weeks. 

“From our experience the 

only voice of dissent comes 

from parts of the local fishing 

community expressing a 

concern about being locked 

out of free access to the bay,” 

he told Council. “We are not 

anti-fishing. 

“We want fisherfolk to 

share in the potential bounty 

of the scientific effect labelled 

‘spillover’, where over 

time, fish stocks adjacent to 

protected areas are enhanced… 

case studies from 

the Philippines and Hawaii 

demonstrate an increase in 

both physical size and quantity 

of fish takes in adjacent 

areas,” he continued. 

“All that we respectfully request 

is that the local fishing 

community consider alternative 

sites to the nominated 45 

hectares such as Newport to 

and Turimetta.” 

Speakers against included 

Narrabeen’s Tony Ford, who 

spoke about the mental health 

benefits of fishing, and veteran 

aquatic ecologist Dr Marcus 

Lincoln Smith – who refuted 

FOBBB’s submission claim of 

the importance of conserving 

the Bay’s seagrasses. 

Dr Lincoln Smith said his 

inspection of the bay failed to 

locate any seagrass – instead, 

all he had found was an 

“algae variant” which was 

“likely introduced” around 

100 years ago. 

And he drew attention to a 

photo in the FOBBB submission 

showing “50-plus swimmers” 

running into the water, 

without mention of its impact. 

Adding further weight to 

the opposition was Justin 

Duggan, representing fishing 

and diving clubs – also it 

was Mr Duggan who highlighted 

11th-hour push-back 

from traditional landowner 

stakeholders, revealing their 

correspondence to Council 



eserve spat to the Govt 

RECREATION: An angler trying his 

luck off the rocks at Mona Vale. 

(see breakout below right). 

“This is a dramatic solution 

to a non-problem,” he added. 

These are murky waters 

indeed. 

From its conception, the 

swimmers’ intention to turn 

Bongin Bongin into a ‘no-take’ 

aquatic reserve was championed 

by local councillors, 

Pittwater Ward’s Michael 

Gencher and Manly Ward’s 

Candy Bingham. 

The pair drafted a proposal 

“to declare Bongin Bongin 

Bay a no-take aquatic reserve” 

and aimed to have it passed at 

July’s meeting. 

But after the robust opinions 

offered by the speakers 

at the meeting, and when it 

came time to vote, the pair 

amended the proposal’s wording 

to simply “… explore the 

merits of Bongin Bongin Bay 

becoming an aquatic reserve”. 

So, no pushing for ‘no-take’. 

That motion was passed; 

it will now progress to be 

considered by the State 

Government’s Department of 

Fisheries and Department for 

the Environment. 

Although at this stage, the 

two relevant ministers – Tara 

Moriarty and Penny Sharpe – 

are just being asked for “their 

views” on the “community-led 

proposal”, while Council would 

then await the results of “a 

report… outlining the outcome 

of this investigation, and what 

steps would be required to 

progress the proposal”. 

Naturally, fisherfolk have 

waded in. 

One of them, the previously 

mentioned speaker Tony Ford, 

also wrote a letter to Council; 

in it he asserted FOBBB had 

provided: “No scientific information… 

to substantiate their 

claims (suggesting) this is a 

unique eco-system… under 

threat. 

“Additionally, there is no 

evidence to suggest that 

line fishermen impact this 

eco-system any more than 

swimmers or members of 

the public and their children 

meandering along beaches 

and rocky outcrops. 

“Nor does the action group 

recognise the work of mother 

nature which from time to 

time produces high seas and 

swell that impacts coastal 

beaches, headlands and rock 

platforms by moving sand, 

causing erosion and impacting 

rock platforms. 

“Bongin Bongin Bay does not 

offer the high degree of shelter 

to marine fauna and habitat 

found at Cabbage Tree Bay.” 

So, the swell of divided 

opinion continues to roll in. 

– Steve Meacham 

Footnote: Some images 

and content in the FOBBB 

submission on the group’s 

website have been “temporarily 

removed pending legal 

advice” or “at the request of 

the Department of Primary 

Industries”. 

MLALC: ‘You should talk to us’ 

While the Friends of Bongin Bongin Bay 

proposal garnered more than 6000 

petition signatures, it failed to secure the 

support of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal 

Land Council (MLALC). 

MLALC CEO Nathan Moran wrote to Northern 

Beaches Mayor Sue Heins to express 

disappointment at not being consulted. 

In the letter, circulated to councillors 

and seen by Pittwater Life, Mr Moran said 

failure to acknowledge the LMALC left the 

group feeling they were unable to protect 

the cultural heritage they were charged with 

overseeing. 

“MLALC understands that the ‘Friends of 

Bongin Bongin Bay’ evolved in February 2023 

from a group of swimmers who traverse the 

bay each morning taking in the wonders of 

nature,” Mr Moran wrote. 

“The group is currently seeking to mobilise 

the community via a petition to Northern 

Beaches Council seeking its support 

in having the area declared by the Department 

of Environment as a ‘no take’ aquatic 

reserve. 

“MLALC certainly are not anti-fishing and 

or [sic] not supportive of actions for protection 

of marine environment. 

“MLALC affirms that as it has had no 

consultation… on this basis [we] can not 

support it at this point. 

“NSW State and local governments must 

ensure MLALC as the Aboriginal authority 

for NB LGA, is engaged [and] consulted on 

matters such as seeking [to] establish an 

aquatic reserve.” 

– NW 

News 



‘Voice to Council’ raised 

News 

Northern Beaches Council staff are 

working on the feasibility of a new 

Indigenous ‘Voice to Council’, it 

has been revealed. 

The Voice to Council would mirror the 

functions of the ‘Voice to Parliament’, 

with a local Indigenous body either 

selected or elected to represent 

Indigenous views to Council in an 

advisory capacity. 

In matters held over from Council’s 

July meeting and scheduled for hearing 

at an extraordinary meeting on August 

1, Curl Curl Ward Greens Councillor 

Kristyn Glanville proposed a range of 

support measures to promote the Voice to 

Parliament, including that staff consult 

with the local Aboriginal community and 

organisations regarding their views on 

amending the Australian Constitution to 

create the ‘Voice’ to Parliament, plus any 

local events or activities they already are 

planning or participating in regarding the 

Voice. 

Ms Glanville queried what local role, 

activations, or activities Council could 

take to promote discussion and sharing 

of ideas regarding the Voice. 

She proposed that a working group 

comprised of Councillors and staff be 

formed to identify and action any events 

or activities Council could facilitate, 

within existing budgets, to promote 

discussion and sharing of ideas regarding 

the Voice. This could be achieved through 

a local ‘Town Hall’ of speakers delivering 

a range of well-informed views. 

Also in the motion to Council, Ms 

Glanville requested staff identify 

and action any financial or in-kind 

support, within existing budgets, that 

Council could offer to assist Aboriginal 

Stakeholders or organisation planning 

COUNCIL MODEL: The Voice to Parliament. 

their own local activities and events 

concerning the Voice, and report on the 

activities of the working group at the 

next viable Council meeting. 

She noted some Councils had already 

made the decision to actively endorse 

a Voice to Parliament, including Blue 

Mountains City Council. 

In her background summary, Ms 

Glanville noted: “Based on 2021 census 

data, approximately 1700 people live in 

the Northern Beaches with Aboriginal or 

Torres Strait Islander ancestry, including 

people directly descended from the 

original tribes of the Northern Beaches.” 

She explained that the Aboriginal 

Heritage Office operated on the 

Northern Beaches, as well as many other 

Aboriginal organisations and businesses 

including the Aboriginal Support 

Group Manly Warringah Pittwater, 

the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal 

Land Council, Bush to Bowl, and The 

Gaimaragal Group. 

“As the community considers whether 

the Australian Constitution should be 

amended to provide an advisory voice 

to Federal Parliament, there is also 

an opportunity to consider whether 

Northern Beaches Council should also 

have an advisory group on a local level,” 

she said. 

“There is existing work underway by 

the Community team within Council to 

consider these possibilities, and this will 

be dealt with at a future meeting.” 

Pittwater Life asked Council to detail 

its current process in consulting and 

liaising with traditional landowner 

stakeholders on matters pertaining to 

their culture and heritage across the 

Northern Beaches Local Government 

Area – for example, proposals for places 

and street names and matters to do with 

Council-managed reserves and land. 

Council responded: “Council recognises 

the importance of working with our 

local Aboriginal community and various 

organisations and groups to actively 

seek feedback and their input on various 

projects. 

“We are also currently creating 

cultural protocols and a holistic 

approach to engagement with First 

Nations people. 

“Key groups that Council consults 

with include the Metropolitan Local 

Aboriginal Land Council, Aboriginal 

Heritage Office, Northern Beaches 

Aboriginal Education Consultative 

Group, and our local Aboriginal 

community members.” 






News 

Council ‘robbing Mona graveyard’ 

raid on the Mona Vale 

A Cemetery Reserve to 

help fund Council’s new 

software system showed how 

precarious Northern Beaches 

Council finances were, said 

Pittwater Greens Councillor 

Miranda Korzy. 

Ms Korzy said the measure 

was contained in the 2023/24 

budget papers, passed by all 

councillors except her and 

Narrabeen Independent Vince 

de Luca at the meeting. 

She said that in summary, 

the budget provided for total 

spending of $507 million, 

including capital works worth 

$102 and loan repayments of 

$4 million – leading to a loans 

balance of $9 million by June 

30 next year and an operating 

surplus of $0.4 million. 

She said rates would rise by 

3.7 per cent, with an average 

of $58 per annum, and the 

domestic waste charge by $50 

to $550. 

Ms Korzy revealed Council 

couldn’t delay replacing 

the current Enterprise 

Resource Planning system – 

CONCERN: Cr Korzy. 

which manages all Council 

operations – because its 

supplier will switch it off next 

year. 

She explained the budget 

allowed for spending of $20 

million on the replacement – 

although it was not identified 

as a separate line item 

and was subsumed under 

Corporate Support Services, 

to be spent over four years. 

At its June meeting Council 

approved borrowing $4.6 

million towards its cost from 

the Mona Vale Cemetery 

Reserve Fund. 

“I believe it’s unethical 

to raid the Mona Vale 

Cemetery Fund to finance 

new software,” Ms Korzy told 

Pittwater Life. 

“At times of great distress, 

families face considerable 

expense towards burials, 

some of which goes toward 

upkeep on the cemetery in 

perpetuity. 

“At the time of Council 

amalgamations, we were told 

they would lead to greater 

service provision and savings. 

“Yet here we are seven 

years later, with Pittwater 

funding a completely 

predictable item of 

operational expenditure 

from a reserve designed to 

maintain the local graveyard. 

“There could be no bleaker 

demonstration of the need for 

Pittwater to regain control of 

its own destiny.” – Nigel Wall 

NB Kids Fest for Narrabeen 

5THINGS 

THIS MONTH 

Family history. Mona Vale 

Library is hosting a free 

presentation for adults showing 

how to access services to help you 

discover more about your local 

and family history. Learn about the 

library’s History Hub Collection, 

Ancestry and Find My Past on 

Mon 7 from 11am-12pm. Bookings 

essential; phone 8495 5024. 

Ocean films festival. Sink into a 

top-notch bean bag and immerse 

yourself in the wonders of the 

ocean at this fabulous film festival 

in Top Deck at Royal Motor Yacht 

Club on Sat 12 from 7pm. The 

festival features five of the world’s 

most captivating ocean-themed 

short films documenting the 

beauty and power of the ocean, 

with free popcorn and antipasto 

boxes to pre-purchase. Tickets 

cost $33; you can book online at 

royalmotor.com.au or call 9977 

5511. 

Cyber Safety. As the number 

of people using various devices, 

networks and Wi-Fi to access the 

internet increases, so does the 

need for better cyber security. 

Join this info session run by a 

senior police officer on Tues 15 at 

Mona Vale Library from 11am- 

12pm to learn about the methods 

criminals use to target your 

personal details and the simple 

steps you can take to protect 

yourself. Free; bookings required 

on 8495 5028. 

Four years in the making, the Northern demonstrations and challenges. 

Beaches Kids Fest is locked in for Sunday Schools, local bands, buskers, performing 

10 September – and there’s still time for local arts academies and studios are invited 

businesses to assist with sponsorship. 

to perform to a much wider and greater 

The largest dedicated children’s outdoor audience; and the many and varied 

spectacular on the 

children’s services 

Northern Beaches – 

of the Northern 

hosted by volunteers 

Beaches – from 

of Pittwater Tigers 

party businesses, 

Junior AFL to raise 

developmental 

Fleetwood Mac. The 

funds for their new 

therapy, mental 

internationally acclaimed 

Clubhouse – it will 

health support, 

show ‘Running In The Shadows 

transform both 

to educational 

Pittwater Rugby Park 

businesses – have the 

of Fleetwood Mac’ will be at 

and North Narrabeen 

opportunity to hold 

Avalon Beach RSL on Sat 19 from 

Reserve into a kid’s 

stalls, workshops 

8.30pm, with a six-piece band 

oasis full of an 

and activities while covering the classic ballads, blues 

incredible array of 

showcasing their 

and rock songs from the group’s 

things to do and see. 

services. 

five-decades-plus career. Tickets 

Event Manager and 

There will also 

$47.45; book via oztix or avalonrsl. 

Pittwater Tiger’s Club 

be food and drink 

com.au or 9918 2201. 

Secretary Skye Rose 

options, plus a 

Car boot sale. Get a head start 

said the Festival was 

market of kids 

on Spring by clearing out your 

anchored around the 

products, services, 

ever-popular Colour 

environmental 

clutter and selling unwanted items 

Runs, famous for the 

and emergency 

at Narrabeen Sports High School’s 

throwing of coloured chalk on participants organisations, family pre-loved kid’s gear 

Car Boot sale on Sun 27 from 7amresulting 

in a rainbow of runners and 

and clothing stalls – and kids themselves can 1pm. Text Sue on 0466 393 971 or 

walkers. 

apply to hold a free Kid’s Maker Market stall to email narracarboot@gmail.com for 

Sporting clubs and businesses are invited sell their own arts, craft and wares. 

all enquiries. 

to get kids active and try new sports with *Want to get involved? More info and the 

activations, mini sports clinics, competitions, sponsorship proposal at nbkidsfest.com.au 



Life-saving 

defibs for 

bus stops 

Northern Beaches Council 

has become one of the 

first councils in metropolitan 

Sydney to partner with 

Heart of the Nation to install 

community defibrillators at 

bus stops and public spaces. 

Council has joined forces 

with former yellow Wiggle Greg 

Page and his charity Heart of 

the Nation to roll out publicly 

available Automated External 

Defibrillators (AEDs) in 15 key 

locations including Narrabeen, 

Warriewood, Mona Vale, Newport 

and Collaroy. 

As first reported by Pittwater 

Life in November 2021, Mr Page 

was integral to the installation 

of one of the first community 

AEDs at Bilgola Plateau. 

Around 28,000 Australians 

suffer sudden cardiac arrest 

each year and only 10 per cent 

survive. Mr Page was one of 

them, when he collapsed during 

a Wiggles performance in 

January 2020. 

It was the day after his 48th 

birthday when he “dropped 

dead” from a sudden cardiac 

arrest; but thanks to a nearby 

AED, off-duty medical professionals 

and volunteers from 

the audience, his life was 

saved. 

Now the CEO of Heart of 

the Nation, Mr Page has made 

it his mission to make AEDs 

available in more locations and 

to train as many people as possible 

on how to use them. 

“Having AEDs that can be 

accessed at any time of the day 

or night such as those being 

rolled out by Northern Beaches 

Council… means that lives can 

be saved,” Mr Page said. 

Northern Beaches Mayor Sue 

Heins said Council was proud 

to be a part of this life-saving 

mission. 

“This means any member of 

the public can access these life 

saving devices when they need 

them, no matter the time of 

day,” she said. 

“If you can access an AED 

within three to five minutes of 

someone suffering a sudden 

cardiac arrest, you can increase 

their chance of survival 

to 70 per cent.” 

The new AEDs are being 

installed in Pittwater at the bus 

stop at 345 Barrenjoey Road, 

Newport; the B-Line terminus, 

Village Park, Mona Vale; the 

B-Line bus stop at 1472-1518 

Pittwater Road, Warriewood; 

the B-Line bus stop at 1417 

Pittwater Road, Narrabeen; and 

the B-Line bus stop at 1060 Pittwater 

Road, Collaroy. 

AEDs will also be installed 

at key locations in Dee Why, 

Brookvale, Manly Vale, 

Forestville, Belrose, Balgowlah, 

Fairlight and Manly. 

Mayor Heins encouraged 

LIFESAVING: Heart of the Nation’s 

Greg Page and Helen Jones; an example 

of a bus stop AED installation. 

everyone in the community to 

familiarise themselves with 

the locations because “you 

just don’t know when you may 

need to use one”. 

“If residents download the 

Heart of the Nation app and 

sign up as responders they can 

be notified of nearby cardiac 

arrest events, access the AEDs 

and deliver it to someone in 

need,” she said. 

The latest batch of AEDs 

have been donated by Club- 

GRANTS from Mounties Group, 

owners of the local Harbord 

Diggers. 

AEDs are designed to be 

used by anyone. You do not 

need a qualification or certification 

to operate one. An AED 

will not shock a patient that 

doesn’t need to be shocked and 

it will not harm the responder. 


*For more info on Heart of the 

Nation visit heartofthenation. 

com.au; to see a map of AED 

locations on the Northern 

Beaches visit Council website. 

News 



News 

Owners fear ‘El Ningleside’ 

While global temperatures rise, Ingleside 

residents wait patiently for the 

annual discussion around backburning 

and bushfire preparation – as usual, 

they’re not holding their breath. 

“Do you know what ‘Ingleside’ means?” 

asks local resident Steve Smith. “According 

to dictionaries it means ‘a place beside a 

fire’. 

“And beside us is 10,000 hectares of 

National Park which needs managing and 

controlling, otherwise there could be a new 

2023 definition of ‘Ingleside’ along the lines 

of ‘a place within a fire’.” 

He may be attempting black humour, but 

Steve isn’t laughing. Because as ever, he and 

the residents of Ingleside are waiting for word of back-burning. 

And they do so against the backdrop of a looming El Nino. 

In July, the United Nations declared the world was experiencing 

another El Nino event, which would see a rise in global 

temperatures and extreme weather events. 

Indeed, TV news footage and daily newspapers report extreme 

temperatures and weather events ravaging the USA and 

Europe, with temperatures topping 50 degrees in some countries 

including China and in the US state of Arizona. 

Australia, via the Bureau of Meteorology, are yet to sign up 

to the El Nino declaration, but it doesn’t make our country immune 

from the effects. 

At a more local level, Steve said that he has been talking to 

New fire boat call 

Local MP Rory Amon has sought 

urgent Ministerial intervention to 

secure desperately needed new fire 

boat firefighting resources for Pittwater’s 

offshore communities. 

The call follows a significant twoday 

fire up the ridge behind homes at 

Coasters Retreat on 8 July. 

Mr Amon said Pittwater’s 18.4 

square kilometres of waterways were 

served by two fire boats, at Elvina and 

Scotland Island. The fire boats serve as 

first responders for fires affecting over 

700 full-time residents, and hundreds 

more part-timers and weekenders. 

