Newport | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Newport peninsular Sydney 1984

June 30, 2016 by David Herd

Newport peninsular Sydney is my personal photo history not part of my travel blog.

Newport peninsular Sydney

Newport peninsular Sydney was my home for three years from 1984 to 1987. After becoming engaged to a beautiful Melbourne lady Karen Smith, I purchased a timber home perched on a hill above the Royal Motor Yacht Club. The cost was $128k, and I sold it after our engagement fizzled out 4 years later for $360K. I guess it would be worth nearly 2 million dollars today.

Absolutely gorgeous.

As you can see Karen was a beautiful lady, it took me anther 10 years before I realised I was just not cut out for marriage or long term relationships. There is probably a multitude of reasons why, fear of commitment, too independent etc etc.

Dinner party at Herbert Avenue

We were very happy at Newport 80% of the time, I tried hard to settle down and enjoy life as a couple, every now and then however the “call of the wild” would interrupt our utopia.

Wolf Wottke (with the beard) had been my best friend for a number of years, I left him renting my Drummoyne apartment for a year or so until I got fed up chasing the rent. Consequently I sold it which in hindsight was probably a mistake.

Lots of birds & wildlife

These beautiful Rainbow Lorikeets would visit every day for their snack on the balcony.

Life was very good

I had all the toys, a beautiful Mercedes Sports, a cabin cruiser moored at the yacht club, a liquor store in Sydenham which I was in the process of selling and a good sales job with Canon Australia.

Lion Island

This great photo (excuse the quality) was taken on Lion Island in the Hawksbury River, from left to right we have Graham La Roche aka “Biff”, his girlfriend at the time Mona, Ross Ansell from Melbourne and Karen Smith & I.

Me Tarzan

Ross doing his Tarzan impersonation on Lion Island.

31 Herbert Avenue Newport

About 25 years later around 2012 I paid a visit to Herbert Avenue to see if things had changed. Apart from the colour scheme and far less vegetation nothing much had changed.

Another day on Pittwater

My good friend Tony Murphy and his beautiful wife Inge join Karen & I on my 26 foot cabin cruiser. After 29 years I caught up with Inge in Melbourne in 2014.

My back veranda overlooked Bayview

Here is my good friend Paul Slaughter with two gorgeous girls, on the left is Trish and on the right an old girlfriend of mine Shirley.

Big Tim Bristow, dinner at Herbert Avenue.

Tim Bristow was a friend of mine dating back from the time we met in 1971 when he was on my tail to give me a hiding, but that’s another story just follow THIS LINK. In the 70s just the name Tim Bristow struck fear into the heart of all those who knew him, an enforcer with a reputation of being one of the most brutal street fighters in Australia. Put simply he was legend, a bouncer at the Newport Arms hotel, would be contenders for his crown would travel from all over Sydney to try their luck, many came and all of them were sent packing battered and bruised.

Sydenham Cellars

I sold my liquor store in late 1984 which took the pressure off me. I had been working with Canon for a few months and travelling to Sydenham (a one hour drive each way) at weekends to work in the liquor store. Meanwhile I dug a wine cellar underneath my Newport home and stored a huge amount of wine that I took home from the shop.

Unwins Bridge Road

That’s Madison my beautiful 4 year old German Shepherd who used to diligently guard the store overnight.

Newport peninsular Sydney Brian Millard

Brian was a boat broker at Newport and a regular drinker at the Newport Arms hotel. He lived just up the road at Bungan Beach before moving to Noosa where I believe he still resides.

Richard on the left and Rob Carnahan

Two very nice guys who were customers of mine when I was with Canon. Their office was opposites the Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay so more often than not we would meet in the pub. 🙂

A bunch of my nephews & nieces come to visit.

Amazing seeing these old photos, all of these cute kids now have children of their own.

Sue and John Heatherington

A lovely couple who lived in the next street from us, John also worked at Canon in the computer division.

Malaysia 1985

John & Sue, Karen & I went on a Canon conference to Penang, here we are driving from Penang to Singapore via Kuala Lumpur.

Singapore Xmas 1985

Here we are in Singapore, notice the cigarette. I smoke on and off for most of my life until 2003. Usually 2 or 3 years then I would quit for a similar time before returning to the grip of the nicotine.

Newport peninsular Sydney with Phil Parkinson

Phil has lived most of his life on the Newport peninsular Sydney and I believe still does in 2016. He is the brother of my ex girlfriend Di Parkinson.

Melbourne Cup 1985

Karen & I at the cup with friends including another ex girlfriend Helen Burke who is on the left of the photo. Helen has a vineyard at Dromana on the Mornington Peninsular, I spent a few day there in October 2014 drinking wine with her and her partner Jack.

Oscars Coolangatta 1985

I can’t remember the name of the beautiful dark haired princess, she was the girlfriend of my crazy chiropractor from North Sydney.

Newport peninsular Sydney

Prior to buying my cabin cruiser I had this little run-about, it was a lot of fun, do you like the name? 🙂

Another guy from my rogues gallery.

Danny Rose one of Adelaide’s true characters, we had a day of the water, you can see “Stamped Urgent” in the background.

Beautiful Karen Smith

Certainly my life on the Newport peninsular Sydney revolved around lots of good friends and my beautiful fiancée Karen. My thanks to her for being the most important part of my life for those great years.

Thanks also to you for visiting my Newport peninsular Sydney photo blog.

Here are some more posts to check out

Life 2015 Family history Life 1982