Home extension budget blowout was due to the many changes I made to my original plan. I wasn’t satisfied with just adding a 2nd floor. The photo above was taken just after my home was built in 1990.
Day one the job begins
From here on nothing will ever be the same.
Laying the slab
My builder Ari is the guy with the shovel, one of the hardest working guys I have ever seen.
Dad’s army take a coffee break
Ari and his guys were the hardest working tradesmen I have ever seen.
Seeing some progress with home extension
Starting to see some progress with my home extension, these guys really work fast.
Now we are getting somewhere.
I really wanted to give the home “street appeal” something it didn’t have in its original form.
Brickwork & a fancy door.
Painting the door was one of my jobs. 🙂
The tree has gotta go
It was like losing a friend, I had planted it 14 years ago.
Timberrrrrr!!!!!
There goes my beautiful tree.
Starting to look terrific
This is the point it’s all starting to look fantastic.
Laying the floor
There is no job these guys can’t handle.
The kitchen takes shape
It’s easy to be wise after the event, on the original plans a stairway was supposed to lead from that wall to the main house downstairs, for some reason we left it out which later proved to be a mistake.
Laying Terracotta tiles
The finishing touches.
The downstairs studio $250 pw.
The jewel in this home extension is this fabulous little studio completely self contained with a private entrance.
Beautiful private courtyard for the studio apartment
Quite a beautiful peaceful area for the granny flat.
Upstairs lounge & kitchen
When I look at this home extension which cost me double the original quote of $120,000 I feel it was all worth it. Uptairs consists of 3 bedrooms & two bathrooms and downstairs a separate private studio apartment.
Bedroom & en-suite
OK, so the chair should really have been dumped.
Beautiful courtyard
Quite spectacular at night.
Courtyard & front entrance
I was very happy with the entrance to my new home.
I really love the front gate & entrance
Now how good does that look?
The fabulous finished product
One of main main goals with this home extension other than creating rooms I could rent to students was to give my home more “street appeal” to help when the time came to sell. I think I certainly achieved that.
My dream home
The finished product was wonderful however I made some big mistakes in my overall scheme of things. I did not do enough research on council regulations regarding student rental, secondly I never anticipated the reaction from my feral neighbours who were always complaining to council about anything & everything. These people the Ryan family at 108 Upton proved to be cowardly & malicious. I often wondered why until a policeman friend of mine pointed out the increase in complaints from neighbours always increased after major renovations due to their uncontrollable jealousy.
Finally my biggest mistake was building such a large home which made it very difficult to finally sell. It was just far too big for the average family, without realizing it I had placed myself in a small range of under 10% of buyers. Apart from all that I was very proud & thrilled with the final product, it also gave me a great sense of achievement to design & create my dream home.
Part of my personal online photo albums, as opposed to my FiveStarVagabond travel blog.
Home Gold Coast 1990
Home Gold Coast 1990 was a great thrill for me, I also completely designed the layout & drove the builder crazy by checking the progress every day. The address is 106 Upton St Bundall, QLD Australia 4217.
This post also features many of the terrific people I crossed paths with in 1990. Apologies for the poor quality photos, it was very early day for digital cameras.
Dream home 1990 & a new boat
I was working for Metway Bank & took out a loan to build the house, the interest rate was 12.5%, can you believe it? I also still owned my previous home in Claymore Crescent Sorrento.
Followed by new girl. 🙂
Karen Greenwood was a Kiwi & we spent the next 12 months or so together.
My favourite song from 1990
Madison & my car fleet completed the set. 🙂
My best friend Madison & my Mini Moke came with me in January 1987 when we moved from Newport Beach in Sydney to Surfers Paradise.
At Coolum with Ross Radford & John Sprouster.
These two great guys were my bosses, John was GM at Macdougals Ltd at 58 Clarence St Sydney which was my first selling job in office equipment. Ross owned Sanyo Office Machines & sent me to Adelaide in 1972then Melbourne in 1974.
Helen Burke at Coolum golf resort
This lovely lady really knew how to have fun., + she had a fabulous pair of Bazookas.