Mr Amon called on Minister for 

HAZARD-REDUCTION: Ingleside locals 

want back-burning – like this one at the 

Angophora Reserve at Avalon in June. 

Emergency Services Jihad 

Dib to act urgently. 

“The Scotland Island 

Volunteer Rural Fire 

Brigade currently has a 

fire boat which is not fit 

for purpose and has been 

in use for 17 years,” Mr 

Amon said. “This vulnerability, highlighted 

by the Coasters Retreat fire, is 

putting lives and property at risk. 

“This matter is now urgent, especially 

as we enter a drier and hotter fire 

season. I fear the worst for Pittwater’s 

offshore communities… in that setting, 

I now elevate this matter to your 

local volunteer firefighters in the area who 

are expecting the worst this Summer. 

“I’ve known one of the guys in the 

Tumbledown Dick Rural Fire Brigade for 25 

years – he said that they fully expect massive 

fires at Ingleside this Summer, and that 

back-burns and preparation are vital.” 

Steve can still remember the last time 

back burning was held and it’s now well 

overdue. 

“They last did a big back-burn 13 years 

ago – there were around 200 fireman out 

here. At the time we were told that they 

need to do it every 10 years or things can 

get very dangerous. 

“The bloke from the Tumbledown Dick 

Fire Brigade said that I could say goodbye to my property if 

they don’t do proper preparation in the area.” 

Rangers have been in the area recently co-ordinating next 

steps of a potential burn-off, but at the moment the vegetation 

is deemed too wet – a product of the unparalleled rain that has 

been experienced in the past two years. 

Downpours in late July haven’t helped either. 

It’s a catch-22 – that hopefully won’t catch alight anytime soon. 

“All of us know Ingleside is going to go up,” says Steve with 

justifiable resignation, “And if they don’t do some back burning 

they are going to have a big problem. 

“They say it’s a high priority, so let’s hope that’s the case.” 

– Rob Pegley 

THREAT: The 

Coasters 

Retreat Fire. 

direct attention,” he said. 

Mr Amon specifically asked Mr Dib 

to provide urgent advice as to when it 

was anticipated that a new fire boat 

would be handed over to the Scotland 

Island RFB, and what the type and 

approximate length and width the new 

fire boat would be. 

– NW 

PHOTO: NB Advocate 



Full bus services ‘back by Xmas’ 

State MPs on the Northern 

Beaches have slammed the 

State Government’s restructuring 

of bus timetables to 

compensate for industry-wide 

driver shortages. 

And they are calling on the 

Government to give not “strip” 

resources and to give assurances 

they will not divert any 

new local bus driver recruits 

to other Sydney regions. 

Wakehurst MP Michael 

Regan and Pittwater MP Rory 

Amon are demanding full 

services are restored before 

Christmas. 

Operator Keolis Downer 

adopted a “temporary, adjusted 

timetable” across the 

Northern Beaches on 17 July, 

to reduce the number of ad 

hoc bus cancellations. 

In addition to the temporary 

changes being introduced 

across the network, 

there will also be some permanent 

changes to services in 

Avalon in response to recent 

road and traffic upgrades. 

These include routes 191, 192, 

190X and the 199. 

Notification posters have 

been placed on affected bus 

stops. 

Keolis Downer said it was 

committed to returning to a 

full timetable and was taking 

active measures to attract new 

drivers. 

“We know that our services 

are not meeting passenger 

expectations and we are working 

hard to get more drivers 

safely on to the road to return 

services to where they need to 

be,” a Keolis Downer Spokesperson 

said. 

Mr Regan said he had held 

“full and frank discussions” 

with both Keolis Downer and 

Transport for NSW and was 

optimistic that Christmas was 

an achievable timeframe to 

restore services. 

“But in some positive news, 

it’s great to hear that school 

sport charter bus services are 

coming back online for our local 

schools,” Mr Regan said. 

Meanwhile Mr Amon has 

urged the Minns Government 

LOBBY: Mr Regan. 

to resurrect the Beaches Link 

Tunnel, given its clear benefits 

to the Pittwater community. 

But he added that should 

the cancellation remain in 

place, Labor should allocate 

funding in its September 

Budget towards “pinch point” 

planning across the Northern 

Beaches including the choke 

zones through Mona Vale and 

at Narrabeen. 

“There are now reduced 

opportunities to ease local 

traffic congestion,” he said. 

“I fear that over the coming 

years, our community will 

be left in worsening gridlock 

especially as the Government 

foists population and significant 

development growth 

upon us.” 

Mr Amon said pinch point 

planning would include the 

allocation of funding for road 

network reviews to identify 

opportunities for increased 

efficiencies in the network 

and subsequent detailed 

design and undertaking of 

works, which could include 

new turning bays, slip lanes, 

fly-over bridges (possibly at 

the Narrabeen Lakes approach 

heading south) or underpasses, 

additional bus bays, traffic 

signal sequencing, pedestrian 

bridges and more. 

The cancellation of the 

Beaches Link Tunnel followed 

a long-standing promise by 

the then Chris Minns Labor 

opposition to scrap the project 

if elected. – Nigel Wall 

News 



Taryn strong with a 

News 

Gigi, the five-year-old 

chocolate-coloured 

Labrador, doesn’t realise 

her role in getting her visionimpaired 

owner Able Seaman 

Taryn Dickens to September’s 

Invictus Games. 

Just a few years ago Taryn 

was ice climbing precipitous 

slopes at Kosciusko National 

Park, cycling marathon trails 

and Nordic skiing. 

Now the HMAS naval sailor 

is confined to a desk role in 

Canberra, Gigi at her feet, and 

accompanying her owner in 

the hard training as a visually 

impaired member of Australia’s 

2023 Invictus Games, 

founded by Prince Harry. 

Actually the 40-year-old is 

more than just a member – 

Taryn is Australia’s co-captain 

of the Games in Dusseldorf 

from September 9-16 (along 

with wheelchair rugby and 

basketball veteran Flight Sergeant 

Nathan King). 

“It’s a great honour to 

be co-captain,” she says. “I 

haven’t read Prince Harry’s 

book (‘Spare’) or followed the 

politics. I’m just grateful to be 

in Dusseldorf to help people 

like me find peace through an 

event he founded.” 

The Avalon RSL member 

will compete in three disciplines 

(as all Invictus Games 

qualifiers do): in her case, 

cycling, para powerlifting and 

rowing. 

It’s a remarkable transformation, 

given the mental 

health problems she went 

through in 2019 when she was 

told her vision was descending 

into blindness. 

While she was awaiting being 

diagnosed with cone-rod 

dystrophy – an eye disorder 

affecting the retina which 

causes vision loss – she readily 

admits she hit the skids. 

“I took to drinking and selfmedicating 

quite heavily,” she 

has said in the past. “That’s 

when I put my hand up and 

said ‘I need help and I need 

more help than you can give 

me here’. And they admitted 

me into the mental health 

unit. 

“I was there for about 

six weeks, which gave me a 

chance to just take a breath 

and be around other people 

who were going through difficult 

times.” 

An army baby, Taryn always 

meant to “sign up” but was 

delayed by other careers. She 

trained as a fitter and turner 

at TAFE, went to work in Mon- 



new Invictus vision 

GAMES FOCUS: Taryn with “constant 

companion” Gigi; preparing 

for September’s Invictus Games. 

golia, came home to Australia 

as a bicycle technician, before 

spending 10 years as a Virgin 

Australia flight dispatcher. 

In 2017 Taryn joined the 

Royal Australian Navy as a 

Weapons Rate Electronics 

Technician. The choice of service 

was ad hoc, she admits. 

“The Navy was the first to 

accept me.” 

Two years later she began to 

suffer a long-term headache: 

“At first I thought it was just a 

migraine. I’d had them before. 

But then I realised it was affecting 

my sight. 

“My peripheral vision was 

disappearing.” 

She went to the Save Sight 

Institute. “They were brilliant,” 

she says. “But the diagnosis 

was awful. I was told I had 

between five and 20 years left 

of sight.” 

As she speaks, Gigi is 

beneath her desk in Canberra. 

“She’s not a guide dog or a 

guard dog, she’s just a constant 

companion.” 

Taryn’s strong enough to acknowledge 

the “mental health 

problems” she suffered. 

On the other hand, thanks 

to Gigi and her supportive colleagues 

in the RAN, she’s now 

looking on the bright side. 

“The good news is that my 

eyesight is bad enough to 

qualify for the Paralympics,” 

she says with a laugh. There 

she will compete in the Biathlon 

and cross country skiing. 

The Invictus Games criteria 

are less severe, but only 500 

competitors are invited. Taryn 

and Nathan will lead an Australian 

team of 31. 

“I’ve been a cyclist now for 

20 years and can still cycle 

on the road with the Australian 

Defence Forces club and 

the Canberra Vikings (cycling 

club),” she says. 

She doesn’t have to ride 

tandem yet, just stay in close 

contact with the visually nonimpaired 

cyclist partner in 

front of her. 

I note her chosen disciplines 

in the Invictus Games – apart 

from cycling – are rowing and 

power lifting. 

“Power lifting?” she interrupts. 

“It’s para power lifting! 

It’s much more difficult. You 

can’t raise your legs from the 

bench because paralympians 

can’t.” 

Taryn is determined to take 

part in the 2026 Winter Paralympics 

in Italy. 

“The Invictus Games saved 

my life,” she admits. “There is 

no rehabilitation available for 

my vision loss. 

“But sport has given me 

routine, consistency and a 

direction to focus on, keeping 

my mind in check. 

“Having goals has meant I 

can push myself, which I find 

very rewarding. 

“Turning my vision loss into 

another experience to learn 

from and finding the courage 

to be open and honest about 

my experiences with mental 

health. 

“This has given others the 

strength, courage and permission 

to talk about their experiences. 

Courage is contagious.” 

As for Gigi? She’ll enjoy the 

rest. – Steve Meacham 

*Invictus Games 2023 – more 

info invictusgamesfoundation.org; 

to donate go to asf. 

org.au and search ‘Donate’. 

News 



The Way We Were 

Every month we pore over three decades of Pittwater Life, providing a snapshot of the 

area’s recent history – and confirming that quite often the more things change, 

the more they stay the same! Compiled by Lisa Offord 

25 Years Ago… 

The Way We Were 

It was Pittwater Life’s 7th birthday. Avalon Library was in 

“desperate need” of more space “even in the new library 

building… but the Council says no”. We 

ran a story about the impact of One 

Nation in Pittwater “… which could see 

sitting member Bronwyn Bishop forced 

to preferences to retain the seat.” The 

community-sponsored Avalon Skate 

rink was officially opened. Police 

numbers were falling: “In 1993 there 

were 196 general duties policemen in 

the Northern Beaches Command area 

which stretches from Collaroy to Palm 

Beach. Today the allocated number 

for the area is 148 but in reality, the 

actual number of general duties police 

in the area has been as low as 132 

and is currently 142.5. Crime is on the 

increase while police response time to 

calls is getting longer.” Our fearless 

columnist Pooter reported his “… fax 

ran hot with an announcement from 

Environment Minister Pam Allen on 

her initiative to stop 100 million plastic 

milk and detergent containers going to 

‘landfill’ (does she mean a tip?) every 


year. Pooter recalls that there was once a better system in 

place. It was called a glass bottle and a milkman used to take 

it away from home when delivering a 

new one. This wonderful service 

was dispensed with when greedy 

packaging companies hoisted their 

dreadful plastic and cardboard 

packages on us with not thought as how 

to dispose of them…” Newport 

was set to lose its branch of the 

National Australia Bank – the third 

bank closure in the Pittwater area 

in recent months. A new lease 

arrangement was introduced for the 

Palm Beach Golf Club “under its old 

lease the club was paying $69 a week 

for the course plus maintenance and 

capital development and keeping it 

open as a public course.” Pittwater 

Council outlined its plan to ban 

new installations of solid wood 

burning fires and stoves; and Sydney 

Water assured readers that sewage 

discharges from the Warriewood 

treatment plant did not present a risk 

to the community. 


Pittwater Life had a new look and a improvements at Church Point, The B-Line extension from 

new printer, celebrating “18 years including a two-tiered carpark, Mona Vale to Newport 

and the start of our 19th”. One of were up for comment; it was 

was scrapped; Northern 

Bayview’s Bei Loon Dragon Boat hoped the $11-million project Beaches Hospital achieved 

teams was on the cover “launched would end “more than 30 years of a best practice rating for 

only five years ago they have 

wrangling between on and offshore sustainability, and we 

residents.” Kimbriki tip announced introduced NB Council’s 

become the biggest Dragon Boat 

“ambitious plans to begin 

new CEO Ray Brownlee 

Club in Australia – and Australian 

generating electricity from a series who was to commence 

champions.” Plans for 

of composting tunnels”; it was his five-year contract on 

hoped the project “will ultimately October 1. Meanwhile, 

produce enough electricity to power Council launched a lastditch 

180 houses or meet the power 

legal bid to “overturn 

demands of Kimbriki”. While the a controversial decision to 

tip “… has an expected life of 50 approve development on flood -prone land” near the 

years, general manager Mr Aaron new Macpherson Street Bridge at Warriewood; our Life 

Hudson said ways of extending Stories subject was Newport-based former Wallabies 

that life were being explored and superstar and sports presenter Matt Burke; Avalon 

that included more recycling so sailing Club celebrated 80 years and businesses in 

less waste would go into landfill”. Palm Beach and Ettalong were hoping for a long-term 

In other news, the 16th “annual solution to an environmental issue that had shut down 

Pub2Pub fun run is on again.” ferry services and cut off the two tourist destinations 

Avalon Fabrics celebrated 16 years for more than two months. Sand build-up near Little 

in business and Avalon Library Box Head had forced the closure of the Ettalong 

was getting set to celebrate its Channel, with dredging required to clear the waterway 

25th Anniversary. Also, two local – it was the second time in two years dredging works 

IT specialists outlined the pros were needed to counter tidal flow deposits of sand. 

and cons of the newly launched And a ‘fabulous food’ feature promoted the mouthwatering 

Apple iPhone. 

offerings being dished up at our local clubs. 



News 

SEEN… 

If you have a Development Application 

stuck in the system, 

you’ll be interested to hear 

that Pittwater Ward Councillor 

Miranda Korzy is looking into 

staff changes at Council, having 

identified what appears to 

be a high turnover of planning 

staff. Ms Korzy said: “Turnover 

of planners appears high, 

with a loss of nine staff from 

nearly 60 employed in only six 

months, when the Australian 

Bureau of Statistics figures for 

turnover of professional staff 

across Australia per year is 

22 per cent. The question is: 

is this just a blip, normal for 

Council planners, or a wider 

trend on Council?”… The future of the 

Avalon Customer Service Centre will be discussed at the next 

Council meeting on August 22. In May, a staff report recommended 

Council transition out of face-to-face service at the 

Centre by 30 June 2023. Debate was deferred until the first 

available meeting attendance by new Pittwater Ward Councillor 

Karina Page… Last month’s item about Council scrutinising the 

(illegal) practice of advertising vehicles for sale along Pittwater 

Rd at Collaroy, which has flow-on effects for the same practice 

on Newport Hill, hit a nerve with the community, who lodged a 

whopping 899 submissions on Council’s website between June 

16 and the closing date of July 23. Council is now poring over 

the submissions before it determines next steps. We’ll keep you 

posted. 

HEARD… 

Anxious to minimise risks of another failed commercial arrangement, 

Council has declined to accept any of the tenders 

received for the lease of the café and restaurant at Avalon 

Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Instead, it has initiated a “suckit-and-see” 

process that will hopefully see the site – boasting 

arguably Pittwater’s jewel in the crown vista – resume full 

hospitality. The café has been a ghost venue for more than two 

years since former operator Trippas White Group closed shop 

before its lease ended. Council is now in talks with Aimelie Pty 

Ltd (Emilie Mathel, trading as Guinguette Café Bistro Francais) 

to operate just the café for six months, whereafter an evaluation 

will take place. At that time Council will open negotiations 

with Aimelie to lease the restaurant; if unsuccessful, Council 

will invite fresh tenders for the restaurant. Council said Emilie 

Mathel had demonstrated strong industry experience and the 

capability to deliver the desired tender outcomes – as well as 

a thorough understanding of the project risks. (Interestingly, 

following our enquiry, Council confirmed Aimelie Pty Ltd does 

not currently have another business in Australia; this is their 

first foray.) Council’s Louise Kerr told us: “Council and the 

community want to see a successful operation at the Avalon 

Surf Life Saving Club site. I can confirm that the Council resolution 

aims to minimise risks with future operations. We will 

provide more information on the new operator when negotiations 

are completed.” But what of the function space that was 

previously shared by the Surf Club? Council explained that in 

the past, Trippas White had the first right of refusal on a Friday, 

Saturday or Sunday to book and use the community function 

room adjacent to the restaurant. Now, the Club has control 

and management of the community function room. Once the 

restaurant is occupied, the Club is being encouraged to approach 

the restaurant for catering 

services over the adjoining 

community function room. The 

Surf Club told us they will not 

be saying anything until Council 

has appointed an operator. 

It is hoped that negotiations 

for Stage 1 (the café) will be 

completed before the end of August. 

So there we have it: a new 

French café, and restaurant, for 

Avalon. Maybe. Fingers crossed 

it works out! 

ABSURD… 

As in, absurd it has come to this: Fed up with the insufficient 

framework of the Avalon Shared Spaces Trial survey on 

Northern Beaches Council’s website, the Avalon & Palm Beach 

Business Chamber is running its own community survey. The 

Chamber says their survey is designed to capture “genuine 

feedback” from community members about the changes that 

have been made to traffic patterns since the Avalon Parade/ 

Old Barrenjoey Road intersection ‘Shared Spaces Trial’ commenced 

at the beginning of the year. “We undertook to gather 

feedback ourselves, after recognising that the Council’s survey 

lacks important/pertinent questions about traffic and the real 

changes that have occurred, including parking and bus stop 

changes,” the executive told us. They also noted the survey on 

Council’s ‘Your Say’ page failed to identify the number of submissions 

lodged, making it impossible to gauge interest from 

the community – something that is included in all other Your 

Say matters. The Chamber’s survey will conclude on October 

1 – the day the trial period ends before its evaluation. You can 

view the Chamber’s survey via the QR code (above) or visit 

avalonpalmbeachbusinesschamber.com.au; they intend to table 

the results and provide a full report to Council. 



News 

Pittwater News 

Local August Probus Club News 

Palm Beach and Peninsula Probus Club’s guest on Wednesday 

16 August will be Deb Wallace, who will speak about 

the making of Channel 9’s TV series Million Dollar Murders. A 

former Detective Superintendent, her impressive career in a 

range of specialist crime squads made her an ideal choice 

to host this show. (Her talk was originally planned for June 

but Deb had to postpone at the last minute, so the Club was 

lucky that member and tango aficionado David Owen was 

able to step in.) Meetings are at Club Palm Beach, commencing 

9.30am. Visitors welcome; more info 0481 395 624. 

