Pittwater Life October 2023 Issue
AVALON TRIAL EXTENDED REG MOMBASSA & PETER O’DOHERTY’S ‘DOG TRUMPET’ NEIL EVERS’ INDIGENOUS ‘LEARNING CURVE’ / POLICE BLITZ SEEN... HEARD... ABSURD... / CURRAWONG / THE WAY WE WERE
AVALON TRIAL EXTENDED
REG MOMBASSA & PETER O’DOHERTY’S ‘DOG TRUMPET’
NEIL EVERS’ INDIGENOUS ‘LEARNING CURVE’ / POLICE BLITZ
SEEN... HEARD... ABSURD... / CURRAWONG / THE WAY WE WERE
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The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
FREE<br />
pittwaterlife<br />
AVALON TRIAL EXTENDED<br />
REG MOMBASSA & PETER O’DOHERTY’S ‘DOG TRUMPET’<br />
NEIL EVERS’ INDIGENOUS ‘LEARNING CURVE’ / POLICE BLITZ<br />
SEEN... HEARD... ABSURD... / CURRAWONG / THE WAY WE WERE
Editorial<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> suffers budget blues<br />
After reviewing the NSW<br />
Government’s first Budget,<br />
it seems difficult to disagree<br />
with <strong>Pittwater</strong> MP Rory Amon’s<br />
assessment that Labor is<br />
playing “postcode politics”.<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> was left wanting.<br />
The only good news was<br />
partial funding for urgently<br />
needed refurbishments at<br />
Narrabeen Sports High School.<br />
The fears we reported last<br />
month – that the Mona Vale<br />
Road West Upgrade would be<br />
canned – were on the money.<br />
And there is confusion<br />
over whether the Government<br />
has actually chipped in with<br />
its promised $13.1 million<br />
in additional funding for<br />
flood mitigation works on the<br />
Wakehurst Parkway.<br />
Minister for Roads John<br />
Graham has trumpeted the<br />
funding; however Mr Amon<br />
notes there is nothing in the<br />
lines of the budget – although<br />
other projects the government<br />
has committed to in other<br />
(Labor-held) seats have details<br />
about the cash pledged.<br />
Then again, it could well be<br />
NSW Labor has noted the years<br />
of delay on the Parkway works<br />
and figured they will come<br />
up with the cash if and when<br />
Council gets serious about the<br />
matter.<br />
* * *<br />
It’s not our job to tell you<br />
which way to vote in the<br />
<strong>October</strong> 14 referendum, which<br />
will determine whether the<br />
Federal Government establishes<br />
an Aboriginal and Torres Strait<br />
Islander Voice to parliament.<br />
However, we ask readers to<br />
do ‘due diligence’ and acquaint<br />
themselves with both the ‘yes’<br />
and ‘no’ cases.<br />
We will though give voice to<br />
local identity Neil Evers, who<br />
discovered his Indigenous<br />
heritage 18 years ago, to have<br />
his say: “It’s a very modest<br />
request,” says Neil.<br />
Read his remarkable later-life<br />
story on page 44. – Nigel Wall<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 3
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Vol 34 No 3<br />
Celebrating 33 years<br />
32<br />
70<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
FREE<br />
pittwaterlife<br />
AVALON TRIAL EXTENDED<br />
REG MOMBASSA & PETER O’DOHERTY’S ‘DOG TRUMPET’<br />
NEIL EVERS’ INDIGENOUS ‘LEARNING CURVE’ / P OLICE BLIT Z<br />
SEEN... HEARD... ABSURD... / CURRAWONG / THE WAY WE WERE<br />
pi twater2310p001.indd 1 25/9/<strong>2023</strong> 5:57 pm<br />
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thislife<br />
INSIDE: A blitz to identify any illegal selling of vapes has<br />
been urged (p9); La Nina has seen Narrabeen Beach expand<br />
more than any other Sydney beach (p10); Reg Mombassa and<br />
Peter O’Doherty are bringing their band Dog Trumpet to<br />
the Avalon RSL (p12); we review Currawong Cottages (p20);<br />
police have been targeting illegal cycling in Avalon (p25);<br />
local identity Neil Evers talks about his Aboriginal heritage;<br />
and we deliver a special report into resources available for<br />
local domestic abuse victims and the homeless (p54).<br />
COVER: Lion Island / Nada Herman (nada-art.com)<br />
also this month<br />
Editorial 3<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Local News & Features 6-41<br />
The Way We Were 30<br />
Seen... Heard... Absurd... 32<br />
Community News 36-41<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Story: Aboriginal Support Group’s Neil Evers 44-47<br />
Art 48-49<br />
Hot Property 50-51<br />
Health & Wellbeing; Hair & Beauty 54-55<br />
Money; Law 62-65<br />
Trades & Services 66-69<br />
Food & Tasty Morsels 70-73<br />
Crossword 74<br />
Travel 79-82<br />
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OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> The Local Voice Since 1991
News<br />
Sports High upgrades confirmed<br />
The Minns NSW Government has<br />
confirmed it will allocate around<br />
$20 million towards much-needed<br />
upgrades at Narrabeen Sports High<br />
School (NSHS).<br />
It follows an awareness campaign led<br />
by the school’s principal, its P&C Association<br />
as well as local MPs State and<br />
Federal MPs Rory Amon and Dr Sophie<br />
Scamps.<br />
However, the pledge represents approximately<br />
one third of the funding<br />
required to fully refurbish the dilapidated<br />
school.<br />
As reported in <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> last<br />
month, NSHS was named an Australian<br />
Olympic Pathway School in August.<br />
Mr Amon said that while the government’s<br />
funding announcement was<br />
welcome, he would continue to seek additional<br />
finding.<br />
“Thanks to the persistence of the<br />
school’s devoted staff and P&C, the<br />
Department of Education has confirmed<br />
that about $20 million will now be invested,”<br />
Mr Amon said.<br />
“Huge thanks must go to School<br />
Principal Heidi Currie, the P&C President<br />
James Wiggins and its Secretary Dr Peter<br />
McDonald.<br />
“When I visited the school in June, I<br />
THANKED: P&C President James Wiggins.<br />
was shocked at the state of the facilities.<br />
Local kids deserve better. They deserve<br />
an environment in which they can learn<br />
and thrive.<br />
“Narrabeen Sports High is a first-rate<br />
school, with first-rate teachers, students,<br />
and parents. The naming of the School<br />
as an Australian Olympic Pathway School<br />
is testament to this.<br />
“Unfortunately, we’ve been let down by<br />
PHOTO: Northern Beaches Advocate<br />
the physical state of the school.”<br />
In their August <strong>2023</strong> Project Update,<br />
School Infrastructure NSW confirmed<br />
upgrades for NSHS including the renewal<br />
and repairs for sciences labs, prep<br />
rooms, and chemical storerooms; the<br />
replacement of all roofs for five school<br />
buildings; new carpets, ceilings, paintwork;<br />
refurbishment of all bathrooms<br />
and changerooms; the resurfacing of<br />
outdoor basketball and tennis courts;<br />
plus cooler classrooms with aircon being<br />
delivered soon.<br />
In its <strong>2023</strong> Budget, the NSW Government<br />
confirmed a total of $53.9 million<br />
towards NHS and Narrabeen North Primary<br />
School – funding that was previously<br />
committed to by the former Liberal<br />
Government.<br />
“These upgrades are a huge step<br />
forward. However, this is just the first<br />
phase of upgrades required,” said Mr<br />
Amon.<br />
He revealed he had requested up to<br />
$30 million more from the Government<br />
to ensure all necessary upgrades of NSHS<br />
could be completed.<br />
An online community petition set up<br />
by Mr Amon to urge the Government for<br />
more funds has so far amassed thousands<br />
of signatures. – Nigel Wall<br />
8 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Blitz urged to detect illegal vapes<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> politicians have<br />
united to oppose the<br />
promotion of vapes and their<br />
potential illegal sale across<br />
the peninsula.<br />
It follows the opening of a<br />
stream of new ‘confectionary’<br />
stores at Newport and Avalon<br />
selling nicotine-free vapes.<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> State MP Rory<br />
Amon says the NSW Government<br />
should put measures in<br />
place to identify whether shop<br />
owners in NSW are illegally<br />
selling nicotine-based vapes<br />
to children under 18.<br />
And Mackellar Federal MP<br />
Dr Sophie Scamps is alarmed<br />
by the tobacco and e-cigarette<br />
industry specifically targeting<br />
children through brightly<br />
coloured, lollipop-flavoured<br />
vapes, which she says were<br />
typically illegally imported<br />
and often contained high<br />
levels of nicotine despite being<br />
labelled as nicotine-free.<br />
NSW Health reports it is<br />
illegal to sell e-cigarettes,<br />
e-cigarette accessories, and<br />
tobacco products to anyone<br />
under 18 years old.<br />
Also, it is illegal for retailers<br />
(other than pharmacies) to sell<br />
e-cigarettes or e-liquids that<br />
contain nicotine, including<br />
online sales. E-cigarettes that<br />
do not contain nicotine are<br />
legal in NSW.<br />
In a letter to NSW Health<br />
Minister Ryan Park, Mr Amon<br />
said prevalent vaping among<br />
children including across<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> was having ongoing<br />
health impacts on kids.<br />
“Kids are too easily obtaining<br />
vapes. Advertising of<br />
vapes is illegal, yet it seems<br />
to continue unchallenged by<br />
Government,” he said.<br />
He said he was deeply concerned<br />
that violations of the<br />
Public Health (Tobacco) Act<br />
were common.<br />
Mr Amon urged the Government<br />
to apply “laser-focused<br />
attention” to the issue and<br />
launch an undercover blitz<br />
on stores and individuals<br />
that may be selling vapes to<br />
children.<br />
He called for fines to be<br />
FOCUS: Vaping.<br />
increased 10-fold: “This would<br />
increase the fine on individuals<br />
from $11,000 to $110,000<br />
and it would increase the fine<br />
on a corporation from $55,000<br />
to $550,000. This strong<br />
message will help change<br />
behaviour.”<br />
He also urged the immediate<br />
roll-out of vape detectors<br />
in all NSW schools.<br />
Dr Scamps told <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
<strong>Life</strong>: “Nicotine is one of the<br />
most highly addictive substances<br />
in existence and so for<br />
young people vaping can act<br />
as a gateway drug to smoking.<br />
“What is particularly alarming<br />
is that a new shop at Newport<br />
is located very close to a<br />
main bus stop used by school<br />
children. So as a parent, a<br />
doctor and an MP, I support<br />
the Newport local community’s<br />
opposition to this new<br />
e-cigarette store.”<br />
Dr Scamps applauded the<br />
Federal Government’s recent<br />
announcement to ban the importation<br />
of non-prescription<br />
vaping products.<br />
“But these laws take time<br />
to come into effect, so in the<br />
meantime we need to continue<br />
to stand up for our children<br />
so they can go to school and<br />
socialise in environments that<br />
promote their health rather<br />
than harm it.”<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> does not suggest<br />
the new shops at Newport<br />
and Avalon are engaging in<br />
any illegal activity.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
*What do you think? Tell us<br />
at readers@pittwaterlife.com.<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 9
News<br />
Narrabeen sand clearance underway<br />
Northern Beaches Council<br />
is preparing to excavate<br />
more than 20,000 cubic metres<br />
(40,000 tonnes) of sand –<br />
equivalent to the weight of 100<br />
jumbo jets – from the entrance<br />
of Narrabeen Lagoon.<br />
It comes as North Narrabeen<br />
Beach has been identified as<br />
having experienced the single<br />
biggest sand growth change of<br />
any beach in Sydney over the<br />
past 12 months.<br />
Council’s latest round of<br />
flood mitigation works will<br />
see up to 200 truckloads of<br />
sand, from east and west of<br />
the Ocean Street Bridge, carted<br />
and deposited each day on the<br />
Collaroy-Narrabeen beachfront<br />
between Goodwin and Stuart<br />
Streets.<br />
Works are expected be completed<br />
by early December.<br />
Mayor Sue Heins said the<br />
works were part of Council’s<br />
Narrabeen Lagoon Entrance<br />
Management Strategy and<br />
based on flood risk management<br />
studies.<br />
“Narrabeen Lagoon is one of<br />
our greatest natural waterways<br />
FLOOD MITIGATION:<br />
Sand clearance<br />
works at the mouth<br />
of Narrabeen<br />
Lagoon in 2018.<br />
but as locals know all too well,<br />
it is prone to flooding,” Mayor<br />
Heins said.<br />
“Council has a strategy to<br />
manage the lagoon entrance to<br />
minimise the risk of flooding,<br />
backed by research and analysis<br />
by coastal experts.<br />
“It includes more frequent<br />
sand clearance operations, as<br />
well as reshaping and revegetating<br />
sand dunes to assist<br />
with sand stabilisation.”<br />
Since 1975, entrance clearance<br />
operations have been<br />
used as the key process to<br />
remove sand from Narrabeen<br />
Lagoon entrance.<br />
Historically, entrance<br />
clearance works have been<br />
completed approximately<br />
every three to five years, with<br />
the volume of sand removed<br />
generally ranging from<br />
28,000m3 (56,000 tonnes) to<br />
50,000m3 (100,000 tonnes) per<br />
campaign.<br />
In 2018, entrance clearance<br />
works were carried out over<br />
11 weeks from September to<br />
December, with approximately<br />
61,000 tonnes (31,000m3) of<br />
sand removed and transported<br />
to Collaroy-Narrabeen Beach.<br />
During the last clearance,<br />
from September to December<br />
2021, approximately 56,000<br />
tonnes (28,000m3) of sand was<br />
trucked to Collaroy-Narrabeen.<br />
Council’s new strategy is<br />
based on a recommendation<br />
to remove smaller amounts of<br />
sand every two years, depending<br />
on factors including the<br />
width of North Narrabeen<br />
Beach (based on decadal beach<br />
rotation), which affects the supply<br />
of sand near the entrance.<br />
North Narrabeen Beach is<br />
the widest it has been for up<br />
to 40 years, with 59 metres<br />
of sand added since last year<br />
– the biggest change experienced<br />
by any Sydney beach.<br />
As a result, Council says<br />
there are vast quantities of<br />
sand next to the entrance that<br />
can rapidly fill the entrance<br />
during storm events and close<br />
it more frequently.<br />
To ensure public safety,<br />
Birdwood Dune car park will<br />
be closed for the duration<br />
of works and there will be<br />
parking and pedestrian access<br />
restrictions during work<br />
hours at Mactier and Wetherill<br />
Streets.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
10 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
News<br />
Blowing their own Trumpet<br />
Interview by Greg McHugh<br />
The Dog Trumpet caravan driven by<br />
brothers Reg Mombassa and Peter<br />
O’Doherty is heading around the<br />
Bilgola Bends for a gig at Avalon RSL on<br />
7 <strong>October</strong>.<br />
On the road with their latest album<br />
for the Shadowland Tour Part 2, Dog<br />
Trumpet will bring their distinctive mix<br />
of folk, blues, psychedelia and incisive<br />
lyrics to the Northern Beaches.<br />
Reg and Peter are musicians, artists<br />
and Mental as Anything and Mambo<br />
royalty. Ahead of their show, <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
<strong>Life</strong> posed a few questions on their links<br />
to Avalon, the value of music and art and<br />
their thoughts on each other.<br />
Q: What connection do you have to Avalon<br />
and Avalon Beach RSL?<br />
Peter: My family came over from New<br />
Zealand when I was 10 to settle in Avalon<br />
so I finished my junior years at Avalon<br />
Primary and then went to Barrenjoey<br />
High. The RSL was one of the watering<br />
holes I spent some time in, usually<br />
watching bands such as regular late-’70s<br />
local favourites the Bilgola Bop Band.<br />
Q: Dog Trumpet at Avalon Beach RSL –<br />
what can we expect ?<br />
Reg: You can expect to hear original<br />
songs from our new album. Plus a<br />
good selection of songs from our previous<br />
albums and a few of our favourite<br />
covers.<br />
Q: The Ballad of Clayton Looby on your<br />
latest album Shadowland draws on<br />
memories of the Northern Beaches in<br />
the 1970s. Can you tell us more about<br />
the inspiration for the song?<br />
Peter: The song is a mix of my memories<br />
growing up on the Northern Beaches and<br />
fragments of Clayton’s story. Clayton<br />
went through school with me. We were<br />
in the same year. He was a very colourful<br />
character, someone I was a bit scared of<br />
in the early years but grew closer to later<br />
as we developed common interests apart<br />
from the beach – music, art and associated<br />
extra-curricular lifestyle activities. He<br />
was a strong-willed and funny larrikin,<br />
totally fearless, a great surfer, sailor,<br />
pirate and adventurer who experienced<br />
extremes most never will.<br />
Q: Are the song lyrics “The first job I<br />
ever had, was pumping petrol afternoons<br />
and nights” and “Round the<br />
bends with the flashing lights, Behind<br />
us gonna push our luck tonight” references<br />
to particular Northern Beaches<br />
locations?<br />
Peter: Yeah, the lyrics pivot from my<br />
teenage perspective to Clayton’s. I had<br />
a job working after school and weekends<br />
at the BP station in Curl Curl, right<br />
behind the beach in those days. They are<br />
the Bilgola Bends [referenced], riffing<br />
on a story about Clayton and his mate<br />
being chased by the cops. I heard they<br />
got as far as Mona Vale before getting<br />
stopped. He could be very naughty and<br />
reckless. Unfortunately, life caught up<br />
and he passed away in Bali about three<br />
years ago.<br />
Q: Does your music come before your<br />
art (or vice versa); or do each come<br />
from the same creative place?<br />
Reg: I was keenly drawing pictures as a<br />
child before I started playing an instrument<br />
but both creative activities come<br />
from the same portion of the brain. Some<br />
of the ideas and themes that concern me<br />
appear in songs and pictures.<br />
Peter: Both are in competition with each<br />
other but come from the same place, the<br />
only part of the brain I’ve arguably managed<br />
to utilise usefully.<br />
Q: How important are music and art?<br />
Reg: Less important than food, sex,<br />
housing and death but way more important<br />
than just about everything else. A<br />
society without art and music would be a<br />
grim and gloomy prospect.<br />
12 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
LOCAL CONNECTION: Brothers Reg Mombassa and Peter O’Doherty.<br />
Peter: As a child I was always drawing<br />
and wanted to be an artist when I grew<br />
up, so I’ve been fortunate to be able to<br />
keep it up throughout. Music came second,<br />
I started playing guitar when I was<br />
about 14 and knew a couple of years in<br />
that I didn’t want to do anything else.<br />
Q: If you could pick one band or musician<br />
to see up close, who would it be<br />
and why?<br />
Reg: I would like to see the Auckland<br />
band The Underdogs Blues Band playing<br />
Sitting in the Rain, so I could see what<br />
sort of fuzz box the lead guitarist was using<br />
to get his excellent bassy fuzz tone.<br />
Peter: Could be anyone from Taj Mahal,<br />
Ry Cooder, the Faces, Wes Montgomery,<br />
but though she’s gone, Nina Simone<br />
would have been great to see play live.<br />
She was a phenomenal singer and<br />
pianist, mercurial and original, blending<br />
Bach with blues, jazz, pop and civil<br />
rights to make something totally distinctive<br />
and unique.<br />
Q: Is there a particular focus for your<br />
art at the moment?<br />
Reg: Apart from landscapes which I’m always<br />
interested in, I’m currently dealing<br />
with robots, AI and space creatures.<br />
Peter: I try and paint every day; it’s like<br />
playing an instrument, keep the momentum<br />
up so as to get the conscious mind<br />
out of the way as much as possible and<br />
keep the hands loose. I paint the world<br />
around me, houses and flats, streets,<br />
sinks, chairs, trying to convey the familiar<br />
without illustrating it literally.<br />
Q: Describe each other in a few words?<br />
Reg (on Peter): He is not very tall and has<br />
fluffy whitish hair.<br />
Peter (on Reg): I described Reg accurately<br />
in a song I wrote for the Mentals<br />
called Dorothy Parker’s Hair. The chorus<br />
is: “Dorothy Parker’s hair was, Dark<br />
and listless, Just like my hippy brother<br />
Chris’”. Spoiler alert: Reg’s real name is<br />
Chris. And his hair may not be as dark<br />
as it was!<br />
*More info avalonrsl.com.au<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 13
News<br />
Powerful message to protect owls<br />
Amidst Sydney’s hustle, a quiet drama<br />
unfolds after sunset every day – the<br />
Powerful Owl emerges. These commanding<br />
birds, with their intense gaze and<br />
predator aura, are the focus of a conservation<br />
mission across Sydney – including on<br />
the Northern Beaches.<br />
As Dr Holly Parsons – Urban Bird<br />
Program Manager at Bird<strong>Life</strong> Australia –<br />
explains, the Powerful Owl Project is not<br />
only shedding light on these enigmatic<br />
raptors but also seeks community support<br />
to secure their place in our ecosystem.<br />
“The Powerful Owl is a serious player<br />
in the bird hierarchy,” Dr Parsons said.<br />
“With a wingspan up to 1.4 metres and a<br />
taste for possums (and other tree-dwelling<br />
wildlife), they are a special member of<br />
Sydney’s urban bird community.<br />
“But this bird is classified as vulnerable<br />
in NSW.”<br />
Dr Parsons noted that prior to the<br />
2000s, Powerful Owls were incredibly rare<br />
in Sydney, but things had changed. “While<br />
still not ‘common’, Sydney is now home to<br />
many more,” she said.<br />
“In 2022 there were 176 territories<br />
monitored, with the north side of the harbour<br />
holding the majority of the breeding<br />
territories.<br />
“In particular, the Northern Beaches<br />
is ‘Powerful Owl central’, with 35 pairs<br />
breeding in 2022, of which 20 are currently<br />
being monitored.”<br />
But life in the city can be hard for<br />
Powerful Owls. Last year El Nina and its<br />
accompanying significant rainfall saw<br />
higher than average breeding failures.<br />
“Overall they are losing places to<br />
live, raise families, eat and move about<br />
through urban expansion,” Dr Parsons<br />
observed.<br />
“Alongside the clearing of habitat,<br />
car and window strike, electrocution,<br />
rodenticide poisoning, inappropriate night<br />
lighting and degradation of creeks are all<br />
emerging threats for urban owls.”<br />
Founder of local swimwear label Shapes<br />
In The Sand, Alexandra Dash, is helping<br />
spread awareness within her <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
PROJECT: A mother and fledgling; the Northern Beaches is ‘Powerful Owl Central’.<br />
community for the Powerful Owl Project<br />
Along with Dr Parsons, their goal is to<br />
give others a better understanding of the<br />
project, the impact humans have on this<br />
threatened species and ways community<br />
can help.<br />
“The Powerful Owl Project is a scienceled<br />
community-based initiative,” said<br />
Dr Parsons. “We have monitored and<br />
researched Powerful Owls across Greater<br />
Sydney since 2011, educating land managers<br />
and the general community about<br />
building habitat to conserve Powerful<br />
Owls.”<br />
Dr Parsons said there are ways for<br />
locals to help:<br />
Spread the Word – “The more people who<br />
know about them and how to help them,<br />
the better.”<br />
Native Plants: “Put local trees and plants<br />
in your yard. We not only need native<br />
trees for the owls to roost in, but we also<br />
need trees and shrubs that will support<br />
their prey.”<br />
Protect hollow-bearing trees – “It takes<br />
well over 100 years for hollows large<br />
enough for Powerful Owls to use for<br />
breeding to form. So the loss of each<br />
HBT puts an even tighter squeeze on our<br />
wildlife.”<br />
Skip the poison – “If you have to deal with<br />
rodents, avoid the common rat poisons.”<br />
Volunteer – “Send an email if you are<br />
interested in coming on board.”<br />
Donate – You can also support the Powerful<br />
Owl Project through a donation to<br />
Bird<strong>Life</strong> Australia.<br />
Readers can also support The Powerful<br />
Owl Project by purchasing a swimsuit<br />
from Shapes In The Sand’s new Back to<br />
Nature capsule collection, $10 from each<br />
purchase donated (shapesinthesand.com.<br />
au).<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
*More info and donations via birdlife.org.<br />
au; report sightings by emailing powerfulowl@birdlife.org.au<br />
PHOTO: Andrew Gregory<br />
14 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
News<br />
Lizard Rock<br />
‘secrecy’ a concern<br />
Wakehurst<br />
MP Michael<br />
Regan has<br />
accused the NSW<br />
Government<br />
of acting in<br />
secrecy following<br />
its decision<br />
to progress<br />
the proposed<br />
Lizard Rock<br />
FIRE RISK:<br />
Lizard Rock.<br />
development to the next stage of<br />
planning.<br />
Mr Regan said the decision by the<br />
NSW Department of Planning comes<br />
despite vehement opposition from the<br />
community and Northern Beaches<br />
Council and after the Metropolitan<br />
Local Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC)<br />
submitted amended plans which the<br />
public were not made aware of.<br />
“The lack of transparency that has<br />
characterised this process is of huge<br />
concern,” Mr Regan said. “The proposal<br />
for 450 homes at Lizard Rock that would<br />
result in the destruction of bushland in<br />
Belrose equivalent to the size 46 football<br />
fields has progressed to the next stage<br />
of planning and is now open for public<br />
consultation,” Mr Regan said.<br />
“I also note the proposal has a new<br />
name – the Patyegarang Planning<br />
Proposal – to demonstrate the significant<br />
cultural and environmental significance<br />
of the site.<br />
“Whether the planning proposal is<br />
called Lizard Rock or Patyegarang, it<br />
doesn’t change the substance of the<br />
issue – that this is an unsustainable and<br />
dangerous proposal.<br />
“To date the<br />
private panel<br />
appointed by<br />
the previous<br />
Coalition<br />
Government<br />
has ignored<br />
the community<br />
and ignored<br />
independent<br />
experts who all<br />
say this is a terrible proposal and that it<br />
should never have progressed this far.<br />
“The Minns Government needs to kill<br />
this proposal off and find alternative<br />
sites for the developer.<br />
“The previous Government along with<br />
Council knocked back development<br />
proposals at nearby Ingleside for similar<br />
reasons. The site is a fire zone and<br />
building here will put thousands of<br />
people at risk.<br />
“As the Minns Government has also<br />
flagged, greenfield development where<br />
native trees and vegetation is destroyed<br />
for housing is not sustainable.<br />
“(Lizard Rock) is unsustainable,<br />
costly as new essential services and<br />
infrastructure will need to be built from<br />
scratch, and dangerous – potentially<br />
putting thousands of people in a highrisk<br />
fire zone.<br />
“Even the picture chosen by the<br />
Planning Department for use on the<br />
online portal clearly demonstrates the<br />
environmental destruction that could be<br />
about to occur at this site.<br />
“Have we not learned anything from<br />
previous bushfires and other poor<br />
planning proposals? Clearly not.” – NW<br />
Beaches’<br />
unresolved<br />
land claims<br />