Bryan Dart, Greg Hughes & Wayne Jones
We often played golf as I was a member at Sanctuary Cove, Greg forever the village joker took my putter and had it shortened by 4 inches. Next time we played I couldn’t understand why they seemed to be laughing & giggling each time it was my turn to putt. Being a fairly average golfer I never noticed the difference. 🙂
Amanda Kathy & Christy
Three beautiful Surfers Paradise princesses.
Boating to Sanctuary Cove
Taking Kathy Amanda & Christy to a party in Sanctuary Cove at Peter Hesky’s waterfront villa.
Friends family Surfers Paradise starting with my brother Warren his lovely daughter Laura & his friend we call Mumbles. Another incredibly busy year for travel including Belem at the mouth of the mighty Amazon , Fortaleza on the north coast of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro, Buzios, Cabo Frio & another great trip to Tuscany & Portofino.
Two trips to Sydney including a terrific family Xmas & one trip to Melbourne for an AFL weekend. Yes, 2006 was another great year.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2006.
Lovely Laura
My niece Laura is a terrific singer & dancer trying to break into the big time. She won a scholarship to preform in New York which like myself she has fallen in love with the city.
My beautiful home at 106 Upton St Bundall, 4217
I designed & had my beautiful waterfront home built in 1990, I made a huge mistake in 2004 when I added a 2nd floor, it made it difficult to sell because it was too big for the average family, 500 M2 with seven bedrooms & five bathrooms. Oh well, it’s not the first major mistake in my life and it won’t be the last.
Lunch with Rossco at Omeros Brothers.
Good friend Ross Kennedy & I at Omeros Brothers, one of the best restaurants on the Gold Coast.
Drinks on my jetty with the Hoskots, Janice is an Australian girl & Dave is American, for a number of years he was a back up drummer for Bob Dylan.
A rose between two thorns.
Asuka on the left was a lovely Japanese girl from Osaka who was studying on the Gold Coast and renting a room in my home.
Robin & Les Scheffer, Janice Hoskot & Randy Fuse.
The Scheffer’s & I were good friends for many years, but in 2013 they placed my firmly on their blacklist for various infractions, you will see some others they have also placed on the list in following photos, it’s nice to have company. 🙂
Here is a classic “black list” photo.
That’s Robin at the front & four of the other six people including myself have been banished to her & Les Scheffer’s blacklist for quite a long time, as I said before it is nice to have company. 🙂 This particular day was a happy one, I have a small tradition where for many years on Good Friday I invite friends over for lunch.
Even though I was high on Les’s black list I’m sorry to say he passed away in March 2019, RIP.
Here is our Good Friday feast.
Beautiful Gold Coast fresh seafood & leg ham, salad & freshly baked bread.
Birthday lunch for Noel Smith.
At Carmody’s restaurant at the Southport Sharks club to celebrate Noel Smith’s birthday.
Sadly we have lost Noel Smith. Les Scheffer, Ian Fraser-Smith, John Woods and Ron Collier, RIP.
Xmas lunch at Melbas with the usual suspects
Greg Craig, Mike Nidrie & Noel Smith (RIP) are all regular drinking buddies of mine at Melbas.
Xmas lunch at Melbas with Lars Shitterer & Dave Hoskot, I first started drinking at Melbas on January 1st 1982 when some friends & I flew from Sydney after a huge NYE on Sydney Harbour when my boat was peppered with falling sky rockets because I stupidly anchored in the drop zone.
Jim Bell rented a room in my home for 13 years, that’s what I call a long term tenant.
Breakfast on Chevron Island with Brian Rawnsley.
Brian is a Brisbane guy I met in Thailand, here we are at Tigerlilly on Chevron Island one of my breakfast haunts.
The girls in our footy tipping club.
I ran a AFL tipping competition for 10 years, here we are at the end of year dinner.
And the winner is……..
My great friend Ross Kennedy aka “Shoeless Joe Jackson”.
My brother Ian’s 50th birthday.
Friends family gathered for Ian’s 50th birthday, here is Bryan another brother given one of his famous speeches.