Next meeting of the Combined Probus Club of Mona Vale 

will commence 10am on Tuesday, 15 August in the auditorium 

at Pittwater RSL Club. Guest speaker will be a representative 

from Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), one 

of the world’s largest conservation organisations, delivering 

and influencing effective conservation across more than 12.9 

million hectares in iconic regions such as the Kimberley, Cape 

York, Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and the Top End. Australia is one 

of the most important nations on Earth for biodiversity; most 

of Australia’s wildlife is found nowhere else in the world, 

making its conservation even more important. Hear about 

what AWC is doing to help conserve Australian Wildlife and 

how we all can help. Visitors welcome; more info call Robert 

(0407 202 266). 

The next meeting of Pittwater Men’s Probus will commence 

10am on Tuesday 8 August at Mona Vale Surf Club when Ross 

Clements will provide another of his informative scientific 

talks – this time on the life and death of stars plus an overview 

of astronomy from the Big Bang to the creation of atoms and 

matter. Visitors welcome; more info Terry Larke (0412 220 820). 

Narrabeen Lakes Probus Club next meets on Wednesday 23 

August at Narrabeen Baptist Church. Doors open at 9.45am 

for 10am meeting. The club has around 80 members (visitors 

welcome, no waiting list). The August speakers will be Kevin 

and Glenys Murray who will highlight the fascinating history 

and culture of Patagonia. More info call or text 0424 464 047. 

The Avalon Beach Ladies Probus Club meets on the first 

Tuesday of each month (next meeting 1 August) at Club Palm 

Beach, commencing 10am. Lunch will follow, plus an opportunity 

to join their Book Club. Indeed, August is book month 

– you can bring a book to swap, listen to book reviews… even 

challenge their librarian! Monthly outings include Auburn 

Botanic Gardens. More info call Margaret (0416 182 393). 

The next meeting of the mixed-genders Bilgola Plateau 

Probus Club is on Friday 4 August at 10 am at Newport Bowling 

Club (settle in from 9.30am). August speaker is David 

Rosenberg, a former National Security Agency employee, who 

will talk about Pine Gap (pictured top), which has operated in 

a shroud of secrecy for over 50 years. David intends to give 

attendees an insight as to just what went on behind those 

closed doors. The Club is currently on a drive to increase male 

membership to help balance its numbers. Visitors welcome; 

more info call Shelley (0415 538 864). 

Vets’ 50th 

Anniversary 

The Palm Beach RSL will be running 

two events for the 50th anniversary 

of Vietnam Veterans. 

On Thursday 17 August at 6pm, 

Club Palm Beach will have a 

presentation about the Battle of 

Long Tan, from a former Royal 

Military College Duntroon 

Tactics Instructor, prior to the 

screening of the movie Danger 

Close: The Battle of Long Tan 

that will commence at 6.30pm. 

On Sunday 20 August at 11am 

the club will host a march for 

Vietnam Veterans along Barrenjoey 

Rd from Iluka Rd in 

the north, southbound to Club 

Palm Beach followed by a service 

and lunch commemorating 

Vietnam Veterans Day. 

Dream big with Optus grants 

Australian swimming 

legend Ian Thorpe is 

encouraging young Pittwater 

locals to turn their dreams 

into reality during the FIFA 

Women’s World Cup 2023. 

Official broadcaster Optus 

is offering 64 nation-wide 

Inspiration Grants – one for 

every match of the Women’s 

World Cup – worth $192,000, 

with Thorpe urging teenagers 

to get inspired, dream big, 

and say yes to pursuing their 

passion by applying. 

Optus Ambassador Thorpe 

Ecodownunder’s 

Charity donation 

Northern Beaches business Ecodownunder 

has donated 270 

cosy organic cotton flannelette 

sheet sets, valued at $25,000, to 

charities where they’re needed 

most. Accommodation at Stewart 

House, Marys House Services 

and Vinnies are among 

the recipients. Co-owner 

of Ecodownunder Beverley 

Tilbury said: “We all deserve 

to feel warm and safe in bed at 

night and hope our donation 

helps just a little.” Northern 

Beaches charity Stewart House 

received 80 winter sheet sets; 

the charity provides care for 

children in need from all over 

NSW and the ACT. Every year 

1600 children have a 12-day 

stay packed with fun, new 

friendships and adventures, 

medical checks and treatments 

and activities to boost 

their self-esteem and promote 

better physical and mental 

health. The program aims to 

give the children a broader 

outlook on life and build 

positive aspirations for their 

future. If you would like to 

help a child in need, donate at 

stewarthouse.org.au 

Draft Library plan 

Council is seeking community 

feedback on its draft five-year 

offered this advice: “One of 

my life hacks is not hitting 

the snooze button, because all 

you’re really doing is postponing 

life. Getting up and 

going as soon as you wake is 

the way to get things done.” 

Apply online in 100 words 

or less, answering: “What 

future goal are you inspired 

to say yes to, and how would 

this grant help you achieve 

this goal?”. 

Applications close on 20 

August; head to optus.com. 

au/grants. 



Library Strategy now on public 

exhibition. The draft Plan sets 

out Council’s vision for the future 

of public library services 

on the Northern Beaches. It 

provides a blueprint for the 

development and delivery of 

community-focused services. 

More than 4,000 individual 

responses were received 

throughout the engagement 

period. The library network 

has six physical branches 

across the Northern Beaches 

– Manly, Warringah Mall 

(Brookvale), Dee Why, Forestville, 

Glen Street (Belrose) 

and Mona Vale. In 2021-22 

more than 63,000 members 

of the community actively 

used the library service, with 

more than 474,000 visits, 

1.11 million loans of physical 

and digital collection items 

and 11,000 attendances to 

library learning, cultural and 

social engagement programs. 

Feedback by 11 August; visit 

Council website. 

St Ives Orchid Fair 

One of the highlights of the 

Who’s top Beaches dog? 

The office of Local Government has released the 

‘dog counts’ of the top breeds of dogs across 

the Northern Beaches – with the adorable fluffy 

Cavoodle (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Poodle 

cross) proving irresistible to families on the 

beaches over the past 20 years. 

The Cavoodle nudged out the faithful Labrador, 

with the nuggety ‘Staffy’ taking third place. 

Figures included dogs that were microchipped 

and/or registered from January 1, 2003 to June 29, 

2023. (It doesn’t include dogs that have died.) 

year for orchid enthusiasts is 

the St Ives Orchid Fair, which 

will be held from Friday 18 

to Sunday 20 August at the St 

Ives Show Ground. This year’s 

show will feature displays of 

Australian and exotic orchids 

in full flower (held in one 

pavilion), and 17 local and 

interstate nurseries in another 

pavilion selling all sorts of 

orchids and orchid supplies. 

There is free parking; the 

small entry fee of $8 gets you 

into both pavilions. Children 

under 18 free, and some food 

is available. More info stivesorchifair.com. 

New fire shed 

for Duffys Forest 

A new Rural Fire Service 

Brigade building at Duffys 

Forest has opened. Council, 

in partnership with the Rural 

Fire Service, demolished the 

existing building that was built 

in 1965 and have constructed 

a new modern fit-for-purpose 

building. The building includes 

a multi-function room, kitchen, 

Continued on page 30 

Cavoodle – 3889 

Labrador Retriever – 3255 

Staffordshire Bull Terrier – 2371 

Border Collie – 1834 

Golden Retriever – 1544 

Jack Russell Terrier – 1307 

Australian Kelpie – 1297 

Labradoodle – 1159 

Maltese/Shih Tzu cross – 1153 

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel – 1000 

News 




News 

Continued from page 29 

cleaning area, utility room, 

accessible bathroom facilities, 

media room and parking for 

up to four fire trucks. There 

will also be parking spaces 

for an additional 10 vehicles 

outside the station. The majority 

of funding came from Rural 

Fire Service headquarters, 

with some funds provided by 

Council and $200,000 raised 

by the Duffys Forest Rural Fire 

Brigade. 

Community battery 

The Northern Beaches is set 

to get a second community 

battery at Warriewood, which 

was recently selected by the 

Federal Government as one of 

the locations eligible for funding 

for a community battery. 

Ausgrid were successful in 

this round of funding and the 

new community battery will 

be in Honeyeater Reserve on 

the corner of Honeyeater Grove 

and Blue Wren Way. As part of 

the battery project, Ausgrid will 

also provide a grant for a solar 

installation on a local community 

facility as well as minor 

park improvements at Honeyeater 

Reserve. The battery will 

feature First Nations artwork 

which will reflect and represent 

the local heritage and community. 

Read about the project on 

Ausgrid’s website. 

Next Shack gig 

The Shack Live Music Club is 

held on the first Saturday of 

each month at the Ted Blackwood 

Hall at Warriewood. 

Each show features three live 

music acts in a cabaret candlelit 

atmosphere with BYO food and 

drinks for an affordable and 

enjoyable night of live entertainment. 

Next concert 5 August 

features The Durham Project, 

The Fallen Robins and Strangelove. 

Entry $30 cash (no wi-fi) 

at door or visit shackfolk.com 

EV charging stations 

Council is currently seeking 

feedback on a proposal to instal 

a further eight electric vehicle 

charging stations in the area. 

The free public charging stations 

to be installed by JOLT 

within Pittwater are proposed 

for Barrenjoey Road, Palm 

Beach (outside Pittwater Park 

South); Berry Reserve Carpark, 

Narrabeen; and the Boulevarde, 

Newport. The locations were 

selected in partnership with 

Ausgrid, Transport for NSW and 

Council. The stations will be 

powered from 100% renewable 

sources, are Green Power accredited, 

and will allow people 

to charge their vehicles for up 

to 15 minutes. There are currently 

more than 20 EV charging 

locations across the Northern 

Beaches. Council is aiming 

for a 30 per cent reduction in 

vehicle emissions by 2038. 

Affordable 

childcare call 

Member for Pittwater Rory 

Amon has called on the 

NSW Labor Government to 

deliver Coalition reforms to 

make childcare and preschool 



more affordable and easier to 

access for Pittwater’s working 

parents. Mr Amon said the 

Minns Government should 

not attempt to use changes to 

federal childcare subsidies as 

a smokescreen to shortchange 

NSW parents. “Even with the 

Commonwealth subsidies, access 

to childcare for thousands 

of families will be better supported 

with state funding and 

ripping that away would have a 

devastating effect on families 

in Pittwater,” Mr Amon said. 

Chiltern track walk 

Spring wildflowers and birds 

will soon be at their best on 

the Chiltern Track in Kuring-gai 

Chase National Park. 

On Sunday August 27, join 

Pittwater Natural Heritage 

Association on a free guided 

nature stroll. It will be undertaken 

on a wide, rough fire 

trail; moderate fitness needed, 

gentle slopes. Bring binoculars 

if possible. Meet at 8.30am at 

the entrance on Chiltern Rd 

Ingleside; concludes 10.30am. 

Bookings by emailing pnhainfo@gmail.com 

including your 

phone number so organisers 

can make contact in case of 

weather uncertainty. 

Marine Rescue 

warning 

Marine Rescue NSW is urging 

boaters to be vigilant on the 

state’s waterways this Winter 

and be aware of the risks 

associated with cold water 

boating. It noted water can be 

dangerously cold on sunny 

days, and conditions could 

change quickly leaving boaters 

with less time should things 

go wrong. The drop in water 

temperatures during Winter 

increases the risk of hypothermia 

which develops when 

the body temperature drops 

below 35 degrees Celsius. 

Marine Rescue said preparation 

was crucial before going 

boating, particularly in cold 

weather. “Check your vessel, 

have it serviced and regularly 

maintained because fluids can 


News 




News 

New ‘roll’ for Newport Bowlo 

Over 85 years Newport 

Bowling Club has earned 

a reputation as one of Pittwater’s 

friendliest social 

venues and sporting clubs, 

extending a warm welcome 

to residents and community 

groups alike. 

The Club is now encouraging 

locals to drop by to try 

lawn bowls – both the “formal” 

version or the popular 

‘Barefoot Bowls’. 

“Don’t judge bowls until 

you try it,” offers John Eustace, 

who recently joined the 

club. “Lawn Bowls is widely 

misconstrued as an older 

person’s sport when in reality 

it is among the very few 

participation sports suitable 

for people of all ages, abilities, 

and fitness levels. 

“It doesn’t take long to understand 

the game’s basics, 

and bowls can become quite 

addictive once you start 

developing your abilities.” 

Joining Newport Bowling 

Club brings a host of social 

benefits and members can 

take part in a range of activities 

and playing formats, 

including club competitions 

and even inter-club tournaments. 

While many other sports 

rely on speed and athleticism, 

lawn bowls removes 

reliance on athleticism, 

creating an even playing 

field for all. 

It’s a low-impact outdoor 

exercise renowned for maintaining 

balance, coordination, 

core strength and bone 

health. 

Barefoot Bowls is ideal for 

team building, corporate 

events, and special occasions 

where men, women, 

and children can compete 

on an equal footing. 

Senior club members take 

immense pleasure in helping 

newcomers understand and 

play the game in a fun environment. 

Newport’s Barefoot 

sessions include equipment 

and are a great fun catch-up 

for groups of friends. 

The club’s friendly membership 

invites locals to 

venture down any Wednesday 

or Saturday to see what 

they’re all about. 

*More info 9999 1661 or 

email newportbowls@outlook.com. 




thicken when the vessel is used 

in cold conditions,” it warned. 

Meanwhile Marine Rescue 

NSW’s 3300 volunteers were involved 

in 4567 rescue missions 

between 1 July 2022 and June 

30 this year compared to 4251 

in 2020/21 – up 7.5 per cent. 

It was also the organisation’s 

busiest June on record. 

Beach2Beach 

Registrations are open for the 

Enter ‘Beach 

Clean-Up 

Olympics’ 

Who knew picking up 

rubbish was now a sport, 

with a world-wide reach? 

Here’s your chance to have 

some fun – and help the environment 

– by assembling a 

three-person team to compete 

in the first ever Australian 

qualifying leg of the SPOGO- 

MI Olympics at Manly Beach 

on August 26. 

The winning team will be 

invited and sponsored to 

fly to Japan to compete at 

the SPOGOMI Olympics in 

November. 

SPOGOMI is an abbreviation 

of ‘Sport’ and ‘Gomihiroi’ 

(picking up trash); it’s a sport 

in which teams compete 

against each other for points 

awarded according to the 

2023 Beach2Beach Charity Fun 

Run & Festival on Sunday 27 

August, hosted by Rotary Club 

including its Upper Northern 

Beaches branch. One of Sydney’s 

most scenic Fun Runs, it 

starts at Dee Why Beach and 

Finishes at Newport Beach. It 

is a 13km run in total; however, 

runners (and walkers) also 

have 6km and 3km options to 

choose from. Proceeds from 

the entry fee go to support 

many worthwhile charities 

amount and the type of rubbish 

picked up in a given area, 

within a set time limit. 

“Our meditation community 

is regularly engaged in 

cleaning up our beaches and 

parks, so we are very excited 

to be bringing this world competition 

to Australian shores,” 

explains Jason Partington 

(right), co-host and the 

founder of MeditationHQ. 

Well-known personalities 

including seven-times world 

and entrants can also raise 

money for charities of their 

choice. Register as individuals 

or teams. Also, organisers 

are calling for volunteers 

at the 6km start (Rat Park) 

and at the Newport Beach 

Festival. The Finish Festival 

will feature great live music, 

roving entertainment, rides 

and activities for the kids and 

Street Market-style food stalls. 

More info and to register at 

beach2beach.com.au 

surfing champion Layne 

Beachley will be cheering home 

teams at the Australian event. 

The Australian tournament 

at Manly Beach (South 

Steyne end) runs from 10am 

to 12.30pm on Saturday, 26 

August. 

It’s free to enter but you 

must register your team (can 

be groups of kids, friends, 

family etc) before 25 August. 

*More info meditationhq. 

com.au/spogomi 

Vet 

on call 

with Dr Brown 

Itchy, smelly or inflamed ears 

are a common problem in pets, 

especially for dog breeds that 

have large floppy ears. Pets 

can suffer from ear problems 

caused by infection, allergies, 

parasites and foreign bodies. 

In dogs and cats, their ear 

canal is L-shaped which can 

predispose the canal to collecting 

waxy debris, moisture or 

trapped foreign bodies. 

Ear infections can occur in 

any breed of cat or dog, but 

dog breeds with large floppy 

ears like Labradors, Golden 

Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels, 

Cavalier King Charles Spaniels 

and Poodles can be more prone 

to developing ear problems. If 

your pet develops an ear problem, 

they may show signs such 

as shaking their head, scratching 

at their ears, holding their 

head on a tilt or appearing to 

lose their balance. 

The ear itself may look red, 

inflamed or swollen, have a 

strong odour, be hot to touch or 

there may be a discharge. 

Sydney Animal Hospital vets 

will examine your pet’s ears – 

both from the outside, and also 

examining down the ear canal 

– to assess the inner health of 

the ear canal and to also check 

if the pet’s eardrum is intact. 

The vet may recommend an 

examination under general 

anaesthetic so that your pet 

remains comfortable and the 

ear can be more easily assessed 

and treated. 

Often a swab sample may 

be collected, which can be assessed 

under the microscope to 

look for parasites such as ear 

mites or to determine if bacteria 

or yeast are present. Swab 

samples can also be sent for 

laboratory testing to determine 

the type of infection and what 

are the best antimicrobial medications 

required to treat it. 

Treatment for ear problems 

may involve medications to 

treat any infection, inflammation 

or parasites. To help 

prevent ear problems, regularly 

check your pet’s ears, and for 

dogs to gently help dry their 

ears after swimming or bathing. 

More info call Avalon (9918 

0833) or Newport( 9997 4609); 

sydneyanimalhospitals.com.au 

News 



Barrister Nicholas Cowdery, 

AO, KC explains how the 

Pittwater lifestyle has helped 

him unwind from his complex 

work, and details his focus as an 

agitator for change – including 

drug law reform. 

Story by Greg McHugh 

Life Stories 

Legal (Sea) Eagle 

Pittwater plays a starring role in 

the big life of renowned barrister 

Nicholas Cowdery AO, KC – starting 

from early memories of family boating 

holidays and encounters with razor 

sharp oyster shells and the local tick 

population. 

“We came from the bush for a holiday 

at Church Point, renting a house for a 

couple of weeks and while we were there 

I actually swam in the carpark at Church 

Point – this is before it was filled in and 

reclaimed. Very shallow mudflats but 

covered at high tide and as an eight-yearold 

boy I used to swim down there... I 

remember swimming in the shallows 

and bringing both arms over onto a 

rock covered with oysters, ripping both 

hands,” Cowdery recalls. 

Helpfully, his doctor father was on the 

spot then – and to also deal with young 

Nicholas’ introduction to ticks. 

In his teenage years, Cowdery and his 

family would stay on his father’s boat, 

swimming and fishing and exploring 

Pittwater and the waterfalls at Refuge Bay. 

His home on the western shore of 

McCarrs Creek, opposite Church Point, 

has been an escape for Cowdery, his wife 

Joy and their children for more than 30 

years. 

“It’s the combination of the water and 

the bush that really attracts me. I like 

being on the water, I like being near the 

water but I also like being in the bush 

surrounded by trees and wildlife and 

birds. That’s the real attraction of this 

place,” Cowdery explains. 

Cowdery was the NSW Director of 

Public Prosecutions from 1994 to 2011 – a 

full-on, demanding, intense job. 