Northern Beaches Council says it is<br />
aware of several unresolved land<br />
claims under the NSW Aboriginal Land<br />
Rights Act across its 30-kilometres-long<br />
Local Government Area.<br />
In September, it was revealed that a 2009<br />
land claim made by the Metropolitan Local<br />
Aboriginal Land Council (MLALC) on 2,500<br />
square metres of harbourfront bushland<br />
adjoining Balmoral Beach at Mosman had<br />
progressed to assessment phase.<br />
The claim blindsided Mosman Councillors<br />
who said they were unaware of its existence.<br />
The Councillors voted against the claim<br />
at their September meeting; however local<br />
Government is not empowered to halt<br />
the process under the Act, with the NSW<br />
Government’s Crown Lands department the<br />
authority.<br />
Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins told<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>: “Council is supportive of the<br />
intent of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. We<br />
appreciate the importance of enabling<br />
Aboriginal people to achieve economic selfdetermination<br />
through land claims, subject<br />
to the relevant planning controls.<br />
“We seek to foster strong relationships<br />
with the MLALC, as well as our local<br />
Aboriginal communities generally.”<br />
If a claim on land within the Northern<br />
Beaches under the Aboriginal Land Rights<br />
Act were to be successful, the land can<br />
be developed by the MLALC subject to<br />
planning legislation (an example is the<br />
current process at Lizard Rock, Belrose).<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> was not told of the locations<br />
of unresolved claims on the Northern<br />
Beaches, or when they were lodged.<br />
– NW<br />
16 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Mental health care next steps<br />
The NSW Government has confirmed it is reviewing new<br />
options for acute mental health care at Northern Beaches<br />
Hospital.<br />
It follows the expiry of a six-week deadline the Government<br />
imposed on Northern Beaches Hospital to communicate a clear<br />
plan for the delivery of a fourbed<br />
acute adolescent mental<br />
health unit, funded to the tune<br />
of $7.5 million by the former<br />
NSW Liberal Government in<br />
mid-2022.<br />
The delay in establishing the<br />
unit has been roundly criticised<br />
by local politicians including<br />
Mackellar MP Dr Sophie Scamps.<br />
Following what she believes<br />
are further “stonewalling<br />
tactics” by the hospital and<br />
its operator Healthscope, Dr<br />
Scamps has now launched a<br />
community petition aimed at<br />
pressuring hospital management<br />
to act urgently (see ad page 47).<br />
NSW Health Minister Jackson<br />
told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> she shared<br />
and completely understood the<br />
community’s frustration with<br />
the delays to the project.<br />
“NSW Health has presented<br />
several options which I am<br />
currently reviewing,” she said.<br />
“Before a final decision is<br />
made, I am committed to working with key stakeholders to<br />
ensure we provide the best long-term solution for our youth.”<br />
She conceded that as a response to existing demand for<br />
acute mental health support, Northern Beaches Hospital had<br />
developed an interim model of care which had been admitting<br />
young people requiring hospital-based support for acute<br />
mental health concerns since January.<br />
“My office has reached out to Dr Scamps to ensure we are<br />
providing the most up-to-date information on this crucial<br />
situation.”<br />
Meanwhile, <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> can reveal a State Significant<br />
Development Application (SSDA) has been lodged with NSW<br />
PHOTO: Justin Lloyd / Daily Telegraph<br />
PETITION: Dr Scamps at Northern Beaches Hospital.<br />
planning authorities for a proposed 80-bed private mental<br />
health hospital at Frenchs Forest which would meet the growing<br />
demand for treatment, including a specific focus on teenagers.<br />
The developer initially had its application for a six-storey<br />
facility on a former warehouse site in Tilley Lane approved<br />
in 2017 but is now seeking<br />
expansion to eight storeys<br />
accommodating in-house<br />
and outpatient mental health<br />
treatment.<br />
Dr Scamps said young people<br />
needed specialised inpatient<br />
care on the Northern Beaches.<br />
“The closest specialist,<br />
public facility that offers acute<br />
adolescent mental health<br />
inpatient care is in Hornsby but<br />
for our children and families,<br />
this is too far away,” she said.<br />
“At a time when we have<br />
a youth mental health crisis<br />
on the Northern Beaches, it’s<br />
simply not good enough that the<br />
management at the Northern<br />
Beaches Hospital haven’t even<br />
committed to a timeline for<br />
these beds.<br />
“Enough is enough. These<br />
beds should be operational by<br />
Christmas, and if they’re not –<br />
the management at the Hospital<br />
should be replaced.”<br />
In response, Northern Beaches Hospital CEO Andrew Newton<br />
said all children and young people presenting to Northern<br />
Beaches Hospital for acute mental health care were currently<br />
able to receive this help under a new model of care established<br />
earlier this year.<br />
“Children and adolescents are able to be cared for as<br />
inpatients in dedicated mental health beds,” he said.<br />
“Two child and youth psychiatrists are now appointed by the<br />
hospital, adding to the current multidisciplinary team available<br />
to care for children and adolescents at the hospital.<br />
“Since January <strong>2023</strong>, approximately 30 patients have been<br />
admitted to receive care through this model. – Nigel Wall<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 17
News<br />
With bells on!<br />
Phil Allan’s passion for<br />
miniature handbells<br />
began when his wife<br />
Pam bought one of their<br />
granddaughters a set of<br />
children’s handbells.<br />
The granddaughter is<br />
now 17, and strangely no<br />
longer has any interest in<br />
handbells.<br />
However, Phil became<br />
obsessed, is now a prominent<br />
member of the Handbells<br />
Society of Australasia (yes,<br />
it stretches to New Zealand)<br />
and gave a speech on<br />
the Australian history of<br />
handbells to the Combined<br />
Probus Club of Mona Vale<br />
meeting at <strong>Pittwater</strong> RSL<br />
last month. With handbell<br />
accompaniment of course. PASSION: Aficianado Phil Allan runs ‘rings’ around his dining room.<br />
“Handbells came to<br />
Australia around 1850 with<br />
“each the size of upturned “And I prefer songs my<br />
the first settlers from Britain<br />
teacups and with a two-octave mum and dad loved – like<br />
and Europe,” Phil, now in his<br />
range… people love them Grenada, the Sound of Music<br />
80s, told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>.<br />
because they have never seen and South Pacific.”<br />
“It was quite common in or heard them before”.<br />
Any money Phil and his<br />
those days to invite people to When Phil began playing handbells earn go to Brian<br />
your home, have dinner and publicly he would play 1960s and Kathy Cox, a young<br />
then play handbells.<br />
“That lasted until the 1920s<br />
and ’30s when films and radio<br />
became alternative sources of<br />
entertainment,” he explained.<br />
“But handbells made a<br />
comeback in the 1960s when<br />
two American companies<br />
rock songs. Now his audience<br />
mostly consists of the over-<br />
70s – at Probus, Rotary, VIEW<br />
clubs, retirement homes and<br />
his local Belrose church once<br />
a month.<br />
He recommends readers<br />
watch a live performance of a<br />
missionary couple in Nigeria,<br />
translating the Bible into<br />
various African languages.<br />
“Pam is overjoyed that<br />
I have a hobby,” Phil says.<br />
“Though she has kicked me<br />
out of the dining room and<br />
made me rehearse in the<br />
reintroduced them. America, handbell choir on YouTube. garage.” – Steve Meacham<br />
Asia and Europe are now very<br />
big on handbells.”<br />
Phil’s own set consists of<br />
25 miniature metal handbells<br />
“Handbell choirs generally<br />
have between 15 and 20<br />
players,” Phil explains. “But I<br />
play solo.<br />
*More info PAllan28@<br />
bigpond.com; or Handbells<br />
Society of Australasia<br />
website handbell.org.au<br />
PHOTO: Pam Allan.<br />
6THINGS<br />
THIS MONTH<br />
Natural Heritage talk. Discover<br />
what the <strong>Pittwater</strong> Natural<br />
Heritage Association has been<br />
doing and hear from wildlife<br />
rescuer Lynleigh Greig about the<br />
challenges for Spring, the Mobile<br />
Care Unit, and local snakes at<br />
their <strong>2023</strong> AGM on Sun 8 from<br />
1.30pm at the Newport Community<br />
Centre. RSVP to pnhainfo@gmail.<br />
com for afternoon tea catering.<br />
Weaving workshop. Experience<br />
First Nations culture through a<br />
relaxed, hands-on workshop with<br />
guest speaker, Noongar basket<br />
weaver Jodie Dowd, on Sat 14<br />
from 10am-12pm at Mona Vale<br />
Creative Space 1/1 Park Street.<br />
Cost $10 plus booking fee includes<br />
materials and refreshments. Book<br />
on Council website.<br />
Composting course. Find out<br />
everything you’d possibly want to<br />
know about how to successfully<br />
run a compost bin and worm<br />
farm when experts from Kimbriki<br />
Eco House and Garden host a<br />
workshop at Avalon Public School<br />
on Sat 14 from 1-4pm. Costs<br />
$30pp/$50 a family. You may<br />
even be eligible for a $90 voucher<br />
courtesy of NB Council towards<br />
buying a worm farm or compost<br />
bin (Ts&Cs apply). Bookings<br />
essential on Kimbriki website.<br />
Hoarding help. Join Kristina the<br />
Decluttering Diva who will help<br />
demystify Hoarding Disorder on<br />
Mon 23 from 11am-12pm. Whether<br />
you’re a concerned family member,<br />
a healthcare professional, or<br />
simply curious about this complex<br />
condition, this online event is for<br />
you. Free; contact belongclub@<br />
ccnb.com.au<br />
Love interiors? Sydney Design<br />
School is opening its studios<br />
on Sat 28 from 10am-12pm<br />
where you can meet passionate<br />
educators, view the exhibition<br />
space and gets hands-on building<br />
an interiors mood board or 3D<br />
model on campus at 65 Berry<br />
St North Sydney. More info at<br />
sydneydesignschool.com.<br />
Author talk. Avalon Library is<br />
hosting author Chris Hammer<br />
with his new book Seven in<br />
conversation with Michael<br />
Robotham at 6pm on Mon 30.<br />
Bookings at the library or phone<br />
8495 5080.<br />
18 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Cabin fever: the hot<br />
News<br />
On a balmy Spring day at Currawong,<br />
roughly opposite Barrenjoey<br />
headland, <strong>Pittwater</strong> has<br />
never looked better. The gum trees are<br />
blooming, the sands are exposed and the<br />
water named after British Prime Minister<br />
William Pitt The Younger is as blue and<br />
blissful as ever.<br />
Currawong has existed for more than<br />
a century, since the original homestead<br />
– Midholme – was purchased by Dr Bernard<br />
Stiles in 1917.<br />
Before that, of course, the land was<br />
shared by the Garigal people who hunted<br />
and fished in what is now Ku-ring-gai<br />
National Park.<br />
For six decades, Currawong was a union<br />
retreat – offering workers, schoolkids<br />
and educational bodies the chance to see<br />
how the other half live.<br />
Of its 20 hectares, most is pristine<br />
native bushland. Only four hectares is<br />
developed, and then only sparingly with<br />
just 10 cottages sprinkled along the<br />
lower slopes and the 9-hole golf course.<br />
I am staying in Goanna, one of the<br />
newly refurbished heritage-listed cottages<br />
(and one of only three with ensuites<br />
rather than outdoor dunnies).<br />
The nine cottages vary in comfortability.<br />
Two still need to be renovated to<br />
Heritage/Council standards.<br />
There are three other Currawong properties<br />
to rent. Midholme (which can sleep<br />
16), Caretaker’s and the Lodge, built as<br />
a conference centre but also capable of<br />
housing multiple youth groups.<br />
However, it is a miracle – championed<br />
by former MP Rob Stokes on the back of a<br />
strong community push by the Friends of<br />
Currawong– that the renamed Currawong<br />
Beach Cottages resort is open at all.<br />
ROOM WITH A VIEW: Looking out over <strong>Pittwater</strong> from Platypus Cottage.<br />
Irish settler Martin Burke – the socalled<br />
Father of <strong>Pittwater</strong> – was granted<br />
the land in 1823. During World War II it<br />
was owned briefly by the Port Jackson<br />
and Manly Steamship Company which<br />
purchased the property for day trips<br />
aboard its Currawong Star and Rambler<br />
Star ferries. Yet it is the 60-odd years<br />
when Currawong was owned by Labour<br />
Council of NSW (now Unions NSW) that<br />
earned the entire site its heritage rating.<br />
In 1947, The Sydney Morning Herald<br />
wrote that Currawong – still only accessed<br />
by water – was “an intact remaining<br />
example of a mid-20th century, unionorganised<br />
workers’ holiday camp in NSW,<br />
designed for workers to get away from<br />
crowded industrial areas and enjoy places<br />
normally frequented by richer people”.<br />
It was sold by Unions NSW to developers<br />
in 2008. To rescue a significant part<br />
of <strong>Pittwater</strong> history, it was placed on the<br />
State Heritage Register, acquired by the<br />
NSW Government in 2011 and claimed<br />
Crown Land.<br />
Now after COVID, the refurbished<br />
site – owned by the state and managed by<br />
Northern Beaches Council – is open again<br />
to both day-trippers and overnight guests.<br />
Cathie and Adam Oliver arrived as the<br />
new managers in July, but they have been<br />
coming since 2006.<br />
PHOTO: Steve Meacham<br />
20 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
tip on Currawong<br />
“Our two daughters, Charlotte and<br />
April, grew up here,” says Adam. “We’d<br />
bring them every May, renting out the<br />
whole place for 20 years.<br />
“Currawong is a place lots of families<br />
and friends came back to every year,”<br />
Cathie adds. “Not many spent much time<br />
in the cabins. They’d spend time on the<br />
beach or in the bush.”<br />
Both Cathie and Adam had worked for<br />
Qantas, but quit to gain specialist hospitality<br />
skills when they knew Currawong<br />
was soon to reopen.<br />
Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins<br />
says: “the eco retreat…(is) a truly serene<br />
escape from everyday life”.<br />
The first of the existing cabins – Kenny’s,<br />
named after James Kenny (the union<br />
leader who persuaded his colleagues<br />
to buy Currawong) and now known as<br />
Blue Tongue Cottage – was built in 1943<br />
on the expansive beachfront.<br />
The others were completed before<br />
1953, following the landline towards the<br />
escarpment overlooking <strong>Pittwater</strong> – often<br />
using discarded building materials rescued<br />
from the tip by foresighted workers.<br />
So, what has changed? Well, there’s<br />
still no sign of the shark-netted swimming<br />
area proposed by the Port Jackson<br />
and Manly Steamship Company in 1943.<br />
On the other hand, two of the original<br />
cabins – Kookaburra and Platypus, built<br />
to plans by the Vandyke Brothers with<br />
their new-fangled prefabricated model of<br />
building – have survived, along with the<br />
unforgettable <strong>Pittwater</strong> vistas and sense<br />
of serenity.<br />
Seven have been fully restored with<br />
amenity improvements (with Platypus<br />
retaining much of the original material<br />
due to its high heritage significance). The<br />
remaining two have had minor restorations<br />
including a new roof to one of them.<br />
The upgrades to Blue Tongue, Kookaburra,<br />
Goanna and the games room<br />
building resulted in Northern Beaches<br />
Council winning the Building Designers<br />
Association of Australia Design Awards<br />
for adaptive re-use of heritage buildings.<br />
ONSITE: New managers Cathie and Adam Oliver. COMFY: Inside the refurbished Goanna Cottage.<br />
Cathie is keen to take me on a tour of<br />
the accommodation.<br />
However, Adam – who is catching a<br />
ferry to Palm Beach – insists the golf<br />
buggy his wife is driving goes first to the<br />
golf course. Past the tennis/volleyball<br />
courts and the indoor recreational hut to<br />
keep kids happy if it happens to rain.<br />
There is method in Adam’s madness.<br />
Not only does he keep the now 9-hole<br />
course impeccably manicured, but golf is<br />
an essential part of Currawong’s DNA.<br />
There is a trophy called the ‘Currawong<br />
Cup’ in the reception. It is still<br />
eagerly contested each year (the last was<br />
in September <strong>2023</strong>).<br />
Golfers from the Northern Beaches have<br />
kept Currawong financial for many years.<br />
With Adam gone – either of them will<br />
put the ‘flag’ out to ensure the Palm<br />
Beach ferry captain knows when to pull<br />
into the wharf – she shows me some<br />
of the finer key design features in the<br />
cabins. (Although I still don’t know what<br />
‘penny tiles’ are.)<br />
There are always drawbacks in ‘Eden’.<br />
Here, you have to bring and cook your<br />
own food. There are no TVs, and little WiFi<br />
(“unless you hotspot”, whatever that is).<br />
Cathie also warns me about the wildlife…<br />
rock wallabies, spiders, and goannas.<br />
But on this visit the closest I got to<br />
wildlife was the magpie who munched<br />
my morning muesli.<br />
Accommodation prices from $275 per<br />
cabin, per night. Minimum stay four<br />
nights in summer, two nights at other<br />
times. Phone 9974 4141 or book through<br />
Northern Beaches Council.<br />
– Steve Meacham<br />
*The author was a guest of Currawong<br />
Cottages.<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 21
News<br />
Ambulance upheaval<br />
‘will put lives at risk’<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> MP Rory Amon<br />
says the NSW’s Government’s<br />
shock decision to<br />
close the Narrabeen Ambulance<br />
Station will put upper-<br />
Peninsula residents’ lives at<br />
risks.<br />
The Minister for Health<br />
announced plans to close the<br />
Narrabeen station on the back<br />
of an announcement that the<br />
Government would be opening<br />
a new station at Dee Why.<br />
“The Labor Government<br />
announcement to close the<br />
Narrabeen station blindsided<br />
local paramedics,” Mr Amon<br />
said.<br />
“They justified this closure<br />
on the basis that a new Ambulance<br />
Station would be built<br />
at Dee Why. But when the<br />
Budget was handed down (on<br />
September 19), there was not<br />
a cent of funding for a Dee<br />
Why Ambulance station.”<br />
NSW Ambulance has since<br />
confirmed that services<br />
would continue being delivered<br />
from Narrabeen station<br />
“until services commence at<br />
the proposed new Dee Why<br />
station, at which point the<br />
current paramedics and ambulances<br />
will relocate.”<br />
But Mr Amon slammed the<br />
Northern Beaches Council<br />
has abandoned its usual<br />
tender process and will<br />
appoint a commercial real<br />
estate agent to negotiate<br />
a lease for the Avalon<br />
Beach Surf Club’s café<br />
and restaurant spaces<br />
after negotiations with its<br />
preferred operator broke<br />
down.<br />
Council had been hopeful<br />
the café would be open for<br />
Summer trading after entering<br />
talks with Aimelie Pty<br />
Ltd with a view to an initial<br />
six-month lease period.<br />
While negotiations were initially<br />
progressing positively,<br />
Council said business owner<br />
Emilie Mathel had decided to<br />
withdraw his interest.<br />
It’s a further stumbling<br />
CONCERN: Rory Amon.<br />
Government for not providing<br />
clarity on how vital<br />
ambulance services would be<br />
redistributed once it closed<br />
the Narrabeen station.<br />
“Currently, there are no<br />
intensive care paramedics<br />
north of Narrabeen, there<br />
are no night-shift paramedics<br />
at Mona Vale Ambulance<br />
Station and there is only one<br />
paramedic team around the<br />
clock at Avalon Ambulance<br />
Station – but they do not treat<br />
intensive care patients,” Mr<br />
block to the resumption of<br />
hospitality offerings at the<br />
site, which has remained vacant<br />
for more than two years.<br />
It also reveals the hesitancy<br />
within the hospitality<br />
industry about investing in<br />
the location.<br />
During its official tender<br />
process, Council received<br />
only two submissions for the<br />
restaurant and café and two<br />
submissions for the cafe.<br />
Council conceded that<br />
over the past few years it<br />
had received a low number<br />
of submissions for its<br />
hospitality public tenders.<br />
In choosing to engage with<br />
the market not via a tender,<br />
Council said it “hoped to<br />
tap into a wider network<br />
of potential operators who<br />
Amon said.<br />
“Moving resources from<br />
Narrabeen further south<br />
would put lives at risk.<br />
“The Government must<br />
commit to maintaining<br />
service levels in <strong>Pittwater</strong>. It<br />
must also consult the community<br />
as to future uses of<br />
the Narrabeen Ambulance<br />
Station, if it is to close,” he<br />
said.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
*What do you think? Tell<br />
us at readers@pittwaterlife.<br />
com.au<br />
New delay for surf club cafe<br />
may be attracted to the<br />
opportunity, increasing the<br />
chances of finding a suitable<br />
lessee”.<br />
“By engaging a leasing<br />
agent, Council can uphold a<br />
competitive market process<br />
while ensuring the probity<br />
and arm’s length transaction,<br />
which is typically associated<br />
with a tender, is maintained.”<br />
Council’s Chief Executive<br />
Officer Scott Phillips will<br />
review the proposed tenants,<br />
before committing to lease<br />
arrangements.<br />
The sourcing of a tenant<br />
is considered a priority –<br />
“ideally looking to identify<br />
someone that can operate at<br />
least the café space during<br />
the majority of the <strong>2023</strong>/24<br />
summer season”. – Nigel Wall<br />
22 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Funny business after dark<br />
STAND-UP FUN: Lewis Holt and wife Hannah; comedian Tom Orr on stage at 4 Pines Newport.<br />
News<br />
Did you hear the one about the man<br />
bringing comedy to the Northern<br />
Beaches, hoping to turn his ‘passion<br />
project’ into a full-time job?<br />
“I’m doing something that combines my<br />
two loves in life: craft beer and comedy,”<br />
explains entrepreneur and comic Lewis<br />
Holt.<br />
Surely the dream of a lot of people,<br />
Lewis is slowly seeing his vision become<br />
a reality, after successfully introducing<br />
comedy nights to selected venues on the<br />
peninsula. His business Canned Laughter<br />
(a play on words for those two loves) may<br />
eventually see Lewis laugh all the way to<br />
the bank.<br />
“The first event was in Avalon last<br />
<strong>October</strong>, and since then it’s really taken<br />
off,” explains Lewis. “We did six gigs in<br />
May, at venues including Avalon Bowlo, 4<br />
Pines in Newport, and Freshwater Brewing<br />
in Brookvale.”<br />
The idea came about after Lewis and a<br />
friend from Avalon regularly travelled over<br />
to Newtown on a Tuesday night in a bid to<br />
get their own comedy careers started at an<br />
open mic night.<br />
“The crowd weren’t really a great comedy<br />
crowd, and we just thought we could<br />
do it a lot better. There seemed a gap in<br />
the market on the Northern Beaches and<br />
we wanted to see if they’d be into comedy<br />
nights.<br />
“And we wanted to give local comedians<br />
a place to perform on the Beaches. And the<br />
customers have loved it.”<br />
Lewis arrived on the Beaches eight years<br />
ago. Living in London, but with an Australian<br />
father, he bought tickets to Sydney one<br />
snowy day at work and hasn’t looked back.<br />
Originally working in hospitality, he did a<br />
Pilgrimage to the Edinburgh and Montreal<br />
Comedy Festivals which gave him the<br />
inspiration to move into comedy.<br />
“I do a five-minute intro as the MC<br />
and then we have five other comedians,”<br />
explains Lewis. “We have a headline act<br />
for 30 minutes, two comedians who are on<br />
the verge of making it, and two up-andcoming<br />
local acts.<br />
“We had 120 people at Freshie Brewery<br />
and that was too many people, so I’ve<br />
capped that at 90. We had 80 at The Newport<br />
and that felt good and intimate for<br />
comedy. I aim for at least 60 people at any<br />
night we hold.”<br />
Lewis’ joint focus is on having fun and<br />
supporting local artists, providing a venue<br />
for them to perform on the Northern<br />
Beaches. And bringing crowds on quiet<br />
week nights means it a win-win for Lewis<br />
and the various Northern Beaches venues<br />
involved.<br />
More nights and venues are planned, but<br />
perhaps not yet showing some of Lewis’<br />
heroes.<br />
“Watching Mike Myers and Jim Carrey in<br />
their early films was what first made me<br />
fall in love with comedy. In terms of standup<br />
I don’t think there’s anyone better than<br />
Dave Schapelle.<br />
“And I like the English comedian Mickey<br />
Flanagan… I saw him for 10 pounds years<br />
ago at a North London comedy club. I also<br />
saw Ricky Gervais booed off stage at the<br />
same club, after he did a 20-minute routine<br />
about Princess Diana.”<br />
Lewis himself does observational comedy<br />
and one-liners. He would eventually<br />
like to move into the storytelling arena of<br />
comedy, which takes a lot of experience.<br />
Alongside working part-time and running<br />
Canned Laughter, he has one other<br />
important job.<br />
“I’m following the Seinfeld technique<br />
of making sure I write one joke a day,” he<br />
said.<br />
Without giving anything away, the gag<br />
Lewis wrote on the day of our interview<br />
was a cracker. Find out what those jokes<br />
are at 4 Pines Newport (<strong>October</strong> 4) or the<br />
Avalon Bowlo (<strong>October</strong> 19). – Rob Pegley<br />
*Tickets and info cannedlaughter.com.au<br />
24 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Shared Spaces trial extended<br />
SCRUTINY: The Avalon<br />
trial will remain open<br />
for submissions<br />
through Summer.<br />
Northern Beaches Council staff have<br />
announced the six-months trial of the<br />
Avalon Streets as Shared Spaces project will be<br />
extended until 28 February 2024.<br />
The move follows last month’s walk-through<br />
of the Avalon Beach Village by Mayor Sue<br />
Heins, <strong>Pittwater</strong> Ward Councillors and local<br />
Business Chamber representatives.<br />
A staff briefing to Mayor Heins and councillors,<br />
seen by <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>, said the extension<br />
would allow for a thorough evaluation of the<br />
project.<br />
“As the infrastructure was only partially installed<br />
for the summer 2022/<strong>2023</strong> period, this<br />
will allow the trial to continue… through the<br />
upcoming Summer,” the briefing note said.<br />
Council’s survey, on its Your Say page, was<br />
due to conclude on 1 <strong>October</strong> but will now<br />
remain open until 28 February 2024.<br />
On September 21, Council staff attended<br />
the shared pedestrian zone near the Avalon<br />
Recreation Centre between 10am and 12pm to<br />
answer questions.<br />
On the same day, residents were also afforded<br />
the opportunity to book a one-on-one<br />