Family breakfast on Chevron Island.
Two of my Brothers Bryan & Warren, Bryan’s wife Lynn & daughter-in-law Maisie.
This is Elliot, another little Herd.
Maisie’s cute little kid.
Les & Robin Scheffer marry at Saks restaurant.
A great venue for a wedding on the Broadwater at Marina Mirage.
Wedding guests at Saks.
Niggle Stopsgiving standing next to me is now firmly on the Les Scheffer‘s black list, his lady of 10 years beautiful Randy Fuse on the far right and he sadly are still doing battle. The name Geoff Pilkington’s wife eludes me & ?????
Sadly Les Passed away in May 2020, RIP.
I met these two lovely Japanese girls at Broadbeach.
Their names were Nemo & Nami, naturally I took them home to my house for lunch. 🙂
Vannessa & I at Tamborine Mountain.
It was not the fact she was excited to see me, it was very cold in the mountains. 🙂
Melbourne Cup day drinks at Melbas
David Robertson & Phil Thomson at Melbas on Melbourne Cup day watching all the gorgeous fillies getting flyblown. 🙂
Harley Bradstreet, one of my oldest friends.
Harley was preparing to leave Brisbane after a another disastrous business experience. When describing Harley, Larry Wilson a mutual friend once said “anyone can have a bad decade”. Which fitted Harley to a tee, over the many years I have known him this nice harmless fellow seemed to stumble from one disaster to another. On my boat on our eventful NYE in 1981 when rockets were falling from the sky, who was the first guy to get hit by one? Harley Bradstreet of course. 🙂 Thanks for visiting my friends family & others from 2006, check out the slideshow.
For a great hotel rate on the Gold Coast just book through THIS LINK.
Thanks for visiting my Friends family Surfers Paradise photo blog.
Gold Coast Australia was my home for 25 years from 1986 to 2011. Here are photos & comments on some of my wonderful memories.
This post focuses on 2008 which was another frenetic year of travel. Starting with 6 weeks in Brazil over Xmas & Carnival, with a fabulous week in New York on my way home. My Brazil trip included Rio de janeiro, Curitiba,Paraty,Belneario Camboriu & Florianopolis.
Three trips to Thailand in April, September & November, then throw in Bali,Singapore & Kuala Lumpur, so as you can see I hardly had time to unpack my suitcase. I nearly forgot a hectic couple of weeks in Sydney as well.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2008.
Qantas 1st class NYC to L.A.
I just had to include this photo flying 1st class thanks to my cousin Deb who is a Qantas flight attendant.
The old & the new opposite each other.
During my 25 years living here the changes were extraordinary, not all for the best I might add. The first 15 years were wonderful, however after that in my eyes, the overall atmosphere of the Gold Coaststarted to lose its shine, it no longer had the friendly village feel to it. I guess in my final 10 years there it just got too big and modern.
My home at 106 Upton St Bundall, 4217
In 1990 I designed & built a beautiful home on the waterfront with my own sandy beach & jetty for my boat, life was good. I sold the house in 2011 for over a million dollars, but this was $250k less than I was offered twice in 2007, the big drop in price was due to the Global Financial crisis, c’est la vie.
Gold Coast Australia, drinks at Melbas
Melbas bar & nightclub in Surfers Paradise Australia was my main drinking spot for most of my 25 years on the coast. Here are some of the fellows I would sometimes drink with.
Melbas always had sexy waitresses
One of the main reasons I made this my local watering hole.
Ian Rich was a friend for 45 years.
In 2008 Ian was living in a fabulous sub penthouse in Surfers Paradise Australia, the next few photos taken from his apartment are wonderful examples of Australia’s Gold Coast.
Ian’s beautiful apartment
A great view but very windy on the balcony.
Looking south at Surfers Paradise Australia
Absolutely breathtaking.
Looking north towards the seaway
Magnificent coastline in Surfers Paradise Australia Gold Coast.
Good Friday lunch at Chevron Island fish & chip shop.