“To be able to just get in the dinghy, 

go across the water and relax in a totally 

different environment was possibly a 

lifesaver. My wife always says that when 

I get in the boat and get out on the water, 

my face changes,” he laughs. 

The preservation of the western shore’s 

connection with nature is a focus of his 

position as a Vice-President of the West 

Pittwater Community Association (WPCA). 

Sometimes nature can get too close 

– the Cowdery clan experienced the 

frightening 1994 and 2004 bushfires that 

came to the back of their home. Nicholas 

is now a community member of the 

Elvina Bay Rural Fire Service, trained to 

operate emergency pumps – to wrestle 

with the forces of nature. 

He is also Co-chair of TiARA (tick 

induced allergies research and awareness 

– tiara.org.au), working to deal with 

Pittwater’s tick and mammalian meat 

allergy scourge, through education about 

ticks and avoidance and treatment. 

Cowdery’s law career grew from some 

prescient advice from his high school 

careers master and a love of acting 

– at school he played the title role in 

Shakespeare’s Henry V. 

He remembers that life-defining 

interview. 

“I said, ‘I suppose a barrister would 

be interesting’ and he said ‘Well, you’re 

doing pretty well in English and History 

and you’ve done a lot of acting… yes, I 

think you should be a barrister!’.” 

While at The University of Sydney, 

Cowdery worked at the Commonwealth 

Deputy Crown Solicitor’s Office, gaining 

experience in preparing prosecutions and 



instructing barristers. 

“I thought criminal law was 

fascinating,’ he says. “I thought it was a 

great connection with the community 

generally and the people, ordinary people, 

looking into the psychology of offenders 

and people affected.” 

In 1971, his first job after graduating 

was in Papua New Guinea – as a criminal 

defence lawyer for the locals, travelling 

on circuit with the Supreme Court around 

PNG, often on thrill-a-minute singleengine 

aircraft. It was an opportunity to 

do something different and he lived in 

Port Moresby, Rabaul and Lae and relaxed 

by boating. 

Seizing opportunities has been a 

guiding principle throughout his career 

and one he recommends to anyone 

starting out: “Look for opportunities 

that may come your way and if they are 

attractive, take them!” 

Returning to Sydney in 1975, he 

practised at the Bar for 19 years, using 

his skills and interests in advocacy and 

persuasion and taking silk as Queen’s 

Counsel (now King’s Counsel) in 1987. 

Stints as an Associate Judge of the NSW 

District Court convinced Cowdery that 

being a Judge full-time was not what he 

was seeking. 

All his energies and strengths would 

instead be poured into his NSW Director 

of Public Prosecutions role and the 

International Association of Prosecutors. 

“One of the specified qualifications for 

the DPP should be [a] thick skin, because 

you are going to be criticised, very often 

unjustly, and you have to be able to deal 

with that,” he says. 

“The independence of the DPP is 

absolutely vital, otherwise it won’t 

succeed – and that’s independence from 

inappropriate influence by other forces, 

so whether that be politics, the media, 

the police, the public, the victim, the 

accused…” Cowdery explains. 

His observation is that politicians and 

the media don’t like their ideas being 

ignored or contested; consequently he 

would regularly get pushback. 

“The media trades on conflict, 

politicians trade on what they think will 

win them votes in the next election,” he 

says. 

Hallmarks of his DPP tenure were his 

willingness to speak out on issues of 

community importance; to be an agitator 

for change; and to shine a light on the 

politics involved. 

“I considered the public had a right to 

know what was happening in the criminal 

justice system and if there were moves 

for reform and improvement, what those 

moves were and why they were being 

pushed,” Cowdery says. 

He remains an agitator for change – 

drug law reform is on his radar, now 

that abortion and voluntary assisted 

dying have been resolved. He is a 

director of the Justice Reform Initiative 

(justicereforminitiative.org.au) pushing 

nationally to reduce our reliance on 

imprisonment as the answer to every 

crime problem. 

Cowdery says it is very difficult to 

get politicians interested in reforms for 

NSW, adding that if they do something 

intelligent for the benefit of the 

community, including drug users, they 

should win more support, not less. 

“I have a rather radical view that all 

drugs that are presently illicit should be 

legalised, regulated, controlled and taxed. 

There would be different regimes for 

different drugs,” he says. 

A good starting point for him would 

be if all drugs used or possessed in 

quantities consistent with personal use 

were decriminalised – a position adopted 

in Portugal since 2001 and working 

fantastically well, he says. 

He distinguishes legalising (making 

something legal) from decriminalising 

– taking away criminal penalties and 

putting a different control mechanism 

in place, such as a tailored supervised 

program, to wean users off drugs. 



CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: After delivering a Probus talk at Club 

Palm Beach; the Pittwater commute home; tucking into lunch at his 

favourite Waterfront Cafe at Church Point; at the Sydney University Law 

School; ‘Rocking The Boat’ – an image taken by Mark Tedeschi AM, KC, 

which hangs in the office of the NSW DPP; at the AGM of the WPCA. 





“The problem with 

prohibition is that you put 

drug distribution… you put 

the enormous profits from 

that market, that black market, 

into the hands of criminals. 

They then spend that money 

on other conduct which is 

harmful to the community,” 

Cowdery says. Legalisation 

would take away the criminal 

profits and the criminal law 

would still be there for anyone 

trying to work outside the 

system. 

He says all his DPP cases 

were equally important – not 

only the high-profile criminal 

prosecutions, such as that of 

serial killer Ivan Milat. 

“There is no single day or 

single occasion that eclipses 

all the others because every 

case is important, every 

process that you undertake 

has to be done to the highest 

standard,” he explains. 

As Director, top-level 

decision making rested 

with him, including on all 

cases involving a death. He 

emphasises the importance of 

the good people in his team – 

professional, committed and 

with an ethos of service to the 

community. 

Cowdery would visit the DPP 

regional offices several times 

each year – “exhorting the 

troops”. Or perhaps, aptly, in a 

nod to Henry V – “Once more 

unto the breach, dear friends, 

once more…”. 

In 2019, he received his 

Officer of the Order of 

Australia appointment for 

distinguished service to 

the law, to the protection of 

human rights, to professional 

legal bodies and to the 

community. 

The title of his 2019 

book Frank and Fearless 

(co-authored with Rachael 

Jane Chin) has been echoed 

in recent commentary 

surrounding the responsibility 

of public servants to give 

frank and fearless advice, 

following the 7 July release of 

the Royal Commission Report 

into the Robodebt Scheme. 

Also, Cowdery remains 

involved with the International 

Association of Prosecutors 

(having been President from 

1999 to 2005). Think of an 

exotic destination and he 

has likely been there on an 



WAY TO UNWIND: Cowdery’s wife Joy says his “face changes” on the water. 

international project – among 

many, The Bahamas, Maldives, 

Fiji, Mauritius and Uganda. 

Cowdery also regards 

Pittwater as an exotic 

destination – a paradise 

that is grappling with 

more development, more 

traffic, a greater demand 

for parking and increasing 

boat usage flowing from a 

bigger population. A strong 

supporter of local Council deamalgamation, 

he considers 

the establishment of Northern 

Beaches Council has resulted 

in a decline in services for the 

previous Pittwater Council 

area. 

University lecturing, writing 

books on criminal justice 

and speaking to Probus clubs 

and U3As on crime and its 

treatment in NSW as well as 

current hot news and current 

affairs topics are some of the 

things Cowdery now focuses 

on. 

“Every day is a busy day; got 

to keep busy,” he says. 




Art Life 

Art Life 

Prize finalists on show 

Thought-provoking works 

by an impressive shortlist 

of 215 artists and 

designers from across Australia 

will be on show when 

the Northern Beaches 

Environmental Art & 

Design Prize exhibition 

opens in August. 

The works, including 

fresh perspectives 

on our global climate 

crisis and sustainable 

life on earth, will be 

on show from 4-27 August 

at Manly Art Gallery 

& Museum, Curl 

Curl Creative Space 

and Mona Vale Creative 

Space Gallery. 

Northern Beaches Mayor 

Sue Heins said the Prize, now 

in its third year, aims to create 

conversations about the world’s 

most pressing problems, 

prompted by works on display 

from artists all over the country. 

The works cover a range 

of contemporary practices, 

from fashion and design to 

ceramics and small sculpture, 

painting, photography, film 

and video, interdisciplinary 

collaboration, and functional 

IMPACT: Ceramics & small sculpture finalist AJ Gough, 

SLOW-A sign from the Planet Earth; Part 2. 

and wearable design. 

The Prize categories are: 

Ceramics & small sculpture; 

Film; Interdisciplinary collaboration; 

Painting & mixed 

media; Works on paper & 

photography; Wearable design; 

Functional design; Young 

artists and designers – 7-12 

years and 13-18 years. 

The prize pool of $42,000 

includes $5000 for each of 

the Open categories, $2000 

for each of the Young Artists 

& Designers categories 

and $3000 for 

the People’s Choice 

Awards. 

Judges for this 

year’s Prize include 

independent Indigenous 

curator, consultant 

and artist Emily 

McDaniel, contemporary 

multi-disciplinary 

artist Caroline Rothwell 

and Australian 

industrial designer 

Adam Goodrum. 

Prize winners will be announced 

at the Manly Art Gallery 

& Musuem from 6.30pm 

on Thursday 3 August; the 

People’s Choice Awards will 

be announced on Friday 25 

August at 7pm. The exhibition 

entry is free. 

*More info MAG&M website 

Sunshine 

at Glen St 

The joyful and acclaimed 

musical The Sunshine Club 

will run at Glen Street Theatre 

from August 9-12. 

It tells the story of 

Aboriginal soldier Frank 

Doyle, who is just returning 

home to Brisbane after 

serving in WWII, to find that, 

while the world may have 

changed, the same attitudes 

and prejudices still exist at 

home. 

This only fills Frank with 

a strong desire to change 

things for the better by 

setting up ‘The Sunshine 

Club’ – a place where all 

people are welcome to come 

together, laugh, romance and 

dance the night away as Frank 

sets out to win the heart of 

Rose, the girl from next door. 

“The Sunshine Club is a 

gloriously energetic, thoughtprovoking 

night of theatre,” 

says director Wesley Enoch. 

*Tickets from $75 

(Members); more info 

glenstreet.com.au 

Solo exhibit 

tracks Suzie’s 

Beach moods 

The broader Northern 

Beaches and its scenes are 

the inspiration for Newportrelocated 

artist Suzie Rix’s 

solo exhibition in August. 

Suzie has had a long history 

in the arts; studying art and 

dance post-school, she built 

a career marrying the two in 

her role as the State Dance 

co-ordinator for the NSW 

Department of Education Arts 

Unit. 

Suzie was a driving force in 

bringing dance into schools 

and over many years was 

the dance director for the 

Schools Spectacular, as well 

as producing and directing 

the NSW Public Schools State 

Dance Festival. 

Suzie moved to the Newport 

area a few years ago; having 

grown up by Sydney Harbour 

she says it was like a “coming 

home”. She renewed her love 

of the sea and her love of 

painting, immersing herself in 

the landscape in and around 

Newport, Bilgola and Avalon 

Beaches. 

“My paintings of the 

headlands, the ocean pools, 

the tides, stormy skies and 

postcard blue days, explore 

not only the beauty of this 

landscape but also the power 

and the patterns of the ocean 

and the calm and tranquility of 

a morning swim,” said Suzie. 

“These works have a strong 

sense of place and I hope 

they will delight audiences 

familiar with these spectacular 

settings.” – Katrina Collins 

*The exhibition will be held 

with her sister Judy Denby, at 

The Shop Gallery, 112 Glebe 

Point Road, Glebe, August 

4-9; open 11am-6pm. Suzie’s 

work can be previewed at 

suzierixpainter.com 



Author Q&A 

Rick’s second novel ends a 

long road between chapters 

A journalist/writer/editor for more than four decades, Rick Feneley’s first 

novel Sly was published in 1995. More than a quarter of a century later his 

second novel Life After Ted has hit the bookshelves to great peer and critical 

acclaim. Interview by Lisa Offord 

Q: Tell us a bit about 

yourself… 

I was born in Bulli in 1962 

and raised there, the youngest 

of seven kids. Our dad was 

a local GP and surgeon and 

he delivered just about every 

baby in the neighbourhood, so 

all my mates slipped through 

his fingers. Dad delivered 

a few of his offspring, too, 

if they happened to arrive 

in an unholy rush. It was a 

free-wheeling childhood, 

from the surf to the 

Illawarra escarpment, and 

this landscape inspired my 

first novel, Sly, published 

in 1995. My childhood was 

also somewhat interrupted 

by Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but 

intensive radiation eradicated 

this cancer. 

Q: What inspired you to 

write Life After Ted? 

After Sly, I’d always planned 

to keep writing novels, but life 

got in the way. I persevered 

instead with the kind of 

publishing that pays bills, 

journalism, while my wife, 

Donna, and I raised two 

daughters at yet another 

beach suburb, Bondi, which 

has been our home for 35 

years. And Bondi, the setting 

for Life After Ted, was a large 

part of its inspiration. The 

essence of the story came to 

me in a couple of sleepless 

hours one night about eight 

years ago: Ted is dead before 

the first page, having been 

killed in a surfing accident, 

but three days after his 

funeral, his son, Seb, finds 

his 70-year-old mother, 

Connie – Ted’s wife of 

40 years – in bed with 

another man. Connie has an 

explanation, but she’s not 

ready to share it with her 

judgemental son. Seb is a 

born-again Christian; Connie 

is an atheist. They’ve never 

been especially close, but now 

it becomes toxic. 


BEACH 

BACKGROUND: 

Author Rick 

Feneley. 

Q: How did it all come 

together? 

I’m not one of those writers 

who can write a chapter 

during his lunch break from 

his day job. I quit my day 

job at The Sydney Morning 

Herald in 2015 and started 

writing Ted the next day. 

In the next few months, I 

had tens of thousands of 

words down, but I knew I’d 

eventually need to work 

for a living once again, so 

I accepted the offer of an 

investigations job at SBS. 

And for the next year I wrote 

not a single word of fiction. 

The novel stopped. The only 

answer was to quit that job, 

too. Casual sub-editing shifts 

sustained me for the next 

couple of years until I had a 

first draft of Ted completed. 

Q: Describe your writing 

habits? 

I write in my study at home, 

unless I’ve made a point of 

escaping Sydney to write. 

Wherever it is, I do my best 

writing in the early hours 

of the day. Some days I’ll 

write for only three or four 

hours, other days for eight 

hours or more, but it’s that 

early burst that’s typically 

most productive. That goes 

for editing, too – and a huge 

part of the ‘writing’ is in 

the editing and rewriting, 


for which you can add on a 

couple of years to the process. 

Q: Why so long between 

novels? 

As I said, life did get in the 

way – work, family, mortgages, 

travel, and some long stretches 

of couldn’t-be-stuffed – but 

I regret none of that. I did 

write another manuscript in 

between Sly and Ted, most of 

it in 1996 in Ireland, where 

we lived for that year with our 

young daughters. We had a 

wonderful year. The wouldbe 

novel was less wonderful. 

It never would be. The 

publishers wisely rejected it. (I 

blame the Guinness.) 

Q: Any interesting feedback 

from readers? 

I imagined it would be a 

comedy about grief. It 

became more tense than that 

in the writing – a family ordeal 

– but I’m glad, nevertheless, 

that readers often tell me they 

find themselves laughing 

aloud… I’ve had quite a few 

emotional readers, people 

moved to tears. Happily, they 

tend to be the same people 

who laugh out loud. 

Q: Anything else? 

Oh yes. This year, six weeks 

before my scheduled book 

launch, and five days before 

Donna and I were to board a 

plane for a holiday in Greece, 

I felt a bit strange. I went to 

emergency, and they didn’t let 

me out of hospital for the next 

27 days. The real scar of my 

childhood – the scar tissue 

created by my radiation, 

which had saved my life – had 

also calcified parts of my 

heart. Now, 50 years later, it 

almost killed me. I needed 

urgent open-heart surgery. 

But that, too, saved my life. So 

the good news? I made it to 

my own book launch. Just. 

*Life After Ted (Echo 

Publishing, RRP $32.99) is 

available now. 

39 

Books

Hot Property 

Stunning three-bedders with 

plenty to love inside and out 

There’s something just right about a three-bedroom home – they’re not too big or too small plus they suit the 

needs of young professionals, families and empty-nesters alike. They’re also not all created equal. . . 

The dream of an artist and builder, this meticulously 

built east-facing family home or weekender at 93 

Florence Terrace Scotland Island was created in 

2016. Designed to take in magical 180-degree views 

of Pittwater, with considered placement of windows, 

decks and terraces. Elegance and nostalgia abounds 

in this property set over two and a half levels with 

boathouse, deep water jetty and a private sandy 

beach. There’s two level-lawned terraces with 

landscaping that “beholds the original bushland 

setting” all on 825 square metres. Price guide $4.3 

million. Inspections by private appointment only. 

Contact Tara Jaijee at Ray White Prestige Palm Beach. 

Hot Property 

This property at 62 Waterview Street Mona Vale 

is attracting plenty of interest from those seeking a 

low-maintenance lifestyle with resort-style facilities 

within easy reach of everything, says agent Amy Young 

from Laing+Simmons Young Property. The beautiful 

entertainer is on an 803-square-metre block. The 

outdoor space is a true point of difference, paved in 

travertine stone accented with timber decking and 

spanned by a vaulted awning, fitted with downlights, 

speakers and fan. There’s a gas fireplace with custom 

bench seating, kitchen and bar, large gas-heated 

pool, level lawn and vegetable garden, all shrouded in 

privacy. Auction August 26; guide $2.65 million. 

This classic and modernised beach house with lush 

level lawns to the water on a 771-square-metre lot 

at 887 Barrenjoey Road Palm Beach provides a 

fantastic lifestyle opportunity, says agent BJ Edwards 

from LJ Hooker Palm Beach. There are two bedrooms 

on the main level sharing a bathroom and a selfcontained 

studio/third bedroom or retreat below 

providing an opportunity for additional income or a 

private place for friends and family to stay. Oversized 

entertaining decks with electric awnings expand 

across the full width of the property, maximizing the 

stunning Pittwater views. For sale with a guide of $6.5 

million. 



The buyer’s agents 

working for you 

You’ve probably heard the 

terms ‘buyer’s advocate’ 

or ‘buyer’s agent’; but what 

exactly do they do and how 

can they help you achieve 

your real estate goals? 

Put simply, a buyer’s 

advocate is a service 

provider, commissioned by a 

purchaser, who will draw on 

their vast network of contacts 

and experience to do the 

important legwork in the 

search for the right property 

for their client – and help 

them through to the purchase 

of their dream home or 

investment property. 

“We are here to give our 

buyers an advantage,” said 

principal Nick Freeman of 

ADDVantage Property, Buyers 

Advocates which specialise 

on the Northern Beaches and 

North Shore markets. 

With Buyers Agent Jeremy 

Drayton, the pair make it 

their mission to take the 

stress out of sourcing and 

realising their clients’ real 

estate dreams. 

Arguably their ‘trump card’ 

is the fact Nick is a former 

builder who maintains his 

Master Builder accreditation. 

Having his independent, 

qualified set of eyes looking 

through properties adds 

peace of mind. 