phone call with a project team member to<br />
discuss the trial.<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Ward Councillor Michael Gencher<br />
said he had approached staff to consider an<br />
extension of the deadline for submissions.<br />
“There has been much argument, opinion,<br />
anxiety and commentary from the community<br />
on this project… my feeling is that it would<br />
be best to extend the closing date for submissions,<br />
and for the trial to be extended, to allow<br />
us to get through the busiest time of the year<br />
and have a full picture of both the benefit<br />
and the disadvantage – especially through the<br />
holiday season,” he said.<br />
“This project launched at the worst possible<br />
time for a disruption, and not just the timing,<br />
but the extremely poor project delivery and<br />
communication with the community.<br />
“It is so important for us to get this right, for<br />
both the community and Council. It’s not just<br />
the area of the Shared Space under trial, which<br />
seems to have been designed in isolation.<br />
“We need to also consider and offer our<br />
opinions, thoughts and concerns regarding<br />
the wider impacts of the project, including<br />
traffic flow through the village, pedestrian<br />
safety, bicycle use through the shared space,<br />
bus routes, parking and the impact on local<br />
businesses.”<br />
Cr Gencher said he looked forward to hearing<br />
further from the greater community about<br />
the trial through the submissions.<br />
“Whatever the community decides to do<br />
with the Shared Space – to keep it, to make<br />
changes, to get rid of it – the Council will have<br />
to ensure that it is done correctly and responsibly<br />
and in keeping with the wishes and<br />
expectations of the community.”<br />
It is expected the community engagement<br />
and survey results will be reported to Council<br />
in early 2024.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
*What do you think about the extension? Tell<br />
us at readers@pittwaterlife.com.au<br />
TARGET: Police caution a cyclist.<br />
Cyclists<br />
nabbed in<br />
Avalon blitz<br />
Local police have been<br />
conducting sweeps of<br />
Northern Beaches hubs<br />
Manly and Avalon to crack<br />
down on E-Bike and pedal<br />
cycling offences.<br />
Officers from Northern<br />
Beaches Police Area Command<br />
targeted Avalon in late<br />
August, pulling over cyclists<br />
and E-Bike riders committing<br />
offences ranging from<br />
riding on footpaths, riding<br />
across pedestrian crossings<br />
and riding without helmets.<br />
Superintendent Pat Sharkey<br />
told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>: “Officers<br />
including Traffic and<br />
Highway Patrol Command<br />
regularly conduct operations<br />
aimed to increase public<br />
safety and reduce road and<br />
transport-related trauma.<br />
“Recently, police conducted<br />
operations in Avalon,<br />
where a range of traffic offences<br />
were detected. Similar<br />
operations have been<br />
conducted in other parts<br />
of the Northern Beaches<br />
in order to promote public<br />
safety.”<br />
He added these operations<br />
also responded to community<br />
concerns that were raised<br />
with police.<br />
– NW<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 25
News<br />
Sandrine offering a<br />
French connection<br />
Some might find it hard to pronounce Sandrine Iratchet<br />
Bonython’s name even with a glass of Bordeaux in hand.<br />
But Sandrine – with a culinary contribution from her<br />
sister Isabelle – has come up with a tres-magnifique concept to<br />
assist both Francophiles<br />
and those unfamiliar<br />
with the French language,<br />
including those with travel<br />
on their minds, to become<br />
more comfortable with all<br />
things Gallic.<br />
Born in Avalon, it’s an<br />
idea that should go global.<br />
From Tuesday 17<br />
<strong>October</strong> at 5.30pm,<br />
Sandrine will host four<br />
two-hours-30-minutes<br />
French lessons at<br />
Bookoccino (now the<br />
village’s only book shop).<br />
Limited to a group of<br />
16, each session isn’t<br />
like the lesson you may<br />
have learned at school.<br />
And it isn’t only for<br />
beginners, Sandrine<br />
explains, but for<br />
Francophiles generally<br />
who want to improve<br />
their vocabulary or<br />
pronunciation.<br />
“I make learning<br />
French interesting and<br />
fun,” Sandrine says<br />
from her “atelier” in<br />
Avalon where she also<br />
gives private lessons via<br />
her business, Rendezvous<br />
en Français.<br />
“I let people connect with the country so they can learn<br />
French as it should be learned with confidence and at least go<br />
into a boulangerie and order a baguette,” she explains.<br />
Sandrine’s concept, conceived in COVID, is brilliantly simple.<br />
The first half consists of Sandrine giving conversational French<br />
lessons.<br />
Then there is an “intermission” during which sister Isabelle<br />
serves her “amuse-bouche” – small canapé-type morsels<br />
pertaining to the region of France that will be discussed (with<br />
film footage) after the break.<br />
“I call it travelling to France without leaving the Northern<br />
Beaches,” Sandrine says. “We visit a different region every<br />
Tuesday.”<br />
In this season – the third held at Bookoccino since 2021 when<br />
she launched the event – the first meeting will feature Nouvelle-<br />
Aquitaine, the giant south-west corner of France around<br />
Bordeaux where the sisters grew up.<br />
“Then we go to Brittany and the Occitanie before finishing in<br />
Paris,” she says.<br />
“I find people learning a new language find it easier if<br />
they are comfortable. French is not too difficult compared to<br />
learning English. It is much more logical. Sixty per cent of the<br />
two languages are shared anyway,” she says.<br />
The four-week course costs $495 including wine and amusebouche.<br />
– Steve Meacham<br />
*More info and bookings at Sandrine.com.au<br />
PARIS MATCH: Sandrine with husband Tim.<br />
26 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
News<br />
Bayview boost for female golfers<br />
Golfers will experience<br />
fewer closures, restrictions<br />
and poor playing<br />
conditions at Bayview Golf<br />
Club after the completion of<br />
works from a grant allocated<br />
by the former NSW Liberal<br />
Government.<br />
With a focus on securing<br />
more involvement by women<br />
and girls, Bayview GC received<br />
$482,490 to improve and construct<br />
course drainage across<br />
its layout.<br />
The course has historically<br />
been prone to flooding, with<br />
Cahill Creek running through<br />
it and joining <strong>Pittwater</strong>.<br />
The Club said the construction<br />
of irrigation and subsurface<br />
drainage would reduce<br />
the risk of fairways flooding<br />
and limit impacts of climate<br />
change.<br />
“If the course does not flood<br />
it can stay open more days, increasing<br />
participation particularly<br />
for our female players who<br />
have found muddy fairways<br />
unpalatable,” the project brief<br />
states.<br />
“Improved playing conditions<br />
will attract golfers to<br />
exercise, which improves social<br />
connection, health including<br />
mental health, educational and<br />
economic benefits for the community.<br />
“Plus the betterment will improve<br />
sustainability following<br />
natural disaster.”<br />
Bayview GC appointed local<br />
contractor Neverstop to undertake<br />
works, in conjunction with<br />
the Club’s Greens staff led by<br />
James Thomas.<br />
In total, 14 holes of irrigation<br />
have been modernised and<br />
connected to the central control<br />
system. Over 90 irrigation<br />
zones were installed, comprising<br />
more than 400 sprinklers<br />
to ensure edge-to-edge coverage<br />
tee through greens.<br />
Club President Irene Newport<br />
thanked local MP Rory Amon<br />
for the former Government’s<br />
grant at the official opening<br />
ceremony in September.<br />
“Sport breaks the barriers<br />
that divide us, promoting<br />
mental and physical health<br />
OPENING: Bayview GC President<br />
Irene Newport and MP Rory Amon.<br />
and inclusion, no matter what<br />
ability, race, religion, culture or<br />
age,” said Ms Newport.<br />
“Some 75 years on from the<br />
founder’s sheep farm, we are<br />
now more resilient to natural<br />
events. My wish is for Bayview<br />
to look to the next 75 years and<br />
beyond, building a stronger,<br />
happier and safer community.”<br />
Bayview COO Paul Clarke<br />
said the Club was a forerunner<br />
in promoting women’s golf.<br />
“The Club’s women members<br />
have the same rights as their<br />
male counterparts and we are<br />
looking to further enhance the<br />
golfing experience through the<br />
use of gender-neutral tees.”<br />
Mr Amon said recent statistics<br />
showed women’s membership<br />
of golf clubs had increased<br />
by 4 per cent, with men’s<br />
numbers rising 2.5 per cent.<br />
“Often people will look at<br />
golf courses and say, ‘we can<br />
turn that to football fields’…<br />
but they don’t appreciate that<br />
golf is a sport which can be<br />
played by people at all ages,”<br />
he said.<br />
“If you don’t invest in the<br />
facilities for people to engage in<br />
golf, then you’re going to have a<br />
generation of people that, when<br />
they can’t play contact sports,<br />
can’t stay active.”<br />
Bayview’s grant was awarded<br />
through the Sport Infrastructure<br />
Recovery Fund 2022-23.<br />
– Nigel Wall<br />
28 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
It’s time to split!<br />
Permaculture Northern Beaches (PNB) is on the lookout<br />
for volunteers to help observe or split native bee hives<br />
in <strong>October</strong> and November.<br />
PNB runs a successful native bee program where it<br />
provides schools, community gardens and kindergartens<br />
with hives every season.<br />
In late Spring, the<br />
group split these native<br />
bee hives at the gardens/<br />
homes of long-term PNB<br />
supporters and community<br />
gardens.<br />
Hive splits are from<br />
Mosman to Balgowlah to<br />
Mona Vale.<br />
PNB will also run a Bee<br />
Diversity Highway talk at<br />
the Narrabeen Tramshed<br />
on Thursday 26 <strong>October</strong>. HELP: Split hives.<br />
Native bees are a critical<br />
part of our biodiversity as pollinators of native fauna<br />
and foods and their numbers are impacted due to the<br />
use of insecticides and pesticides in public spaces and in<br />
gardens. This event will outline an initiative to help our<br />
bees thrive.<br />
Entry is by donation ($5 is recommended); all are welcome.<br />
Organic teas and coffees are available, bring a plate<br />
to share food or swap plants, books, CDs, and items for<br />
your home or garden.<br />
– Lisa Offord<br />
*More info permaculturenorthernbeaches.org.au<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 29
The Way We Were<br />
Every month we pore over three decades of <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>, providing a snapshot<br />
of the area’s recent history – and confirming that quite often the more things change,<br />
the more they stay the same! Compiled by Lisa Offord<br />
25 Years Ago…<br />
The Way We Were<br />
The major Election ’98 issues were<br />
aired – with local candidates saying they<br />
would work for improved health care<br />
and education, a better deal for older<br />
Australians, well-managed nursing homes,<br />
more childcare places, adequate public<br />
transport, safe and efficient main roads,<br />
assistance for small businesses owners<br />
and protection of our natural environment.<br />
Independent Bob Ellis won top spot on the<br />
Mackellar election ballot and the editor<br />
at the time proclaimed sitting member<br />
Bronwyn Bishop “… will retain the seat (it is<br />
the second safest Liberal seat in Australia)<br />
but could be forced to preferences as a result<br />
of the intervention of One Nation (John<br />
Webeck) and the Democrat Vicki Dimond as<br />
well as the vigorous campaign that Labor’s<br />
Nick Lorentzen has been putting up, with Tom Keneally<br />
and Barry Unsworth at his launch. Mrs Bishop had broadcaster<br />
Alan Jones to open her campaign.” In other news “The ‘Golden<br />
Oldies’ of board surfing and their sixties longboards” were<br />
preparing to descend on Palm Beach for the third annual<br />
Old Mal Rally; Narrabeen was about to lose its second major<br />
bank with the closure of the National Australia Bank, “earlier<br />
this year the Narrabeen Branch of the ANZ Bank closed leaving<br />
15 Years Ago…<br />
only two majors, The Commonwealth and<br />
Westpac in the area”; The Red Cross Shop<br />
in Newport was appealing for volunteers;<br />
and three local butchers and Frank Cipri’s<br />
fruit and vegetables shop were “feeling<br />
the threat of the large companies” with<br />
Franklins opening a Big Fresh selling<br />
pre-packaged meats and a wider range of<br />
fruit and vegetables. Frank summed up<br />
the feelings of all four business owners:<br />
“We will continue to offer the freshest quality<br />
foods, competitive prices and personalised<br />
service – and that’s something they cannot<br />
do.” There was a special offer for music<br />
lovers with the “four record shops” in<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> offering readers a free compact<br />
disc when they bought any two $9.95<br />
CDs; and the video shop in Avalon was<br />
“now selling N64 and PlayStations and accessories at better<br />
than KMART prices”. <strong>Pittwater</strong>’s first Artfest for young artists<br />
was “an extraordinary success, with more than 200 entries”.<br />
North Av’s Beach Without Sand celebrated its 15th birthday<br />
with drinks, a BBQ and entertainment; and Local Government<br />
Minister Ernie Page assured locals “there will be no forced<br />
amalgamation of <strong>Pittwater</strong>, Warringah and Manly into a super<br />
Council”.<br />
5 Years Ago…<br />
The cover was the winner of Mayor unopposed with four new Volunteer life savers were back<br />
the children’s Artfest which faces joining the ranks – Crs on the beaches from the long<br />
attracted more than 450 works. Harvey Rose, Peter Hock, Ian weekend. It was a big month<br />
The winning entry was created by White and Jacqueline Townsend. for creative types, with the<br />
a group of 20 kids who each drew Meanwhile, a lack of funding <strong>Pittwater</strong> Artists Trail and the<br />
their favourite sportsperson. In had delayed plans for a new<br />
Newport Sculpture Trail both<br />
the <strong>Pittwater</strong> Council Election, playground at Governor Phillip<br />
scheduled; the preferred site<br />
David James was re-elected Park at Palm Beach; however<br />
for the long-awaited local art<br />
plans were proceeding at the<br />
playgrounds affected by “the<br />
space north of Mona Vale was<br />
salmonella virus in the sand” revealed; and local producer<br />
at Winnererremy Bay, Avalon Allanah Zitserman released her<br />
Beach and Hitchcock Park where new movie Ladies In Black. The State Government<br />
fresh sand and bark was being announced up to $2.45million would go towards an<br />
put down to “help keep the virus expanded dredging program for the troublesome Ettalong<br />
under control”. Plans to build Channel to keep it navigable. NSW Planning Minister<br />
six units for over 55-year-olds Anthony Roberts called for a stop to “overdevelopment<br />
on Ocean Road Palm Beach whingeing”. Meanwhile, the first meeting of the Avalon<br />
were rejected by the Land and Community reference group to discuss the Avalon Place<br />
Environment Court upholding<br />
Plan was about to be held. Council was investigating<br />
strong objections from Council<br />
closing the Avalon Customer Service office; our <strong>Life</strong><br />
and residents; The Royal Motor<br />
Stories featured founder of 1 Million Women Natalie<br />
Yacht Club held the 8th Timber<br />
Boat Festival; and the mag<br />
Isaacs; Passionate local youth advocate Justene Gordon<br />
profiled 14-year-old dancer was bestowed with the 2018 <strong>Pittwater</strong> Community Service<br />
Nathan Brook of Clareville Award; we ran a story about the local events scheduled<br />
who was heading off to the during Mental Health month; and The Mona Vale Hospital<br />
Australian Ballet School in Urgent Care Centre and The Northern Beaches Hospital<br />
Melbourne.<br />
opened on <strong>October</strong> 30.<br />
30 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
News<br />
SEEN…<br />
A succession of low 20-degree days with little wind presented<br />
firefighters with the perfect conditions to undertake strategic<br />
hazard-reduction burns across Sydney in early September –<br />
with Mona Vale headland the focus. FRNSW deployed firefighters<br />
from Mona Vale, Mount Druitt, Silverwater, Campsie,<br />
Fairfield and Lidcombe around the half hectare coastal site in<br />
a four-hour burn. Teams set up containment lines, bordered<br />
by walking tracks and the cliff face to the beach, keeping<br />
flame heights to three or four metres to ensure safe management<br />
of the fuel load which was determined to be “extremely<br />
high”. While the conditions were ideal for firefighters, the<br />
ensuing days of smoke haze presented poor air quality for<br />
Sydney – with the city rated the fourth worst in the world for a<br />
couple of days.<br />
HEARD…<br />
Northern Beaches Council has defended its grant-funded<br />
public art murals at Mona Vale, including the Mona Vale<br />
Memorial Hall, in the wake of complaints from some residents<br />
and criticism from community group ‘Friends of Mona<br />
Vale’. Mayor Sue Heins told <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> that Council was<br />
rolling out murals in Mona Vale (plus Curl Curl and Manly)<br />
to kerb a spate of graffiti vandalism – with Mona Vale Village<br />
Park and surrounds a key target. “The graffiti management<br />
program is a research-based approach to reducing vandalism<br />
and improving our public spaces,” she said. “Artists are<br />
transforming laneways, streets and buildings with stunning<br />
new artworks, and mentoring young people from across the<br />
Northern Beaches as part of this program.” Mona Vale was the<br />
major hotspot requiring clean-up – for the period 1 January<br />
2022 to 5 September <strong>2023</strong>, Mona Vale was the third highest<br />
suburb location across the Northern Beaches with graffiti<br />
removal requiring 696 hours and 4383 square metres. Mayor<br />
Heins added the graffiti management program was separate<br />
to the Mona Vale Place Plan. “This short-term, grant-funded<br />
project does not prevent any long-term actions from the Place<br />
Plan being implemented,” she said… Meanwhile a reader from<br />
north of the Bilgola Bends, who wished to remain anonymous,<br />
sent us the image below which highlights the danger faced by<br />
commuters getting off buses at the bus stop opposite Careel<br />
Bay shops, on the western side of Barrenjoey Rd. “There is a<br />
large, uncovered ditch/drain on the side of the road… if you<br />
didn’t know it was there you could easily fall into it when<br />
getting off via the back doors. I have written to Council about<br />
this since January… they said they were making a grate to<br />
put over it but nothing has been done. It’s mind boggling!” We<br />
have passed on the concern to local Councillors.<br />
ABSURD…<br />
Sniffing inaction by<br />
the (relatively) new<br />
Minns State Government<br />
– who prior to<br />
its election in March<br />
promised it would act<br />
to scrap to controversial<br />
PEP-11 offshore<br />
gas and oil exploration<br />
lease – the holders<br />
of the licence Advent<br />
Energy have been<br />
talking up progressing<br />
steps to drill for<br />
gas. <strong>Pittwater</strong> MP Rory<br />
Amon says he is tired<br />
of state politicians laying<br />
the blame for the<br />
ongoing saga on the<br />
former Liberal State<br />
Government. “Despite<br />
claiming to be against<br />
offshore gas and oil<br />
exploration, the NSW<br />
Labor Government,<br />
Independents and the Greens chose to delay a ban proposed<br />
by my Private Members Bill and sent it to a committee in June.<br />
Absurdly, the committee is inquiring as to the environmental<br />
impacts of PEP-11.” Mr Amon said the committee was not due<br />
to report their findings until November <strong>2023</strong>, meaning there<br />
was unlikely to be any action until 2024. “In June, I said that<br />
referring the Bill to a committee might mean that steps to<br />
mine offshore gas and oil could be taken in the meantime. As<br />
sure as day follows night, this month market announcements<br />
were made by the owners of the PEP-11 license that they are<br />
progressing steps to mine offshore gas. NSW Labor may protest<br />
and circulate petitions against PEP-11, but the reality is<br />
they are sitting on their hands doing nothing.”<br />
32 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
<strong>Pittwater</strong> News<br />
Bowlo offers ‘Daylight Savings’<br />
Daylight Saving returns on <strong>October</strong> 1 – that’s also when<br />
Newport Bowling Club starts offering its ‘Daylight Savings’<br />
with a special social membership offer: Each new member will<br />
enjoy a 15-month membership for the usual $12-month membership<br />
fee of $10.<br />
Socialise in the Clubhouse’s unpretentious lounge bar, enjoy<br />
a catch-up with friends for a beverage or two (they have more<br />
than 60 beers to choose from) on the large, covered veranda,<br />
a game of barefoot bowls – plus also from <strong>October</strong>, your<br />
favourite Lucky & Pep’s pizza, delivered directly to your table<br />
overlooking the bowling greens.<br />
*More info call 9999 1661, email newportbowling@bigpond.<br />
com, or just drop by and introduce yourself!<br />
News<br />
New Music Society<br />
hitting the high notes<br />
Those with a love and appreciation<br />
of classical music<br />
will be able to share their<br />
interest with similar-minded<br />
locals following the formation<br />
of a new dedicated local<br />
group – the Northern Beaches<br />
Classical Music Society – that<br />
will meet regularly to appraise<br />
and discuss famous and not so<br />
famous works. Leading the association<br />
is Mona Vale GP and<br />
Newport resident Dr Ivor Zetler,<br />
who established the Sydney<br />
Classical Music Society around<br />
20 years ago. “We presented<br />
lectures by famous musicians<br />
such as conductors Christopher<br />
Hogwood (our patron), Simone<br />
Young, Richard Bonynge<br />
(who lived at Whale Beach at<br />
the time) and Richard Hickox,”<br />
said Ivor. “The composer Peter<br />
Sculthorpe also gave a series<br />
of talks on composing. There<br />
were multiple other events and<br />
concerts including a wonderful<br />
series of organ recital in local<br />
schools and churches.” More<br />
info email Ivor at izetler@<br />
ozemail.com.au<br />
Boost your mind –<br />
learn to play bridge<br />
Are you thinking about<br />
increasing your social connections<br />
or boosting your mental<br />
stimulation? Consider learning<br />
bridge – it offers an engaging<br />
social game that’s supported by<br />
Alzheimer’s Australia. Players<br />
not only meet new people but<br />
also make life-long friends.<br />
Peninsula Bridge Club is a notfor-profit<br />
organisation in Warriewood.<br />
Accredited teachers<br />
host daytime and evening beginner<br />
classes throughout the<br />
year. Their groups are small,<br />
and no prior card knowledge<br />
is necessary. You don’t even<br />
need to bring a partner. Age is<br />
no barrier. Cost is $100 which<br />
Continued on page 38<br />
Roll up for circus fun<br />
Stardust Circus returns to the Northern Beaches in <strong>October</strong><br />
with shows in Manly and Warriewood.<br />
This family-owned and operated Circus opened in 1993,<br />
although it has carnival links back to 1896!<br />
The performing troupe consists of 38 family members –<br />
ranging from 6-year-olds to 54-year-olds, performing aerial,<br />
acrobatic and comedy acts, a ‘wheel of death’, quick change,<br />
dancing and magic illusions.<br />
The ‘fun of the fair’ opens one hour before each show, with<br />
Dodgem cars, rides, jumping castle and show bags.<br />
Performers train several times a week and the Circus has two<br />
full-time school teachers for the group’s 10 school-aged kids.<br />
*Dates are 13-29 <strong>October</strong> (Hinkler Park, Manly) and 3-26<br />
November (Boondah Reserve, Warriewood). Tickets and info<br />
stardustcircus.com.au<br />
36 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
‘Lollypalooza’ for Halloween<br />
W<br />
ith Halloween’s popularity in Australia growing, many<br />
local families are looking for fun and safe ways to meet<br />
neighbours, dress up and collect lollies with their kids.<br />
Narrabeen Baptist Church has recognised this and will host<br />
‘Lollypalooza’ on Halloween, 31 <strong>October</strong>, from 4.30-7pm.<br />
Families can expect stacks of lollies, as well as carnival-type<br />
games, crafts and face-painting. There will also be a sausage sizzle.<br />
There’s no need to register for this free community event –<br />
just show up!<br />
*Lollypalooza at Narrabeen Baptist Church, 13 Grenfell Ave,<br />
North Narrabeen.<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 37
News<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> News<br />
Continued from page 36<br />
includes four lessons plus a<br />
practice game. Textbook and<br />
follow-up notes are included.<br />
More info peninsulabridgeclub.<br />
org.au<br />
Meet your local MPs<br />
Bayview and Church Point residents<br />
will hold a community<br />
gathering near the Flying Fox<br />
play area at Winnererremy Bay<br />
Park on Sunday 15 <strong>October</strong>. The<br />
informal ‘meet your neighbour’<br />
and ‘meet your elected<br />
representatives’ event will run<br />
from 12 noon through 2.30pm.<br />
In attendance will be Mackellar<br />
Federal MP Dr Sophie Scamps,<br />
NSW State <strong>Pittwater</strong> MP Rory<br />
Amon, Northern Beaches Mayor<br />
Sue Heins and <strong>Pittwater</strong> Ward<br />
Councillors Michael Gencher<br />
and Miranda Korzy. More info<br />
Peter Blanchard (0417 231 128).<br />
Learn new knitting<br />
and crochet skills<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Group of Knitters’<br />
Guild NSW are holding a knitting<br />
and crochet gathering<br />
at Narrabeen Surf Club on 4<br />
November (1.30-3.30pm). Enjoy<br />
learning new skills or reviving<br />
old ones with workshops on<br />
crochet and knitting. Discover<br />
how knitting and crochet can<br />
be a form of relaxation and<br />
mindfulness. Tea, coffee, and<br />
cakes will be available ($2<br />
donation), plus a raffle with<br />
great prizes. All ages welcome;<br />
bookings email pittwater@<br />
knittersguildnsw.org.au<br />
Prepare for bushfires<br />
Mackellar MP Dr Sophie<br />
Scamps will host a free ‘Fire in<br />
the Forest’ community panel<br />
event at Glen Street Theatre on<br />
Tuesday 10 <strong>October</strong> to educate<br />
locals about how to prepare for<br />
the upcoming bushfire season.<br />
The expo will feature information<br />
stalls from Fire and Rescue<br />
NSW; The Red Cross; The<br />
Rural Fire Service; NSW SES;<br />
and Sydney Wildlife Rescue. Dr<br />
Sophie Scamps will facilitate<br />
a conversation between Greg<br />
Mullins (former Commissioner<br />
of Fire and Rescue NSW and<br />
internationally renowned fire<br />
and rescue expert); Dr Simon<br />
Bradshaw (author and Research<br />
Director at the Climate Council);<br />
and Tim Buckley (Climate and<br />
Energy analyst, member of the<br />
Climate Energy Alliance and<br />
former Australasian Director<br />
of the Institute for Energy Economics<br />
and Financial Analysis.<br />