One of my favourite eating spots in Surfers Paradise, great food at cheap prices & Frank the owner is an Australian football fanatic similar to myself. The couple on the left Les Scheffer & his wife Robyn & I used to be good friends, however in July 2013 they placed me firmly on their black list where I still reside today. 🙂
I’m sad to say Les passed away in March 2020 after a long battle with Cancer, RIP.
The boys in the fish & chip shop
A good bunch of guys.
Bjorn, Alisha, Brad, my nephew Michael & Matty.
Michael was in charge of cocktails as he was a barman at the Sheraton in Sydney as well as some other top venues.
Brad, Elisha & Matty.
I have a couple of internet hotspots in Surfers Paradise which earn me a few bucks, Brad owns the IT business which looks after them. Elisha is his lovely wife & Matty one of his technicians.
Here is Kayoko my friend from Tokyo.
Lots of cocktails were consumed at my home this night, there were a few sore heads in the morning.
Margarita time.
I’ll let Jimmy describe this fabulous cocktail.
Gold Coast Australia Michael & Bjorn
The happy couple are living in Berlin which is Bjorn’s home town. 2016 Update; sadly earlier this year Bjorn lost his long battle with cancer, he will always be remembered as a wonderful friend, RIP.
Trevor Loresch is very much a self made man, lives in a beautiful Pattaya waterfront apartment along with this luxury holiday getaway in Broadbeach on the Gold Coast.
Birthday drinks with Ross Kennedy & Phil Thomson
Two of my best friends on the Gold Coast. Last year Phil & his lovely Japanese wife showed me how to get around the great city of Tokyo which has become one of my favorite cities. In 1996 Rossco & I jumped in my Porsche & did one of my all time great road trips to the Hunter Valley, Sydney, Falls Creek & Melbourne.
Birthday lunch at Melbas
You know you are getting older when you look at some group photos and a couple of guys you have known for decades are not with us anymore. Ron Collier on the left in the black & Noel with the glasses on the right, RIP.
Good friends Wayne Jones & Bryan Dart.
I have known these guys for over 20 years.
Happy birthday DH.
A great day with a lot of good friends.
This would be a perfect birthday present. 🙂
Promise I’ll give her back in the morning. 🙂
St Kilda play North Melbourne at Carrara.
Rossco & I jump into the wine & food at the St Kilda’s dinner at Carrara stadium.
Drinks at Melbas for our AFL tipping Competition.
I ran a AFL tipping competition for nearly 10 years, here are some of the happy crew enjoying our mid year drinks at Melbas.
My great mate Phil Thomson.
We are at Southport Sharks for our end of year AFL tipping competition.
Dennis Perry, a rose between 2 thorns
Running the tipping competition was a lot of fun, when I moved to Thailand in 2011 Dennis & his crew took it over.
Gold Coast Australia New Years Eve 2008
After a frantic year I spent a very quiet NYE with friends reflecting on another super year of travel & living in Gold Coast Australia. Thanks for visiting my Surfers Paradise Australia photo blog.
Travel plus danger in 2010, first the travel, I’ll talk about the danger later. Travel included Thailand, Cambodia & Europe plus two visits to Sydney.
Some English & Italian visitors were guests in my Gold Coast home. Bill & Joan from Wiltshire met up with me in Thailand in January & we flew to Australia in February, this was their first trip “down under”. We drove down the east coast to Sydney before they returned to the U.K.
This is not a travel blog just a personal photo collection from 2010.
Bill is the brother of my friend Alan Austin who is a guest of Her Majesty, Bill & I met when I first visited Alan in 2007. Joan was an Olympic runner who competed in the 200 meters at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Bill was a Para Military man who served time in Ireland & many other countries.
Alan finally regained his freedom late 2018 after 11 years in the slammer.
One hour south of the Gold Coast is Byron Bay the most easterly point of Australia.
My beach & Jetty
I sold my boat last year so I was able to rent my jetty to moor a houseboat.
Cold beer on the houseboat
You too can have a body like this if you abuse it. 🙂
Roberta, Mikie & Alice from Italy
I did a house swap with this lovely Italian family, I stayed in their ski chalet in northern Italy in July & they came to my home in August.