The local pair have a strong 

knowledge of the Northern 

Beaches and Pittwater market 

– the specifics of its unique 

suburbs including prices and 

trends – and access to a wider 

range of properties, including 

off-market properties, both 

ADVOCATES: 

Nick Freeman 

and Jeremy 

Drayton. 


current and upcoming, that 

are not publicly advertised. 

“For anyone seeking to 

grasp the true value of a 

property and avoid the 

risk of overpaying or even 

feeling outmatched, we can 

help,” said Nick. “We will 

help you make informed 

decisions throughout 

the buying process. That 

starts by listening to your 

requirements, including the 

suburbs you are targeting 

and the type of property and 

the lifestyle you envisage.” 

They will do the legwork, 

appraising and inspecting 

properties that may align 

with your ‘wish list’, refining 

the search list down from 

‘possibles’ to ‘probable’s’. 

“Searching for a property 

can be time-consuming and 

overwhelming,” said Nick. 

“We’ll research, screen and 

shortlist properties that 

match your criteria, saving 

you valuable time and effort.” 

As a former builder, if 

renovating is on your radar, 

Nick can offer independent 

advice; he’ll assess likely 

costs or highlight potential 

additional expenses or 

individual site constraints 

as well as possible 

environmental issues. 

“And when it comes to 

auctions, emotions can run 

high, and stress can quickly 

take its toll. We understand 

the challenges buyers face, 

which is why we will work 

with clients to create a 

pricing format and develop a 

strategy prior to the auction,” 

said Nick. 

“We will then attend the 

auction on your behalf, 

employing our expertise 

in bidding to secure a 

successful outcome. 

We have experience in 

navigating negotiations, 

handling 

counteroffers, 

and ensuring the 

client’s interests are 

protected.” 


*Want to know 

more? Call 0407 

295 731 or visit 

addvantageproperty. 

com.au. 

AUGUST 2023 41 

Hot Property

Health & Wellbeing 


Mouth key to whole body health 

It might be surprising to learn that something as simple as brushing 

your teeth twice a day can help reduce the risks of serious 

health conditions. 

Your mouth is teeming with bacteria – most of them harmless. 

Normally the body’s natural defences and good oral health 

care can keep these bacteria under control. 

However, without proper oral hygiene, bacteria can reach 

levels that might lead 

to oral infections and 

inflammation, such as 

gum disease. 

And this condition can 

influence the rest of the 

body, explained lead 

dentist at Maven Dental 

Avalon Beach Dr Celso 

Cardona. 

A growing body of 

research has found that 

the health of the mouth 

is linked to whole-body 

health, with numerous 

studies showing there 

was a particularly strong 

link between severe gum 

disease and conditions 

such as cardiovascular 

disease and diabetes. 

“Evidence suggests 

the bacteria from 

severe gum disease 

can travel through the 

bloodstream, contributing to build up and inflammation within 

arteries and other blood vessels, potentially playing a role in the 

development of cardiovascular disease,” Dr Cardona said. 

Dr Cardona explained that diabetes and oral health were 

closely intertwined. 

“Severe gum disease makes controlling diabetes harder and 

diabetes will make gum disease worse,” he said. 

Dr Cardona said genetics was a risk factor for gum disease 

and because some families were more prone to it, many people 

were under the impression signs and symptoms – such as bleeding 

gums, pus from the gums, gums that pull away from the 

teeth, a bad taste or bad breath or loose teeth – were “normal”. 

“People who grow up with parents who have had bleeding 

gums and who have lost teeth may think it’s nothing much to 

worry about but bleeding gums and loosing teeth is never normal,” 

Dr Cardona said. 

Gum disease can be treated but is best managed if diagnosed 

early. 

The good news is the risks of gum disease and other serious 

health issues can be significantly reduced if people prioritised 

simple oral health habits 

such as: 

n Brushing teeth twice 

a day with a small 

amount of fluoridated 

toothpaste. 

n Flossing or using 

interdental brushes to 

clean between the teeth 

once a day. 

n Eating a healthy, 

balanced diet, drinking 

plenty of water, and 

limiting sugar intake. 

n Don’t smoke. 

n Visiting the dentist 

regularly for check-ups 

and preventative care. 

Regular check-ups 

with a dentist or dental 

hygienist who knows 

you and your health 

history was recommended, 

as the early 

signs and symptoms of 

gum disease were often painless and changes could be difficult 

to spot. 

“Pain-free does not mean problem-free and prevention is 

always preferable,” Dr Cardona said. 

Preventative care at the dentist typically includes a scale and 

clean, which is vital for removing the bacteria that build up and 

start the process of inflammation. 

“The results are immediate, patients instantly notice a change 

in their mouth, they say their mouth feels healthier, less “furry” 

and their breath is fresher,” he said. – Lisa Offord 

*Australian Dental Association Dental Health Week, with the 

focus ‘Mind, Body, Mouth’, runs 7-13 August; more info mavendental.com.au 

or 9918 2786. 

PREVENTION: Brushing your teeth twice a day can reduce the risks of health conditions. 



Hypnotherapy breaks the habit 

If you’re feeling ‘stuck’ and 

want to regain motivation, take 

control of unhealthy habits and 

make improvements in any area 

of your life, hypnotherapy could 

be your ‘dream’ solution. 

Hypnotherapy is a powerful 

yet versatile tool that facilitates 

profound personal change, said 

Skye Flowstreym from Northern 

Beaches Hypnosis Clinic at Narrabeen 

and Manly. 

“It holds the key to unlocking 

the potential within your subconscious 

mind and breaking 

free from the patterns that keep 

you stuck,” he said. 

Skye explained that contrary 

to popular belief, hypnotherapy 

was not about losing control 

or being under someone else’s 

power. Instead, it’s a state of 

deep relaxation and heightened 

focus where your mind 

becomes more receptive to 

positive suggestions and new 

perspectives. 

“Through this relaxed state, 

hypnotherapy allows you to tap 

EMPOWERMENT: From smoking and other unhealthy habits. 

into your subconscious mind, 

where deeply ingrained beliefs 

and thought patterns reside,” 

he said. 

“Hypnosis is a trance state – 

it can be compared to drifting 

off and being in a daydream 

or being fully absorbed in a 

movie or a book. It is where 

we concentrate and fixate our 

whole attention on one thing 

and in doing so, tune out all 

other stimuli.” 

Skye likened it to the inbetween 

state of being nearly 

asleep, but not asleep. In this 

trance state, the subconscious 

mind is susceptible to suggestion. 

On its own, the subconscious 

mind cannot distinguish 

between what is real and 

imagined. 

“As an example, when we 

watch a movie, we can feel 

happy, excited and scared – 

even though it is just a movie,” 

he said. “While watching the 

movie, we can be so absorbed 

in the film that we can forget 

we are in the cinema.” 

True power of hypnosis lies 

in its ability to reprogram your 

subconscious mind. 

“When accessing your 

subconscious, hypnotherapy 

enables you to identify and 

transform limiting unhelpful 

habits, negative thought patterns 

and self-limiting beliefs 

that contribute to a feeling of 

being ‘stuck’. 

“It offers a pathway for 

releasing the mental and emotional 

barriers that hold you 

back from reaching your full 

potential. 

Skye said hypnotherapy 

could be tailored to address an 

individual’s specific needs and 

goals. 

“As a skilled hypnotherapist, 

I customise patient sessions 

so that they target any unique 

challenges and facilitate the 

desired transformation. 

“You’ll be able to tap into 

your inner resources, overcome 

self-imposed limitations, and 

awaken a newfound sense of 

empowerment.” – Nigel Wall 

*More info and a complete 

list of services at northernbeacheshypnosisclinic.com.au 

or call 0402 006 985. 





The right kind of Guy 


Narrabeen venue The Mind 

Cafe goes from mental 

strength to strength, now 

winning awards for its diversity 

and inclusion – and owner Guy 

has big dreams for the future. 

“Pittwater Life made it all 

possible,” says Guy, as enthusiastically 

as ever. “That article at 

the start of the year really took 

things to a new level. 

“After people read your piece, 

they started coming up to me 

to chat and telling me what was 

going on in their lives. 

“And then MoWaNa approached 

us about using the 

cafe.” 

MoWaNa (short for Mona Vale, 

Warriewood and Narrabeen) is 

a group providing a Safe Space 

at the Mind Cafe from 5-9pm on 

Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 

Since starting in March this year, 

trained volunteers have provided 

a safe haven for anyone in 

distress, or even experiencing 

suicidal thoughts. 

Once the cafe closes at 5pm 

on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, 

the MoWaNa group occupy a 

corner of the cafe where you 

can chat, draw, play games or 

just have company. Each of the 

volunteers have lived through 

their own experiences and offer 

plenty of empathy. 

“They provide an amazing 

service,” says Guy. “And they 

have helped lots of people. Mel 

and her team do an amazing 

job.” 

Although perhaps the 

centrepiece of The Mind Cafe’s 

achievements, MoWaNa is by 

no means the only service the 

cafe provides to the community. 

Another is their ‘Coffees With 

Kindness’ initiative. 

“We have a lady Aileen that 

comes in every Wednesday 

morning and is here for anyone 

who needs to chat. She’s a 

volunteer and people will have a 

coffee with her if they’re feeling 

lonely,” explains Guy. 

“I’d really like that to become 

a daily thing 

though and 

have a Coffee 

With Kindness 

morning 

every day 

of the week. 

How good 

would that be?” 

Beams Guy 

with his trademark 

smile. 

“We also have 

Belong Club 

on a Tuesday, 

where a group 

turn up to have 

coffee and hang out together. 

And we have CM Care, a disability 

services organisation, and 

Sunnyfield Disability Services 

bring people in on a Monday 

and Tuesday. 

Not surprisingly, The Mind 

Cafe was nominated in the 

Northern Beaches Local Business 

Awards for the Inclusion 

Award. On the day Guy chats to 

Pittwater Life he is looking forward 

to the team attending the 

awards dinner that night – and 

INCLUSION AWARD: Guy and the team celebrate; it all 

comes down to their motto: ‘Be Kind’. 

quite rightly and 

proudly they take 

home the trophy. 

In terms of 

pride, Guy is 

quite open 

about how he 

is dealing with 

his own struggles and 

keeping his addictive personality 

traits at bay. 

“My partner Anna is proud of 

me,” says Guy. “She’s my biggest 

fan and knows how hard 

I’m trying to keep my demons 

at bay.” 

Guy reveals that the two of 

them are now studying to be 

councillors alongside running 

the cafe, but that his dreams for 

a better society don’t end there. 

“I’d love to start a network of 

Mind Cafes nationwide,” reveals 

Guy. “A Be Kind Network. 

“We’d set criteria that the cafe 

has to meet, such as partnering 

with a mental health organisation 

in the area, and then starting 

a safe space area in the cafe. 

“Then we’d supply Be Kind t- 

shirts and they’d be on a searchable 

database of Kind Cafes. 

Wherever you lived, you could 

search for somewhere to have a 

coffee with kindness.” 

It’s actually a brilliant idea and 

next time Pittwater Life catches 

up with Guy, we hope it’s up 

and running. Whatever Guy does 

next, there is no doubting what 

motivates him. 

“It’s never been about the 

money for me,” says Guy. “I just 

want to enjoy what I do and help 

make people happy.” 

– Rob Pegley 



with Dr John Kippen 

Info on anti-wrinkle injections 

I 

am often asked about 

the effectiveness of antiwrinkle 

injections to obtain 

smoother looking skin. The 

following are some answers to 

common questions: 

What are they used for? 

Anti-wrinkle injections are a 

quick, non-surgical option for 

smoothing out the lines of 

the upper face area that are 

created when you contract a 

muscle. Tiny injections into 

the muscles underneath ease 

them into a state of relaxation. 

This effectively softens the 

appearance of lines and 

creates smoother looking skin. 

What areas can I treat? 

Anti-wrinkle injections are 

most commonly used for 

treatment of crow’s feet, 

frown lines, and forehead 

lines, but can also be used to 

lift the eyebrows, elevate the 

corners of the mouth, reduce 

‘gummy’ smiles and soften 

obvious tendons in the neck. 

They can also reduce muscle 

bulk at the corner of the jaw 

to refine and slim jaw lines, 

help teeth grinding (bruxism) 

and are the gold standard for 

treating excessive underarm 

sweating (hyperhidrosis). 

How long does the treatment 

take? 

The procedure is performed 

between 10-20 minutes. 

How long will the effect of 

the injections last? 

Anti-wrinkle injections usually 

show initial effects after a couple 

of days with full impact visible 

between 7 and 14 days. Effects 

last between three to four 

months and gradually wear off 

over time. (If you have regular 

anti-wrinkle injections the 

effects may last a little longer.) 

Will I look ‘frozen’? 

A large dosage of anti-wrinkle 

injection is required to make a 

person look “frozen”. A skilled 

injector knows how to produce 

a natural look. It is always best 

to discuss your expectations 

with your injector prior to your 

treatment. 

Is it painful? 

The treatment uses a small 

number of very fine needles 

that do not go deep into the 

skin, so the feeling is more of 

a small sting and is generally 

well tolerated. 

Who can’t have anti-wrinkle 

injections? 

If you are pregnant, or are 

planning conception within 

a few months, or are breastfeeding, 

you cannot have 

anti-wrinkle injections. There 

are also some muscle and 

nerve disorders which are 

contraindicated. 

Our columnist 

Dr John Kippen is a qualified, 

fully certified consultant 

specialist in Cosmetic, Plastic 

and Reconstructive surgery. 

Australian trained, he 

also has additional 

Australian and International 

Fellowships. He welcomes 

enquiries; email 

doctor@johnkippen.com.au 





with Rowena Beckenham 


Goodbye to ‘dry eye’ 

Have you been experiencing 

scratchy, sore, 

itchy, blurry, inflamed, 

or watery eyes? There has 

been a recent surge of dry eye 

disease in Australia. According 

to Optometry Australia, more 

than 85% of Aussies have experienced 

dry eye symptoms 

at some stage in their lives. 

While symptoms can occur 

at any time, they tend to be 

exacerbated during Winter, 

when cold dehumidified air, indoor 

heating units, and smoke 

(from woodfired burners) 

worsens presentations. 

In healthy eyes, the tear film 

coats the surface of the eye 

and provides lubrication and 

protection from the environment. 

In patients with dry eye 

disease, the tear film becomes 

unstable and breaks down 

rapidly, causing a range of 

symptoms including but not 

limited to discomfort, watering 

eyes, increased blinking, 

and visual disturbances. 

The risk of dry eye disease 

increases with age and is 

higher in females than males. 

Environment and lifestyle can 

also play a part with computer 

use, pollution, low humidity, 

and poor diet also increasing 

the risk. Contact lens wearers 

and people who’ve had laser 

eye surgery (eg LASIK) are also 

at greater risk of dry eye. 

Some general health conditions 

and medications also 

worsen dry eye disease. If 

you’ve been diagnosed with 

diabetes, rosacea, thyroid 

disease, or connective tissue 

disease you’re at higher risk. 

Additionally, medications including 

hormone replacement 

therapy (HRT), antihistamines, 

antidepressants, anti-anxiety 

medications, isotretinoin 

(Roaccutane) and diuretics can 

have side effects which include 

worsened dry eye. 

Each of these risk factors 

either reduce the production 

of the tear film components 

or increase the rate of evapo- 

ration of the tear film. This 

subsequently concentrates 

the salts within the tear film, 

irritating the eye and creates a 

vicious cycle of inflammation 

where the tear film constantly 

breaks down. Which is why we 

experience dry and uncomfortable 

eyes. 

There are three main targets 

for the management of dry 

eye disease: increasing the 

production of tear film components; 

supplementing the tear 

film with artificial tears (eye 

drops); and reducing inflammation. 

Using over-the-counter eye 

drops can help in short-term 

symptom management of dry 

eyes but doesn’t provide any 

long-term relief, because they 

fail to rectify the underlying 

cause of the issue. To find 

out more about management 

options, book an appointment 

with your optometrist. 

Comment supplied by 

Rowena Beckenham, of 

Beckenham Optometrist 

in Avalon (9918 0616). 

Rowena has been 

involved in all facets 

of independent private 

practice optometry in 

Avalon for more than 

20 years, in addition to 

working as a consultant to 

the optometric and 

pharmaceutical industry, 

and regularly volunteering 

in Aboriginal eyecare 

programs in regional NSW. 



Hair & Beauty 

with Sue Carroll 

Filling the gap between 

injectables and aesthetics 

Topical aesthetic 

treatments such as 

microdermabrasion, laser 

treatments, skin needling and 

chemical peels work beautifully 

with injectable treatments 

such as mesotherapy, fillers 

and neurotoxins. When the 

two arenas of aesthetics join 

forces, they complement each 

other and provide a healthy, 

natural result, assisting you to 

be the best version of you, not 

a different version of you. 

If you have a lot of photoaging 

– also known as sun 

damage – and volume loss 

and wrinkles from muscle 

movement, the perfect synergy 

of treatments will treat colour, 

texture, tone and volume. It is 

usually better to perform colour 

correction first with either 

peels, laser, IPL or diathermy, 

and more often than not a 

combination of these treatment 

modalities. 

When injectables are used 

by a qualified and skilled 

professional, fillers and 

neuromodulators such as Botox 

are a natural and safe way to 

help men and women achieve 

a more relaxed and youthful 

appearance. Trying to turn 

back the clock can also make a 

person look significantly older 

when performed incorrectly. 

Fillers can be divided into 

two main groups: hyaluronic 

and non-hyaluronic acid types. 

The most popular are the 

hyaluronic acid fillers, where 

they work much like a sponge, 

binding with large amounts 

of water and plumping up 

the space into which they are 

injected. As science has refined 

over time, there are fillers that 

are thicker or thinner. This then 

determines where they are used 

in certain areas of the face, 

neck, chest or hands where 

there is more volume loss. 

Non-hyaluronic fillers, in part, 

work by stimulating collagen 

in the area into which they are 

injected. 

The most common areas for 


fillers to be used are: 

Nasojugal folds – the area in 

our cheeks right under the eye; 

Marionette lines – the lines 

running from the corners of our 

mouth down to our chin; 

Nasolabial folds – the lines 

running from the outside of the 

nostrils to the corners of our 

mouth; and 

Lip Line and Body – this will 

assist to add volume and 

definition. 

To maintain balance and 

symmetry, overfilling the face 

should be avoided. Often when 

the face is overfilled, filled 

without an artistic eye or the 

incorrect filler is used, the 

result is exactly the opposite 

of enhancing a youthful 

appearance. Thankfully, filler 

can be dissolved, and a longterm 

crisis does not need to be 

lived with. 

Neurotoxins, such as Botox 

and Dysport, are used to 

treat lines and wrinkles that 

have been caused by deep 

underlying muscle movement. 

These injectables are temporary 

and may last anywhere from 

4 -12 weeks. The three most 

common areas for treatment 

with neurotoxins are: 

1. Crow’s feet around the eye 

area; 

2. The horizontal lines on the 

forehead; 

3. The glabellar which is the 

area between the eyebrows; 

Other popular areas to be 

treated are smoker’s lines 

around the lips, excessive 

sweating in the underarms, 

hands and feet, migraines and 

headaches, and jaw and teeth 

grinding and clenching. 