Doors will open at 6pm, with<br />
the panel event taking place at<br />
7pm. Dr Scamps said: “We are<br />
fortunate to be surrounded by<br />
beautiful National Parks and<br />
bushland, but this beauty also<br />
38 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Nada Herman open studios<br />
Local artist Nada Herman will hold open studios over three<br />
weekends in <strong>October</strong>.<br />
View her stunning works at the historic property ‘Hy-brasil’<br />
on <strong>October</strong> 7-8, 14-15 and 21-22 (plenty of parking at the top of<br />
the driveway).<br />
Nada specialises in large, bold, colourful oil paintings, using<br />
loads of paint in a dynamic, textured style, depicting the local<br />
area with its beautiful waterways and oceans.<br />
(Nada’s work features on the cover of this month’s issue of<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong>.)<br />
*More info nada-art.com<br />
poses a significant fire risk.<br />
Meteorologists are predicting<br />
a hot and dry summer ahead<br />
while the Rural Fire Service is<br />
warning NSW could be in for a<br />
dangerous fire season – including<br />
on the Northern Beaches.<br />
While our amazing local,<br />
volunteer-led rural fire services<br />
have been doing everything<br />
possible to prepare for the fire<br />
season, their attempts to carry<br />
out hazard reduction burns<br />
have been hampered by wet<br />
weather. So as a community<br />
we must also do our bit to<br />
help prepare for the upcoming<br />
bushfire season.” Registrations<br />
essential – head to sophiescamps.com.au/events<br />
Housing, energy<br />
crisis seminar<br />
Sydney Alliance is hosting a<br />
Housing and Energy workshop<br />
on 4 <strong>October</strong> from 7-9pm at<br />
Our Lady of Dolours Catholic<br />
Church Chatswood (94 Archer<br />
Street Chatswood). The workshop<br />
will cover concrete goals<br />
and solutions to understand<br />
everyday issues related to<br />
housing and energy costs. The<br />
workshop seeks to build solutions<br />
locals can take to local,<br />
State and Federal parliamentarians<br />
for response. “The cost<br />
of living, housing affordability<br />
and the energy crisis affects<br />
everyone. We are all impacted<br />
when essential workers – bus<br />
drivers, medical staff, baristas<br />
and teachers – can’t afford to<br />
live locally,” the organisers<br />
said. Info and registrations<br />
sydneyalliance.org.au<br />
Continued on page 40<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 39
<strong>Pittwater</strong> News<br />
News<br />
Find your groove at Narrabeen<br />
Get ready to sing your heads off and dance up a storm when<br />
the Northern Beaches Music Festival returns to Narrabeen<br />
on the weekend of 4-5 November.<br />
Enjoy a variety of music genres across five stages at the<br />
Tramshed and adjoining Berry Reserve.<br />
Blending mellow with the upbeat, among the dozens of acts<br />
will be cool bands including Cameron Daddo & the Paisley<br />
Prophets; Daddy Long Legs & The Swamp Donkeys; The Mezcaltones;<br />
Dead Mellow; Luke Escombe; The Fallen Robins; Mic<br />
Conway & Robbie Long; Kevin Bennett (The Flood); Jaga Band;<br />
Moussa Diakite and more!<br />
The Festival is the creation of seven Northern Beaches music<br />
venues: The Shack, Fairlight Folk, Humph Hall, The Fig, SongsOnStage,<br />
The Acoustic Picnic and The Music Lounge, together<br />
with Radio Northern Beaches.<br />
Executive Producer Paul Robertson said the Festival Village<br />
will once again feature world cuisine (everything from Nepalese<br />
curries to Serbian wraps) and great merchandise stalls.<br />
The Northern Beaches Music Festival is a not-for-profit,<br />
community-based event operating since 2011. It’s being supported<br />
by a grant from Northern Beaches Council.<br />
* More info, tickets and full schedule visit northernbeachesmusicfestival.org<br />
Edible Garden Trail<br />
The Sydney Edible Garden Trail<br />
is back for another exciting<br />
year, inviting all nature enthusiasts,<br />
gardening aficionados,<br />
and food lovers to explore a vibrant<br />
tapestry of lush gardens<br />
on 4-5 November. This eagerly<br />
anticipated non-profit event<br />
promises a weekend of inspiration,<br />
education, and community<br />
building. The Trail showcases<br />
an array of community,<br />
school and private gardens<br />
that seamlessly blend beautiful<br />
landscapes with practical<br />
food production. All profits<br />
support local initiatives aimed<br />
at improving access to fresh,<br />
healthy food and promoting<br />
sustainable urban agriculture.<br />
Adult tickets are $28 and family<br />
tickets $59. More info and<br />
tickets go to sydneyediblegardentrail.com<br />
Nominate for Council<br />
Australia Day Awards<br />
Nominations for Northern<br />
Beaches Council’s 2024<br />
Australia Day Awards which<br />
recognise and celebrate the<br />
outstanding contributions of<br />
local residents, community<br />
groups and events close on<br />
30 <strong>October</strong>. Each year Council<br />
acknowledges special individuals<br />
and event organisers<br />
who make a difference in our<br />
community across several<br />
award categories. This year<br />
a new category is included<br />
– Community Group of the<br />
Year. Also, for the first time<br />
ever the Outstanding Achievement<br />
Award is open to<br />
non-Australian Citizens. This<br />
year’s seven award categories<br />
are Citizen of the Year; Senior<br />
Citizen of the Year (65 years<br />
or older); Young Citizen of<br />
the Year (under 25 years);<br />
Outstanding Community<br />
Service; Sportsperson of the<br />
Year; Community Event of the<br />
Year; and Community Group<br />
of the Year. To nominate visit<br />
Council’s website.<br />
Katandra Bushland<br />
Sanctuary by Night<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Natural Heritage<br />
Association is hosting a night<br />
‘spotlighting adventure’ at Katandra<br />
Bushland Sanctuary on<br />
15 <strong>October</strong>. The 16 mammals<br />
recorded here include the<br />
Sugar Glider, Feathertail Glider<br />
and Eastern Pygmy Possum;<br />
also, Powerful Owls are known<br />
to nest here. Moderate fitness<br />
needed. Find out more about<br />
Katandra at katandrabushlandsanctuary.com;<br />
registrations<br />
and more info email<br />
pnhainfo@gmail.com<br />
Zonta Trivia Night<br />
Zonta Club of Northern Beaches<br />
is holding a Trivia Night on<br />
Saturday 4 November to raise<br />
funds for its International<br />
Birthing Kits Project. Get down<br />
to the Mona Vale Memorial<br />
Hall for a 7pm start. Bring gold<br />
coins for games, cash for the<br />
40 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Local Probus News in <strong>October</strong><br />
The next meeting of the Palm Beach and<br />
Peninsula Probus Club is on Wednesday<br />
18 <strong>October</strong> at Club Palm Beach, commencing<br />
9.30am. After a short formal meeting<br />
and morning tea, guest speaker, Kez Hasanic<br />
from the Maritime Museum will talk about the<br />
sinking of the luxury liner Lusitania in 1915. A<br />
single torpedo from a U-20 Boat off the coast of<br />
Ireland sank the giant ship in just 18 minutes,<br />
drowning almost all passengers and crew<br />
in what is regarded as one of history’s most<br />
terrible maritime disasters. Retired men and<br />
women are welcome to attend as visitors; more<br />
info 0421 435 792.<br />
At the next meeting of <strong>Pittwater</strong> Probus<br />
Club, well-known local identity Geoff Searl<br />
will talk about how Avalon Beach grew from<br />
a remote holiday camping site to a thriving<br />
beachside suburb. Meeting at Mona Vale Surf<br />
Club on Tuesday 10 <strong>October</strong> commences 10am.<br />
Visitors welcome; more info Terry Larke (0412<br />
220 820).<br />
Narrabeen Lakes Probus Club next meets<br />
on Wednesday 25 <strong>October</strong> at Narrabeen Baptist<br />
Church. Doors open at 9.45am for 10am meeting.<br />
The club has around 80 members (visitors<br />
welcome, no waiting list). The <strong>October</strong> speaker<br />
will be Matt Murphy, whose subject will be<br />
‘Rum: a distilled history of NSW, from colonial<br />
times to the 20th century’. More info call or text<br />
0424 464 047.<br />
The next meeting of the Combined Probus<br />
Club of Mona Vale is on Tuesday, 17 <strong>October</strong>,<br />
at <strong>Pittwater</strong> RSL Club (commences 10am). The<br />
<strong>October</strong> guest speaker is wildlife photographer<br />
Rita Shaw, who is passionate about nature<br />
and all things living and loves being able to<br />
raffle and your own nibbles,<br />
drinks and glasses. Book your<br />
table of eight or organisers will<br />
place you; bookings zontanb@<br />
gmail.com or call Annette on<br />
0417 236 982. Cost $30, payable<br />
on the door.<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> High ’81-’83<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> High classes of 1981<br />
to 1983 are calling for classmates<br />
to attend their 40-year<br />
reunion. The event is on 22<br />
photograph extraordinary moments in an<br />
animal’s day-to-day life. After many years of<br />
enjoying photography and promoting rhino<br />
conservation as hobbies, Rita went to Africa<br />
for the first time in 2008. She regularly travels<br />
to Africa and other countries, where she specialises<br />
in wildlife photography. “Game drives<br />
in Africa, India and other countries provide an<br />
opportunity to highlight the otherwise secret<br />
lives of these amazing creatures,” she says.<br />
Rita’s book ‘A Rhino Lady in Africa’ is a précis<br />
of her first 12 trips to Africa between 2008<br />
and 2014. Visitors welcome to attend; more<br />
info call Robert (0407 202 266).<br />
The next meeting of the Bilgola Plateau<br />
Probus Club at Newport Bowling Club on<br />
Friday 6 <strong>October</strong> marks the Club’s one-year<br />
anniversary – in that time it has grown from<br />
eight members to around 100! The <strong>October</strong><br />
guest speaker Hans Kunnen, who was working<br />
in New York on 11 September 2000 when<br />
he found himself in the middle of this tragic,<br />
world-altering event. Hans will speak about<br />
his experience and his interactions with<br />
people he saw and leaned upon as they tried<br />
to make their way out of the chaos. Visitors<br />
welcome; doors open from 9.30am. More info<br />
call Shelley (0415 538 864).<br />
The speaker at the next Newport Probus<br />
Club meeting will be Ian ‘Herbie’ Hemphill,<br />
Managing Director of Herbie’s Spices and the<br />
author of The Herbs and Spices Bible. He will<br />
speak about ‘Spices, the plants that changed<br />
the World’. The meeting will be held at Newport<br />
Bowling Club on Thursday 5 <strong>October</strong>,<br />
commencing 10am. Visitors welcome; more<br />
info Di Burrell (0410 465 303).<br />
November at Mona Vale Bowling<br />
Club. “This reunion is a<br />
chance to reconnect, celebrate<br />
our achievements and create<br />
lasting bonds,” said organiser<br />
Annette Burgoyne (nee Gale).<br />
Event starts 6pm. Tickets $50<br />
via trybooking.com/CKPOS<br />
Vet<br />
on call<br />
with Dr Brown<br />
Spring is truly on its way, and<br />
it is an exciting time of year<br />
for many of us, including our<br />
pets. It is a great time for lots of<br />
outdoor activities and exercise<br />
is hugely beneficial for both<br />
cats and dogs. If your cat is exclusively<br />
indoors it is important<br />
that they have regular play time<br />
or a safe outdoor space where<br />
you can supervise them both<br />
for mental and physical health.<br />
There are also some hidden<br />
hazards to be aware of. Long<br />
walks with your dog are to be<br />
enjoyed but always ensure you<br />
keep a close eye on them as<br />
several spring flowers, bulbs<br />
and mushrooms can be toxic.<br />
Cats can also become a little<br />
too curious so be sure to know<br />
which plants in your garden<br />
are toxic to them. Fertilisers<br />
are also on the increase and<br />
can pose serious danger. Any<br />
concerns of possible ingestion<br />
contact your vet immediately.<br />
Many insects and parasites<br />
start to increase in the warmer<br />
months. Spring is the breeding<br />
season for ticks including the<br />
paralysis tick. Ensure your pet is<br />
up to date with their tick prevention<br />
and check them frequently<br />
every day. Heartworm can<br />
cause serious health problems<br />
and the best way to avoid this is<br />
prevention. If you are unsure of<br />
the best prevention for your pet<br />
and how frequently this should<br />
be given, speak to your vet for<br />
advice. Another insect to be<br />
aware of for both cats and dogs<br />
are bees. They can seem a fun,<br />
enticing thing to chase and bite;<br />
however, stings can be as simple<br />
as a small swelling or cause<br />
a serious allergic reaction.<br />
Snakes are waking up also<br />
and for curious dogs or cats attempting<br />
a little toe tap, it could<br />
result in a rather painful and<br />
potentially fatal snake bite.<br />
Finally, a little harder to avoid,<br />
are allergies. Grass and pollen<br />
are the big ones, and they can<br />
often cause skin irritation and<br />
it isn’t always easy to know the<br />
direct cause.<br />
Although allergies are mostly<br />
unavoidable, they can be managed<br />
with the help of your vet.<br />
For more info call the team at<br />
Avalon (9918 0833) or Newport<br />
(9997 4609).<br />
News<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 41
Proud heritage<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Stories<br />
Newport resident Neil Evers explains the<br />
learning curve he and his family have<br />
been on since discovering their Aboriginal<br />
ancestry almost 20 years ago.<br />
Story by Rosamund Burton<br />
Eighteen years ago, Neil who worked in the lime trade, helped. They said, you’ve got butcher’s shop in Mona Vale,<br />
Evers’ cousin Laurie Sarah Wallace had 10 children, to speak from the heart. Learn so I left school on Friday and<br />
Bimson visited Neil at seven of whom survived. Their as much as you can and then started there on Monday. I<br />
his home in Newport. He told<br />
Neil that his brother and he<br />
had been approached by a<br />
man living at the RSL War<br />
Veterans Retirement Village in<br />
Narrabeen called Bob Waterer,<br />
who claimed to be a relation.<br />
Bob Waterer said he had found<br />
a leather pouch while clearing<br />
out his sister’s house, which<br />
contained the birth, death and<br />
marriage certificates of his<br />
parents and other ancestors.<br />
Bob Waterer said that as a<br />
boy he had been told that he<br />
had Aboriginal and German<br />
blood; he said the found<br />
records confirmed that his,<br />
Laurie’s and Neil’s ancestor<br />
Sarah (Biddy) Lewis – also<br />
known as Sarah Wallace – was<br />
an Aboriginal woman, and,<br />
says Neil, part of the Guringai<br />
clan led by Bungaree (who<br />
circumnavigated Australia<br />
with Matthew Flinders from<br />
1801-03).<br />
With John Lewis Ferdinand,<br />
an ex-convict born in Germany,<br />
relationship lasted 40 years.<br />
They lived on the Hawkesbury<br />
at Marramarra Creek and<br />
according to a settler living<br />
nearby, John Lewis used to say<br />
to her: “Sit in the bow of the<br />
boat, Biddy, so I can look at<br />
your beautiful face.”<br />
Neil discovered this family<br />
heritage at the age of 63 and<br />
says it has been a big learning<br />
curve.<br />
“All of a sudden you’re<br />
Aboriginal. People ask what<br />
did Aboriginal people do about<br />
such and such. I’ve got no<br />
idea. I’m learning too,” he says.<br />
“I’ve tried to read up and get a<br />
knowledge of as much as I can.<br />
“One thing my cousin Laurie<br />
and I found out very quickly<br />
was if you are connected to<br />
the Land then you are asked<br />
to give a Welcome to Country.<br />
Suddenly, we’re asked to give<br />
welcomes. We had to learn<br />
what to say and how to say it.<br />
“Fortunately we knew Elders<br />
on the Central Coast and they<br />
welcome people to the country<br />
of your ancestors like you<br />
would welcome someone to<br />
your own home.”<br />
Neil was born at Collaroy<br />
in 1942, and according to his<br />
mother was “not much heavier<br />
than a pound of butter”. He<br />
grew up with his two sisters<br />
in Mona Vale, and their family<br />
home was where Aldi stands<br />
today. His grandparents also<br />
lived in Mona Vale and their<br />
property ran from <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
Road right through to Darley<br />
Street. He describes his<br />
grandfather Thomas Bimson<br />
as “… very tall, very English<br />
and bald as a badger. And<br />
grandma was Aboriginal. We<br />
just thought she had a good<br />
suntan.” She was Emily Lewis,<br />
the granddaughter of Sarah<br />
Lewis.<br />
Neil attended Mona Vale<br />
School, then Balgowlah Boys<br />
High School.<br />
“I left school aged 15 or 16.<br />
Mum found me work in the<br />
worked there for eight and a<br />
half years.”<br />
By the time he was 18 he had<br />
a son, and by 21 was married<br />
with a second son, living in<br />
Narrabeen and working three<br />
jobs. In addition to working as<br />
a butcher he mowed lawns at<br />
the weekends and worked at<br />
Mona Vale Bowling Club.<br />
Neil had two more sons with<br />
his second wife, and now has<br />
eight grandchildren and two<br />
great grandchildren. He says<br />
they all know their Aboriginal<br />
heritage and have embraced it.<br />
Sue and Neil have been<br />
married for 42 years, and have<br />
lived at Newport for 40 years.<br />
She has a son, but they have no<br />
children together.<br />
Neil drove a front-end loader,<br />
worked for an office stationery<br />
company, sold feather flowers,<br />
before in the mid-1970s a<br />
friend of his who ran a large<br />
cleaning company offered him<br />
a contract to clean six blocks<br />
of units – four on the Northern<br />
44 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Beaches and two in Ryde.<br />
He started his own cleaning<br />
business and for two years he<br />
cleaned the apartments on his<br />
own, before he was offered<br />
additional cleaning work by<br />
a Manly real estate company.<br />
His small business took off.<br />
Sue and he ran it together from<br />
their home and at one stage<br />
employed 16 people full-time.<br />
By the early 1990s he held a<br />
diploma in remedial massage<br />
and started a second business,<br />
Peninsula Massage, which he<br />
still operates today.<br />
About 16 years ago Bob<br />
Waterer invited Neil to a<br />
committee meeting of the<br />
Aboriginal Support Group –<br />
Manly Warringah <strong>Pittwater</strong>.<br />
That evening Neil was asked if<br />
he would edit the association’s<br />
newsletter. He agreed to have<br />
a go and has been the editor<br />
of the quarterly newsletter,<br />
Elimatta, ever since.<br />
Soon after, the person<br />
heading the group also<br />
handed over the running<br />
of it to him. The Aboriginal<br />
Support Group was founded<br />
in 1979, initially focusing on<br />
a proposal by the Aboriginal<br />
Treaty Committee to develop<br />
formal treaty negotiations<br />
between the Commonwealth<br />
Government and Indigenous<br />
Australians. Within a couple of<br />
years its focus had expanded<br />
to looking at broader social,<br />
economic and cultural issues.<br />
The group gives support to<br />
Indigenous Australians and<br />
through its information nights,<br />
held every two months, helps<br />
the wider community to gain<br />
an understanding of issues<br />
Indigenous people are facing.<br />
Neil was recently nominated<br />
for the Northern Beaches<br />
Senior Volunteer of the Year<br />
award for his years of work.<br />
The group’s meeting at the<br />
Mona Vale Memorial Hall on 28<br />
August attracted 200 people<br />
to hear Tim Rowse, Emeritus<br />
Professor in the Institute for<br />
Culture and Society at Western<br />
Sydney University, author,<br />
journalist and filmmaker Dr<br />
Jeff McMullen AM, and Liberal<br />
MP for Berowra Julian Leeser,<br />
talk about why they believe it<br />
is imperative to vote Yes in the<br />
upcoming referendum.<br />
In April, Leeser resigned<br />
from his role as Shadow<br />
Attorney-General and Shadow<br />
Minister for Indigenous<br />
Australians, because having<br />
worked for so long to improve<br />
outcomes for First Nations<br />
People, he could not support<br />
the Liberals’ decision to oppose<br />
an Indigenous voice in the<br />
constitution.<br />
Bringing together these<br />
three men, who knew each<br />
other’s work supporting<br />
disadvantaged Indigenous<br />
Australians, but had never<br />
met, to speak to this full hall<br />
of people was for Neil the<br />
culmination of his many years<br />
work in this area.<br />
“How did I get here? I<br />
thought. I’m the guy whose<br />
parents were told that they<br />
may as well get him out of<br />
school because he wasn’t<br />
going to do any good. So<br />
what happened? I have found<br />
something that really touches<br />
my heart and I want to help<br />
people learn more about it.”<br />
The Aboriginal Support<br />
Group also raises money<br />
through its Supporters Annual<br />
Donation fee and donations.<br />
Neil says there are around<br />
1700 Indigenous Australians<br />
living on the Northern Beaches.<br />
The group has supported<br />
several local Aboriginal<br />
families experiencing<br />
financial hardship. Funds<br />
have supported the school at<br />
Toomelah on the Queensland/<br />
NSW border, and to help the<br />
Aboriginal Land Council set<br />
up a men’s group in Western<br />
NSW to address drugs, alcohol,<br />
mental health and domestic<br />
violence. During the drought<br />
Continued on page 46<br />
PHOTO: Rosamund Burton<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Stories<br />
CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: Neil at home at Newport; helping Dad mow the<br />
lawn at Collaroy in 1944; with his mother, father and oldest sister; delivering<br />
a Welcome to Country on the Beaches; the Evers siblings at the Brookvale<br />
Show in 1954; co-hosting a function at Bilgola Plateau Public School with<br />
Cathy Freeman; Neil’s Aboriginal heritage lies in the Guringai clan, who was<br />
led by pivotal early 1800s figure Bungaree; getting to grips with the wildlife<br />
on a Scout Jamberoo in Queensland in 1957; with Mum Dot.<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 45
<strong>Life</strong> Stories<br />
Continued from page 45<br />
money was spent on delivering<br />
drinking water to remote<br />
communities.<br />
For the past 15 years Neil has<br />
also been giving talks about<br />
the flamboyant Bungaree, and<br />
Bungaree’s son Bowen, who<br />
was a tracker in the <strong>Pittwater</strong><br />
area and the first Aboriginal<br />
to be given a rifle for his own<br />
protection. When children at<br />
Newport Primary School heard<br />
about Bowen, Neil says, they<br />
wanted to make him a local<br />
hero. Bowen settled with his<br />
wife and children at the base<br />
of Barrenjoey Headland and<br />
used to track down illegal<br />
rum stills up the Hawkesbury<br />
River.<br />
“Bowen was walking<br />
through the bush here in<br />
Newport and heard people<br />
calling out ‘murder, murder’.<br />
He saw the local bushranger<br />
Casey, who lived at the top of<br />
Newport Hill attacking two<br />
fellows with a knife and a<br />
gun, and the story goes that<br />
Bowen took aim and Casey<br />
spoke no more.” Later a group<br />
of bushrangers were believed<br />
to have shot Bowen on what is<br />
now called Bushrangers Hill.<br />
“But,” says Neil, “there is no<br />
evidence that he was killed on<br />
this site, and it’s probable that<br />
he died in Sydney, where he<br />
had been taken to.”<br />
Neil often sits on a bench at<br />
the northern end of Palm Beach<br />
below Barrenjoey Headland.<br />
“It’s so peaceful and quiet and<br />
I think: ‘I wonder what this was<br />
like when Bowen lived out here’.”<br />
Several years ago Neil<br />
when on Scotland Island he<br />
was told the island café was<br />
being named Catherine Café.<br />
He asked if that was after<br />
his ancestor, Sarah Wallace’s<br />
daughter Catherine Benns,<br />
who as a long-time resident<br />
was a midwife to many island<br />
families and known as the<br />
Queen of Scotland Island. No,<br />
he was told, it was named after<br />
Catherine Bouffler whose sonin-law<br />
owned Scotland Island<br />
in the 1920s. “Then when the<br />
café was opening I was asked<br />
to do the Welcome to Country,<br />
and the café had been named<br />
Two Catherines Café.”<br />
On 23 August, Neil was<br />
one of the panelists at an<br />
Indigenous Voice to Parliament<br />
Community Forum at Manly<br />
Leagues Club, alongside<br />
46 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
SPEAKING CIRCUIT: Neil was asked to<br />
deliver a REDx Talk at Mona Vale.<br />
Zali Steggall MP, novelist<br />
Thomas Keneally and Voice<br />
activist Thomas Mayo. He was<br />
advertised in the flyer as a<br />
‘Guringai Elder’.<br />
Nathan Moran, the president<br />
of the Metropolitan Local<br />
Aboriginal Land Council,<br />
who has been in dispute with<br />
Neil Evers regarding the land<br />
council’s plan to develop the<br />
Lizard Rock site at Belrose,<br />
spoke on 2GB questioning his<br />
heritage.<br />
“Neil Evers couldn’t identify<br />
that his parents identified<br />
as Aboriginal – he has not<br />
had any upbringing as an<br />
Aboriginal or life experience as<br />
an Aboriginal – and this is for<br />
a discussion about Aboriginal<br />
people.”<br />
Neil is quick to admit he is<br />
not an Elder.<br />
“I might be old [he is 81],<br />
but if people call me an Elder<br />
I tell them I’m not one. Elders<br />
hold knowledge. I don’t.” But<br />
he says there is no doubt<br />
about his Aboriginal ancestry.<br />
“And Nathan Moran has<br />
acknowledged and accepted<br />
me at several meeting for<br />
Aboriginal persons on the<br />
Northern Beaches.”<br />
Neil Evers isn’t interested<br />
in getting into a fight. Now<br />
his focus is on the upcoming<br />
referendum on the Indigenous<br />
Voice to Parliament. He likens<br />
the Australian constitution to a<br />
building.<br />
“For years the Aboriginal<br />
people have been on the<br />
outside of the building. A<br />
government spends millions<br />
of dollars setting up a scheme<br />
and then the next government<br />
rips it up and sets up its own.<br />
But if we can put that advisory<br />
group inside the constitution<br />
it cannot be knocked out. It’s a<br />
very modest request,” he says.<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Stories<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 47
Art <strong>Life</strong><br />
Art <strong>Life</strong><br />
Art Collective exhibition & sale<br />
ON SHOW: The Collective will feature works<br />
including Face (artist Catherine Frostick) and Birds<br />
of Paradise (Eva Jackson).<br />
The Art Collective, a group of Northern<br />
Beaches artists from varied backgrounds,<br />
will showcase their work in an exhibition<br />
at Terrey Hills on Sunday 5 November.<br />
Located at 13 Terrigal Road, the property’s<br />
studio and garden will be transformed into a<br />
fabulous gallery, offering visitors an eclectic<br />
mix of creative works.<br />
Catherine Frostick is the driving force behind<br />
the Art Collective’s exhibition which provides<br />
artists an opportunity to connect their works to a<br />
wider audience within<br />
the local community.<br />
“On display, will be<br />
a range of different<br />
mediums such as<br />
ceramics, jewellery,<br />
wreaths and paintings<br />
in oil, acrylic, watercolour<br />
and mixed media,”<br />
said Catherine.<br />
“These works<br />
