Susie (70 years old this year) – “ I had a father who was a really high achiever but he developed war psychosis when I was 12. He then became an alcoholic and a drug addict. He still maintained his job but he had to drink a bottle of Scotch before he got on a plane. I think I learnt a lot of behaviour from him.
We moved a lot hence going to different schools. I went to very good schools like The Hermitage in Geelong, Prince Charles went to Timbertop which was the boys version. I could have married him but I didn’t (laughs). We used to go to the same dances.
We moved to Adelaide and I became anorexic, I think because of the toxic environment in my house. My parents didn’t even notice. My periods stopped and everything. It was actually a Geography teacher, Mrs Humphries who noticed. Back in 1964 anorexia didn’t have a name. It was..wake up to yourself, you stupid girl! Finally they alerted Mum and they put me on a get fat diet. You wake up and have 2 donuts for breakfast, milkshake for morning tea, chips for lunch. I embraced it and went up to 13 stone, happy as! It was like Carb Blanche. I could eat everything I ever wanted to eat. I still eat like you would when your parents are away. (laughs)
We then moved to Brisbane when I was about 16. I went to St Margarets and they had made up their minds that I was just useless. I thought, right I’ll show you and I became Dux of the school in my last year. I went to Uni in the view to becoming a teacher I think. I really wanted to be an Archaeologist but there wasn’t a campus at the time. I was obsessed with ancient history and I’ve always receded into the past hence my vintage collection.
Life became very politicised, Vietnam War, moratoriums, there were marches. That’s when my op shopping started. I wanted to wear old army surplus. I dropped out of uni. I never went to any lectures or tutorials and the only way my parents found out was that my name didn’t appear in the paper with everyone else on results day. Get a job! They said.
I became a cadet journalist for the Sunday Truth in Brisbane. We used to make it up…Which colourful personality was seen dining at wherever? You had to make up 5 a week and I also did the Stars. They’d come in a big box and I’d pull them out Aries, Virgo, Leo, just random and copy them down. No credibility whatsoever!
I never wanted to work though. I thought working was a pain in the arse but I became PR for Myer and would compere the fashion parades at all their stores. I went to Sydney for a weekend, took some acid, came home and packed a suitcase and left home. I went home a few times when I was broke. I used to hitchhike home in my Mr Christian shoes. I remember throwing a pair into a paddock as they were so high and unforgiving. Dad would always say…Get a job!
I went to the Dole office to get the dole and they said I could get a job there with them. They put me on the counter at the dole office in Brisbane and I lasted 6 weeks. The whole initiation process takes 4 weeks. I thought I really can’t do this, I used to go down to the Botanical Gardens and smoke a joint and come back to work.
Off I’d go to Sydney again and I worked in the Double Bay Steakhouse which was owned by the Croatian mafia. That was an interesting time. I worked with a guy who was like Ned Smith’s standover guy. We dated and he was a very hard person to break up with. That took a bit out of me.
I got a job at the Bourbon and Beefsteak up at Kings Cross. They were great days. Whisky a GoGo was another fave and I had a lifetime pass to Chequers. Sweethearts across the road with all the bikies that never rode their bikes. One night I went to Chequers on my own after work. I saw this band and I loved them. I went back the next night. It turned out to be Sherbet so I ended up going out with Daryl Braithwaite. It was only the beginning of their career but I still felt a bit special sitting at the table with the girlfriends of the band. I’ve always been a bit of a groupie. They were great days, Sunbury, all those big festivals.
I lived in a great house with The La De Das, Kevin Borich and those guys. It was in Bondi and it was brilliant. I invited all these weird people to come and live with us. I’d met them one night and my friend Louise was a bit posh. Her father was Tim the Toy-man anyway one of the guys I invited home was dealing so we got busted. A friend Amber and I decided to hitch to Cairns that night. We’d spent the night at the station and they let us go. I’d spent the whole night embroidering the little prince onto my jeans. They put us on a train and told us to just go away.
We had been going to these full moon festivals at Ourimbah on the Central Coast. Every full moon we went there. The guy who owned the property was Danny. He was a very rich guy from the States but they were draught dodgers. He and his whole band came to Australia and set up this amazing musical house with every instrument. We had been going to these festivals for ages but the first night on our hitching to Cairns we stopped there. We went to sleep in a paddock under some leaves and in the morning he was standing over us. We ended up staying there for 18 months. Amber ended up marrying one of the band members and Danny was the love of my life. He was the one but we had quite a loose relationship.
I was the only one who got a job. I worked in a turkey hamburger place in the township. The guy was so dodgy. He would only buy deformed turkeys with 3 heads and no wings or 5 wings, all these genetic throwbacks and he would make turkey burgers out of them.
The guys formed another band. A very good muso named Paul Smith (Piggy) He was an amazing Dobra and Blues guitarist. Danny had the money to get him a contract with Festival records. One night we took mushrooms and went to the first gig. We were called Shotgun Logic. The first gig had Daddy Cool, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and others. The program put us on first and the mushrooms kicked in. Piggy froze, one of the band members took all his clothes off and was waving a Bull-roarer around his head. I had a tambourine which was my part and I just stood there and tapped away to nothing. We were booed and jeered, Get them off! Looking back now it was so humiliating. Piggy lost his contract with festival. He’s dead now but he was one of the most talented musicians I know. “
We moved a lot hence going to different schools. I went to very good schools like The Hermitage in Geelong, Prince Charles went to Timbertop which was the boys version. I could have married him but I didn’t (laughs). We used to go to the same dances.
