Pittwater Life October 2023 Issue

tip on Currawong
“Our two daughters, Charlotte and
April, grew up here,” says Adam. “We’d
bring them every May, renting out the
whole place for 20 years.
“Currawong is a place lots of families
and friends came back to every year,”
Cathie adds. “Not many spent much time
in the cabins. They’d spend time on the
beach or in the bush.”
Both Cathie and Adam had worked for
Qantas, but quit to gain specialist hospitality
skills when they knew Currawong
was soon to reopen.
Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins
says: “the eco retreat…(is) a truly serene
escape from everyday life”.
The first of the existing cabins – Kenny’s,
named after James Kenny (the union
leader who persuaded his colleagues
to buy Currawong) and now known as
Blue Tongue Cottage – was built in 1943
on the expansive beachfront.
The others were completed before
1953, following the landline towards the
escarpment overlooking Pittwater – often
using discarded building materials rescued
from the tip by foresighted workers.
So, what has changed? Well, there’s
still no sign of the shark-netted swimming
area proposed by the Port Jackson
and Manly Steamship Company in 1943.
On the other hand, two of the original
cabins – Kookaburra and Platypus, built
to plans by the Vandyke Brothers with
their new-fangled prefabricated model of
building – have survived, along with the
unforgettable Pittwater vistas and sense
of serenity.
Seven have been fully restored with
amenity improvements (with Platypus
retaining much of the original material
due to its high heritage significance). The
remaining two have had minor restorations
including a new roof to one of them.
The upgrades to Blue Tongue, Kookaburra,
Goanna and the games room
building resulted in Northern Beaches
Council winning the Building Designers
Association of Australia Design Awards
for adaptive re-use of heritage buildings.
ONSITE: New managers Cathie and Adam Oliver. COMFY: Inside the refurbished Goanna Cottage.
Cathie is keen to take me on a tour of
the accommodation.
However, Adam – who is catching a
ferry to Palm Beach – insists the golf
buggy his wife is driving goes first to the
golf course. Past the tennis/volleyball
courts and the indoor recreational hut to
keep kids happy if it happens to rain.
There is method in Adam’s madness.
Not only does he keep the now 9-hole
course impeccably manicured, but golf is
an essential part of Currawong’s DNA.
There is a trophy called the ‘Currawong
Cup’ in the reception. It is still
eagerly contested each year (the last was
in September 2023).
Golfers from the Northern Beaches have
kept Currawong financial for many years.
With Adam gone – either of them will
put the ‘flag’ out to ensure the Palm
Beach ferry captain knows when to pull
into the wharf – she shows me some
of the finer key design features in the
cabins. (Although I still don’t know what
‘penny tiles’ are.)
There are always drawbacks in ‘Eden’.
Here, you have to bring and cook your
own food. There are no TVs, and little WiFi
(“unless you hotspot”, whatever that is).
Cathie also warns me about the wildlife…
rock wallabies, spiders, and goannas.
But on this visit the closest I got to
wildlife was the magpie who munched
my morning muesli.
Accommodation prices from $275 per
cabin, per night. Minimum stay four
nights in summer, two nights at other
times. Phone 9974 4141 or book through
Northern Beaches Council.
– Steve Meacham
*The author was a guest of Currawong
Cottages.
News
The Local Voice Since 1991
OCTOBER 2023 21