showcase a diversity<br />
of visual language to<br />
foster connections<br />
with others – this<br />
can include floral,<br />
abstract, landscape,<br />
portrait and figurative<br />
paintings; dress jewellery,<br />
using semi-precious<br />
stones, pearls, metal pieces; ceramics that<br />
range from the practical to the fun and quirky<br />
such as Gillian Orton’s ‘Balloon Dog Series’; and<br />
decorative wreaths that welcome the visitor to<br />
your front door.”<br />
Catherine said visitors could buy unique and<br />
original pieces which may be ideal as a festive<br />
gift, or a piece of work that would enhance the<br />
family home.<br />
“An object or artwork that is crafted and instilled<br />
with an idea or message from an artist is truly special,”<br />
she said. “You may even want to commission<br />
an original piece from one of our artists.”<br />
Meet the participating artists including Mariette<br />
Balk, Allison Blake, Deb Burns, Beatrice Lundy,<br />
Amanda Cook, Catherine Frostick, Eva Jackson,<br />
Chrissie Koltai, Peter McDonald, Gillian Orton,<br />
Debra Waters and Monika Zigman. – Nigel Wall<br />
*Exhibition on Sunday 5 November, 9am-4pm,<br />
13 Terrigal Road Terrey Hills; more info call<br />
Eva Jackson 0432 532 150.<br />
Weaving<br />
workshop<br />
with a<br />
difference<br />
Join local Northern Beaches<br />
artist and environmental<br />
advocate Louise Nade in a fun<br />
and relaxing weaving workshop<br />
on Sunday 8 <strong>October</strong>. Louise<br />
is partnering with Reverse<br />
Garbage to deliver a unique<br />
workshop for all skill levels.<br />
Discover how to think differently<br />
about materials and use a<br />
variety of reclaimed resources<br />
to create your own abstract<br />
artwork. To be held in the Reverse<br />
Garbage Education space<br />
at The Hub, Kimbriki Resource<br />
Recovery Centre, this workshop<br />
is part of the exciting Sydney<br />
Craft Week program happening<br />
6-15 <strong>October</strong>.<br />
Operating since 1975,<br />
Reverse Garbage (RG) is a leading<br />
self-funded, not-for-profit<br />
charity, championing reuse and<br />
sustainability. Committed to the<br />
circular economy, RG delivers<br />
on social, economic and environmental<br />
impact targets.<br />
By supplying artists, schools,<br />
education programs, dramatic<br />
arts groups and creatives of<br />
all professions for almost 50<br />
years, their positive impact on<br />
the reduction of landfill is staggering.<br />
In the year 2020/2021<br />
RG diverted 146,103 kilos from<br />
landfill, served 42,012 customers<br />
and had 10,139 participants<br />
attend education programs.<br />
A Beaches local, member<br />
of the <strong>Pittwater</strong> Artist Trail<br />
and Tree Veneration Society,<br />
Louise’s creative processes are<br />
rooted in introspection and<br />
critical thinking, as she employs<br />
a reflective lens to examine the<br />
relationship between materials,<br />
societal attitudes towards<br />
waste, and the broader implications<br />
on our environment and<br />
society.<br />
Through her art, Louise challenges<br />
conventional notions<br />
of value, and encourages us to<br />
question preconceived ideas<br />
about what is considered valuable<br />
or disposable.<br />
Find out more at reversegarbage.org.au<br />
*Re-Weave with Louise Nade<br />
from 1-4pm on Sunday 8<br />
<strong>October</strong>; cost $85. Bookings<br />
classbento.com.au.<br />
48 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Talent blooms in ‘Remaining Light’<br />
Newport painter Simon Barlow says<br />
his second exhibition with Studio<br />
Gallery – ‘Remaining Light’ – brings<br />
forth an exquisite body of work that<br />
eloquently combines his dedication to perfecting<br />
his artistic process and his quest<br />
to immortalise his subjects.<br />
“Within this exhibition, the viewer encounters<br />
the ethereal remnants of light caressing<br />
the surfaces of flowers, revealing<br />
both the obvious and the suggested, the<br />
tangible and the enigmatic – a captivating<br />
ode to life’s final, elegiac moments of<br />
beauty and wonder,” said Simon.<br />
In the rich tapestry of artistic subjects,<br />
Simon says he has found a muse that<br />
perfectly encapsulates his preoccupation<br />
with light: flowers.<br />
These delicate and transient entities,<br />
symbolising mortality, spirituality, symbolism,<br />
and mythology, are the ideal medium<br />
through which he expresses the profound<br />
wonder that captivates his soul.<br />
Eyes on Mann-made beauty<br />
PETAL WORK: Simon’s stunningly vibrant and<br />
detailed Peony Portrait (153cm x 153cm)<br />
Simon’s paintings allow the viewer to<br />
linger, where the fragile yet resilient petals<br />
of a flower are illuminated by the gentle<br />
Eye Doctors Mona Vale is<br />
celebrating the expansion<br />
of their specialist medical eye<br />
practice. Established in 2012,<br />
this outstanding clinic covers<br />
all aspects of ocular health.<br />
Showcasing the works of<br />
local artists in their large<br />
reception area has raised much<br />
needed-funds for charities<br />
such as Cambodia Vision, with<br />
25 per cent of any sales generated<br />
donated by the artist.<br />
The practice’s current<br />
feature artist is Stephen Mann,<br />
a self-taught, local outdoor<br />
landscape artist who has a<br />
staggering 50 years’ experience<br />
painting on location.<br />
Stephen specialises in capturing<br />
the Northern Beaches’<br />
tranquil history, from Palm<br />
Beach to Manly as well as Mosman<br />
and the sheer beauty of<br />
the Blue Mountains.<br />
“Each piece composes life,<br />
movement, history, originality,<br />
atmosphere, balance and<br />
composition, all created in pallet<br />
knife or watercolour using<br />
a selection of complimentary<br />
colours,” said Stephen.<br />
Stephen is well known for<br />
taking on challenging, largesize<br />
artworks, which he always<br />
completes on location, rain,<br />
hail or shine… this reputation<br />
is what makes his artwork<br />
extremely unique and collectable,<br />
as no two paintings are<br />
ever the same.<br />
– NW<br />
caress of ‘remaining light’.<br />
“I see an opportunity to elevate the<br />
ordinary to the extraordinary,” Simon said.<br />
“By magnifying the intricate details and<br />
unique qualities of each flower, I aim to<br />
invite viewers to explore these subjects<br />
in a new light, to appreciate the intricate<br />
beauty that often goes unnoticed.<br />
“I intend to ‘monumentalise’ my subject.”<br />
The result of many months of work, the<br />
paintings are created in oil on large canvases,<br />
minimum size 153 x 153cm.<br />
Simon began his painting journey on the<br />
Northern Beaches 20 years ago, with solo<br />
exhibitions in Avalon and Newport. His<br />
paintings have found their way into collections<br />
and homes across the globe.<br />
Exhibition is 5 – 19 <strong>October</strong>, Studio Gallery,<br />
3-7 Danks Street, Waterloo. – NW<br />
*To view the paintings and more info<br />
visit simonbarlow.com or studiogallerymelbourne.com.au<br />
EYE DOCTORS: Stephen with his painting of the former Barrenjoey Boatshed.<br />
*Follow Stephen’s journey<br />
through Instagram on Stephenmann14<br />
or check out his<br />
amazing artwork at stephenmannart.com<br />
Art <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
49
Hot Property<br />
Set your sights on postcard views<br />
High on the list of many house hunters is a breathtaking vista. These three stunning homes<br />
with views of the ocean, the bush and <strong>Pittwater</strong> are sure to impress… Compiled by Lisa Offord<br />
Set on the headland and nestled in the beauty<br />
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Boasting one the finest deep waterfront settings in<br />
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by 3pm Oct 19. Contact David Edwards LJ Hooker<br />
Palm Beach or James Baker McGrath <strong>Pittwater</strong>.<br />
50 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Rent growth ‘will slow’<br />
Slowing rent rates could be<br />
a key trend in the housing<br />
market for 2024 due to rent<br />
prices flattening out – albeit<br />
at high levels, according to a<br />
recent CoreLogic report.<br />
The three reasons that<br />
CoreLogic expects to see<br />
a slowdown in the pace of<br />
rent increases are:<br />
1. Potentially lower rates<br />
Annual growth in rent<br />
values and interest rates<br />
move together over time,<br />
the report explains. Since<br />
it is forecast there will be a<br />
decline in the cash rate in<br />
2024, economists are also<br />
predicting this will flow<br />
on to the overall housing<br />
sector.<br />
“A reduction in interest<br />
rates could increase<br />
demand from housing<br />
investors, and increased<br />
investment purchases add<br />
to rental supply, which<br />
may serve to lower rent<br />
growth,” CoreLogic’s head<br />
of residential research Eliza<br />
Owen explained.<br />
2. A change in preferences<br />
Another potential reason<br />
for rents to fall is softer<br />
income growth. During the<br />
pandemic, household income<br />
growth shifted much higher,<br />
which allowed occupants<br />
to lease more-spacious<br />
properties, or move out of<br />
share-house agreements.<br />
“People could afford<br />
leases on more-spacious<br />
properties, which has<br />
contributed to lower stock<br />
levels as households spread<br />
out across the dwelling<br />
market,” Owen says.<br />
If income growth<br />
continues to slow in the<br />
next year, renters may look<br />
to re-form share houses.<br />
3. Stretched affordability<br />
If rents continue trending<br />
upwards, Australians will<br />
be further locked out of the<br />
rental market. According<br />
to CoreLogic’s data, rents<br />
have increased 29.3% since<br />
August 2020, which is the<br />
equivalent of around $134 a<br />
week in <strong>2023</strong>. – LO<br />
Hot Property<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 51
Local Author Q&A<br />
Risky business: Expert Tony’s<br />
memoir on keeping things safe<br />
Global security and safety professional Tony Loughran’s life is all about risk –<br />
taking it and preventing it. Tony’s memoir, written in the comfort of his Narabeen<br />
home, is an account of an extraordinary career which has placed him at the heart<br />
of some of the most dangerous places in the world… Interview by Lisa Offord<br />
Books<br />
Q: Tell us about yourself<br />
and your connection to the<br />
Northern Beaches<br />
I am a global risk specialist,<br />
with over 30 years of<br />
international experience<br />
as a safety and security<br />
professional. I was born in<br />
Liverpool in 1962; at 18, I joined<br />
the Royal Navy as a medic,<br />
then became a commando<br />
medic in the Royal Marines.<br />
In 1991, I took on the exciting<br />
and demanding role of safety<br />
and security expert for the<br />
BBC. Among much else, I<br />
revolutionised the way in which<br />
journalists cover conflicts,<br />
pioneering state-of-the-art<br />
body armour, improving<br />
vehicles and developing<br />
hostile environment courses<br />
that have become obligatory,<br />
and lifesaving for media<br />
personnel and others working<br />
in hazardous places.<br />
Since I moved to Australia in<br />
2002, I have developed my own<br />
security consultancy company,<br />
ZeroRisk International, which<br />
has continued to involve me in<br />
high-octane assignments and<br />
adventures all over the world,<br />
from Pakistan to Afghanistan<br />
and Ukraine.<br />
I first came to Avalon many<br />
years ago to buy a car from the<br />
Greek guy who owned the Fish<br />
& Chips shop and fell in love<br />
with the Northern Beaches, as<br />
it reminded me of Malta where<br />
I briefly lived as a 10-year-old.<br />
I have two kids (Tom and Erin)<br />
who go to Barrenjoey High<br />
School and have another two<br />
older kids Katie (Neutral Bay)<br />
and Brianna (Plymouth, UK).<br />
I now live in Narrabeen with<br />
my partner Kylie and her three<br />
kids (Koby, Clio and Jet).<br />
I travel a lot with my work<br />
often going to dangerous and<br />
remote places, recently Jenin<br />
(West Bank) but I always love<br />
coming back to the Northern<br />
Beaches, it’s literally one of the<br />
most wonderful places on earth.<br />
Q: What inspired you to write<br />
ZERO RISK?<br />
In 2007 I was a guest on ABC<br />
Conversations with Richard<br />
Fidler. After the interview I<br />
had a deluge of people asking<br />
if there was a book due out.<br />
In 2008 I wrote the title and<br />
introduction, but my company<br />
ZeroRisk got very busy and I<br />
parked it for a while. I’ve led an<br />
interesting life and I wanted<br />
to share my experiences with<br />
others. I also wanted to provide<br />
inspiration to those who feel<br />
their life is going nowhere, and<br />
to teens who are struggling with<br />
their parents and homelife, as<br />
I can totally relate; I’ve been on<br />
that journey, too.<br />
Q: How did it all come<br />
together? When did you write<br />
the book/ how long did it take?<br />
After jotting the first words<br />
down there was a lull for many<br />
years. One day I returned<br />
from Afghanistan after a very<br />
difficult trip and decided the<br />
time was right. I sent a message<br />
out on LinkedIn asking for<br />
someone to help me get started<br />
and I was introduced to Emma<br />
Wilson (Northern Beachesbased<br />
writer, editor and content<br />
creator). In total it took me<br />
about 18 months and I really<br />
enjoyed the process. My first<br />
draft focused on my military<br />
days but Echo Publishing<br />
wanted all of my experiences<br />
to be included. The book then<br />
started to take shape with my<br />
editors Juliet and Anna Rogers<br />
doing something quite amazing<br />
by hacking back everything I’d<br />
submitted, finding a ‘hook’ for<br />
each chapter and sprinkling<br />
my military experience<br />
into each chapter. To this day<br />
I have enough information to<br />
write another few books!<br />
Q: Describe your writing<br />
habits…<br />
The best time for me to write<br />
was early morning (0300 – 0700)<br />
as there was no-one around<br />
and I’d just sit at my computer<br />
and delve into my past, which<br />
was often painful. Quite often I<br />
would continue in the morning<br />
as I felt I was on a roll and<br />
just couldn’t stop. Two things<br />
I learnt from the start were:<br />
‘Don’t keep checking the word<br />
count’ and ‘Don’t be afraid<br />
to tell it as it is’. This was an<br />
important point for me, as often<br />
I’d write something and be<br />
worried that I’d offend someone,<br />
or some people wouldn’t like<br />
what I’d written. Emma and<br />
others were extremely helpful<br />
as they reinforced that this was<br />
my journey and a story that had<br />
to be told.<br />
Zero Risk Keeping Others<br />
Safe in a Dangerous World<br />
is available where all good<br />
books are sold. Keep an eye<br />
on the ZeroRisk International<br />
Facebook page for author talks.<br />
52 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
School <strong>Life</strong><br />
When should a child start school?<br />
Educators have noticed a<br />
trend develop over the past<br />
20 years of families starting<br />
their children at school later<br />
rather than allowing their<br />
education to commence at the<br />
earliest opportunity.<br />
St Luke’s Grammar School<br />
Head of Junior School, Bayview<br />
– Peter Scott – says staff have<br />
found that this is often a wise<br />
decision, ensuring children<br />
enter school when they are<br />
truly ready, without rushing<br />
their development or forcing<br />
them to grow up too quickly.<br />
“This increased maturity<br />
means that when they start<br />
formal schooling, they are<br />
more prepared for the learning<br />
and social dynamics of<br />
Kindergarten and beyond,” he<br />
said.<br />
Mr Scott noted however,<br />
that each child was unique and<br />
added that for many, an earlier<br />
start was entirely appropriate.<br />
To help determine this, St<br />
Luke’s meets with families prior<br />
CRITICAL PHASE: Early learning.<br />
to enrolment and uses school<br />
readiness checklists to help<br />
parents decide what is best for<br />
their child.<br />
“Research shows the first<br />
five years of a child’s life are<br />
critical for their development<br />
and strongly predict how they<br />
will perform in school,” Mr Scott<br />
said. “Early learning is a critical<br />
phase in a child’s development<br />
that lays the foundation for<br />
lifelong learning and success.”<br />
He added the NSW<br />
Government recognised the<br />
importance of early learning<br />
in 2022, announcing a 10-year<br />
investment in universal prekindergarten<br />
to every four-year-<br />
old by 2030.<br />
The importance of play<br />
was a pillar in St Luke’s early<br />
education program.<br />
“During the critical early<br />
years, play serves as a<br />
powerful tool for learning,<br />
allowing children to explore,<br />
experiment, and make sense<br />
of the world in a natural and<br />
enjoyable way,” he said.<br />
“Through play, children<br />
develop crucial cognitive,<br />
social, and emotional skills.<br />
They engage in imaginative<br />
play scenarios, which foster<br />
creativity and problem-solving<br />
abilities.”<br />
Also, play provides an<br />
essential opportunity for<br />
children to practice skills<br />
such as sharing with others,<br />
taking turns, and negotiating<br />
with peers – all vital for a<br />
smooth transition into formal<br />
schooling.<br />
“And play builds their<br />
capacity for empathy,<br />
compassion and collaboration,<br />
skills they will use throughout<br />
their lives.”<br />
Mr Scott said St Luke’s<br />
Cottage Program (prekindergarten)<br />
provided a<br />
developmentally appropriate<br />
blend of play-based and more<br />
formalised learning activities in<br />
a resource-rich environment.<br />
“It’s a delightful introduction<br />
to the rich and exciting world<br />
of learning at school, and<br />
thoroughly prepares and equips<br />
children for the transition to<br />
‘big school’ the following year.<br />
“We aim to provide children<br />
with opportunities to develop<br />
the confidence to learn through<br />
play and a culture of learning<br />
through investigation. We have<br />
seen our Cottage learning<br />
spaces turned into a vets’<br />
surgery, NASA space station,<br />
a zoo and a café. Through<br />
investigations like these,<br />
our students develop critical<br />
thinking skills and learn how<br />
to make connections between<br />
concepts.” – Nigel Wall<br />
School <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
53
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Abuse,<br />
homelessness:<br />
what to do?<br />
Despite its idyllic setting, <strong>Pittwater</strong> and the Northern Beaches are not immune<br />
to domestic violence, abuse and issues of homelessness. <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> asked<br />
local experts to detail the extent of the problem. Special Report by Rob Pegley<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
The NSW Domestic and<br />
Family Violence Plan 2022-<br />
2027 reports that 2.2 million<br />
women in Australia (23 per<br />
cent) have experienced violence<br />
by an intimate partner.<br />
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics<br />
figures indicate there<br />
are more than 150 domestic<br />
violence incidents reported<br />
each month to the Northern<br />
Beaches Police Area Command.<br />
It is also reported that 1-in-6<br />
women (and-1-in-16 men) in the<br />
Northern Beaches Local Government<br />
Area have experienced<br />
violence by a partner. With over<br />
260,000 people in the 2021 census<br />
(49% male, 51% female), that<br />
equates to as many as 22,000<br />
women (and 8000 men) that are<br />
likely to have been subjected to<br />
abuse.<br />
Principal Solicitor with Scarf<br />
Family Law in Mona Vale<br />
Natasha Scarf says she believes<br />
domestic abuse is escalating in<br />
the area.<br />
“We have certainly seen an<br />
increase in matters involving<br />
family violence, which includes<br />
financial abuse and coercive<br />
control,” Natasha said. “Unfortunately,<br />
these have all existed in<br />
family law matters for decades;<br />
however we are seeing a significant<br />
increase.”<br />
Natasha said the most common<br />
form of abuse she had<br />
observed was the lesser known<br />
‘coercive control’.<br />
“That is, where the woman<br />
is ‘controlled’ by her partner<br />
in ways such as withholding<br />
or limiting access to money<br />
and financial records, stalking<br />
and monitoring movements,<br />
demanding access to mobile telephone/emails<br />
and social media<br />
accounts and so on,” she said.<br />
Coercive control and financial<br />
abuse over years can make it<br />
very difficult for a partner to<br />
leave a relationship.<br />
“Finances and in turn accommodation<br />
can be extremely<br />
hard to access, and a Catch 22<br />
situation occurs where fighting<br />
a legal case to obtain these<br />
basic rights is impossible due to<br />
a lack of funds,” she said.<br />
“With homes and bank<br />
accounts often in the male<br />
partners name – and control –<br />
women can end up staying in an<br />
abusive relationship or returning<br />
to their abuser due to a lack<br />
of other options.”<br />
The organisation Women<br />
Against Abuse notes that “… it<br />
can take approximately seven<br />
attempts before a survivor<br />
permanently leaves an abusive<br />
partner”.<br />
Again, Natasha has witnessed<br />
that first-hand.<br />
“It is quite common that<br />
the woman doesn’t have access<br />
to the funds needed to<br />
secure legal representation<br />
for herself. She is often also<br />
completely in the dark as to<br />
what assets and liabilities they<br />
had as a couple, as the husband<br />
controlled all the finances,” she<br />
explained.<br />
“Some women may also feel<br />
that (or have been told by the<br />
perpetrator) they do not deserve<br />
anything and will not get<br />
anything if they separate.<br />
“Those victims need the right<br />
support to understand the separation<br />
process.”<br />
Natasha said lawyers were<br />
often able to seek financial<br />
HELP: Narelle Hand.<br />
support for women who were<br />
victims of family violence.<br />
“There are choices available<br />
to women which are incredibly<br />
helpful, such as Litigation Lending<br />
– this allows the woman to<br />
borrow funds for her legal fees<br />
along with an amount to assist<br />
with day-to-day expenses, with<br />
repayments often not repayable<br />
until the matter is settled.<br />
“Having the advice from a<br />
Family Law lawyer prior to separation<br />
can be extremely helpful<br />
to victims of family violence<br />
– knowledge is power and that<br />
little bit of knowledge can often<br />
be the catalyst to leaving an<br />
unhealthy relationship.”<br />
Resources to fight a legal<br />
case can hopefully be found<br />
over time – but what about in<br />
the immediate short term, when<br />
just having a roof over your<br />
head is needed?<br />
Narelle Hand is Shelter Manager<br />
of the Northern Beaches<br />
Women’s Shelter, and Chair of<br />
the Northern Beaches Domestic<br />
Violence Network. The shelter<br />
can house 14 single women at<br />
any one time, and there is new<br />
accommodation on the way in<br />
the <strong>Pittwater</strong> area, which will be<br />
able to house four women with<br />
children in apartment accommodation.<br />
However, the available accommodation<br />
still falls well short of<br />
demand.<br />
“We turn away on average<br />
23 women per month,” Narelle<br />
says. “And that number is only<br />
based on when we advertise<br />
a vacancy – last Christmas we<br />
were getting 100 calls a week.<br />
“At the moment we’re finding<br />
accommodation for 80 women<br />
across the Northern Beaches,<br />
but we use anything we can to<br />
achieve that.<br />
“We get gifted property at<br />
low rates to use as pop-up<br />
shelters when people are going<br />
on holiday, or even seeking DA<br />
approvals. We do every single<br />
thing we can think of to house<br />
women.<br />
“If I don’t have a vacancy I will<br />
find someone that does. We’ll<br />
try to put someone up for a few<br />
days if we know a vacancy is<br />
coming up.<br />
“So many need accommodation…<br />
statistically it’s up around<br />
300, but that’s just based on<br />
the people who find us. I don’t<br />
know who’s sleeping in a car or<br />
on a couch, I only know the people<br />
who find my service.”<br />
While violence is often a<br />
focus, Narelle agrees with Natasha<br />
Scarf that coercive control<br />
is a huge problem, and that<br />
older women are increasingly at<br />
risk of becoming homeless as<br />
a result.<br />
“People who were never<br />
homeless are becoming home-<br />
54 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
less for the first time, either<br />
through a breakdown in their<br />
relationship, their employment<br />
or their health,” she explained.<br />
“Women 55-plus is the fastest<br />
growing cohort in terms<br />
of homelessness – and often<br />
it’s due to a lack of separation<br />
income.<br />
“Women can often find it hard<br />
to fight their case legally and<br />
will have a property asset that<br />
they can’t live in, because they<br />
can’t get access or it’s not safe<br />
to be there – and that can drag<br />
on for a very long time.<br />
“The psychological trauma of<br />
coercive control can have longterm<br />
damaging effects. People<br />
may not be wearing the physical<br />
scars externally, but they’re<br />
carrying them internally. Abuse<br />
comes in all forms and can be<br />
done in ways that don’t attract<br />
criminal attention, but still does<br />
harm.”<br />
When women do find crisis<br />
accommodation, either with<br />
Narelle or elsewhere, they stay<br />
for an average of 72 days. That<br />
time is used very much in the<br />
same way as rehab – to prepare<br />
women for the next stage of<br />
their life; to educate them and<br />
help them find a pathway out<br />
of their situation, so that they<br />
don’t have to return to their<br />
previous unsafe situation.<br />
“It’s an intensive time and<br />
we’re assessing what we can<br />
do for them long term in the<br />
area. There’s a two- to five-year<br />
wait for priority housing on the<br />
Northern Beaches and we want<br />
to set them up for success, so<br />
we need to present realistic<br />
options.<br />
“We don’t want people to fail.<br />
We try to transition them in a<br />
seamless way – each time they<br />
achieve something independently<br />
we take a step back.”<br />
Wende Jowsey, the Program<br />
Manager at the Women’s<br />
Resilience Centre in Mona Vale,<br />
agrees that education is vital.<br />
“The whole focus of what<br />
we’re about is the educationbased<br />
use of skills and experience<br />
to help women recover<br />
from abuse and trauma,” said<br />
Wende. “We help women who<br />
have had crisis help to transition<br />
with long-term recovery support.<br />
Financial help, help with<br />
employment skills… personal<br />
wellbeing skills.<br />
“When women can gain these<br />
EDUCATION: Wende Jowsey.<br />
skills they’re far less likely to<br />
return to an abusive situation.<br />
Women’s shelters on the Northern<br />
Beaches are at capacity. Domestic<br />
Violence went through<br />
the roof during COVID and the<br />
lockdowns. People still have this<br />
idea that these problems don’t<br />
happen in affluent parts of Australia<br />
like the Northern Beaches<br />
– and that’s not the case.”<br />
Founder and Director of the<br />
Women’s Resilience Centre<br />
Simone Allan is quick to point<br />