We moved to Adelaide and I became anorexic, I think because of the toxic environment in my house. My parents didn’t even notice. My periods stopped and everything. It was actually a Geography teacher, Mrs Humphries who noticed. Back in 1964 anorexia didn’t have a name. It was..wake up to yourself, you stupid girl! Finally they alerted Mum and they put me on a get fat diet. You wake up and have 2 donuts for breakfast, milkshake for morning tea, chips for lunch. I embraced it and went up to 13 stone, happy as! It was like Carb Blanche. I could eat everything I ever wanted to eat. I still eat like you would when your parents are away. (laughs)
We then moved to Brisbane when I was about 16. I went to St Margarets and they had made up their minds that I was just useless. I thought, right I’ll show you and I became Dux of the school in my last year. I went to Uni in the view to becoming a teacher I think. I really wanted to be an Archaeologist but there wasn’t a campus at the time. I was obsessed with ancient history and I’ve always receded into the past hence my vintage collection.
Life became very politicised, Vietnam War, moratoriums, there were marches. That’s when my op shopping started. I wanted to wear old army surplus. I dropped out of uni. I never went to any lectures or tutorials and the only way my parents found out was that my name didn’t appear in the paper with everyone else on results day. Get a job! They said.
I became a cadet journalist for the Sunday Truth in Brisbane. We used to make it up…Which colourful personality was seen dining at wherever? You had to make up 5 a week and I also did the Stars. They’d come in a big box and I’d pull them out Aries, Virgo, Leo, just random and copy them down. No credibility whatsoever!
I never wanted to work though. I thought working was a pain in the arse but I became PR for Myer and would compere the fashion parades at all their stores. I went to Sydney for a weekend, took some acid, came home and packed a suitcase and left home. I went home a few times when I was broke. I used to hitchhike home in my Mr Christian shoes. I remember throwing a pair into a paddock as they were so high and unforgiving. Dad would always say…Get a job!
I went to the Dole office to get the dole and they said I could get a job there with them. They put me on the counter at the dole office in Brisbane and I lasted 6 weeks. The whole initiation process takes 4 weeks. I thought I really can’t do this, I used to go down to the Botanical Gardens and smoke a joint and come back to work.
Off I’d go to Sydney again and I worked in the Double Bay Steakhouse which was owned by the Croatian mafia. That was an interesting time. I worked with a guy who was like Ned Smith’s standover guy. We dated and he was a very hard person to break up with. That took a bit out of me.
I got a job at the Bourbon and Beefsteak up at Kings Cross. They were great days. Whisky a GoGo was another fave and I had a lifetime pass to Chequers. Sweethearts across the road with all the bikies that never rode their bikes. One night I went to Chequers on my own after work. I saw this band and I loved them. I went back the next night. It turned out to be Sherbet so I ended up going out with Daryl Braithwaite. It was only the beginning of their career but I still felt a bit special sitting at the table with the girlfriends of the band. I’ve always been a bit of a groupie. They were great days, Sunbury, all those big festivals.
I lived in a great house with The La De Das, Kevin Borich and those guys. It was in Bondi and it was brilliant. I invited all these weird people to come and live with us. I’d met them one night and my friend Louise was a bit posh. Her father was Tim the Toy-man anyway one of the guys I invited home was dealing so we got busted. A friend Amber and I decided to hitch to Cairns that night. We’d spent the night at the station and they let us go. I’d spent the whole night embroidering the little prince onto my jeans. They put us on a train and told us to just go away.
We had been going to these full moon festivals at Ourimbah on the Central Coast. Every full moon we went there. The guy who owned the property was Danny. He was a very rich guy from the States but they were draught dodgers. He and his whole band came to Australia and set up this amazing musical house with every instrument. We had been going to these festivals for ages but the first night on our hitching to Cairns we stopped there. We went to sleep in a paddock under some leaves and in the morning he was standing over us. We ended up staying there for 18 months. Amber ended up marrying one of the band members and Danny was the love of my life. He was the one but we had quite a loose relationship.
I was the only one who got a job. I worked in a turkey hamburger place in the township. The guy was so dodgy. He would only buy deformed turkeys with 3 heads and no wings or 5 wings, all these genetic throwbacks and he would make turkey burgers out of them.
The guys formed another band. A very good muso named Paul Smith (Piggy) He was an amazing Dobra and Blues guitarist. Danny had the money to get him a contract with Festival records. One night we took mushrooms and went to the first gig. We were called Shotgun Logic. The first gig had Daddy Cool, Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs and others. The program put us on first and the mushrooms kicked in. Piggy froze, one of the band members took all his clothes off and was waving a Bull-roarer around his head. I had a tambourine which was my part and I just stood there and tapped away to nothing. We were booed and jeered, Get them off! Looking back now it was so humiliating. Piggy lost his contract with festival. He’s dead now but he was one of the most talented musicians I know. “