The frozen look can be the 

result of neurotoxins being 

overused. Too little brow 

and forehead mobility can 

make a face look severe and 

certain facial features appear 

exaggerated. It is always best 

to start off with less, you can 

always add more. Neurotoxins 

cannot be dissolved like fillers, 

they have to wear off. 

Using skin boosters with 

mesotherapy is an amazing 

treatment assisting with 

rejuvenating the skin from the 

inside out. Unlike injecting 

with fillers, mesotherapy with 

various cocktails of boosters 

for the skin does not add 

volume or structure to the 

face but instead skin vitality 

and turgidity. Crepey, dull 

and dehydrated skin benefits 

greatly from mesotherapy 

treatments. 

The ‘Zoom Boom’ era has 

increased demand for noninvasive 

treatments and 

‘tweakments’ combining 

aesthetic and injectable 

solutions to achieve skin 

rejuvenation and results. 

Sue Carroll is at the forefront 

of the beauty, wellness 

and para-medical profession 

with 35 years’ experience on 

Sydney’s Northern Beaches. 

She leads a dedicated team 

of professionals who are 

passionate about results for 

men and women. 

info@skininspiration.com.au 

www.skininspiration.com.au 


Hair & Beauty

Business Life: Money 

with Brian Hrnjak 

Business Life 

Reporting shows last year 

was ‘Super’ for returns... 

This month as yearend 

statements for 

superannuation accounts 

are on their way to members, 

we look at highlighted returns 

from the past year and what 

has been working and what 

has not. 

For much of July our 

financial press has been 

focussed on recently published 

performance data to 30 

June ranking the 12-month 

performance of public-offer 

superannuation funds. It 

would be safe to say that 

these ratings are not an exact 

science. One man’s growth 

fund can be another man’s 

balanced fund; it can be 

unclear if unlisted assets held 

by some funds have been 

independently and accurately 

valued and are the returns 

they quote gross or net of 

fees? All good questions. To 

add to the complexity, the 

Australian Financial Review in 

its coverage on July 19 noted 

that two of the main players 

in the ranking game – Chant 

West and SuperRatings – 

measure different underlying 

fund types (growth versus 

balanced). Ranking funds by 

their 12-month performance 

stats is as much of a blunt 

instrument as interest rates 

are to curbing inflation; in 

other words there’s often more 

to the story. But given the 

complexities of the exercise 

and the public’s hunger for a 

simple scoreboard, this is what 

we get. 

In the AFR on 19 July, 

Hannah Wooten reported that 

Chant West awarded their 

12-month performance gong 

to Mine Super: “Tiny industry 

super fund Mine Super, which 

serves coal miners and other 

high-risk occupations, delivered 

the best returns at 12 per 

cent for the financial year in 

its growth option, Chant West 

found.” Which, as she observed 

elsewhere in the article, was 

a damn sight better than 

the previous financial year’s 

median loss of 3.3 per cent per 

annum for the sector. 

A few days earlier on 17 

July, Hannah reported that 

SuperRatings gave their 

first place position to ESSS 

Accum – Basic Growth fund: 

“Little-known ESSSuper, the 

fund for emergency services 

and Victorian government 

employees, has been ranked as 

the top-performing balanced 

superannuation fund for the 

year ending June 2023… 

ESSSuper head of investments 

Daniel Selioutine said the $34 

billion fund’s exposure to 

equities and bonds was a key 

source of its stellar returns.” 

That return was 13.3 per cent 

to 30 June 2023. 

In the same article, it was 

noted that the top performing 

socially responsible fund was 

the Raiz Emerald (SRI) Fund at 

13.3 per cent: “Looking at the 

growing field of sustainable 

funds, upstart Raiz Super’s 

‘emerald’ socially responsible 

fund was the top-performing 

balanced option for the 

financial year with returns of 

13.3 per cent, according to 

SuperRatings.” Anyone that 

reads this column regularly 

knows that our firm had a 

hand in establishing Raiz in 

Australia and maintains an 

ownership interest. I don’t 

quite know why the journalist 

would refer to the Raiz fund 

as an ‘upstart’ given it’s 

been around for five years 

and 5 per cent of Australians 

have downloaded the app to 

their phones; indeed I think 

there might be more Raizers 

than Victorian Government 

employees. However, to round 

off this plug, the Raiz Sapphire 

Fund which is more growthoriented 

returned 14.06 per 

cent compared to the Mine 

Super fund 12 per cent but the 

Sapphire Fund does include a 5 

per cent allocation to Bitcoin. 

Both articles talked about 

the reliance by large funds 

on unlisted assets in their 

portfolio holdings. This has 

become a point of difference 

between large and small 

superannuation funds and a 

growing point of concern to 

members and regulators like 

APRA who are now asking 



funds for quarterly valuations 

of unlisted assets. Firstlinks / 

Morningstar produced a table 

showing the 31 December 

2022 unlisted holdings as 

a percentage of total assets 

for: Australian Retirement 

Trust balanced – 34 per cent, 

Australian Super balanced 

– 31 per cent, Aware Super 

balanced growth – 26 per 

cent, CBUS Growth – 28 per 

cent. These funds are now so 

big that to maintain a point of 

difference they feel the need 

to take large illiquid stakes in 

property, shares, infrastructure 

and alternative investments. At 

almost a third of their total 

assets and with an ageing 

population, these funds are 

too big to fail and are playing 

with fire, or more correctly, 

adequate liquidity, which in 

any downturn is always in 

short supply – we saw this 

firsthand during the pandemic. 

The points above regarding 

asset allocation are a critical 

driver of how a fund may 

perform. What you get out of 

your superannuation fund is 

driven by three things – the 

returns from the underlying 

assets, the fund’s operating 

expenses and the management 

of taxation through asset 

choice. The fund with the 

highest return, the lowest fees 

and the most optimal taxation 

outcome is the benchmark 

but not all funds will achieve 

a good outcome through a 

blended approach, they can 

get lucky every so often by 

just having a higher allocation 

to one particular asset class 

that shoots the lights out 

in that year. International 

shares would have been the 

pick of the bunch last year – 

Chant West in the AFR said 

that global shares returned 

18.3 per cent to 30 June 

2023. Similarly, an obsession 

with reducing fees is fine 

but if your fund manager is 

hopeless, that doesn’t work 

either. 

Duncan Byrnes who also 

published an article in the 

AFR on 19 July compared 

the performance of passive 

index funds versus active 

managers via the S&P Indices 

versus active scorecard or 

SPIVA. Now before we go 

on, readers should know 

that Duncan is employed by 

Vanguard Asia Pacific, an 

index fund distributor, so he is 


as conflicted as I am with Raiz. 

His article draws attention 

to the fact that almost 60 

per cent of actively managed 

Australian equity funds 

underperformed the index in 

2022. 

More concerningly, 

over 5-, 10- and 15-year 

periods the percentage of 

actively managed funds 

that underperform the 

index is 81.2 per cent, 

78.2 per cent and 83.6 per 

cent, respectively. That’s a 

frightening statistic; what 

it means is that if you are 

pursuing an active approach 

to share market investing, 

you have around a 4-out-of-5 

chance of underperforming 

the market index and you will 

be paying a fund manager 

for the privilege. Just look at 

the recent history of Magellan 

Funds management to see how 

quickly and completely the 

tide can turn against an active 

manager. 

It’s not just underperforming 

fund managers that can rob 

your fund of performance. 

A problem we see from time 

to time in practice when new 

advice clients come on board 

is that some financial planners, 

like some doctors who come 

under pressure from patients 

to ‘do something’, will overdiversify 

(yes, you can overdiversify) 

and construct a 

portfolio with so many funds 

that the equity portion of the 

portfolio is going to behave, 

well, like the index. If 4 out of 

5 of these manager choices 

are going to underperform 

over the long term, then you’re 

likely to be overpaying for 

underperformance and you 

would be better off indexing 

the whole or the core part of 

your holdings in the first place. 

Brian Hrnjak B Bus CPA (FPS) is 

a Director of GHR Accounting 

Group Pty Ltd, Certified Practising 

Accountants. Office: Suite 12, 

Ground Floor, 20 Bungan Street 

Mona Vale NSW. 

Phone: 02 9979-4300. 

Web: ghr.com.au and altre.com.au 

Email: brian@ghr.com.au 

These comments are general 

advice only and are not intended as 

a substitute for professional advice. 

This article is not an offer or 

recommendation of any securities 

or other financial products offered 

by any company or person. 


Business Life

Business Life: Law 

with Jennifer Harris 


Capacity: How to determine 

whether clients ‘understand’ 

In 2017 we wrote: “It has 

been noticeable that mental 

health has become a subject 

much analysed and debated. It 

has emerged as a subject from 

obscurity to frank discussion. 

It is quite common for mental 

capacity to be raised as an 

issue when consideration is 

being given a person’s motives 

in pursuing a course of action. 

Conduct so analysed 

frequently turns on a 

consideration of an individual’s 

capacity. There are three 

different types: legal, capacity, 

mental capacity and physical 

capacity. The question of 

capacity is often of concern to 

lawyers in their practice.” 

Since that time there have 

been a series of actions 

in NSW and Queensland 

where the consequences of 

diminishing capacity on the 

estate plan has been judicially 

considered. These cases have 

included an examination of 

the differences between legal 

capacity and testamentary 

capacity; the obligations of 

an adviser to investigate their 

client’s capacity; and the role 

of medical and other experts. 

There is a basic common 

law presumption that every 

adult person has mental 

capacity to make their own 

decisions. However, in some 

cases solicitors may have 

doubts as to whether their 

client has the required legal 

level of mental capacity. 

There can be many reasons 

for doubt – the client may 

have an intellectual disability, 

an acquired brain injury or 

a mental illness. And as the 

number of older people in 

the community increases, so 

does the likelihood that an 

older person may have an 

age-related cognitive disability 

such as Alzheimer’s disease, 

which impairs their mental 

capacity to make decisions. 

So what is capacity? 

Generally people who have 

capacity are able to make 

decisions about things that 

affect their daily lives such 

as: Where to live; what to buy; 

what support or services they 

need; and when to go to the 

doctor. 

And insofar as issues that 

have legal consequences: 

Making a Will; making a 

Power of Attorney; making an 

Enduring Guardian; getting 

married; entering into a 

contract; and consenting to 

have medical treatment. 

When a person has 

capacity they can manage 

and decide what is best for 

themselves and they are 

able to understand the facts 

involved, understand the 

main choices and can weigh 

up the consequences of the 

choices and understand how 

the consequences affect 

them and have the ability to 

communicate their decisions. 

Solicitors are not expected 

to be experts in mental 

capacity assessments of their 

clients. However, they can 

be involved in carrying out 

a ‘legal’ assessment of their 

client’s mental capacity which 

involves: 

n Making a preliminary 

assessment of mental capacity 

by looking for warning signs 

(‘triggers’ or ‘red flags’) by 

questioning and observation; 

n If in doubt seeking a 

clinical consultation or formal 

evaluation of the client’s 

mental capacity by a clinician 

with expertise in cognitive 

capacity assessment; or 

n Making a final legal 

judgment about mental 

capacity for the particular 

decision or transaction. 

From time to time 

professional assessors such 

as psychogeriatricians, 

psychiatrists and 

psychologists refer patients to 

solicitors with a request that 

the solicitor assist the patient 

to ensure their affairs such 

as a Will, Power of Attorney 

and Guardianship are in order 

and in place as the patient 

is suffering ‘onset dementia’ 

and at that stage they can still 

make decisions concerning 

testamentary matters but 

that in due course they will be 

unable to do so. 

There are several key 

principles when considering a 

client’s mental capacity: 

n Always assume a person has 

mental capacity. 

n Mental capacity, as noted 

above is decision-specific. 

n Mental capacity is fluid 

and can fluctuate over time 

and in different situations. 

Even where a person lacked 

the ability to make a specific 

decision in the past, they 

may recover to be able to 

make the decision later. Other 

factors such as stress, grief, 

depression, reversible medical 

conditions or hearing or visual 

impairments may also affect 

a person’s decision-making 

mental capacity. 

n Don’t assume a person 

lacks capacity based on 

appearances, eg their age, 

disability or behaviour. 

Mental capacity should not be 

assessed solely on the basis 

of the way a person looks; the 

way a person presents; the 

way a person communicates; 

a person’s impairment; or the 

way a person acts or behaves. 

n Assess the person’s 

decision-making ability – not 

the decision they make. The 

client may make a decision 

which is considered unwise 

or reckless but that does 

not mean they lack mental 



capacity. Many people 

take chances or make ‘bad 

decisions’ The question is 

does the client understand 

the nature and effect of 

the document – such as a 

Will, Power of Attorney or 

Guardianship at the time it is 

made. 

n Respect a person’s privacy 

that is a client must consent 

to their personal information 

being provided to others. 

n Substitute decision-making 

is a last resort. This may arise 

when everything possible 

has been done to support 

the client to make a decision. 

It may be that one will use 

non-verbal communication, 

visual aids photographs, 

symbols, drawings, or other 

alternative formats. It may 

become necessary to obtain 

a communication assessment 

from a speech therapist or 

other professional. 

Raising the issue with a 

client is a sensitive subject 

and the suggestion that they 

may be suffering a loss of 

capacity may be frightening 

and stigmatising to most 

people, and many clients can 

be offended and defensive 

when the issue is raised. 

However, a formal assessment 

is often considered an 

‘insurance policy’ for the 

client and can be viewed 

as protecting them against 

possible future challenges to 

the validity of the documents 

being executed or the 

transaction involved. In taking 

this course the client can work 

with the solicitor and any 

medical professional to whom 

they are referred to achieve 

recognition or otherwise of 

their testamentary capacity. 

n Clarification: Last month 

in our article on Insurance 

and the estimation of Risk 

we referred to the concept of 

Act of God. We wrote that “an 

insurer usually specifically 

excludes such occurrences 

from the risk that it carries”. 

We note that it is less 

common these days for most 

insurance policies to contain 

an exclusion for Acts of God; 

instead the policy will set out 

what is insured and what the 

main exclusions are. If loss 

occurs from an event covered, 

then the insurance will pay 

out, in accordance with the 

policy terms and conditions. 

This is why having obtained a 

policy of insurance you should 

check very carefully what is 

covered and what is excluded. 

Comment supplied by 

Jennifer Harris, of Jennifer 

Harris & Associates, 

Solicitors, 4/57 Avalon 

Parade, Avalon Beach. 

T: 9973 2011. F: 9918 3290. 

E: jennifer@jenniferharris.com.au 

W: www.jenniferharris.com.au 




Trades & Services 


AIR CONDITIONING 

Alliance Climate Control 

Call 02 9186 4179 

Air Conditioning & Electrical Professionals. 

Specialists in Air Conditioning Installation, 

Service, Repair & Replacement. 

BATHROOMS 

Northern Beaches Bathrooms 

Call 0475 147 375 

Specialists at complete bathroom 

renovations, mains and ensuites. Prompt, 

reliable. High-quality work. Free quotes. 

BATTERIES 

Battery Business 

Call 9970 6999 

Batteries for all applications. Won’t be beaten 

on price or service. Free testing, 7 days. 

BUILDING 

Acecase Pty Ltd 

Call Dan 0419 160 883 

Professional building and carpentry services, 

renovations, decks, pergolas. Fully licensed 

& insured. Local business operating for 25 

years. Lic No. 362901C 

CARPENTRY 

Able Carpentry & Joinery 

Call Cameron 0418 608 398 

Doors & locks, timber gates & handrails, decking 

repairs and timber replacement. Also privacy 

screens. 25 years’ experience. Lic: 7031C. 

Pepper Carpentry 

Call Shane 0406 403 032 

Honest, professional, hard-working; servicing the 

Northern Beaches and surrounding areas. All Carpentry 

and maintenance; decks, pergola, doors, timber floors, 

extensions. carports, stairs, fences, flat packs, joinery. 

Lic No 245509C 

CARS WANTED 

AAA Absolutely Unwanted 

Call Mike 0414 423 200 

All cars, vans, utes and trucks removed free; 

cash up to $30,000. Same-day removal all 

suburbs. 

CLEANING 

Amazing Clean 

Call Andrew 0412 475 2871 

Specialists in blinds, curtains and awnings. 

Clean, repair, supply new. 

All NB Pressure Clean 

Call 0416 215 095 

Driveways, paths, garden walls, awnings, 

house wash. 

CONCRETING 

Adrians Concrete 

Call Adrian 0404 172 435 

Driveways, paths, slabs… all your concreting 

needs; Northern Beaches-based. 

Northern Beaches Concreting 

Call Tony 0417 640 546 

Specialising in driveways; quality work, 

council compliant. FREE quotes. Servicing 

the beaches for 14+ years. 

ELECTRICAL 

Alliance Service Group 

Call Adrian 9063 4658 

All services & repairs, 24hr. Lighting 

installation, switchboard upgrade. Seniors 

discount 5%. 

Eamon Dowling Electrical 

Call Eamon 0410 457 373 

For all electrical needs including phone, TV 

and data. Pittwater-based. Reliable; quality 

service guaranteed. 

Warrick Leggo 

Call Warrick 0403 981 941 

Specialising in domestic work; small jobs 

welcome. Seniors’ discount; Narrabeenbased. 

FENCING 

Add-A-Fence 

Call Adam 0410 332 197 

Supply and install for pool, garden, all timber 

and tubular fencing. Plus gates, handrails, 

security and more. Repairs / small & big jobs. 

Lic 3391C. 



FLOOR COVERINGS 

Blue Tongue Carpets 

Call Stephan or Roslyn 9979 7292 

Northern Beaches Flooring Centre has 

been family owned & run for over 20 years. 

Carpets, Tiles, Timber, Laminates, Hybrids & 

Vinyls. Open 6 days. 

GARDENS 

!Abloom Ace Gardening 

Call 0415 817 880 

Full range of gardening services including 

landscaping, maintenance and rubbish 

removal. 

Conscious Gardener Avalon 

Call Matt 0411 750 791 

Professional local team offering quality 

garden maintenance, horticultural advice; 

also garden makeovers. 

Melaleuca Landscapes 

Call Sandy 0416 276 066 

Professional design and construction 

for every garden situation. Sustainable 

vegetable gardens and waterfront 

specialist. 

Precision Tree Services 

Call Adam 0410 736 105 

Adam Bridger; professional tree care by 

qualified arborists and tree surgeons. 

GUTTERS & ROOFING 

Cloud9 R&G 

Call Tommy 0447 999 929 

Prompt and reliable service; gutter cleaning 

and installation, leak detection, roof 

installation and painting. Also roof repairs 

specialist. 


Advertise 

your Business 

in Trades & 

Services 

section 

Ph: 0438 123 096 





Ken Wilson Roofing 

Call 0419 466 783 

Leaking roofs, tile repairs, tiles replaced, 

metal roof repairs, gutter cleaning, valley 

irons replaced. 

HANDYMEN 

Local Handyman 

Call Jono 0413 313299 

Small and medium-sized building jobs, also 

welding & metalwork; licensed. 

JEWELLER 

Gold ‘n’ Things 

Call 9999 4991 

Specialists in remodelling. On-premises 

(Mona Vale) workshop for cleaning, repairing 

(including laser welding), polishing. Family 

owned for nearly 40 years. 

HOT WATER 

Hot Water Maintenance NB 

Call 9982 1265 

Local emergency specialists, 7 days. Sales, 

service, installation. Warranty agents, fully 

accredited. 