out that this isn’t necessarily a<br />
women’s problem, but rather a<br />
community problem.<br />
“We don’t want to demonise<br />
men,” said Simone. “We know<br />
that this can be a problem for<br />
men as well. We want a safer<br />
community for everyone.”<br />
Narelle Hand agrees.<br />
“We just want a violence-free<br />
community,” she said. “Although<br />
most perpetrators are men, we<br />
have no issues with men, we<br />
just have issues with people<br />
who perpetrate violence.<br />
“Men play such a strong part<br />
in role-modelling good healthy<br />
relationships. We want men to<br />
champion the cause because<br />
they have a really important role<br />
in mentoring young people and<br />
changing the culture.<br />
“We want men to express<br />
themselves, so that they don’t<br />
let things build up and have explosive<br />
moments or have breakdowns<br />
and mental disorders.<br />
“Everybody plays a part…<br />
everybody can do something.”<br />
*Contact the Northern<br />
Beaches Women’s Shelter<br />
(9977 7772). Also the Northern<br />
Beaches Domestic Violence<br />
Triage service (0404 445 940);<br />
coordinated by the Northern<br />
Beaches Domestic Violence<br />
Network, this service operates<br />
7 days a week, 9.30am to 8pm.<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 55
Health & Wellbeing<br />
With Emma van Wanrooy<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
‘Hearing aids make brains<br />
lazy’ & other common myths<br />
We often perceive hearing<br />
as just being about our<br />
ears, but in fact it is so<br />
much more complex than that.<br />
As an Audiologist, a vital part<br />
of my job is educating people<br />
and debunking a lot of myths<br />
around hearing that include:<br />
1. Hearing aids are only for<br />
old people<br />
This is one of the most common<br />
myths, but 2 in 1000 babies are<br />
born with a hearing loss, and 1<br />
in 7 Australians have a hearing<br />
loss. So, there are people of<br />
all ages wearing hearing aids<br />
– including Mackenzie Arnold,<br />
goalkeeper for the Matildas.<br />
During the pandemic, a lot of<br />
people found that their hearing<br />
loss made it harder to conduct<br />
Zoom meetings or hear people<br />
who were wearing a facemask.<br />
This led them to acquire hearing<br />
aids for the first time.<br />
2. I don’t have a hearing loss –<br />
people just don’t speak clearly<br />
Hearing loss often affects high<br />
pitch sounds but not low pitch<br />
sounds. You can therefore hear<br />
a person speaking, but their<br />
speech sounds unclear. Hearing<br />
loss usually happens slowly so<br />
you don’t notice that you are<br />
losing your hearing. A regular<br />
hearing check is therefore a<br />
good idea.<br />
3. Nothing can be done for<br />
tinnitus<br />
Tinnitus is the name given to a<br />
sound you can hear in your ears<br />
or head that isn’t coming from<br />
the environment around you. It<br />
is often a ringing sound, but can<br />
be a rushing noise or something<br />
else. Tinnitus is often the brain’s<br />
reaction to the absence of sound<br />
as the result of a hearing loss.<br />
Research has found that in these<br />
instances, hearing aids are very<br />
effective in helping to diminish<br />
the tinnitus or getting rid of it<br />
completely. Treatment for tinnitus<br />
includes determining the<br />
cause of the tinnitus (including<br />
ensuring there is no medical<br />
reason), understanding what<br />
will trigger and what will help<br />
to relieve it and putting some<br />
strategies in place to retrain your<br />
brain not to attend to the noise.<br />
In some cases, more intensive<br />
therapy is required.<br />
4. Wearing hearing aids makes<br />
your brain lazy<br />
People who wear their hearing<br />
aids every day will often comment<br />
that their hearing is worse<br />
when they take the hearing aids<br />
out. However, this is likely to be<br />
because the brain’s perception<br />
of sound is shaped by our most<br />
recent listening experience. A<br />
strong body of evidence is building<br />
that indicates that hearing<br />
aid use is linked to a slower rate<br />
of cognitive decline. Mackenze<br />
Arnold commented at the recent<br />
Women’s World Cup that she<br />
didn’t perform as well against<br />
Nigeria because she hadn’t worn<br />
her hearing aids during the day<br />
prior to that match. She acknowledged<br />
that getting into a habit<br />
of daily use of her hearing aids<br />
was important.<br />
5. Your hearing aids don’t work<br />
– you still can’t hear me<br />
How well someone hears with<br />
their hearing aids will depend on<br />
several factors that include:<br />
• The degree of hearing loss<br />
they have;<br />
• The speaker: are they facing<br />
the listener and are they speaking<br />
slowly and clearly? Are they<br />
close by (less than 1 metre) or<br />
far away/ in another room?<br />
• How well/ how recently the<br />
hearing aids have been fine<br />
tuned to the individual by the<br />
Audiologist;<br />
• The acoustics of the environment.<br />
A small quiet room is<br />
much easier than a large noisy<br />
environment.<br />
Everyone’s hearing is different<br />
and so an appointment with an<br />
Audiologist who can assess your<br />
own unique situation is always a<br />
good idea.<br />
*Emma van Wanrooy is the<br />
principal audiologist at<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Hearing in Avalon;<br />
more info 8919 0008.<br />
56 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Give back at Mona<br />
Vale Hospital<br />
Volunteers and community members have always been a<br />
major asset to Mona Vale Hospital’s staff, patients and<br />
their families, as well as carers.<br />
The hospital receives generous gift donations from the<br />
Mona Vale Hospital Auxiliary, who have gifted close to $2 million<br />
to the hospital since 2017.<br />
Yvonne Parsons, long-term volunteer at Mona Vale Hospital<br />
and Honorary President of the auxiliary, says giving back to<br />
the community’s hospital is something her and her fellow<br />
volunteers take pride in.<br />
“The hospital provides a valuable service to the community,”<br />
Yvonne said. “Volunteering is a way of giving back and<br />
helping the hospital help the community.”<br />
The auxiliary run local stalls at <strong>Pittwater</strong> Place and Bunnings<br />
Belrose to raise funds.<br />
“We have a dedicated team but are always ready to welcome<br />
new members,” Yvonne said.<br />
“Volunteers can also become members of the consumer<br />
participation committee that provides advice on hospital<br />
planning and performance and works with the hospital<br />
executive to promote effective community consultation and<br />
partnership.”<br />
Mona Vale Hospital General Manager Mathivanan Sakthivel<br />
said there were a range of activities volunteers could do,<br />
from being a companion to helping with activities such as<br />
taking around the tea and snacks trolley, playing bingo or<br />
watching movies with patients.<br />
*If you would like to be involved contact NSLHD-MVHVolunteer@health.nsw.gov.au<br />
or call 9998 6294.<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 57
Health & Wellbeing<br />
OPINION by Kat Adamski<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Perimenopause & puberty:<br />
when home worlds collide<br />
Sometimes it feels like the<br />
joke is on me. I was so<br />
proud and happy to have<br />
my first child at almost 40<br />
(along with a second baby at<br />
43), but now that I’ve turned 50<br />
the tables have turned.<br />
Hormones have taken over<br />
our household. I’ve entered the<br />
perimenopause years – which<br />
can last four to six years on<br />
average – and I’m experiencing<br />
at least a few of the most<br />
common symptoms. Hello to<br />
mood swings, brain fog and<br />
tiredness (and you can also<br />
throw in reduced confidence,<br />
trouble concentrating,<br />
headaches, low libido, vaginal<br />
dryness and hot flushes for<br />
many women).<br />
And just like that my world<br />
has collided with my 11-year-old<br />
daughter’s, who is experiencing<br />
the same sort of mood changes<br />
and energy level variations,<br />
albeit as a normal part of<br />
puberty.<br />
So here we are –<br />
perimenopausal and on<br />
the brink of puberty.<br />
Perimenopause is the stage<br />
of life leading up to your<br />
last menstrual period, which<br />
is known as menopause.<br />
The changes of puberty are<br />
physical, sexual, social and<br />
emotional.<br />
Trust me, it’s easier said than<br />
done to ignore a once sweet<br />
child who is now full of attitude<br />
and eye rolls. Ok, she’s still a<br />
beautiful, friendly, engaging<br />
young girl but I’ve realised that<br />
our closeness as mother and<br />
daughter has come at a price.<br />
BRAIN FOG: A common symptom<br />
associated with perimenopause.<br />
Our talks can now sometimes<br />
become combative, so I have to<br />
remember the most important<br />
thing – I am the adult.<br />
It’s far easier to take the high<br />
ground and ask her to re-shape<br />
how she’s just spoken, or just<br />
ignore the sass, than go into<br />
battle each time.<br />
The good news is that help<br />
is at hand for women. A free<br />
online toolkit offers advice on<br />
how to better recognise and<br />
understand the symptoms of<br />
perimenopause and menopause.<br />
It provides information as<br />
well as locations of NSW<br />
Government-funded clinics.<br />
While women in previous<br />
generations used to deal with<br />
these stages of life privately,<br />
high-profile women have<br />
brought the topic into the<br />
mainstream.<br />
Northern Beaches resident<br />
Alison Brahe-Daddo writes<br />
openly about wishing she knew<br />
more about menopause before<br />
going through it in her book,<br />
Queen Menopause: Finding Your<br />
Majesty in the Mayhem.<br />
Celebrities including<br />
Gywneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts<br />
and Serena Williams are all<br />
investors in the global wellness<br />
menopause industry, which<br />
barely existed five years ago but<br />
is projected to be worth $840<br />
billion by 2025.<br />
While Aussie actress Watts<br />
can still light up the big<br />
screen – think of her portrayal<br />
as Newport’s Sam Bloom<br />
in ‘Penguin Bloom’ – she is<br />
also helping to destigmatise<br />
menopause with a new social<br />
media platform.<br />
And who can forget Drew<br />
Barrymore’s reaction on her talk<br />
show while she was interviewing<br />
Jennifer Aniston. Refusing<br />
to downplay the experience,<br />
Barrymore candidly said, “I<br />
am so hot, I think I’m having<br />
my first perimenopause hot<br />
flushes.”<br />
Women live about a third<br />
of their life after menopause<br />
so it’s important for women’s<br />
health and wellbeing that we<br />
break down social stigmas<br />
around discussing and seeking<br />
treatment, according to former<br />
NSW Minister for Women,<br />
Bronnie Taylor.<br />
“We need to remember<br />
menopause is normal,” Ms<br />
Taylor said.<br />
Even Dr Ginni Mansberg, a<br />
Sydney-based GP with more<br />
than 30 years’ experience<br />
specialising in women’s health,<br />
was ashamed to admit that she<br />
knew “less than nothing” about<br />
menopause until a few years<br />
ago.<br />
“In fact, I was a bit dismissive<br />
of patients who came to see<br />
me about it: a bit of that ‘suck<br />
it up, princess’ mentality,” Dr<br />
Mansberg has been reported as<br />
saying.<br />
“Because the more I learnt,<br />
the more I realised how complex<br />
and grim it can be.”<br />
I am dealing with my own<br />
changes as best as I can while<br />
at the same time trying to show<br />
compassion for the changes<br />
my daughter is experiencing.<br />
Remember, try to stay calm<br />
during angry outbursts from<br />
your child. Stay positive and<br />
keep things in perspective<br />
– adolescence does not last<br />
forever; it is a temporary stage<br />
in your young person’s life.<br />
While there may not be a day<br />
dedicated to tweens, there is a<br />
Menopause Day, coincidentally<br />
almost two-thirds of the way<br />
through Menopause Month, on<br />
<strong>October</strong> 18.<br />
It might become a day that<br />
my daughter and I can celebrate<br />
together.<br />
* Resources and more info at<br />
nsw.gov.au/women-nsw<br />
58 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Health & Wellbeing<br />
with Rowena Beckenham<br />
Health & Wellbeing<br />
Use your benefits now<br />
For most of us, the end of<br />
spring means planning<br />
for holidays, pulling those<br />
swimmers out of the back<br />
of our closets, organising<br />
Christmas gifts, and preparing<br />
for an influx of family and<br />
friends. It’s easy to get lost<br />
in the chaos and excitement<br />
of the festive season – but if<br />
you have a health fund that<br />
covers optical expenses, make<br />
sure to add a trip to your local<br />
optometrist to your to-do list.<br />
Using your health fund<br />
benefits before 31 December<br />
is a must if you want to avoid<br />
losing any benefits. Most<br />
health funds have annual limits<br />
on the amount you can claim<br />
for optical services, and any<br />
unused benefits typically don’t<br />
roll over into the next calendar<br />
year. This means if you haven’t<br />
used up your optical benefits<br />
by the end of the year, you’ll<br />
lose them.<br />
Chances are if you have<br />
optical cover, you’ve been<br />
paying expensive premiums all<br />
year, so now is the time to take<br />
advantage of your health fund<br />
cover. There are many ways to<br />
use your health fund rebate,<br />
and your local optometrist can<br />
help you find the option that’s<br />
right for you.<br />
Why not consider a spare<br />
pair of reading glasses? If you<br />
are always losing your specs,<br />
it might make sense to grab<br />
another pair to keep around<br />
the house or leave in your car<br />
for emergencies.<br />
Most optometry practices<br />
also offer some ‘no-gap’<br />
spectacle frame options, that<br />
they can charge exclusively to<br />
your private health insurance.<br />
Or perhaps you’ve noticed<br />
your vision isn’t quite as good<br />
as it used to be and those<br />
readers just aren’t cutting it<br />
anymore; multifocal lenses are<br />
the perfect solution so you<br />
don’t have to constantly change<br />
pairs. Conveniently, you can<br />
wear multifocal glasses for all<br />
occasions.<br />
Alternatively, you could<br />
invest in a pair of prescription<br />
sunglasses, perfect for summer<br />
days reading by the beach or<br />
perusing the menu at your local<br />
cafe. Or maybe you’re seeking<br />
a new look; as summer rolls<br />
around, in too do new-season<br />
styles.<br />
Perhaps you’d like the<br />
ease of not having to worry<br />
about having your glasses on<br />
you at all times; if that’s the<br />
case, contact lenses may be<br />
the perfect solution. Some<br />
optometry practices, including<br />
Beckenham Optometrist,<br />
can even provide you with<br />
prescription swimming<br />
goggles so you can see clearly<br />
while you snorkel, ocean swim<br />
or swim laps.<br />
These options are all<br />
available to claim using your<br />
health fund, before cover<br />
lapses on 1 January. Get in<br />
early before the summer rush<br />
to make the most out of your<br />
health fund payments, by<br />
visiting your local optometrist<br />
to claim your benefits before<br />
the end of the year.<br />
Comment supplied by<br />
Rowena Beckenham, of<br />
Beckenham Optometrist<br />
in Avalon (9918 0616).<br />
Rowena has been<br />
involved in all facets<br />
of independent private<br />
practice optometry in<br />
Avalon for more than<br />
20 years, in addition to<br />
working as a consultant to<br />
the optometric and<br />
pharmaceutical industry,<br />
and regularly volunteering<br />
in Aboriginal eyecare<br />
programs in regional NSW.<br />
60 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Hair & Beauty<br />
with Sue Carroll<br />
Beauty Show reveals trends<br />
and what’s making news<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
The past couple of<br />
months have been busy<br />
and exciting post the<br />
recent Aesthetic Show, which<br />
was held at Darling Harbour<br />
and had international guests,<br />
new products and treatments<br />
released.<br />
One of the notable guests<br />
was Dr Matthias Aust who<br />
is a plastic surgeon from<br />
Germany. Dr Aust presented<br />
a training course on updates<br />
with micro-needling. This was<br />
a jam-packed day with new<br />
information on how to achieve<br />
optimum results with this<br />
procedure. The next day, I was<br />
privileged to be in an exclusive<br />
class of three for what was<br />
almost a one-on-one brainpicking<br />
afternoon, during which<br />
Dr Aust shared the techniques<br />
he has perfected over the years;<br />
now we are fortunate to extend<br />
these ‘pearls’ to our clients.<br />
Now is a great time to have<br />
the micro-needling treatment<br />
in preparation for the Summer<br />
party season, which is only a<br />
heartbeat away. ‘Skin Flooding’<br />
is the latest TikTok trend<br />
sweeping the globe. This<br />
term comes from the Korean<br />
skincare practice of flooding<br />
your skin with hydration to<br />
achieve the radiant glow we all<br />
strive to achieve.<br />
Skin Flooding is a ‘buzz<br />
term’ for something which is<br />
basically good, sound skin<br />
principles. This will consist of<br />
cleansing, gauze and tone,<br />
serums and hydration, to<br />
achieve the greatest efficacy<br />
and absorption of products.<br />
In a nutshell, start with the<br />
thinnest water-based serum and<br />
work up to the thickest product<br />
which is the treatment cream.<br />
‘Barbie’ is permeating<br />
everything we do – and it’s<br />
no surprise that the beauty<br />
industry is also seeing an<br />
influx of trends related to the<br />
world’s most iconic doll; hence<br />
the emergence of ‘Traptox’<br />
or ‘Trapezius Slimming’, or<br />
‘Barbie Shoulders’. Using antiwrinkle<br />
injections, this nonsurgical<br />
procedure promises to<br />
transform and soften the upper<br />
arms and clavicle region to give<br />
a more feminine appearance.<br />
By day the skin protects<br />
itself, by night it repairs<br />
itself. Piggybacking onto this<br />
physiological phenomenon,<br />
our skincare ritual is a vital<br />
part of the repair process. The<br />
circadian rhythm, or the body<br />
clock, is a 24-hour cycle that<br />
regulates all living creatures,<br />
telling us when to eat and sleep.<br />
Left to its own devices – that<br />
is, no party drugs, caffeine,<br />
adrenaline, or undue stress<br />
interrupting things – our<br />
bodies’ circadian sleep pattern<br />
kicks in around 9pm.<br />
Melatonin, the sleep hormone<br />
that protects skin from sun<br />
damage and pollution during<br />
the day, starts signalling about<br />
this time that it is time to wind<br />
down. As we sleep, major skin<br />
revival and repair really kick<br />
in, enhancing cell turnover<br />
and increasing the production<br />
of human growth hormone<br />
(HGH) that helps tissue repair<br />
and regeneration. This all<br />
being said, means we need to<br />
capitalise on our night skincare<br />
regime and include serums<br />
such as retinol, antioxidants,<br />
growth factor, hyaluronic acid<br />
and multivitamins, ensuring our<br />
skin is revitalised by morning.<br />
It is postulated that SIBO –<br />
intestinal bacterial overgrowth<br />
– may trigger rosacea by<br />
increasing the number of<br />
cytokines, a type of protein<br />
that tells other cells what to<br />
do. In this case, cytokines tell<br />
the body to become inflamed,<br />
in certain areas. As in most<br />
cases, treat internally and<br />
externally with a prescribed<br />
homecare product regime and<br />
the symptoms will either be<br />
reduced or eradicated.<br />
Some of the wellness<br />
trends happening both in<br />
Australia and overseas include:<br />
Hydrothermal Wellness,<br />
InnovativeMind/Body Wellness<br />
beds, Longevity-focused<br />
programming, Hyperbaric<br />
Oxygen, LED and Bioptron Light<br />
therapy, HOCAT chambers and<br />
also a return to outdoor spaces<br />
for wellness.<br />
The combination of hot<br />
and cold therapy in skin care<br />
treatments can assist the skin<br />
in healing itself.<br />
No matter how good a new<br />
skin treatment might be, I<br />
still believe a good home care<br />
regimen, a positive attitude,<br />
a well-balanced diet, healthy<br />
exercise, a restful night of<br />
sleep and the wisdom to love<br />
yourself at every age will help<br />
you meet the pro-aging process<br />
positively.<br />
Sue Carroll is at the forefront<br />
of the beauty, wellness<br />
and para-medical profession<br />
with 35 years’ experience on<br />
Sydney’s Northern Beaches.<br />
She leads a dedicated team<br />
of professionals who are<br />
passionate about results for<br />
men and women.<br />
info@skininspiration.com.au<br />
www.skininspiration.com.au<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 61<br />
Hair & Beauty
Business <strong>Life</strong>: Money<br />
with Brian Hrnjak<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong><br />
What’s going on in Avalon,<br />
and those ‘For Lease’ signs?<br />
This month we cast an eye<br />
around the local area and<br />
ask if an uptick in ‘for<br />
lease’ signs in our shopping<br />
areas is pointing to recession…<br />
or is it renewal?<br />
I couldn’t help notice the<br />
scale of community reaction<br />
to a mid-September post on a<br />
local Facebook page regarding<br />
the fate of a fresh pasta business.<br />
Avalon What’s On (also<br />
known as Avalon What’s Wrong,<br />
or, simply What’s Wrong) is<br />
a popular social media clearing<br />
house, equal parts gossip,<br />
opinion and information. In this<br />
case the closure of the local<br />
pasta shop whipped up a few<br />
of the locals to the point they<br />
were off to their barns for rope,<br />
torches and pitchforks and they<br />
were out for the blood of the<br />
‘greedy landlords’.<br />
In amongst the comments,<br />
however, were observations<br />
about the number of vacant<br />
shops currently in the Avalon<br />
Village.<br />
There certainly has been<br />
some turnover in the commercial<br />
area. Aside from the pasta<br />
shop, Dogue, a pet grooming<br />
salon, is said to be leaving its<br />
premises. Decjuba, a women’s<br />
boutique is also supposedly<br />
closing. One of the day spas<br />
is currently missing in action –<br />
voucher holders are naturally<br />
concerned (although word has<br />
it head office will fulfil). The<br />
Ray White agency at the southern<br />
end of the Village has gone<br />
and the space is up for lease;<br />
the former site of Beachside<br />
Bookshop is still vacant; the<br />
former Northbean Café site is<br />
a new and prominent vacancy;<br />
and the Council seems to be<br />
experiencing extreme difficulty<br />
doing anything with the<br />
restaurant and cafe sites at the<br />
surf club.<br />
Balancing these things, a<br />
deeper dive into the gossip<br />
suggests that the pasta shop is<br />
in fact rebranding and staying<br />
on, while the women’s boutique<br />
is apparently reopening<br />
at Warriewood Square. We’ve<br />
also had new additions to the<br />
Village with the Yorkshire Rose<br />
English pub taking a space vacated<br />
by the Pizzico restaurant<br />
and Pocket Pizza moving into<br />
the site of the former Leonardo’s<br />
Deli. The former dry<br />
cleaner is now a display unit for<br />
an over-55s development and<br />
a kid’s boutique has taken the<br />
space of the former Meltemi’s<br />
pizza. Oh yes, a ‘confectionary’<br />
shop has moved into the site<br />
of the former Sky Thai; we are<br />
now down to three Thai restaurants<br />
in Avalon, four if you include<br />
the one in North Avalon.<br />
Even if some observers feel<br />
the only service businesses<br />
left will be real estate agencies<br />
and the only restaurants will be<br />
Thai eateries, the fact is that<br />
Avalon is still a vibrant village<br />
and a popular one if parking<br />
availability is anything to go<br />
by. The same can also be said<br />
also for Barrenjoey Rd Newport<br />
and Bungan St Mona Vale.<br />
There is little doubt however<br />
that economic conditions have<br />
slowed since the RBA started<br />
their tightening cycle. We hear<br />
stories across most consumerdependant<br />
sectors of pullbacks<br />
that business owners are attributing<br />
to the impact of higher<br />
mortgage rates and a lack<br />
of confidence affecting the<br />
spending of those who don’t<br />
even have a mortgage.<br />
Patrick Commins in The<br />
Australian reported recent<br />
economic data in the following<br />
terms: ‘While the national accounts<br />
suggested the economy<br />
finished the recent financial<br />
year in relatively good shape,<br />
the figures pointed to the growing<br />
financial pressure on households.<br />
Homeowners shelled<br />
out nearly $83bn in mortgage<br />
interest repayments in the<br />
2022-23 financial year, double<br />
the previous year’s bill, the ABS<br />
data revealed.’<br />
Household buffers have also<br />
fallen to 15-year lows with the<br />
savings ratio now at 3.2% of<br />
disposable income compared<br />
to a peak of 19% in September<br />
2021 following the distribution<br />
of helicopter money after the<br />
pandemic.<br />
Lisa Visentin in the SMH reported<br />
the progress of borrowers<br />
on the transition from fixed<br />
to variable rate home loans<br />
– the so-called mortgage cliff:<br />
‘The economic impact of the socalled<br />
mortgage cliff may have<br />
62 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
already passed its peak, with<br />
RBA data revealing the majority<br />
of Australians have already<br />
moved from cheaper fixed-rate<br />
home loans to more expensive<br />
variable rates. About one million<br />
Australians are paying a<br />
more expensive variable interest<br />
rate on their mortgages,<br />
according to Reserve Bank of<br />
Australia data. This compares<br />
with 520,000 loans expected to<br />
roll onto higher interest rates<br />
in the second half of this year,<br />
followed by a further 450,000<br />
loans next year.’<br />
The issue here being that we<br />
are seeing a negative impact on<br />
economic activity at the halfway<br />
point of this transition with<br />
the same again yet to come. Arguably<br />
you could stop right<br />
here and say that a recession<br />
is on the cards, but the data is<br />
never so clear cut.<br />
Economists vary widely in<br />
their interpretations and forecasts.<br />
Currently economists<br />
are talking about a ‘per capita<br />
recession’; Patrick Commins in<br />
The Australian: ‘After accounting<br />
for the bounce in population<br />
growth thanks to a resurgence<br />
of migration over the past 12<br />
months, real GDP per capita<br />
dropped by 0.3 per cent – the<br />
second consecutive quarterly<br />
decline that reflected falling<br />
living standards for many<br />
households even as the overall<br />
economy grew.’<br />
Quite a few of us might find<br />
it surprising that our population<br />
to 30 June grew by 2.2% or<br />
by more than 560,000 people<br />
– in part this goes towards explaining<br />
the paradox of slowing<br />
economic growth, stable house<br />
prices and moderate wages<br />
growth.<br />
While there are risks, Australia<br />
does have a few positive<br />
economic attributes to counter<br />
some of the negativity; strong<br />
population growth, resurgent<br />
tourism, returning foreign<br />
students and strong demand<br />
and unit prices for resources<br />
and agriculture being the main<br />
ones.<br />
Locally, we also have several<br />
attributes that boost our economic<br />