Roberta loved the pelicans at Labrador.
Roberta was the Italian champion kite surfer, in fact if I remember correctly she was ranked 4th or 5th in the world.
Lovely Alice from Italy
Is this a cute little gal or what?
Charis seafood in Labrador
Wonderful seafood market on the Gold Coast. I moved to Thailand in October 2011 and apart from some friends & family the fresh Aussie seafood is the thing I miss most.
Roberta, Mikie & Alice from Italy
Playing on the beach in front of my home.
Fresh prawns & avocado
While on the subject of fresh Aussie prawns, there is no better sandwich in the world than prawns & avocado on fresh white bread.
Dinner with Deb & Jodie
Planning our trip to Italy & the French Riviera in July at the Garlic Clove restaurant.
Melbourne Cup at Surfers Paradise
The track is adjacent to my home.
Tania Zaetta at the Melbourne Cup
Tania was a well know celebrity, I think she may have been in a couple of TV shows & a Bollywood movie.
Melbourne Cup at Surfers Paradise
A little eye candy at the track, talk about travel and danger, well I would love to travel with her & accept whatever danger that may bring. 🙂
Dressed to the nines & feeling no pain
It is always great entertainment watching the crowd at the end of the day, some find walking rather difficult. 🙂
Travel plus danger in 2010 “Dueling baseball bats”
I spoke earlier of travel and danger, well here is the danger. It was May 2010 and I had only returned from Asia 48 hours ago & was still a little jet lagged. It would have been far safer staying in Bangkok or Cambodia than my home on the Gold coast, as I was the victim of a violent home invasion & robbery at 1 am in the morning. I took a very solid hit from a lunatic with a baseball bat, but luckily was not badly hurt, I managed to fight the bastard off, & when I finally got through to 000 5 cop cars turned up within about 7 minutes. It may well have been the most terrifying experience of my life. There was an 18 year old girl renting a room in my house so when I heard some strange noises in the early hours of the morning I thought it was just her banging drawers etc. Then a loud male voice from outside my bedroom door said “GIVE ME YOUR MONEY AND YOUR JEWELRY OR I WILL SHOOT YOU” I jumped out of bed, put on a pair of shorts, grabbed a baseball bat from my wardrobe and opened my bedroom door, I was only halfway through the door when this wild man rushed me swinging his own baseball bat straight at my head. It all happened so fast, and bear in mind I was half asleep, luckily I came awake fairly quickly and held my bat at a 45 degree angle in front of my head, the bat took the main force of the blow. His bat bounced off and caught me on top of my right shoulder which made my whole arm briefly go numb. Needing to gain a little time & to get the feeling back in my arm I slammed and locked my bedroom door & called 000, (I also hit my house alarm button and the bloody thing did not work) as soon as I reported to the police I knew I had to go back out and front the bastard again because I could hear the young girl sobbing in her bedroom, my biggest worry was that he was not alone. Luck was with me, the coward had bolted with only Alison’s old laptop, her new iPhone and $15 cash. On the same night he robbed at least 2 other places near my house, mine was the only one that included violence. Across the water a couple were asleep on the lounge downstairs while the intruders went through their upstairs bedrooms, one of which contained 3 children under 6 years old. I have absolutely no doubt had I not been able to block the vicious blow aimed at my head I would more than likely have wound in hospital or the morgue.
Theme from Rocky - James Last Orchestra feat. Derek Watkins
Two of my brothers Warren & Ian, Warren’s wife Kerry & family friend Chris Lockwood.
Warren & Ian with our Uncle Allan.
Allan Herd our uncle was without a doubt the toughest bravest Herd that ever lived. We travelled to Port Macquarie to present him with a family history photo book I had just finished. His 2nd World War experiences were absolutely remarkable. My brush with violence as I previously described is almost embarrassing compared to the horror he experienced. The title of this post Travel and danger fits Allan to a tee, I have never heard of anyone who was exposed to as much danger as this brave man.
Well into his 90s Allan was as sharp as a tack.