KITCHENS 

Collaroy Kitchen Centre 

Call 9972 9300 

Danish design excellence. Local beaches 

specialists in kitchens, bathrooms and joinery. 

Visit the showroom in Collaroy. 

Seabreeze Kitchens 

Call 9938 5477 

Specialists in all kitchen needs; design, fitting, 

consultation. Excellent trades. 

MASSAGE & FITNESS 

Avalon Physiotherapy 

Call 9918 3373 

Provide specialist treatment for neck & back 

pain, sports injuries, orthopaedic problems. 

Studio Pilates Avalon 

Call 0478 827 080 

No memberships, no lock-in contracts. Get 

started with 6 classes for $60 (new clients only). 

PAINTING 

Cloud9 Painting 

Call 0447 999 929 

Your one-stop shop for home or office 

painting; interiors, exteriors and also roof 

painting. Call for a quote. 

Tom Wood Master Painters 

Call 0406 824 189 

Residential specialists in new work & repaints 

/ interior & exterior. Premium paints; 17 years’ 

experience. 



PEST CONTROL 

Predator Pest Control 

Call 0417 276 962 

predatorpestcontrol.com.au 

Environmental services at their best. 

Comprehensive control. Eliminate all manner 

of pests. 

PLUMBING 

Total Pipe Relining 

Call Josh 0423 600 455 

Repair pipe problems without replacement. 

Drain systems fully relined; 50 years’ 

guaranty. Latest technology, best price. 

RUBBISH REMOVAL 

Jack’s Rubbish Removals 

Call Jack 0403 385 312 

Up to 45% cheaper than skips. Latest health 

regulations. Old-fashioned honesty & 

reliability. Free quotes. 

One 2 Dump 

Call Josh 0450 712 779 

Seven-days-a-week pick-up service includes 

general household rubbish, construction, 

commercial plus vegetation. Also car 

removals. 

SLIDING DOOR REPAIRS 

Beautiful Sliding Door Repairs 

Call 0407 546 738 

Fix anything that slides in your home; door 

specialists – wooden / aluminium. Free 

quote. Same-day repair; 5-year warranty. 

UPHOLSTERY 

Luxafoam North 

Call 0414 468 434 

Local specialists in all aspects of outdoor 

& indoor seating. Custom service, expert 

advice. 

DISCLAIMER: The editorial and advertising 

content in Pittwater Life has been provided by a 

number of sources. Any opinions expressed are 

not necessarily those of the Editor or Publisher 

of Pittwater Life and no responsibility is taken 

for the accuracy of the information contained 

within. Readers should make their own enquiries 

directly to any organisations or businesses prior 

to making any plans or taking any action. 




Food Life 

with Janelle Bloom 


Recipes: janellebloom.com.au; Insta: instagram.com/janellegbloom/ 

Potato, potato, potato! Strike 

‘gold’ in many delicious ways 

In the “good old days” (as my mum would 

say) there were only two types of potatoes 

–‘Dirty’ for chips and roasting; and ‘Washed’ 

for mash and jacket-baked. Fast forward and 

at my last count we have at least 35 different 

varieties on display at our supermarkets and 

greengrocers. Depending on where you shop 

Spud checklist 

On the Boil: Red Rascal/Red 

Delight, Desiree, Pontiac, 

Nicola/Coliban, Kipfler, Carisma 

(low GI). 

Perfect Chips: Russet Burbank, 

Sebago/Golden Delight/Eureka, 

Dutch cream, Red Rascal/Red 

Delight, Bintje. 

Good for Mash: Dutch Cream, 

Desiree, Nicola/Coliban, Bison, 

Eureka, Red Rascal, Carisma 

(low GI). 

Roasting: Sebago, Russet 

Burbank, Red Rascal/Red 

Delight, Eureka, Desiree. 

Good for Salads: Kipfler, 

Nicola/Coliban, Dutch Cream, 

Carisma (low GI). 

Jacket-Baked: Sebago/Golden 

Delight, Pontiac, Red Rascal. 

Smashed: Carisma (small pink 

skin), or washed Chat potato. 

Potato bake: Scalloped Desiree, 

Golden Delight/Sebago. 

Alternate names: Red Washed 

– Red Rascal, Red Delight; 

Washed – Coliban, Chats, 

Nicola; Brushed – Sebago, 

Golden Delight, Eureka. 

Twice-cooked 

chips with aioli 

Serves 4 

800g Russet Burbank, Sebago 

or Dutch Cream potatoes, 

peeled 

Vegetable or extra light olive 

oil, for deep-frying 

Lime Aioli 

3/4 cup whole-egg mayonnaise 

1 lime, juiced 

½ small garlic clove, crushed 

1. For the lime aioli, combine 

mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons 

lime juice and garlic in a 

bowl, season. 

2. Cut the potatoes into 1cmthick 

chips. Use a clean tea 

towel or paper towel to 

pat the potatoes dry. Place 

half the chips onto a large 

microwave-safe plate, cover 

with damp paper towel. 

Microwave on High/100% 

for 3 minutes (potatoes 

should be firm, hot and 

almost tender). Repeat with 

remaining chips. Place in the 

fridge until cool (around 1 

hour). 

3. Pour vegetable oil into a 

large saucepan, wok or deep 

fryer until it is just under 

half-full. Heat over mediumhigh 

heat to (130°C) until a 

small piece of potato skin 

sizzles when dropped in oil. 

Place a wire rack over a large 

oven tray. 

4. Add the chips carefully to the 

hot oil. Cook for 5 minutes 

and the time of year you are bound to be 

amazed by the different potato varieties. Just 

to complicate matters the supermarkets have 

‘exclusive’ varieties (virtually the same potato 

with a different name). I have put together a 

short list of varieties to help with your cooking 

task at hand. Enjoy! 

or until they just start to 

colour around the edges. Use 

a slotted spoon to remove 

to the rack to drain (see 

Janelle’s Tip). 

5. Reheat the oil to hotter 

(190°C). Add all the chips 

and cook, for 8-10 minutes 

or until crisp and golden. 

Transfer to the wire rack to 

allow to drain. Season and 

serve with aioli and tomato 

sauce. 

Janelle’s Tips: This is my most 

important tip when frying food 

– always remove food to a wire 

rack placed over a baking tray. 

If you drain fried food on paper 

towel, the underside touching 

the paper towel ‘steams’, 

softening the surface. For 

French fries: Cut the potatoes 

into ½cm thick fries. 

Air fryer potato 

wedges with 

smoky paprika salt 

Serves 4 

800g medium Coliban, Chat or 

Red Rascal potatoes, scrubbed 

olive oil cooking spray 

Smoky paprika salt 

(makes ¼ cup) 

2 tbs chopped parsley 

2 tsp smoked paprika 

½ tsp raw sugar 

¼ cup (60g) sea salt flakes 

1. For the smoky paprika salt, 

place the parsley onto a small 

baking tray lined with baking 

paper. Place into a 130°C fanforced 

oven for 10-15 minutes 

or until it feels dry. Set aside 

to cool. Place the parsley, 

paprika, sugar and half the 

salt in a small food processor. 

Pulse until well combined. 

Spoon into a bowl, stir in 

the remaining salt. Store in a 

clean, dry airtight jar for up to 

12 months. 

2. Cut the potatoes into quarters 

lengthways, trying to keep 

each wedge similar in size. 

Place in a bowl of cold water. 

Swish the water around to 

remove the excess starch. 

Drain. 

3. Place half the potatoes, in 

a single, on a microwave-safe 

plate. Cover with paper towel. 

Microwave on High/100% 

for 3 minutes until they feel 

hot. Drain any excess water 

from the plate. Sprinkle 1 

teaspoon paprika salt over 

the potatoes. Spray lightly 

with olive oil. 

4. Heat the air fryer to 200°C. 

Arrange the wedges in the 

air fryer basket (see Janelle’s 

Tips over page); cook for 

10-15 minutes, giving them 

a shake halfway, until tender 

and golden. Keep warm in 

the oven and repeat steps 3-4 

with the remaining potatoes. 

5. Sprinkle with more Smoky 

paprika salt to serve. 



For more recipes go to janellebloom.com.au 

Janelle’s Tips: Air fryers work 

best when food is in a single 

layer with space between each 

piece. No Air fryer? Follow steps 

1-3. Place all the wedges in a 

large roasting pan. Spray with 

more olive oil and roast 30-45 

mins in a 220°C oven, turning 

once, until golden and crisp. 

Smashed parmesan 

potatoes 

Serves 4 

800g small washed or red 

washed potatoes 

2 tbs olive oil 

50g parmesan, finely grated 

1 tbs thyme 

1. Place the potatoes in a 

medium saucepan. Cover 

with cold, salted water. 

Cover with a lid and bring 

to the boil over high heat. 

Reduce heat to medium. 

Partially cover saucepan 

and simmer for 10 minutes 

or until potatoes are just 

tender when tested with a 

skewer (this depends on the 

size). Drain well. Turn onto 

a tray and allow to cool for 

10 minutes (this produces 

crisper exterior). 

2. Preheat oven to 220°C fan 

forced. Place potatoes onto 

a dry non-stick oven tray (or 

lined with baking paper). Use 

a potato masher or glass to 

squash the potatoes. The 

flatter you squash them the 

crispier they will be. Drizzle 

with olive oil. Season. Roast 

for 40-50 minutes until 

golden (don’t be tempted to 

turn them over). Sprinkle over 

the parmesan and thyme. 

Return to the oven for 5 mins. 

The best roast 

potatoes 

Serves 6 

1.5kg Sebago, Russet Burbank 

or Desiree, peeled, cut into 6cm 

pieces 



forced. Place potatoes in a 

large saucepan. Cover with 

cold, salted water. Cover with 

a lid and bring to the boil 

over high heat. Reduce heat 

to medium. Partially cover 

saucepan and simmer for 10 

minutes or until potatoes are 

just tender when tested with 

a skewer. 

2. Drain the potatoes. Return 

to the hot saucepan over low 

heat and cook, gently shaking 

saucepan, for 1-2 minutes 

to remove any remaining 

moisture from the potatoes. 

3. Remove from the heat. Cover 

the saucepan and shake 

vigorously to roughen surface 

of potatoes (this will make 

the potatoes crunchy when 

roasted). 

4. Pour oil into a large roasting 

pan. Place in oven for 3 

minutes or until hot. Working 

quickly, add potatoes to hot 

oil. Turn to coat. Return pan 

to the oven. Roast for 30-35 

minutes, turning the potatoes 

every 10 minutes until crisp 

and golden. Season and 

serve. 

Jacket baked 

potatoes with bacon, 

sour cream 

and green onions 

Serves 4 

4 (about 180g-200g each) 

Sebago or Golden Delight 

potatoes, scrubbed 

olive oil cooking spray 

¼ cup grated tasty cheese, 

optional 

2 rashers rindless bacon, 

chopped 

4 tbs sour cream 

3 green onions, thinly sliced 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C fan 

forced. Wipe the potatoes dry 

with paper towel. 

2. Pierce the potatoes all over 

with a fork. Place directly 

onto the oven rack (place a 

tray on the shelf underneath 

to catch any spills). Bake for 

60 minutes or until tender 

when tested with a skewer. 

Remove from oven to a 

tray. Stand for 5 minutes. 

Meanwhile preheat the grill 

on high. 

3. Cook the bacon in a small 

frying pan until light golden. 

4. Cut a little off the top of each 

potato. Spray the tops with 

olive oil. Sprinkle with cheese 

if using. Place under the grill 

for 3-4 minutes until golden. 

Top with sour cream, bacon 

and green onions. Season 

and serve. 

Janelle’s Tip: Short on time? 

try this microwave method – 

pierce the washed potatoes 

all over with a fork. Place 

evenly around outer edge of 

microwave turntable. Cook on 






High/100% power for 6 minutes. 

Turn the potatoes over and 

cook a further 5-6 minutes on 

High/100% power or until firm 

when tested with a skewer (the 

skin should be unwrinkled and 

potatoes firm). Wrap each in foil 

and stand for 10 minutes. 

Creamy mash potato 

into Duchess 

potatoes 

Serves 4-6 

1kg Dutch Cream or Desiree 

potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed 

60g-100g butter, chopped 

200ml milk, heated until just hot 

1. Place the whole potatoes in 

a large saucepan, cover with 

cold, salted water. Cover 

and bring to boil over high 

heat. Remove lid, reduce 

heat to medium-high. Boil, 

uncovered, 30 mins or until 

the potatoes are tender when 

tested with a skewer. Use a 

slotted spoon to transfer the 

potatoes to a colander. Set 

aside for 5 minutes or until 

cool enough to handle. Use a 

small sharp knife to peel and 

discard the skins. 

2. Drain the water from the pan 

and return the potatoes to 

the dry hot saucepan. Shake 

the saucepan over low heat 

for 2 minutes to remove any 

remaining moisture from the 

potatoes. 

3. Use a potato masher to mash 

the potatoes. Add the butter 

and milk and stir with a 

wooden spoon until smooth. 

Season and serve (pic below). 

Shortcut: Replace steps 1 & 2 

above with the following if you 

are in a hurry. Peel potatoes and 

cut into large chunks. Cook 

in a large saucepan of boiling 

salted water for 20 minutes or 

until very tender but not falling 

apart. 

For Duchess potatoes: At 

end Step 3, while hot, stir in 2 

egg yolks, 60g finely grated 

parmesan (or tasty) cheese and 

¼ tsp ground nutmeg. Keep 

stirring until the mixture comes 

away from the side of the pan. 

Pipe mixture onto a greased 

baking tray. Using a whisk, 

beat 1 egg white with a little 

salt until frothy. Lightly brush 

over the potatoes (this helps 

them hold their shape). Cook 

in 220°C fan forced oven for 

15 minutes until golden. Serve 

with chive sour cream (pictured 

below centre). 

Potatoes bravas 

Serves 4-6 

If you have been to Spain, you 

will know Bravas (above) are 

so addictive, which is why my 

recipe is for a larger batch! 

1.5kg Dutch Cream, Sebago or 

Bintje potatoes, peeled, cut into 

2½ cm pieces 

750ml extra-virgin olive oil 

chopped parsley, to serve 

Aioli 

1/3 cup whole egg mayonnaise 

1 small garlic clove, finely 

crushed 

1 tsp lemon juice 

1 tsp Dijon mustard 

Bravas sauce 


1 small onion, finely grated 

2 garlic cloves, crushed 

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1 tsp sweet paprika 

¼ tsp hot paprika or cayenne 

pepper 

400g can diced tomatoes or ¾ 

cup (180ml) tomato sauce 

¼ cup chicken stock 

1 tsp sherry vinegar 

1. Place the potatoes in a bowl 

of water for 10 minutes, 

swish them around to 

remove the excess starch. 

Drain. 

2. Place the potatoes in a large 

saucepan. Cover with cold 

salted water. Cover with 

a lid and bring to the boil 

over high heat. Reduce heat 

to medium. Partially cover 

saucepan and simmer for 5 

minutes or until potatoes are 

almost tender when tested 

with a skewer. Drain, spread 

on a baking tray. Set aside 

to cool. 

3. While the potatoes are 

cooling, make the bravas 

sauce. Heat the oil in a 

saucepan over medium heat. 

Add onion and garlic, cook 

until soft. Add the spices, 

cook, stirring 1 minute until 

fragrant. Add the remaining 

ingredients, bring to the 

simmer. Simmer for 8 minutes 

until reduced slightly. 

4. Mix all the aioli ingredients 

together until well combined. 

5. Pour oil into a large 

saucepan, wok or deep fryer 

until it is just under half-full. 

Heat over medium-high heat 

to (190°C) until a small piece 

of potato skin sizzles when 

dropped in oil. Deep fry the 

potatoes in batches, until 

golden. Place into a serving 

bowl. Season. 

6. Spoon over the bravas 

sauce, drizzle with aioli and 

chopped parsley. Serve. 

Crispy fried potato 

peelings 

No-waste is top of people’s 

minds; this has to be the best 

no-waste recipe ever! 

2 cups neutral oil, such as 

canola oil, vegetable or 

grapeseed peelings from 5 

scrubbed potatoes 

1. Pat the potato peel dry 

with paper towel. Half-fill 

a heavy-based frying pan 

with oil. Heat to 180°C. Fry 

the potato peelings, about 

5 minutes, until golden and 

crisp. Season and serve with 

tomato sauce, delish with 

guacamole also. 



Pick of the Month: 

Rhubarb 

Rhubarb is related to sorrel 

and buckwheat. The stalks 

are fleshy and tart, while the 

leaves contain high levels of 

oxalic acid, which makes them 

toxic. Remove and discard 

leaves before cooking! 

Buying 

Look for rhubarb with glossy, 

crisp, bright red stalks;, the 

more intense the colour, the 

sweeter the fruit. Avoid limp 

stalks or stalks with bruising. 

Storage 

Fresh rhubarb perishes quickly 

at room temperature so it’s best 

stored, unwashed and uncut, 

in a snap-lock bag in the fridge. 

Once cooked rhubarb will keep 

4-5 days in the fridge or up to 6 

months in the freezer. 

Nutrition 

Rhubarb contains some fibre, 

calcium, vitamins C, A and 

K, magnesium, potassium, 

manganese and a little iron. 

Processor 

rhubarb, coconut 

yoghurt cake 

Serves 8 

180g butter, at room 

temperature 

1 cup caster sugar 

3 eggs 

¾ cup shredded coconut 

¾ cup (180g) Greek yoghurt 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

1½ cups self-raising flour, sifted 


4-6 stems rhubarb, washed, 

dried, cut into 5cm lengths 

1 tbs white sugar 


forced. Release the base of 

a 24cm (base) springform 

pan. Invert. Secure back into 

the pan. Grease and line the 

base and side with baking 

paper. 

2. Place the butter, sugar, eggs, 

coconut, yoghurt and vanilla 

in a food processor. Pulse 

until well combined. Add 

the flour, pulse until just 

combined. Spoon into the 

prepared pan and smooth the 

surface. 

3. Toss the rhubarb in white 

sugar then arrange on top 

of the cake. Bake for 1 hour 

or until cooked; test with 

a skewer. Serve warm or at 

room temperature. 

In Season 

August 

Apples; Bananas; Grapefruit; 

Mandarins; Kiwi fruit; 

Australian Navel, Blood and 

Cara Oranges; Tangelos; 

Pears; Quince; Winter berries 

(Strawberries, Blueberries & 

Raspberries). Also Avocados; 

Beetroot; Broccolini and 

Broccoli; Brussels sprouts; 

Cauliflower; Celery & Celeriac; 

Leeks, Fennel, Jerusalem 

Artichokes; Pumpkin; Sweet 

Potato; Spinach & Silverbeet; 

Kale and Turnips. 


Food Life

Tasty Morsels 

with Beverley Hudec 

Some Tiny Morsels to savour in August 

Bottle shop BYO on 

Bar Elvina menu 

Avalon’s Bar Elvina has teamed up 

with Le Pont, Palm Beach Wine Co, 

Chambers and Vintage Cellars for a 

Wednesday night deal. It’s free BYO if 

a bottle is bought at one of these local 

bottle shops, or it’s $10 corkage per 

bottle if the bottle comes from home. 