resilience, in particular<br />
we have the natural attractions<br />
that draw people to want to<br />
live and visit our area. As an<br />
established area we also experience<br />
lower-than-average<br />
rates of mortgage stress – 34%<br />
of homes are owned outright<br />
compared to the Sydney average<br />
of 27%. Our employment<br />
statistics are also stronger than<br />
the Sydney average at 2.3%<br />
unemployment rate versus the<br />
Sydney average of 3.4%.<br />
These statistics suggest that<br />
a well-run business in our area<br />
has a greater chance of success<br />
than the same business<br />
operated, for example, in a<br />
regional area, or outer western<br />
Sydney. But there are statistics<br />
and there are averages; the<br />
best way for a community to<br />
ensure the success of its local<br />
businesses is to shop there…<br />
and shop there often.<br />
Brian Hrnjak B Bus CPA (FPS) is<br />
a Director of GHR Accounting<br />
Group Pty Ltd, Certified Practising<br />
Accountants. Office: Suite 12,<br />
Ground Floor, 20 Bungan Street<br />
Mona Vale NSW.<br />
Phone: 02 9979-4300.<br />
Web: ghr.com.au and altre.com.au<br />
Email: brian@ghr.com.au<br />
These comments are general<br />
advice only and are not intended as<br />
a substitute for professional advice.<br />
This article is not an offer or<br />
recommendation of any securities<br />
or other financial products offered<br />
by any company or person.<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 63
Business <strong>Life</strong>: Law<br />
with Jennifer Harris<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong><br />
<strong>Issue</strong>s of Contract: As with<br />
property, no two are alike<br />
With interest rates at a<br />
recent all-time high<br />
and house prices often<br />
still going beyond reserve –<br />
vendors and purchasers are<br />
still steadily going to market.<br />
Some cashed-up purchasers<br />
with an eye to ‘distressed sales’<br />
and a competitive price. Some<br />
vendors are looking to take<br />
advantage of the increased<br />
value of their property, since<br />
purchase, which accelerated<br />
in recent years but has not<br />
necessarily fallen below the<br />
value reached during the lowinterest-rates<br />
buying frenzy.<br />
Vendors are in touch with<br />
their solicitors or conveyancers<br />
to obtain a Contract to put in<br />
the hands of the real estate<br />
agent to enable the property<br />
to be shown to prospective<br />
purchasers; from there the<br />
process of buying and selling<br />
formally begins.<br />
The real estate agent’s<br />
task is to market and sell the<br />
property to a purchaser/s and<br />
that having been done the<br />
solicitor or conveyancer does<br />
the Conveyancing.<br />
Conveyancing is defined<br />
as “the science and art of<br />
validly creating, transferring<br />
and extinguishing rights in<br />
property particularly in or<br />
over land by written deeds of<br />
various kinds. It is accordingly a<br />
major branch of legal work and<br />
lawyers’ business” (the Oxford<br />
Companion to Law).<br />
In this discussion the<br />
property to which we refer is<br />
NSW residential property.<br />
The Contract provided to<br />
a prospective purchaser by<br />
either the real estate agent<br />
or the solicitor acting for the<br />
purchaser is in a form approved<br />
by the Law Society and the Real<br />
Estate Institute.<br />
The first 21 pages are those<br />
specifically approved by the<br />
Law Society and the Real Estate<br />
Institute (“formal terms and<br />
conditions”). The first page<br />
contains the details of the Real<br />
Estate Agent, the Vendors,<br />
the inclusions to be conveyed<br />
with the property, and those<br />
specifically excluded, the<br />
Purchaser’s details and the price<br />
specifically noting the deposit<br />
64 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
which is normally 10% of the<br />
purchase price.<br />
Most solicitors and<br />
conveyancers add to the<br />
Contract their own special<br />
conditions that compliment,<br />
modify or are additional to the<br />
formal terms and conditions.<br />
No two Contracts are ever the<br />
same.<br />
Within the Contract and<br />
attached to the formal terms<br />
and conditions are found<br />
a search of the Title of the<br />
property which discloses the<br />
names of the persons who<br />
are conveying the title, any<br />
encumberance/s or registered<br />
dealings on the title and<br />
whether or not they have a<br />
mortgage to be discharged<br />
at settlement. This is an<br />
important document because<br />
it discloses whether there<br />
is a burden, obstruction or<br />
impediment on the property<br />
that may lessen its value<br />
or make it less marketable.<br />
Importantly, unless a mortgage<br />
is removed a clear title cannot<br />
be conveyed.<br />
There must be a copy of<br />
the Deposited Plan and if<br />
available a copy of a Survey<br />
showing that the property and<br />
its improvements are within<br />
the land described on the<br />
Certificate of Title, a Zoning<br />
Certificate from Council and a<br />
Sewerage Service Diagram and<br />
if a swimming pool is included<br />
compliance certifications.<br />
If there have been any<br />
substantial works carried out<br />
on the property then a Final<br />
Occupation Certificate and<br />
Builders’ warranty insurance<br />
should also be found.<br />
Purchasers should do their<br />
research: Look at the property<br />
in all light and weather. Ask<br />
for a copy of the Contract<br />
and obtain legal advice on its<br />
terms and conditions. Read the<br />
Contract and if required instruct<br />
your Solicitor to negotiate<br />
changes to the terms and<br />
conditions of the Contract.<br />
Arrange and obtain certain<br />
pre-purchase reports such<br />
as Pest and Building Reports;<br />
often not all is as it may appear<br />
from the outside. Take time to<br />
explore all avenues of enquiry.<br />
Knowing your legal rights<br />
can have profound long-term<br />
consequences on your finances<br />
as well as your quality of life.<br />
On occasions while you are<br />
having a building and pest<br />
report you may have exchanged<br />
conditionally by utilising a<br />
cooling off period. During this<br />
period you have the right to<br />
change your mind if there is<br />
something in the reports that<br />
you have sought that causes<br />
you concern; for example<br />
extensive termite invasion<br />
which diminishes the value of<br />
the property and signals to a<br />
purchaser that they may have<br />
major future expense to rectify<br />
the problem. The downside is<br />
that a purchaser who rescinds<br />
a Contract during a cooling off<br />
period likely forfeits 0.25% of<br />
the purchase price.<br />
On the other hand, the<br />
purchaser may have conducted<br />
and completed their prepurchase<br />
inspections prior to<br />
exchange of Contracts and<br />
will instruct their solicitor to<br />
exchange Contracts and pay the<br />
10% deposit.<br />
In these circumstances the<br />
purchaser’s solicitor may well<br />
sign on their client’s behalf a<br />
waiver of the cooling off period<br />
via a Section 66 Certificate.<br />
On the other hand the<br />
property may be purchased<br />
at Auction or on the same<br />
day as the Auction. In these<br />
circumstances there is no<br />
cooling off period.<br />
Prior to any Auction you<br />
should obtain a copy of<br />
the Contract from the Real<br />
Estate Agent and obtain your<br />
solicitor’s advice on the terms<br />
and conditions contained in it. If<br />
terms and conditions are not to<br />
your satisfaction you can seek<br />
to negotiate terms satisfactory<br />
to you.<br />
On exchange of Contracts<br />
the Contract signed by the<br />
Purchaser is handed to the<br />
Vendor’s solicitor and they<br />
are compared to ensure that<br />
they are in identical terms.<br />
The deposit must be paid or<br />
a Deposit Guarantee Bond<br />
handed over at that time and<br />
then the contracts are dated.<br />
In our next article we will<br />
provide more details of the<br />
Conveyancing procedure.<br />
Comment supplied by<br />
Jennifer Harris, of Jennifer<br />
Harris & Associates,<br />
Solicitors, 4/57 Avalon<br />
Parade, Avalon Beach.<br />
T: 9973 2011. F: 9918 3290.<br />
E: jennifer@jenniferharris.com.au<br />
W: www.jenniferharris.com.au<br />
Business <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 65
Trades & Services<br />
Trades & Services<br />
AIR CONDITIONING<br />
Alliance Climate Control<br />
Call 02 9186 4179<br />
Air Conditioning & Electrical Professionals.<br />
Specialists in Air Conditioning Installation,<br />
Service, Repair & Replacement.<br />
BATHROOMS<br />
Northern Beaches Bathrooms<br />
Call 0475 147 375<br />
Specialists at complete bathroom<br />
renovations, mains and ensuites. Prompt,<br />
reliable. High-quality work. Free quotes.<br />
BATTERIES<br />
Battery Business<br />
Call 9970 6999<br />
Batteries for all applications. Won’t be beaten<br />
on price or service. Free testing, 7 days.<br />
BUILDING<br />
Acecase Pty Ltd<br />
Call Dan 0419 160 883<br />
Professional building and carpentry services,<br />
renovations, decks, pergolas. Fully licensed<br />
& insured. Local business operating for 25<br />
years. Lic No. 362901C<br />
CARPENTRY<br />
Able Carpentry & Joinery<br />
Call Cameron 0418 608 398<br />
Doors & locks, timber gates & handrails, decking<br />
repairs and timber replacement. Also privacy<br />
screens. 25 years’ experience. Lic: 7031C.<br />
CARS WANTED<br />
AAA Absolutely Unwanted<br />
Call Mike 0414 423 200<br />
All cars, vans, utes and trucks removed free;<br />
cash up to $30,000. Same-day removal all<br />
suburbs.<br />
CLEANING<br />
Amazing Clean<br />
Call Andrew 0412 475 2871<br />
Specialists in blinds, curtains and awnings.<br />
Clean, repair, supply new.<br />
All NB Pressure Clean<br />
Call 0416 215 095<br />
Driveways, paths, garden walls, awnings, house<br />
wash.<br />
DISCLAIMER: The editorial and<br />
advertising content in <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong><br />
has been provided by a number of<br />
sources. Any opinions expressed are not<br />
necessarily those of the Editor or Publisher<br />
of <strong>Pittwater</strong> <strong>Life</strong> and no responsibility is<br />
taken for the accuracy of the information<br />
contained within. Readers should make<br />
their own enquiries directly to any<br />
organisations or businesses prior to<br />
making any plans or taking any action.<br />
66 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Housewashing -<br />
northernbeaches.com.au<br />
Call Ben 0408 682 525<br />
Celebrating 25 years in Avalon & Collaroy.<br />
Experts in softwashing & pressure washing.<br />
Also windows, gutters, roofs & driveways.<br />
CONCRETING<br />
Adrians Concrete<br />
Call Adrian 0404 172 435<br />
Driveways, paths, slabs… all your concreting<br />
needs; Northern Beaches-based.<br />
ELECTRICAL<br />
Alliance Service Group<br />
Call Adrian 9063 4658<br />
All services & repairs, 24hr. Lighting<br />
installation, switchboard upgrade. Seniors<br />
discount 5%.<br />
Eamon Dowling Electrical<br />
Call Eamon 0410 457 373<br />
For all electrical needs including phone, TV<br />
and data. <strong>Pittwater</strong>-based. Reliable; quality<br />
service guaranteed.<br />
Warrick Leggo<br />
Call Warrick 0403 981 941<br />
Specialising in domestic work; small jobs<br />
welcome. Seniors’ discount; Narrabeenbased.<br />
FENCING<br />
Add-A-Fence<br />
Call Adam 0410 332 197<br />
Supply and install for pool, garden, all timber<br />
and tubular fencing. Plus gates, handrails,<br />
security and more. Repairs / small & big jobs.<br />
Lic 3391C.<br />
FLOOR COVERINGS<br />
Blue Tongue Carpets<br />
Call Stephan or Roslyn 9979 7292<br />
Northern Beaches Flooring Centre has<br />
been family owned & run for over 20 years.<br />
Carpets, Tiles, Timber, Laminates, Hybrids &<br />
Vinyls. Open 6 days.<br />
GARDENS<br />
!Abloom Ace Gardening<br />
Call 0415 817 880<br />
Full range of gardening services including<br />
landscaping, maintenance and rubbish<br />
removal.<br />
Conscious Gardener Avalon<br />
Call Matt 0411 750 791<br />
Professional local team offering quality<br />
garden maintenance, horticultural advice;<br />
also garden makeovers.<br />
Precision Tree Services<br />
Call Adam 0410 736 105<br />
Adam Bridger; professional tree care by<br />
qualified arborists and tree surgeons.<br />
GUTTERS & ROOFING<br />
Cloud9 R&G<br />
Call Tommy 0447 999 929<br />
Prompt and reliable service; gutter cleaning<br />
and installation, leak detection, roof installation<br />
and painting. Also roof repairs specialist.<br />
Ken Wilson Roofing<br />
Call 0419 466 783<br />
Leaking roofs, tile repairs, tiles replaced,<br />
metal roof repairs, gutter cleaning, valley<br />
irons replaced.<br />
HANDYMEN<br />
Local Handyman<br />
Call Jono 0413 313299<br />
Small and medium-sized building jobs, also<br />
welding & metalwork; licensed.<br />
JEWELLER<br />
Gold ‘n’ Things<br />
Call 9999 4991<br />
Specialists in remodelling. On-premises<br />
(Mona Vale) workshop for cleaning, repairing<br />
(including laser welding), polishing. Family<br />
owned for nearly 40 years.<br />
HOT WATER<br />
Hot Water Maintenance NB<br />
Call 9982 1265<br />
Local emergency specialists, 7 days. Sales,<br />
service, installation. Warranty agents, fully<br />
accredited.<br />
KITCHENS<br />
Collaroy Kitchen Centre<br />
Call 9972 9300<br />
Danish design excellence. Local beaches<br />
specialists in kitchens, bathrooms and<br />
joinery. Visit the showroom in Collaroy.<br />
Trades & Services<br />
Melaleuca Landscapes<br />
Call Sandy 0416 276 066<br />
Professional design and construction<br />
for every garden situation. Sustainable<br />
vegetable gardens and waterfront<br />
specialist.<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 67
Trades & Services<br />
Seabreeze Kitchens<br />
Call 9938 5477<br />
Specialists in all kitchen needs; design, fitting,<br />
consultation. Excellent trades.<br />
MASSAGE & FITNESS<br />
Avalon Physiotherapy<br />
Call 9918 3373<br />
Provide specialist treatment for neck & back<br />
pain, sports injuries, orthopaedic problems.<br />
PAINTING<br />
Cloud9 Painting<br />
Call 0447 999 929<br />
Your one-stop shop for home or office<br />
painting; interiors, exteriors and also roof<br />
painting. Call for a quote.<br />
Tom Wood Master Painters<br />
Call 0406 824 189<br />
Residential specialists in new work &<br />
repaints / interior & exterior. Premium<br />
paints; 17 years’ experience.<br />
PEST CONTROL<br />
Predator Pest Control<br />
Call 0417 276 962<br />
predatorpestcontrol.com.au<br />
Environmental services at their best.<br />
Comprehensive control. Eliminate all<br />
manner of pests.<br />
PLUMBING<br />
Total Pipe Relining<br />
Call Josh 0423 600 455<br />
Repair pipe problems without replacement.<br />
Drain systems fully relined; 50 years’<br />
guaranty. Latest technology, best price.<br />
POSITION VACANT<br />
Practice Manager<br />
Call Sam on 0435 165 265.<br />
George & Matilda Eyecare for Mark Wilson<br />
Optometrists in Dee Why are looking for a<br />
Practice Manager. Call Sam on 0435 165 265.<br />
Trades & Services<br />
68 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
RUBBISH REMOVAL<br />
Jack’s Rubbish Removals<br />
Call Jack 0403 385 312<br />
Up to 45% cheaper than skips. Latest health<br />
regulations. Old-fashioned honesty &<br />
reliability. Free quotes.<br />
One 2 Dump<br />
Call Josh 0450 712 779<br />
Seven-days-a-week pick-up service includes<br />
general household rubbish, construction,<br />
commercial plus vegetation. Also car<br />
removals.<br />
SLIDING DOOR REPAIRS<br />
Beautiful Sliding Door Repairs<br />
Call 0407 546 738<br />
Fix anything that slides in your home; door<br />
specialists – wooden / aluminium. Free<br />
quote. Same-day repair; 5-year warranty.<br />
UPHOLSTERY<br />
Luxafoam North<br />
Call 0414 468 434<br />
Local specialists in all aspects of outdoor<br />
& indoor seating. Custom service, expert<br />
advice.<br />
Trades & Services<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 69
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
with Janelle Bloom<br />
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
Recipes: janellebloom.com.au; Insta: instagram.com/janellegbloom/<br />
Reasons the family will want<br />
‘Taco Tuesday’ every night!<br />
I<br />
don’t Pulled pork tacos<br />
Makes 12 (with leftover<br />
pulled pork)<br />
think a week passes when the<br />
good ol’ Mexican staple – tacos – are not<br />
on the menu at my place. There are so<br />
many reasons to love tacos; you can literally<br />
fill a taco with anything! Tacos can cross<br />
almost every cuisine and can be enjoyed for<br />
Traditional Tuesday<br />
night beef tacos<br />
Makes 12<br />
1 tbs olive oil<br />
1 small brown onion, finely<br />
chopped<br />
2 garlic cloves, crushed<br />
35g pkt Mexican seasoning<br />
800g beef mince<br />
1 cup beef stock<br />
12 crisp shell taco shells<br />
1 avocado, diced<br />
2 medium tomatoes, quartered,<br />
diced<br />
3/4 cup grated tasty cheddar<br />
cheese<br />
2 tbs chopped coriander or<br />
parsley<br />
thinly sliced red chilli, to serve<br />
sour cream, to serve<br />
5-10 minutes or until the<br />
stock has reduced and the<br />
mixture is thickened. Remove<br />
from heat.<br />
3. Meanwhile, heat taco<br />
shells in the oven following<br />
packet directions.<br />
4. To assemble, spoon beef in<br />
the base of each taco. Top<br />
with avocado, tomato,<br />
cheese, coriander and chilli.<br />
Serve with sour cream.<br />
Garlic prawn tacos<br />
with chipotle lime<br />
cream<br />
Makes 12<br />
breakfast, lunch, dinner… even dessert! And<br />
any which way, it is still a taco. So whether it’s<br />
‘Taco Tuesday’ or ‘Taco every day’ (it just so<br />
happens to be National Taco Day in <strong>October</strong>),<br />
let’s celebrate all things Taco. Hope you enjoy<br />
some of my faves!<br />
1. Combine the mayonnaise,<br />
sour cream, lime and<br />
chipotle. Place in the fridge<br />
until ready to serve.<br />
2. Heat a large non-stick<br />
frying pan over high heat.<br />
Cook tortillas, 1 at a time, for<br />
10-15 seconds each side or<br />
until light golden. Transfer to<br />
a plate. Cover to keep warm.<br />
3. Add the oil and garlic to the<br />
frying pan over medium<br />
heat. Cook stirring 2 minutes<br />
until aromatic. Stir in the<br />
Mexican spice. Increase heat<br />
to high, add the prawns,<br />
cook, shaking pan often until<br />
prawns turn pink and cooked<br />
through. Remove from the<br />
heat.<br />
4. Place tortillas on a serving<br />
board or plates. Spread<br />
with chipotle lime cream.<br />
Top with lettuce, capsicum,<br />
prawns, tomato, avocado<br />
and coriander. Fold tortillas<br />
to enclose filling. Serve<br />
with lime wedges.<br />
1 cup sour cream<br />
1 tbs sriracha<br />
12 flour tortillas<br />
40g mixed salad leaves<br />
½ small red cabbage, finely<br />
shredded<br />
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or<br />
canned)<br />
200g cherry tomatoes,<br />
quartered<br />
1 avocado, halved, thinly sliced<br />
100g feta, crumbled<br />
Pulled pork<br />
2 tbs olive oil<br />
1.2kg pork shoulder or pork<br />
scotch fillet<br />
1 brown onion, finely chopped<br />
1 tbs ground paprika<br />
3 tsp ground cumin<br />
3 tsp ground coriander<br />
1 tsp dried chilli flakes<br />
400g can diced tomatoes<br />
1 cup chicken stock<br />
1. To make the pulled pork,<br />
preheat oven 130°C fan<br />
forced. Heat half the oil in a<br />
large flameproof (ovenproof<br />
and stovetop) casserole pan<br />
over medium-high heat.<br />
¼ cup whole-egg mayonnaise<br />
¼ cup sour cream<br />
½ lime, juiced<br />
1. Heat the oil in a large frying 1 tbs chipotle sauce<br />
pan over medium heat. 12 flour tortillas<br />
Add the onion and cook 2 tbs light olive oil<br />
stirring for 4 minutes. Add 4 garlic cloves, crushed<br />
the garlic and seasoning 1 tbs Mexican seasoning<br />
cook 1 minute. Increase 36 peeled green prawns<br />
heat to high, add the beef, ½ iceberg lettuce, shredded<br />
cook stirring and breaking 1 red capsicum, quartered,<br />
the lumps up with a wooden thinly sliced<br />
spoon until the beef is diced tomato and avocado, to<br />
browned.<br />
serve<br />
2. Add the stock, bring to boil, coriander leaves and lime<br />
reduce heat and simmer for wedges, to serve<br />
70 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Add the pork and cook for<br />
10 minutes, turning until<br />
browned all over. Remove to<br />
a plate. Add the remaining<br />
oil in the pan. Add the onion,<br />
cook until onion softens. Add<br />
the spices. Cook, stirring, for<br />
1 minute or until aromatic.<br />
Add the tomatoes and stock.<br />
Bring to the boil. Return the<br />
pork to the pan. Reduce heat<br />
to low.<br />
2. Press a piece baking paper<br />
onto the surface then cover<br />
with a tight-fitting lid. Place<br />
into the oven. Cook for 3<br />
hours or until the pork is<br />
very tender. Remove the pork<br />
to a tray. Stand 5 minutes<br />
then use 2 forks to coarsely<br />
shred the pork.<br />
3. Meanwhile, bring the sauce<br />
in the pan to the boil over<br />
high heat. Boil for 5 minutes<br />
until reduces by half. Add the<br />
shredded pork. Remove from<br />
the heat. Season.<br />
4. Combine the sour cream and<br />
sriracha. Heat a large, nonstick<br />
frying pan over high<br />
heat. Cook tortillas, 1 at a<br />
time, for 10-15 seconds each<br />
side or until light golden.<br />
Transfer to a plate. Cover to<br />
keep warm.<br />
5. Place tortillas on a serving<br />
board or plates. Spread with<br />
sriracha cream. Top with<br />
pork, salad leaves, cabbage,<br />
corn, tomatoes, avocado and<br />
feta. Fold tortillas to enclose<br />
filling. Serve.<br />
Roasted sweet<br />
potato and black<br />
bean tacos with feta<br />
Makes 12<br />
1.25kg sweet potato, peeled,<br />
cut into 3cm pieces<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
2 tbs olive oil<br />
2-3 tbs Mexican seasoning<br />
400g can black beans, rinsed<br />
and drained<br />
12 flour tortillas<br />
1 cup sriracha mayonnaise<br />
1 cos lettuce, shredded<br />
2 avocadoes, chopped<br />
1 cup coriander leaves<br />
125g feta, crumbled<br />
lime wedges, to serve<br />
1. Preheat oven to 220°C fan<br />
forced. Line a baking tray<br />
with baking paper. Place<br />
the sweet potato on the<br />
tray. Combine the oil and<br />
seasoning, spoon over the<br />
sweet potato. Turn to coat.<br />
Spread in a single layer. Roast<br />
for 30 minutes or until tender<br />
and golden around the<br />
edges. Add the black beans,<br />
roast further 10 minutes until<br />
beans are warmed through<br />
and sweet potato golden all<br />
over.<br />
2. Heat a large non-stick<br />
frying pan over high heat.<br />
Cook tortillas, 1 at a time, for<br />
10-15 seconds each side or<br />
until light golden. Transfer to<br />
a plate. Cover to keep warm.<br />
3. Place tortillas on a serving<br />
For more recipes go to janellebloom.com.au<br />
board or plates. Spread<br />
with sriracha mayonnaise.<br />
Top with shredded lettuce,<br />
roasted sweet potato and<br />
beans, avocado, coriander<br />
and feta. Fold tortillas to<br />
enclose filling. Serve with<br />
lime wedges.<br />
Apple pie tacos<br />
Makes 12<br />
2 tbs cinnamon<br />
½ cup white sugar<br />
2 cups vegetable oil, for frying<br />
12 mini flour tortillas<br />
vanilla ice cream<br />
300ml thickened cream, to<br />
serve<br />
Apple pie filling<br />
800g can pie apple<br />
2 tbs caster sugar<br />
1 lemon, juiced<br />
1 tbs cornflour<br />
1 tbs cold water<br />
1. Combine cinnamon and<br />
sugar in a bowl. Mix well.<br />
2. Heat vegetable oil in a<br />
medium non-stick frying pan<br />
over medium heat. Using<br />
tongs, place the tortilla flat in<br />
the oil. Cook 20-30 seconds<br />
until very light golden<br />
(don’t overcook as they will<br />
become crisp and you won’t<br />
be able to fold them), turn<br />
and repeat on the other side.<br />
Remove with tongs to a wire<br />
rack. Quickly sprinkle both<br />
sides with cinnamon sugar.<br />
while hot, using tongs, fold<br />
the tortilla in half to form<br />
the shape of a taco. Repeat<br />
with remaining tortillas and<br />
cinnamon sugar.<br />
3. For the filling, place the<br />
apple, sugar and lemon juice<br />
in a non-stick frying pan<br />
over medium heat. Cook,<br />
stirring occasionally, for 5<br />
minutes until warm. Combine<br />
cornflour and water in a<br />
small bowl, stir until smooth.<br />
Add to the apple mixture.<br />
Bring to the boil, stirring<br />
occasionally, for 3-4 minutes<br />
until the juices thicken<br />
slightly and apple mixture is<br />
hot. Remove from heat.<br />
4. Spoon ice cream into the<br />
base of each taco. Top with<br />
warm apple pie filling and a<br />
dollop of cream. Serve.<br />
Janelle’s Tip: These are<br />
delicious filled with fresh fruit<br />
and cream or custard.<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 71<br />
Food <strong>Life</strong>
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
Pick of the Month:<br />
Food <strong>Life</strong><br />
Watermelon<br />
When Summer hits<br />
grated rind 1 lime, then cut<br />
there is nothing more in wedges<br />
refreshing than a piece of<br />
icy cold watermelon. Sweet 1. Place watermelon on a<br />
or savoury, this delicious large baking sheet and<br />
fruit will be a ‘must’ in every freeze until hardened, at<br />
Australian fridge over the least 2 hours.<br />
coming months.<br />
2. For the rim put salt, sugar,<br />
Watermelon don’t ripen and lime on a small plate<br />
after harvest, so they are<br />
and stir to combine. Use<br />
ripe and ready to eat once lime wedge to wet rim of<br />
picked. Select fruit with<br />
margarita glasses then<br />
hard skin, which feel heavy dip rims in salt mixture.<br />
and has a pleasant aroma. 3. Combine frozen watermelon,<br />
If cut, choose melon with lime juice, tequila, and triple<br />
bright pink-to-red-coloured, sec in a blender. Blend until<br />
firm flesh, with no signs of<br />
well combined.<br />
bruising.<br />
Store uncut fruit at room<br />
temperature for up to 1<br />
week. Once cut, wrap in<br />
plastic and store in the<br />
fridge. Use within 3 days. If<br />
cut from the skin, store in a<br />
glass, airtight container for<br />
1-2 days.<br />
Frozen watermelon<br />
margarita<br />
Makes 4<br />
4 cups chopped watermelon<br />
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime<br />
juice<br />
½ cup silver tequila<br />
¼ cup triple sec<br />
lime and mint, to garnish<br />
For the rim<br />
2 tbs kosher salt<br />
1 tbs granulated sugar<br />
mixed<br />
4. Pour into glasses. Garnish<br />
with lime and mint.<br />
Tip: For a kid friendly<br />
version, replace the tequila<br />
and triple sec with ¾ cup<br />
clear apple juice.<br />
In Season<br />
<strong>October</strong><br />
Bananas, blueberries,<br />
blackberries,<br />
strawberries,<br />
grapefruit,<br />
Australian valencia<br />
oranges; mangoes,<br />
watermelon,<br />
tangelos,<br />
passionfruit,<br />
pineapples; also<br />
avocado, asparagus,<br />
Asian greens,<br />
beans; broccolini,<br />
beetroot; cabbage,<br />
chilli, cucumber,<br />
Australian garlic,<br />
fennel, zucchini peas<br />
(podded), sugar snap<br />
peas & snow peas.<br />
72 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Tasty Morsels<br />
with Beverley Hudec<br />
Some Tiny Morsels to savour in <strong>October</strong><br />
Tella everyone about<br />
this Mona sweet spot<br />
Mona Vale’s contemporary dessert<br />
bar, Tella Balls, pimps those signature<br />
brioche donut balls, pancakes, crepes<br />
and waffles to the max. Let loose<br />
with ice cream-stuffed balls dripping<br />
in chocolate, caramel sauce and<br />
Nutella, then topped with a confection<br />
of popping candy, marshmallows,<br />
