“I was born in Lismore and we lived in Dunoon until I was 8 years old in the house my father built. Dunoon was and still is such a beautiful village, four churches, a general store and a Post Office and that was it. We then came to Rhode St in South Lismore and were the last house in the street before paddocks. The 1974 flood didn’t quite reach into my parents house which was 19 steps high but the 2022 would have taken them out. I lived there till I was 17.
I used to play Hockey with the Northern Star and left school when I was 15. I never liked school. I left at the end of Year 8 because I wanted to do a Pastry Chef apprenticeship. I started at Alastair Watts but the hours were 12 hours a day starting at midnight which was a bit tough for a teenager. I left there and got a job with Glynn’s Manchester where I stayed for 2 years. I still have friends from that time including my friend Janice. I knew though it wasn’t want I wanted to do.
One day there was an Army caravan parked in the street and I walked in, got an application, took it home, and my parents said No, you are too young. I insisted and they finally relented so I joined the Army. It wasn’t as tough as I thought it was going to be or maybe I managed it, I should say. The 12 weeks recruit training was probably the hardest for a 17 year old boy who’d never left Lismore and being suddenly thrown in with these different people from all walks of life. It definitely hardens you, being yelled and screamed at face to face.
I managed to get through and became a Medic which was my second choice. Pastry Chef was my first but they gave me my second choice and I absolutely loved it. I went down to the school of Army Health and did my field training and ended up at the field hospital which had just left Vietnam and come back to Australia. The war had just finished.
I really don’t know why I joined the Army but the reason came to me later. I loved the field hospital. I did my Medic training in Brisbane and was then outsourced to different medical centres when they were short staffed. My greatest posting was at the parachute school in Williamtown at the RAAF base. I was their Medic at the Parachute School so I had to learn to jump. I did night jumps, water jumps, 17 jumps to qualify. Did I enjoy it? Not really! I still can’t stand the smell of kerosene and if I hear a drone of an engine like the Caribou, my stomach goes into knots. Even so it was a great 2 years. I enjoyed myself.
I did my Sergeants corse in Singleton and that was the hardest course I’ve ever done. I got through it and was sent to the Military Hospital in Sydney and then in my last year I met someone who was flying and I’d always wanted that job since I was 15. I applied and the next thing I was employed as a flight attendant for Qantas.
I had another year left in the army and they wouldn’t release me so they sent me to Melbourne for Medical discharges. I stayed for a year and Qantas offered me a date to start. I stayed with Qantas for 32 years, 14 years of that was long haul so I got to see the world. I then went short haul. I have to thank the army for getting me there. It was an amazing career.
During that time I was living in Darlinghurst for about 25 years. I saw Darlinghurst change in those years. It was an amazing place to live, cafes and restaurants and I loved the diversity of the people. I lived with David who was my first relationship and he was the one who helped me get into flying. We bought a place together in Darlinghurst after we parted and stayed living together as friends. David died of a heart attack at 59. He used to wish to be not 60. I say, be very careful what you wish for. I stayed another 7 years before selling and moving to Little Bay. I lived for 7 years in this beautiful hundred year old ward of the old Prince Henry Hospital which was made into apartments. It was 500 metres from the beach. I didn’t realise how beautiful that part of Sydney was, right out near La Perouse but I really missed Darlinghurst.
I decided to come back to Lismore while my mother Eileen was still alive. I was here 3 years before she died at 98 so I was able to spend that time with her. She got to see this house I’m in now. In the meantime I had met Arnoud 20 years ago and he moved from Paris to Australia for me and became an Australian citizen. We also parted but we stayed good friends again. He loved Lismore and he loved my family so he bought an investment property here and eventually ended up moving here. Arnoud is now selling his place in Darcy Ave and he’s moved in here which is great. I managed to find a few friends here from my past, one being Barry Brookes who I knew as a 3 year old. I catch up with he and his wife sometimes. One of the main draw-cards which brought me back to Lismore 5 years ago was meeting my partner Martin who lives in Kyogle. We like good restaurants and we travel well together.
I’m thankful Lismore has changed. I couldn’t have stayed here years ago. It’s so much better now. They still need to bring people into the town on Sundays. I think the Aquarius movement brought the change to the North Coast which was needed. They were coming up in ’73 and I was leaving in ’73. Before the 2022 flood Lismore was becoming such a busy, vibrant town. I used to get excited when I went downtown just to sit in a cafe. I still go down daily and I love how it’s slowly coming back. Lismore has such great cafes.”