Winter faves include blue swimmer 

crab linguine (pictured) and yellowfin 

tuna sashimi. 

More than caffeine 

at Coffee Brothers 

Coffee Brothers drops its pin on the 

caffeine map right in Mona Vale’s 

industrial heartland. Coffee beans 

here are sourced from communities 

all over the world including Vanuatu’s 

Tanna Island. Baristas pump out daily 

house blends and single origins. Grab 

a cup with the Winter porridge or a big 

breakfast for a weekend treat. 

Tasty Dining Morsels Guide 

Spanish tapas a 

Narrabeen hit 

Hola Lola Cocina! With 

restaurants in Crows Nest, 

Parramatta and Potts Point, 

the brand brings a taste of 

regional Spanish food to 

Narrabeen. The new Winter 

menu has a selection of 

tapas and sharing plates, as 

well as hearty slow-cooked 

dishes like the Spanish-style 

lamb shoulder marinated 

in dry sherry and smoked 

paprika. 

Newport basement 

bar to lift your spirits 

Basement bar La Vida Loca has just 

turned two. Newport’s night-time 

fun starts 10 steps down! There’s a 

selection of racy-sounding cocktails, 

snacks, global-influenced mains and 

more. Turn the music up for open 

mic night on Wednesdays, live music 

on Fridays and Saturdays and there’s 

sometimes a DJ on Fridays. 

Three of a kind: Cosy fireplaces 

Cavallino embraces chilly 

winter nights with two roaring 

fires. One is in the bar area; 

the other (pictured) is in the 

restaurant adjacent to the 

pizza bar. Reserve a table and 

dine on slow-cooked beef 

cheeks in barolo or gnocchi 

ragu. An Italian twist to 

favourites like apple crumble 

and bread and butter pudding 

hit the sweet spot. 

Winter is all about comfort 

food and the glow of a 

warming fire. Barrenjoey 

House is onboard with both 

the crackle and the crackling! 

On Sundays during Winter, 

the Palm Beach venue has a 

$75 roast for two. It features 

roast porchetta, braised red 

cabbage, burnt apple sauce 

and roast potatoes with garlic 

and clove butter. 

The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht 

Club’s Edinburgh Lounge 

and Bar is another spot to 

while away Winter nights near 

a mesmerising fire. The bar 

is open Friday nights from 

5.30pm, so why not drop in? 

Grab a seat, order a drink and 

a bite to eat from the snack 

menu and enjoy the live music. 

Alternatively, Halyards Bistro 

and Bar is open daily. 



Pittwater Puzzler 

Compiled by David Stickley 

women, both serving and veterans 

(8,5) 

25 Local competitor in 22-across to 

be held this year, ____ Dickens (5) 

26 Sedimentary rock that dominates 

the Sydney basin (9) 

27 A large meal or feast, especially 

when laid out on a table (6) 

28 A formal association of people 

with similar interests (7) 

ACROSS 

1 RMYC function room that will be 

hosting the Best of Ocean Film Festival 

in August (3,4) 

5 Government authority located at 

1705-1707 Pittwater Road, Mona Vale 

(6) 

8 Large inlet that has its entrance 

between the northern Box Head and 

Barrenjoey Head (6,3) 

9 More than one can be found in 

Mona Vale Cemetery (5) 

11 The ‘D’ in AED, a lifesaving device 

now available at some bus stops 

and public spaces on the Northern 

Beaches (13) 

13 To remove forcibly and 

completely (6) 

14 One of a pair of markers 

indicating a swimming area 

patrolled by lifesavers (4,4) 

17 A place outside the studio where 

scenes may be shot for a film or TV 

show (8) 

19 A recess in a room for a bed, 

for books in a library, or for other 

similar furnishings (6) 

22 International multi-sport event 

first held in 2014, for wounded, 

injured and sick servicemen and 

DOWN 

1 The hollow of a wave as it breaks 

(4) 

2 Someone who works slowly and 

monotonously for long hours (7) 

3 In the military, a command to turn 

the head so it faces forward (4,5) 

4 Dishes that may come as “shish” or 

“doner” (6) 

5 The general appearance of the 

body with regard to size, shape, 

muscular development, etc. (8) 

6 Local barrister, Nicholas Cowdery, 

may be described as a _____ eagle 

(5) 

7 Connected to the area along the 

shore (7) 

10 Tea available at Girdlers in Avalon 

(4,4) 

12 Top speed (4,4) 

15 A performance of this might be 

seen at The Shack in Warriewood 

(4,5) 

16 Used powers of concentration (8) 

18 An act of concealing 

circumstances, especially illicitly (5-2) 

20 Describing a wind on the 

Northern Beaches, possibly (7) 

21 Representatives who act 

on behalf of other persons or 

organisations (6) 

23 A small narrow boat with pointed 

ends usually propelled by paddling 

(5) 

24 A contribution called for from 

members of an association (4) 

[Solution page 64] 

Pittwater Puzzler 



Garden Life 

with Gabrielle Bryant 


Plant Aussie natives 

for wonderful variety 

The days are getting longer and the first 

signs of Spring will soon be appearing. 

This is the time that the Australian 

bush comes alive. It is the perfect time to 

plant Aussie native trees and shrubs in the 

garden. 

Gardens 

are full of 

spectacular 

exotic, 

flamboyant 

and tropical 

plants that 

excel during 

the hot 

Summer 

months, 

leaving the 

gardens cold 

and dormant 

in Winter. 

There is no 

reason why 

you cannot 

mix and 

match! 

For ideas, go 

for a walk in 

the wildflower 

garden at St 

Ives, or visit a 

native nursery. 

There are many wonderful native plants that 

are local to our area that are loved by our 

local birds and wildlife. 

Waratahs are the floral emblem of NSW. 

They are coastal plants that grow wild in 

the bush around us. Their showy, bright, 

flame red, dome-shaped flowers that 

appear above the dark green leathery 

leaves in early Spring, are responsible for 

the name ‘waratah’, which is from the Eora 

aboriginal word ‘warada’, meaning ‘seen 

from afar’. 

Often thought to be hard to grow they 

are easy, if given the right conditions. 

Waratahs are 

a spectacular 

garden shrub 

with few 

demands. 

They 

will grow 

in filtered 

sunlight or 

morning sun, 

protected 

from wind and 

the heat of 

the afternoon. 

They need 

excellent 

drainage 

and a light 

or sandy soil 

– but don’t 

let it dry out. 

Given plenty 

of organic 

compost 

and mulch, 

making sure 

the moisture 

can drain away it will thrive. Your waratah 

will be doomed in heavy clay soil. Once 

established it will need little care. Only feed 

with an organic fertiliser for native plants, 

compost or blood and bone. 

Much work has been done by plant 

breeders and now there are many cultivars 

available in every colour from white to 

yellow, pink to scarlet or burgundy. 

The Tuckeroo 

conundrum 

Beware the tree of the 

moment! The Tuckeroo 

(cupaniopsis anacardiodes) is 

being planted everywhere. It 

may be a landscaper’s choice 

but it will be the weed of the 

decade in a few years’ time. 

Although it is a native plant 

it is not native to the Northern 

Beaches. It is a sub-tropical 

rainforest tree from Northern 

NSW. Its bright yellow seeds 

germinate easily and are 

springing up everywhere, along 

the roadside, in the bush… even 

under the Norfolk Island pines in 

Newport. 

The trees will spread, and 

their dense canopies will choke 

out the native habitat of our 

birds and wildlife. They look 

great when small, but they 

quickly grow large; sometimes 

to 8 or 10 metres tall. The tree 

loppers will soon be cutting 

them back under the power 

lines. 

They are not protected by 

Northern Beaches Council; they 

are on the list of trees that can 

be cut down without permission. 



Johanna’s ‘lucky’ Christmas story 

Johanna’s Christmas is 

a dwarf compact form 

of the Christmas bush 

that lights up every year 

as the white blossom 

turns bright red in time 

for Christmas. 

It is quick to grow but 

once it reaches its full 

height of 1.5m tall it gets 

no bigger. Trim it back 

lightly after flowering 

to keep it compact; 

it is the perfect small 

garden shrub for full 

sun or dappled shade. 

It will thrive in large 

pots on balconies or in 

courtyards. 

The amazing story 

of Johanna’s Christmas 

began in 1969 when this 

dwarf form of our NSW 

Christmas bush was 

first discovered growing 

in the sand dunes at 

Chinaman’s Beach near 

Evans Head, where with 

constant salt winds and 

sea spray it had been 

naturally dwarfed. 

A few cuttings were 

collected and grown 

at the Royal Botanic 

Gardens where they 

maintained their smallsized 

growth – lucky, 

because on the next visit 

to the site it had been 

cleared for rutile mining 

and the plants were 

gone! It has never been 

found again. 

Over time the numbers 

were increased through 

propagation and in 2001 

the plant was registered 

by Brian and Carol Roach, 

who named it after their 

daughter Johanna. 

For a while it was 

commercially grown but 

with limited success; now 

it is propagated solely 

by Brian at Westleigh 

Native Plants in Sydney. It 

can be ordered online at 

westleighnativeplants@ 

gmail.com for pick-up or 

mail order. 

Spidery Silky Grevillea 


The delicate spider flower of 

the Silky grevillea (grevillea 

sericea) can be seen in the 

local bushland – even growing 

wild on the Bilgola Bends. 

Its delicate appearance is 

deceiving. It is a very easy to 

grow, tough, hardy, droughttolerant 

plant, that is perfect 

for low-maintenance coastal 

gardens. 

In the bush or left alone 

it will grow into a mediumsized 

shrub in an open shape 

but with regular pruning soft 

grey-green leaves can be 


trimmed into a neat, small 

bush. 

The spidery flowers first 

appear in early autumn and 

continue through winter until 

late spring. The nectar-eating 

birds and bees love them. 

This shrub is often home to 

the tiny blue wrens. 

There are many cultivars 

of the silky grevillea with 

improved flower colours from 

white, cream, lilac and pink. 

They are all easy to grow in 

a well-drained position in full 

sun or part shade. 



August 

Jobs this Month 


There is a lot to do and 

it is time for some TLC 

in the garden. Although 

with occasional heavy rain 

at times, it has been a very 

cold, dry Winter. Wait until the 

weather begins to warm up 

before trimming back shrubs – 

another very cold night could 

damage the tiny new shoots. 

Water well in the morning so 

that the excess can dry before 

the cold at night. Too dry is 

better than too wet. 

Clivea care 

Collect clivea seeds that are 

ripe. Red seeds are red flowers 

and yellow will be cream 

flowers. They are easy to 

germinate, but slow. Open the 

pods and scatter the white, 

fleshy seeds into the top of a 

pot or tub, put the container 

under a shrub in the garden 

and forget it. By Christmas you 

will have seedlings ready to 

plant out. 

Summer veggies 

Get Summer veggies growing. 

Early tomato, zucchini, 

capsicum, silver beet, lettuce, 

eggplant, bean and cucumber 

seeds can all be sown now, 

ready to plant out next month 

when the weather warms up. 

It is cold at night, so plant 

into seedlings trays that can 

be kept under shelter until 

the weather warms up. For 

quick germination you can buy 

regulated heat pads that will 

keep the soil warm while the 

tiny seeds grow. If you wait 

your Summer crops will be late. 

Bulb moments 

Bulb stands are full of 

Summer-flowering bulbs. Plant 

Christmas-flowering lilies this 

month and there is still time 

to plant November-flowering 

hippeastrums. If you can’t find 

them easily, look on-line at the 

Victorian bulb suppliers, there 

are some very good specials 

available. 

Fungal watch 

Last chance before new 

Spring leaves appear to spray 

deciduous fruit trees and 

frangipani with lime sulphur 

to kill any remaining fungal 

spore from last year. Lime 

sulphur will clean up black 

spot rust and other fungal 

problems. Remember to spray 

the soil that surrounds the 

trees at the same time, spore 

lie dormant in the soil. 

Worm Farms 

Worm farms are perfect for 

unit dwellers. The worms will 

eat your vegetable kitchen 

waste, but don’t add any 

citrus peel, onion or meat 

products. The worm “wee” 

liquid that you can drain 

from the bottom is the most 

amazing liquid fertiliser that 

can be diluted to feed all your 

indoor and patio pot plants. 

Worm farms don’t take much 

space and don’t smell. 

Child’s play 

Junior gardeners love a 

project that shows great 

results. Prepare the veggie 

garden well and let them 

choose a carrot seed from the 

garden centre. Mix the seed 

with some sand. Next with a 

stick write their name in the 

soil. Sow the seed into the 

furrows and wait for the seeds 

to germinate. What better fun 

than to see your name written 

in the garden! 

Lawn care 

Either spray lawns now for 

bindii, or weed the newly 

seeded weeds by hand; they 

pull out easily and the lawn 

looks better without dead 

weeds in the grass. Don’t wait 

until the burrs are in your 

feet. Use a selective weed 

killer. If you have a buffalo 

lawn, ask for advice as some 

weed killers will also kill 

Buffalo grass. 

Other tips 

As seedlings germinate 

remember to thin them out. 

If you let them grow in an 

over-crowded situation, 

they won’t be successful… 

If roses are beginning to 

shoot a spray with a copper 

spray will give them added 

protection against the cold… 

Keep filling your compost bins 

with all the Winter clean-up 

clippings. Recycle shredded 

paper into the bins to help the 

decomposition. 

Crossword solution from page 61 

Mystery location: CLAREVILLE 



Times Past 

Early history of Avalon Beach RSL 

Avalon Beach Returned and Services 

League (RSL) will be turning 75 

years old this year. 

According to records held, the inaugural 

meeting to form the club was held at the 

Avalon Golf Clubhouse on 18 March 1948, 

when Mr Lloyd Jones was elected President 

and Mr Frank Coleman was elected Vice 

President. 

Mr O’Donnell, District Councillor, made 

the presentation of the Charter of the Sub- 

Branch to the President. 

Enthusiasm was in abundance and by 

1950 members had purchased a ‘temporary 

shed’ which was erected in Dunbar 

Park, on the site of the present building. 

Apparently, the land was secured by a 

combination of some donated land and 

purchased land. 

The first Anzac Day service was held on 

Anzac Sunday, 22nd April 1951; according 

to the Avalon News it was “impressive and 

well attended”. The paper also noted that 

the number of local citizens who attended 

equalled the RSL attendance. 

The official wreath was supplied by Mrs 

Blaydon and Reverend Osborne-Brown of 

St Mark’s Church conducted the service. “A 

most touching ceremony was held earlier 

when a number of school children, assembled 

by Mr McGuire, the headmaster of the 

new Avalon Public School, marched to the 

hall and laid their tribute at the base of the 

flagpole outside the RSL hall.” 

Later that year the Avalon Playtime 

Kindergarten got underway and the RSL 

generously allowed them use of the hall 

for their activities. They even provided 

some materials for the extra toilet “and for 

the erection of towel and clothes pegs in 

the hall”. 

In January 1953, 55 scouts from Papua 

and New Guinea visited Avalon Beach on 

their way to the Pan Pacific Jamboree at 

Greystanes. The RSL generously made 

their hall available and along with the new 

Avalon Scout Troop committee, were able 

to make their stay very memorable. 

The November 1957 issue of the Avalon 

News announced the opening of the remodelled 

RSL club with around 200 guests 

and dignitaries attending. President Mr 

J Chamberlain thanked the many members 

who had provided 80 per cent of the 

labour voluntarily. 

An aerial photograph dated late 1960 

shows the footings and the sub-structure 

ready for the first floor of the new building. 

It occupied the eastern half of the area 

between Bowling Green Lane and Wickham 

Lane (north). 

The most major renovation occurred in 

2004 and was officially opened by John 

Brogden MP. 

The war memorial and commemorative 

garden were commissioned also in 2004, 

by the Avalon RSL Sub-Branch, replacing 

one erected in 1956 which itself was a replacement 

of the original 1948 memorial. 

Anzac Day, 1951, with the RSL hall behind the 

assembly – the first headmaster of Avalon 

Public School Mr McGuire is back-to-camera 

with his wife and some pupils; aerial circa 

1960 showing the temporary, gable-roofed 

shed of the RSL in the lower centre foreground 

with members’ cars parked adjacent; the first 

cenotaph in 1956, with local Ted Crabbe as the 

bugler and a super-scruffy Dunbar Park behind. 

TIMES PAST is supplied by local historian 

and President of the Avalon Beach 

Historical Society GEOFF SEARL. Visit 

the Society’s showroom in Bowling 

Green Lane, Avalon Beach. 

Times Past 



Travel Life 

Travel Life 

Unforgettable Club Med in Asia 

Club Med has made a name 

as the leader in offering 

endless sunshine and memorable 

getaways experiences 

year-round – whether it’s a 

last-minute summer escape or 

a cozy summer retreat, one of 

their all-inclusive paradises is 

the perfect fit. 

“From the famous temples in 

Bali to the pristine beaches of 

Bintan Island, Club Med’s Asian 

holiday destinations have it all,” 

said Travel View’s Gail Kardash. 

“Plan your next escape and 

discover new tastes, new cultures 

– and create new experiences.” 

Family Sun Package 

Gail said while travelling with 

kids could be quite an adventure, 

Club Med’s all-inclusive 

family resorts took the stress 

out of planning by designing 

everything around the needs of 

you and your loved ones. 

“You can relax in a spa while 

the kids swing on a trapeze; or 

enjoy a game of tennis together 

before dining at a top-quality 

restaurant with food you all appreciate. 

It’s the one price, one 

package and the family holiday 

of your dreams.” 

Romantic Sun Holiday 

“A couple’s holiday doesn’t get 

better than this,” said Gail. “Enjoy 

together the beauty of Asia 

at one of the Club Med resorts 

while also reconnecting with 

yourself. 

“While one of you is enjoying 

a relaxing break in the spa, the 

other can be heading for the 

swimming pool. Afterwards, 

meet for a romantic dinner at 

the gourmet lounge or specialty 

restaurant. Do everything, or 

nothing at all.” 

Resorts in SE Asia 

“Club Med Bali invites you to an 

incredible holiday for the whole 

family,” said Gail. “Dive into 

outdoor adventures and take in 

all the nature; rejuvenate your 

body; savour authentic flavours 

and appreciate artful moments. 

“At the award-winning Club 

Med Bintan (pictured), dive into 

a holistic wellness experience 

and embark on an adventure for 

the whole family. With a variety 

of fitness activities, outdoor 

pursuits, and healthy cuisines, 

return home recharged and 

rejuvenated. 

“Club Med Cherating Beach 

offers an all-inclusive holiday in 

a Malaysian paradise, where you 

can enjoy a host of activities 

in a tropical jungle. Cherating 

Beach lies between the forest 

and the South China Sea, in 

85 hectares of a beautifully 

preserved tropical Eden. 

“And Club Med Phuket in 

Thailand is dedicated to peace 

and relaxation,” explains Gail. 

“The turquoise sea completes 

the picture of a totally Zen resort, 

in beautiful Kata Bay. With 

its bungalows in the local style, 

sublime gardens and pool enhanced 

by lawn and teak, your 

all-inclusive holiday in Thailand 

will suspend you in a timeless 

moment of paradise.” 

*Want to know 

more? Call Travel View Avalon 

on 9918 4444.

Pittwater Life August 2023 Issue

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