sprinkles and much, much more.<br />
A cocktails 'triple<br />
treat' at Jonah's<br />
Three pretty mocktails, a collaboration<br />
with local business Seadrift Distillery<br />
and a terrace blessed with views make<br />
Jonah’s summer-ready. Each drink<br />
features one of the brand’s nonalcoholic<br />
‘spirits’ mixed with pops of<br />
fruit and spices. Pink Panther blushes<br />
with Seadrift’s Coast, pomegranate,<br />
vanilla, lemon and Fever Tree soda.<br />
Get your<br />
sandwich fill at<br />
Palmy, Pronto!<br />
Pronto Creative Foods is a<br />
welcome pit stop for weekend<br />
road warriors. The Palm Beach<br />
cafe has coffee from Oberon’s<br />
Fish River Roasters, as well<br />
as a menu of breakfast and<br />
lunchtime eats. Morning feeds<br />
include eggs Benny, corn<br />
fritters and bircher muesli.<br />
Lunch kicks in at 11am with<br />
chunky sandwiches, wraps<br />
and burgers.<br />
Oliver's delivers a<br />
Mexican standout<br />
All eyes on the pies. Oliver’s Pies won<br />
11 medals in the recent Official Great<br />
Aussie Pie Competition. The North<br />
Avalon pie shop’s Mexican beef pie is<br />
one of the eight gold medal winners.<br />
Owner Daniel Roberts said this pie<br />
is also the shop’s most popular. The<br />
smoked fish, vegetarian Mexican and<br />
satay chicken also picked up gold.<br />
Tasty Morsels<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
Three of a kind: Going gourmet<br />
Palm Beach Wine Co<br />
(left) is worth a visit for<br />
a browse alone. Half the<br />
store is dedicated to wines<br />
from around the world;<br />
the remainder is filled with<br />
anything and everything a<br />
passionate foodie or a giftseeker<br />
could possibly want.<br />
The store also makes up<br />
bespoke hampers featuring<br />
wine, artisanal goodies and<br />
homewares.<br />
Le Petit Marche brings<br />
a little taste of France to<br />
Newport’s Roberson Rd. The<br />
gourmet providore stocks<br />
its shelves with French<br />
wines, artisan goodies,<br />
condiments and homewares.<br />
There’s everything from La<br />
Mortuacienne lemonade to<br />
soaps, scarves and freshly<br />
made baguettes packed with<br />
goodies from the deli.<br />
Mona Vale’s Quattro Stagioni<br />
is more cafe than deli.<br />
Whatever the season, sip a<br />
morning coffee at one of the<br />
outdoor tables, or order a spot<br />
of lunch or a little sweet treat.<br />
Inside, shelves are stocked<br />
with Italian condiments and<br />
goodies. The deli counter<br />
features cheeses, cold meats<br />
and a variety of Italian salumi.<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 73
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Puzzler<br />
Compiled by David Stickley<br />
<strong>Pittwater</strong> Puzzler<br />
ACROSS<br />
1 Position held by Heidi Currie at<br />
Narrabeen Sports High School (9)<br />
6 Printing device (5)<br />
9 A coral island consisting of a circular<br />
belt of coral enclosing a central<br />
lagoon (5)<br />
10 Supporting group that runs<br />
local stalls at <strong>Pittwater</strong> Place and<br />
Bunnings Belrose to raise funds for<br />
Mona Vale 16-across (9)<br />
11 Artist and member of Dog<br />
Trumpet, Chris O’Doherty, is also<br />
known as Reg ________ (8)<br />
12 Body of water that’s a major<br />
feature of Narrabeen (6)<br />
14 The spiral shell of a gastropod,<br />
often used as a trumpet (5)<br />
16 A medical institution where sick<br />
or injured people are given medical<br />
or surgical care (8)<br />
18 A tall thin person (8)<br />
20 Extremely small in scale, scope<br />
or capability (5)<br />
23 Widely known people (6)<br />
24 The original homestead at<br />
Currawong (8)<br />
26 Implicating (9)<br />
28 A statement of the aims of an<br />
advertising campaign, etc (5)<br />
29 BBQ sausage-turners (5)<br />
30 Contrary to accepted or expected<br />
modes of behaviour (9)<br />
DOWN<br />
1 Type of business located at 347<br />
Barrenjoey Rd, Newport (8)<br />
2 Surf lifesaving event that involves<br />
swimming, board paddling, ski<br />
paddling and running (7)<br />
3 Eyelashes (anatomy) (5)<br />
4 Long-running ABC TV program for<br />
kids (4,6)<br />
5 Loose (3)<br />
6 Local name for 16 Ocean Rd, Palm<br />
Beach, a one-time dance hall (9)<br />
7 Suburb on the hill above<br />
Narrabeen, _______ Heights (7)<br />
8 A maxim, proverb, adage, etc. (6)<br />
13 Introducing; launching (8,2)<br />
15 Small ringers played by local Phil<br />
Allan (9)<br />
17 Ninox strenua is also known as<br />
the ________ owl (8)<br />
19 Invigorate (7)<br />
21 Coal miner (7)<br />
22 Text of a play (6)<br />
25 Custom (5)<br />
27 Promissory note (1,1,1)<br />
[Solution page 78]<br />
74 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Times Past<br />
All ‘hail’ the Northern Beaches<br />
were torn to shreds and<br />
the rooves of caravans severely<br />
‘Tents<br />
damaged’ – this was a common<br />
headline in the 1950s, especially in 1953<br />
and 1956 when several severe hailstorms<br />
pummelled the peninsula.<br />
On Wednesday 6 May 1953, many of<br />
the ‘permanent’ residents and children<br />
of the camping area at Avalon Beach<br />
spent the night in the Avalon Beach Surf<br />
<strong>Life</strong> Saving Club, such was the ferocity of<br />
the hailstorm which began shortly before<br />
2pm. It lasted around three hours but the<br />
stormwater which accompanied it raced<br />
through the tents, homes and flooded<br />
the shopping centre. For almost an hour,<br />
vehicles from either direction were unable<br />
to pass through Avalon Beach and<br />
the loss of stock from retail businesses<br />
mounted to several hundreds of pounds.<br />
According to reports, some of the<br />
hailstones measured “2 and a half inches<br />
diameter” and besides destroying many of<br />
the tents, the rain swept away floor coverings,<br />
food supplies and beach gear into Careel<br />
Creek and eventually into Careel Bay.<br />
Mr Le Clercq’s general store (now<br />
Ecodownunder) suffered more damage<br />
than most with the loss of around 250<br />
pounds’ ($500) worth of stock as the<br />
resultant half a metre of flood waters<br />
swirled through his store.<br />
As with the more recent floods in 1974,<br />
several cars were almost ‘drowned’; with<br />
one deposited on the footpath in Old Barrenjoey<br />
Road.<br />
The Avalon News of September 1956<br />
reported that “the organisers of the<br />
annual Flower Show and Fete were holding<br />
their collective breaths that the hail in the<br />
last week of August didn’t play havoc with<br />
the gardens.”<br />
The hailstorm was part of a general<br />
deluge which broke over all the Northern<br />
Beaches.<br />
A photo of the Palm Beach golf course<br />
WHITE-OUT: A blanket<br />
of hail – looking east<br />
down Avalon Parade<br />
with Wickham Lane to<br />
the right behind the<br />
Morris minor, and with<br />
the two intersections<br />
further on; Palm Beach<br />
golf course in August<br />
1956; Geoff Searl’s<br />
Dad took this photo of<br />
the family backyard in<br />
Avalon Parade on the<br />
same day.<br />
shows it covered with a complete white<br />
blanket, turning the greens into ‘whites’.<br />
Records indicate that hailstorms have<br />
increased to almost 12 per year over the<br />
past 15 years and tend to form November<br />
to March in Sydney.<br />
It appears that the destruction which<br />
the 1953 event caused may have led to<br />
the eventual demise of the semi-permanent<br />
camp.<br />
Some 43 families were living at the<br />
camp at the time, when The Sydney<br />
Morning Herald of 27 May 1953 noted<br />
that the camp “… would close down in 3<br />
months’ time”.<br />
The site hire for the families was 10<br />
shillings a week ($1) and would hardly<br />
have covered costs for Warringah Shire<br />
Council.<br />
TIMES PAST is supplied by local historian<br />
and President of the Avalon Beach<br />
Historical Society GEOFF SEARL. Visit<br />
the Society’s showroom in Bowling<br />
Green Lane, Avalon Beach.<br />
Times Past<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 75
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
with Gabrielle Bryant<br />
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
Plant decorative geraniums<br />
for sweet-perfumed gardens<br />
The humble geranium<br />
that was so popular in<br />
the 1950s has made a<br />
startling comeback in the past<br />
few years.<br />
Geraniums are all members<br />
of the pelargonium family. They<br />
all love the sun, and they will<br />
grow in poor soil and exposed<br />
salty conditions – they hate<br />
wet feet and damp conditions.<br />
While they are tough and hardy,<br />
as with any plant, they will<br />
perform and thrive best with<br />
some regular fertiliser and<br />
water in the summer months.<br />
They are diverse and very<br />
different in their appearance.<br />
There are the scented varieties,<br />
the upright zonal geraniums,<br />
and the ivy geraniums that<br />
climb or trail from baskets and<br />
pots.<br />
Scented geraniums are grown<br />
for the aromatic decorative<br />
leaves and flowers that can<br />
be used in baking cakes and<br />
cookies, in ice creams, desserts,<br />
in salads and in teas.<br />
The scented geraniums are<br />
decorative, with varying leaf<br />
shape – from indented leaves<br />
(of slightly velvety appearance),<br />
to finely cut leaves that have<br />
a lacy texture. The colours<br />
range from soft grey to bright<br />
green, and some are variegated<br />
depending on the variety. The<br />
flowers are delicate and small,<br />
with soft colours from pale<br />
pinks to lilac or white.<br />
There are so many fragrances<br />
to choose from: Peppermint,<br />
lemon, pine, rose, citrus,<br />
nutmeg, mint, lime, chocolate<br />
peppermint… but my favourite<br />
is cinnamon with its large green<br />
indented leaves and soft pink<br />
flowers that are splashed with<br />
red (pictured below).<br />
Plant scented geraniums<br />
where you will brush past them<br />
and fill the air with their sweet<br />
fragrance.<br />
After more than a dozen<br />
years of cross breeding zonal<br />
and ivy geraniums we now<br />
have the amazing calliope<br />
geraniums. ‘Big’ geraniums<br />
(above) are brilliant, with huge<br />
heads of colour; they are tough<br />
and hardy, tolerating dry spells<br />
once established. The plants<br />
stay compact with a semitrailing<br />
habit inherited from<br />
their ivy ancestors. As they<br />
develop the plants grow into a<br />
thick mounded shape, making<br />
them ideal for pots or in the<br />
garden.<br />
The Big geraniums will flower<br />
in spring, summer and into the<br />
late autumn.<br />
Geraniums are the easiest<br />
plants to propagate. Geranium<br />
cuttings are taken at any time<br />
of the year but will strike more<br />
quickly during the warmer<br />
months. Take stem cuttings<br />
from strong tip growth that<br />
is 12-14cm in length. Cut just<br />
below a leaf. Remove all the<br />
larger leaves just leaving the<br />
growing tip with foliage.<br />
Either put your cuttings into<br />
a 14cm jar of water where they<br />
will soon develop new roots, or<br />
plant them into small pots of<br />
damp soil.<br />
76 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Rock Rose solid choice<br />
Mediterranean Rock Rose is<br />
a small shrub that is native<br />
to the dry rocky coastline of<br />
the Mediterranean. It grows<br />
just 60-70cm tall, needing<br />
little attention. To keep it<br />
bushy, pinch out the new-tip<br />
growth in between the bursts<br />
of flower. It can be regularly<br />
trimmed but will not be happy<br />
if it is cut back too hard into<br />
the old wood.<br />
The soft silvery grey foliage<br />
is smothered by pale pink,<br />
papery flowers from late<br />
spring onwards into summer.<br />
Other colours available are<br />
white, cerise, purple and<br />
multi-coloured. The flowers<br />
are short-lived but replaced<br />
daily with new ones. If rain or<br />
wind damages them, not to<br />
worry: the morning will bring<br />
a fresh display of colour.<br />
This small shrub is best in<br />
mass planting along sunny<br />
pathways or covering rocky<br />
banks. It mixes beautifully<br />
with purple lavender, all the<br />
salvias, prostrate rosemary,<br />
bright yellow gazanias and<br />
blue felicia daisies.<br />
Little Ewan a Bush baby<br />
As gardens get smaller, so do plants. It’s amazing how<br />
breeders keep developing new plants for tiny gardens<br />
and patios. The New Zealand Christmas Bush is flowering<br />
now and will continue to spot-flower throughout the year.<br />
There are many<br />
varieties and<br />
cultivars available<br />
that will develop<br />
into hedges, wind<br />
breaks and privacy<br />
screens that are<br />
salt-tolerant, hardy<br />
and undemanding.<br />
Some have grey<br />
foliage and others<br />
are shiny green with<br />
bronze new tips. But<br />
all will grow several<br />
metres tall – now<br />
with the new Little<br />
Ewan there is one<br />
that is perfect for<br />
pots, low-growing<br />
hedges or as a<br />
specimen shrub in<br />
the garden.<br />
Little Ewan has brilliant scarlet flowers, red new growth,<br />
and all the hardy, salt-tolerant attributes of its bigger<br />
brothers but will only reach a height of 1m tall. It’s perfect<br />
to replace buxus and small-growing lilly pillies in full sun or<br />
part shade.<br />
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
Viburnum Copper is tops<br />
Hedges are fast replacing<br />
garden beds and<br />
boundary fences, with<br />
murraya, lilly pilly and green<br />
viburnum hedges being<br />
the most popular. When<br />
they flower these hedges<br />
add colour and life to the<br />
landscape; yet at other times<br />
the plain green background<br />
can be uninspiring.<br />
Hedges need to be regularly<br />
clipped to keep their shape;<br />
this is where shrubs with<br />
coloured new growth can liven<br />
up the garden.<br />
Viburnum Emerald Lustre<br />
has taken pride of place<br />
in the past few years, but<br />
now it should step back<br />
for a newcomer. Viburnum<br />
Coppertop has all the same<br />
attributes as its cousin<br />
Emerald Lustre, but all the<br />
new-tip growth is vibrant<br />
bronze. It will flower in spring<br />
to give your garden a lift as<br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
the weather warms up, with<br />
lacy white daisies to lighten<br />
the garden.<br />
As a bonus the leaves are<br />
smaller and the growth rate<br />
is slower and more compact<br />
than the much-loved Emerald<br />
Lustre, making it more<br />
suitable for smaller gardens<br />
and lower hedges.<br />
Trim to any shape – a<br />
hedge, a column, or keep it as<br />
a tidy ball in a large pot.<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 77
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
Garden <strong>Life</strong><br />
<strong>October</strong><br />
Jobs this Month<br />
It is time to get the summer<br />
veggies growing if you have<br />
not already done so. It is a bit<br />
late to sow seed, so seedlings<br />
are the way to go. Sometimes<br />
sowing seeds can produce too<br />
many plants; for a family, just<br />
3 or 4 plants will often do.<br />
As you plant new seedlings<br />
protect them well from snails<br />
and slugs with Multiguard snail<br />
pellets. These are harmless to<br />
birds and wildlife.<br />
Pick again<br />
Plant eggplants, capsicum,<br />
tomatoes, cucumbers, chillies<br />
and beans. If space is really<br />
limited just plant the veggies<br />
that your family uses on a<br />
weekly basis. Pick-and-pickagain<br />
vegetables are the most<br />
productive, such as tomatoes,<br />
beans, cucumbers, silverbeet<br />
and zucchinis. Re-plant<br />
seeds or seedlings of carrots,<br />
lettuce, pak choi and spring<br />
onions at two-weekly intervals<br />
rather that filling the veggie<br />
patch all in one day.<br />
Bindie watch<br />
Watch out, bindies are back!<br />
Spray them now before the<br />
seeds ripen. It is easier to<br />
spray now with a selective<br />
weed killer than to sit on a<br />
cushion with a trowel and to<br />
dig them out one by one once<br />
their spikey seeds are ripe. If<br />
you have a buffalo lawn, check<br />
with the garden centre before<br />
buying a weed control to<br />
make sure that the chemical is<br />
suitable, buffalo grass is very<br />
sensitive (Yates Buffalo Pro<br />
hose-on is an easy way to go).<br />
Attract bees<br />
Remember to plant some<br />
flowers to attract the<br />
bees amongst your veggie<br />
seedlings to encourage the<br />
bees. A weekly spray with<br />
Bee Keeper will keep the bees<br />
pollinating your crops.<br />
Hibiscus trim<br />
This is your last chance to<br />
shape and trim back hibiscus<br />
(above) before summer.<br />
Feed the bushes now with a<br />
complete fertiliser and apply<br />
a top dressing of cow manure<br />
to get the new growth that will<br />
produce the flowers.<br />
Summer planning<br />
Think ahead for summer and<br />
pot up some pots and baskets<br />
that will flower the summer<br />
ahead. Mix and match annual<br />
flowering seedlings that will<br />
fill tubs and planters. Lobelia,<br />
petunias, alyssum, nasturtiums,<br />
dianthus, geraniums, swan<br />
river daisies, impatiens and<br />
variegated ivy grow together.<br />
Remember to keep sun loving<br />
plants together and keep the<br />
shade-lovers separate.<br />
Other tasks<br />
Feed spring bulbs as they<br />
die down and resist the<br />
temptation to cut off dying<br />
foliage. As the leaves die<br />
down, they are feeding<br />
the bulbs underground<br />
and forming next year’s<br />
flowers… It is forecast to<br />
be a hot dry summer, so<br />
prepare for bushfire season.<br />
Clean gutters, trim back<br />
foliage that overhangs<br />
your roof and sweep up<br />
any leaves or litter that is<br />
close to the house… The<br />
best help that you can give<br />
your garden is weekly deep<br />
watering and plenty of mulch<br />
to keep the moisture in the<br />
soil.<br />
Crossword solution from page 74<br />
Mystery location: CHURCH POINT<br />
78 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
Arnhem Land: Taste of the Unexpected<br />
The year was 1989. The place:<br />
Kakadu National Park, Northern<br />
Territory. I’d hiked to the top of a<br />
sandstone plateau, where I stood gazing<br />
out over floodplains that seemed<br />
to stretch forever, just as the sun was<br />
setting.<br />
“That’s Arnhem Land, over there,” I<br />
remember overhearing someone say,<br />
hinting at endless discoveries to be<br />
had.<br />
More than 30 years later, I learned<br />
about Outback Spirit’s 13-day Arnhem<br />
Land Wilderness Adventure. The<br />
small-group tour runs from Nhulunbuy<br />
across to Darwin with everything included<br />
– and entry permits, notoriously difficult to obtain, would<br />
be arranged by the company.<br />
I invited my mother to join me; without my father, she’d been<br />
a little bit lost and it had been a long time since we’d travelled<br />
together. Mum didn’t need much convincing. “Oh, that sounds<br />
wonderful,” she gushed. As well as promising spectacular landscapes<br />
and teeming wildlife, the tour would be a cultural lesson<br />
for both of us, travelling through Aboriginal land continuously<br />
occupied for 60,000 years.<br />
Neither of us knew what to expect, and I certainly hadn’t<br />
anticipated Mum bringing Dad along with us. Each time we arrived<br />
at a new lodge or safari camp, she’d unpack her suitcase<br />
and place a small, framed photo of him on her bedside table.<br />
Our own, personal outback spirit was<br />
looking over us.<br />
I most looked forward to the numerous<br />
wildlife safaris, and these exceeded<br />
my expectations. At dawn on<br />
our first morning at Murwangi Safari<br />
Camp, a buffalo herd strolled past<br />
our tent, snorted, then trotted away<br />
when they heard me giggling. On our<br />
last morning, a dingo family appeared<br />
out of the scrub onto the road in front<br />
of us as we headed towards Kennedy<br />
Beach from Seven Spirit Bay. Even saltwater<br />
crocodile tracks had been left in<br />
the sand before we got there.<br />
We both knew the tour would be an<br />
eye-opener culturally, and we hoped to learn and understand<br />
more about Indigenous life and history. Our Welcome Ceremony<br />
on the Gove Peninsula’s Wirrwawuy Beach was a gentle introduction<br />
that was followed by a round-circle sit-down, where generations<br />
of knowledge were passed on about bush medicine. Some<br />
in the group listed it among their trip highlights.<br />
But the highlight for me? Without a doubt, it was when my<br />
mother reeled in a 2.5-kilo barramundi at the back of our boat<br />
while we fished on the Liverpool River. “We used to go yabbying<br />
in the farm dam when we were kids, but this is the first fish I’ve<br />
ever caught in my life,” she confessed. Proof, that you can never<br />
guess what surprises Arnhem Land has in store. – Mark Daffey<br />
*For more info call Travel View on 9918 4444<br />
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 79
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
8 reasons to sea<br />
kayak in Tassie<br />
Tasmania is an island of untamed<br />
beauty, brimming with breathtaking<br />
coastlines, secluded coves and<br />
unique wildlife. Experiencing Tasmania<br />
on a sea kayaking adventure offers<br />
a unique lens through which to savour<br />
our island state’s hidden gems.<br />
Southern Sea Adventures’ Senior<br />
Guide Toby Story lists the 8 reasons<br />
you should consider a sea kayaking<br />
adventure for your next Tasmanian<br />
holiday:<br />
1. Connect with nature<br />
“From tranquil bays to craggy cliffs,<br />
Tasmania’s diverse landscapes provide<br />
a visually stunning backdrop for<br />
kayakers.”<br />
2. Encounter unique wildlife<br />
“Spot endemic and rare species like<br />
the Australian fur seal, dolphins, and<br />
various seabirds as you glide along<br />
Tasmania’s majestic coastlines.”<br />
3. Discover hidden gems<br />
“Getting off the beaten track (literally)<br />
and into the seat of a kayak will<br />
take you to stunning secret spots<br />
most tourists never see.”<br />
4. Glide crystal clear waters<br />
“Tasmania’s clear coastal waters<br />
offer excellent visibility, ideal for<br />
observing marine life and enjoying<br />
the scenery.”<br />
5. Mild summer climate<br />
“Tasmania’s generally temperate<br />
summer weather is ideal for outdoor<br />
activities like kayaking, making it<br />
comfortable to spend a day on the<br />
water.”<br />
6. Minimise your impact<br />
“Done properly, kayaking can be a<br />
low-impact way to enjoy Tasmania’s<br />
pristine natural beauty.”<br />
7. Easily incorporate adventure<br />
“With many kayaking routes in easy<br />
reach of Hobart, it’s easy to incorporate<br />
kayaking into your wider<br />
Tasmanian holiday.”<br />
8. Nourish body & soul<br />
“Beyond being a physical workout,<br />
kayaking in such a unique and<br />
beautiful setting offers a chance for<br />
mental and spiritual rejuvenation.<br />
Arrive home feeling refreshed and<br />
invigorated!”<br />
Your ideal Tasmanian<br />
adventure awaits<br />
Southern Sea Ventures has a carefully designed<br />
portfolio of Tasmanian sea kayaking adventures,<br />
with kayaking equipment all included, and<br />
expert guides ready to show you the best this<br />
island has to offer – no matter your appetite for<br />
adventure.<br />
Luxury meets adventure:<br />
Three Capes & Bruny Island Paddles<br />
Seeking an active yet indulgent mini-break?<br />
Southern Sea Ventures offers two 4-day, lodgebased<br />
trips – Three Capes Paddle and Bruny<br />
Island Paddle – each suited to paddlers of all<br />
skill levels, and featuring stays at the luxurious<br />
Bolthole accommodation, complete with locally<br />
sourced meals and beverages.<br />
Up the adrenaline:<br />
Freycinet Peninsula Kayak Expedition<br />
Craving an even more adventurous outdoor<br />
escapade? The 6-day Freycinet Peninsula Kayak<br />
Expedition is your match. This moderate-grade<br />
expedition blends kayaking and hiking, featuring<br />
an ascent to either Mt Graham or Mt Freycinet.<br />
Get away from it all with 5 nights of beach camping<br />
and a truly immersive adventure getaway.<br />
*More info southernseaventures.com or contact<br />
ssvtrips@southernseaventures.com to<br />
book your Tasmanian sea kayaking holiday.<br />
80 OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991
Welcome to Uniworld Luxury Travel<br />
When it comes to luxury travel experiences,<br />
Uniworld Boutique River<br />
Cruises sets the bar high. Renowned for<br />
their exceptional service, attention to<br />
detail, and unique itineraries, Uniworld<br />
has become a favourite among discerning<br />
travellers seeking unforgettable holidays.<br />
Offering truly all-inclusive itineraries<br />
in Europe, as well as voyages in Vietnam<br />
and Cambodia, India, Peru and Egypt –<br />
covering a total of 20 rivers in 28 countries<br />
worldwide – there is something for<br />
every traveller.<br />
“They have 17 one-of-a-kind awardwinning<br />
ships, and each exquisitely<br />
appointed Uniworld river cruise ship is a<br />
work of art designed to be as exceptional<br />
as their guests and as inspiring as the<br />
destinations they visit,” says Travel View’s<br />
Sharon Godden.<br />
Uniworld’s ‘Highlights of Eastern<br />
Europe’ itinerary takes travellers on a<br />
remarkable journey through some of the<br />
area’s most captivating and culturally rich<br />
destinations. “From the enchanting cities<br />
of Budapest and Belgrade to the hidden<br />
gems of Croatia and Bulgaria, this itinerary<br />
promises an immersive experience<br />
that will leave lasting memories,” says<br />
Sharon.<br />
She adds that Uniworld’s commitment<br />
to luxury is evident in every aspect of the<br />
journey. “Guests are accommodated in<br />
elegantly appointed staterooms or suites,<br />
each designed with the utmost attention<br />
to detail. The onboard amenities including<br />
world-class dining, stylish lounges,<br />
and a spa ensure that guests have a truly<br />
indulgent experience throughout their<br />
voyage.”<br />
One of the highlights of this itinerary<br />
is the opportunity to delve into the rich<br />
cultural heritage of Eastern Europe.<br />
“It offers a range of immersive excursions<br />
and experiences that allow guests<br />
to explore the local history, traditions,<br />
and cuisine,” says Sharon. “Whether it’s<br />
a visit to the UNESCO World Heritagelisted<br />
sites of Budapest and Ivanovo,<br />
a private concert with wine tasting in<br />
Belgrade’s Saint Sava Cathedral, a visit to<br />
a medieval fortress on the banks of the<br />
Danube River, or a walking tour through<br />
the charming streets of Ruse, every day<br />
brings new discoveries.<br />
“And Uniworld’s dedication to personalised<br />
service and attention to detail truly<br />
sets them apart. With a high staff-toguest<br />
ratio, every need is catered to,<br />
ensuring a seamless and memorable journey.<br />
From a warm welcome upon arrival<br />
to the impeccable service throughout the<br />
cruise, their staff go above and beyond to<br />
exceed expectations.<br />
“And you can say goodbye to hidden<br />
fees and hello to a stress-free holiday<br />
where everything is taken care of!”<br />
Uniworld’s all-inclusive amenities<br />
ensure that every aspect of your journey<br />
is covered, from gourmet “farm-to-table”<br />
dining to unlimited beverages, premium<br />
wines and spirits, a selection of carefully<br />
curated excursions in every port visited,<br />
ship-wide Wi-Fi, yoga and TRX fitness<br />
classes, gratuities, airport transfers, and<br />
even self-service laundry.<br />
*To book or for more information – and<br />
your free brochure – call Travel View on<br />
9918 4444.<br />
Travel <strong>Life</strong><br />
The Local Voice Since 1991<br />
OCTOBER <strong>2023</strong> 81