Allan had a terrific sense of humor, describing the English soldiers on the Burma railway he remarked “those pommies had no stamina, they started dying within a week”. Please note I mean no offence to the thousands of brave British soldiers, this was just a comment from an old Aussie warrior.
Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.
The fabulous Surfers Paradise skyline.
Alan Kendall from Sydney on his catamaran
Alan is a nice guy who loves his sailing.
From the Sea wall on the Gold Coast
A fascinating view of the high rise buildings.
Bondi Beach with Joan Baptiste
I travelled to Sydney in February with Bill & Joan, check out the photos on this post.
Chinese food and a few drinks with my good mate Lloydy.
Melbas on the park
lloyd’s 2nd office and my favourite bar. On July 10 2019 Melbas celebrated it’s 38th anniversary, I was lucky enough to be on the coast at the time. Check out THIS LINK.
Peter Hesky & his children
Another friend of around 33 years, Peter is almost a recluse in Sydney these days with his Labradors, sadly I never hear from him any more.
Ettalong Central coast of NSW
Driving up the NSW coast to Port Macquarie I travelled through Ettalong for a dose of nostalgia. As kids we used to always spend our annual holidays here and Booker Bay.
Celebrating Xmas at the Shitterer’s house.
In 2013 Les Scheffer & his wife Robyn placed me on their blacklist after many years of being friends. Now in 2018 I must admit my life is better without them in it. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Travel plus danger in 2010 photo blog.
Birthdays weddings funerals in 2007, plus another hectic year of travel resulted in one of the best years for me in this century. Even though my beautiful mother passed away it was a relief for myself and my family as she had deteriorated to an almost vegetable state due to advanced dementia.
On January 3rd in Sydney was Peter Hesky’s 60th birthday, we had lunch at the very upmarket Doyle’s restaurant at the Rocks.
Peter Hesky, David Herd & Richard Blair.
I have known Peter for 30 years so I was glad to be at his 60th, these days in 2014 he seems to have turned into an eccentric recluse, he does not keep in contact with me anymore but I hear from some of his fiends he is doing ok and enjoying his life.
Richard is an interesting fellow and a successful businessman, yet in 2004 in Koh Samui I gave him the nickname “Mr Stingy” so I guess that explains his character. I often daydream about winning lotto, I would be traveling the world first class instead of cattle class. 🙂
One thing with Stingy however, he does enjoy life with his long lunches at Bar Reggio in Sydney and visiting Thailand 5 or 6 times a year & to his credit he is a very successful businessman.
Peter Hobbs, Joyce Weir & Steven Bates.
Three more old friends were at the celebration, I have known the guys since the early 80s & Joyce since 1972 in Adelaide. In fact I stayed at Steve’s home in Singapore only 2 weeks ago in June 2014.
Ken Shelly, Steve Bates & I at Bar Reggio.
Bar Reggio is a very well known restaurant in Crown St Darlinghurst in Sydney, good low cost Italian food, and bring your own wine.
Nick & Sharron
My friends Nick & Sharron stayed in my home for several months, they looked after it while I was in Brazil for 2 months from December. They often visit Thailand and will be here again July 21st 2014.
A couple of critters around my home.
A couple of these guys swim past many times each day.
Unexpected visitor looking into my office.
These stingrays often cruise up and down my beach, and this cheeky little lizard was peeking in my office window.
Talking about wild animals
Her name is Danny, a very wild lady, I’m not sure what chemical substance she was sampling this night, but whatever is was it certainly worked its magic. For once I’m going to say no more on the subject. 🙂
The Beast on Chevron Island.
I can’t recall what the promotion on Chevron Island was all about but I do remember the gorgeous girls that were helping with the task.
Very cute indeed
All I can say is…………….
Craig aka “Sudzi” & gorgeous Chrissy.
Sudzi has worked in most of the popular Surfers Paradise bars & restaurants for year, he is also quite a talented photographer. He currently works at Waxy’s Irish Pub in Surfers Paradise. Chrissy also works in hospitality, last time I saw her she was at “Shuck” in Main Beach.
Drinks at Melbas
For many years Melbas in Surfers Paradise was our local drinking hole, here I am with Noel Smith, David Robertson & Greg Craig. Noel & Greg were great friends for many years & sadly Noel passed away around 2010.
Tammy Brazel has her 40th Birthday
Happy birthday Tammy.
Tammy & Cate on Tammy’s 40th.
Another one of the seven birthdays on Chevron Island for Tammy’s birthday, last month we were relaxing onKoh Samui.
On a sadder note
Simon Markby, sadly passed in July 2012, RIP. Originally from Melbourne before moving to the Gold Coast, Simon was a guy who loved life, expensive cars & boats, not that there is anything wrong with that. 🙂
Asuka from Osaka
Asuka was a lovely Japanese girl staying in my home, she lives in Osaka and we sometimes stay in contact through Facebook
Phil Thomson’s new toy
My great mate Phil splashed out on a terrific cruiser to park outside his Runaway Bay home. Sadly the excitement soon wore off & he sold it a year later. 🙂
Drinks at the Rowers
The Rowers was only a 4 minute walk from my home, very convenient indeed. 🙂
How do you like this number plate?
Trying very hard to be noticed.
This is one great looking car.
Great looking car owned by Ken Lowry.
Sadly Ken passed away in 2017 after a short illness.
But this one is better
Aston Martin Vanquish owned by one of my friends Lloyd Ross.
At Labrador looking south to Surfers Paradise.
Looking south towards Southport.
I got caught didn’t I?
I was atMelbas having drinks with friends and this lovely girl was there on her “Hens” night before getting married. She said buy me a drink please David, so I did & it cost me $50. 🙁
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Another of the seven birthdays Les Scheffer’s 60th
Les Scheffer, Juergen Ulitzer & I at Les’s 60th. Sadly Les passed away in March 2020.
How quickly things can change
I couldn’t resist showing this photo from Les’s 60th birthday, the three on the left including me are all on Les’s black list for various social infractions. One of my many bad habits is rattling peoples cages, Les & his wife Robyn did not react well to my last effort. 🙂
Another birthday for my good friend Ross Kennedy.
We are at Riviera Trattoria Sorrento
I lost 7 kilo before leaving for Brazil
Trim, taut, terrific, if I say so myself. 🙂
Three lovely Japanese girls having lunch at my home.
Megumi on the left has been a friend since since 1988 when she rented a room in my home at Sorrento. Asuka is in the center and the gorgeous girl on the right was a golf pro at a local course.
200 meters to the middle of the lake.
I asked her to hit 5 or 6 balls into the lake and she certainly had a smooth swing.
My lovely niece Elyssa
Elyssa was single & fancy free in 2007, now in 2014 she is the proud mother of a gorgeous little girl called Isabel.
Bye bye my beautiful Benz.
After 17 wonderful years I have sold my beautiful yellow canary to a nice lady in outback Queensland. She is a dentist in a mining town and I’m sure she will turn many heads when she drives down the main St in this wonderful car. This was my first step in downsizing my treasured possessions with a view of moving to Thailand. Little did I realize because of the GFC it would be four years before I could move to Thailand.
One of the Seven birthdays Smokey Shitterer’s 55th
Average age 55 at Robyn’s birthday. 🙂
Grahame LaRoche & his bride Sheena
Grahame LaRoche aka “BIff” decided to tie the knot again, if I remember correctly the marriage only lasted a year or so. 🙂
“Biff” a colorful character to say the least
Grahame LaRoche aka “The Biff”, how did he get that name you may well ask? In his younger days he used to travel around the countryside with the Jimmy Sharman boxing troupe. They visit country towns set up tents and offer to fight all the local lads for a cash prize. Biff was a light heavyweight and legend tells us that he was never beaten. He is a lovely bloke and I’m very glad to have known him for many years. In fact he was on of the main characters on my boat on NYE 1981 when we were peppered by falling skyrockets.
Another Xmas lunch at Melbas.
The yearly tradition continues with a group of guys mainly from Melbourne gathering for a Xmas lunch at Melbas restaurant.
Noodles, Chocolates & Rocket, aka the verbal battering ram.
These three reprobates have been drinking buddies for many years in Surfers Paradise. Chocs is famous for never buying anyone a drink, Rocket is known a “the verbal battering ram” & Noodles is famous for just being Noodles. 🙂
With John Sinclair & Ian Pettifer in Chinatown Sydney.
In March 2009 sadly Ian passed away after a long battle with cancer, he was a gentleman.
Drinks on Chevron Island for my birthday on July 7.
One of the seven birthday rolls around, here I am with Greg Craig, Les Scheffer, Dave Hosket & Nigel Treliving celebrating mine.
Time to paint my roof.
My original roof color had faded somewhat so it was time for a paint job.
My beautiful home looks brand new now.
I designed and built my beautiful waterfront home in Surfers Paradise. I moved in July 1st 1990 and sold it 21 years later in October 2011 and moved to Thailand.
Alan Jones of course was 2 times world Formula 1 world champion. While the American Dave Hosket was a shocking sycophant. 🙂 Dave did have a claim to fame however, for a number of years he was Bob Dylan’s back up drummer on tour.
My families saddest day
My beautiful mother passed away in 2007, although it was terribly sad, it was really a relief for myself and my family, she had deteriorated to an almost vegetable state due to advanced dementia. It’s a terrible sickness, however the family suffer much more than the patient as they are oblivious to everything around them. The worst thing for me was seeing this wonderful lady as a shadow of the beautiful woman and wonderful Mother I knew and loved all my life. RIP Mum.
1943 with Mum & Dad
Iris & Arthur Herd, RIP.
What a wonderful World
Ok, that’s all for my Birthdays weddings funerals photo blog, many thanks for dropping by.
This photos defines 1991, this post is part of my personal online photo albums, as opposed to my FiveStarVagabond travel blog.
Surfers Paradise life 1991
Surfers Paradiselife 1991 was as good as it gets, a new house, a nice car, a good job and a gorgeous girlfriend, a kiwi named Karen Greenwood. Karen was the main interest in my life for over a year. The relationship could safely be described as reasonably volatile. 🙂 It took me 2 or 3 more relationships over the next 4 or 5 years before I finally realised I was just not good at them. Consequently here I am happily alone 37 years later living in Thailand.
Above is one of my all time favourite photos, one of the many dinners parties at my new home at 106 Upton St Bundall, Surfers Paradise. My great buddy Harley Bradstreetused to love dressing up in his military gear, the other guy on the left was Harley’s gay flatmate. If Harley wore his Military gear he would do the same. The girls from the left were Leanne Sanderson, Mary Simpson, Kandice Aldington& Nicola Botica.
Kandice & Nicola wash the dishes.
These two lovely girls were always a great asset to any dinner party, an example of Surfers Paradise life 1991.
Another night another party with the usual suspects.
And the beat goes on, I think Kandice was feeling no pain on this particular evening. 🙂
Kandice was feeling no pain at all.
As I said before, another night another party with the usual suspects.
Here is another great kitchen shot. 🙂
I think Jill is about to cook breakfast, or pour us another drink perhaps. 🙂
New fence at 106 Upton St
I moved into my new home July 1st 1990 but my huge fence was not built until early 1991.
Harly & Madison guarding the house
Before I had the fence I needed an armed guard to keep my screaming fans at bay. 🙂 OK, I am joking, it is only my old buddy Harley dressing up again.
Roger Williams surrounded by special forces.
On the right is my old friend Harley Bradstreet who loved dressing up in his military outfit, he had a gay flatmate the guy on the left. This particular night they came to my home for dinner & you could have knocked me over with a feather when the flatmate was also dressed in military fashion. 🙂
Old friend Ian Rich
Ian was from Newport in Sydney, we met around 1968.
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Claudia Scrupin & Tony Murphy
Another old friend is Tony Murphy who I see regularly when he visits Thailand, plus I often stay at his home on the Gold Coast when I am there every 18 months or so.
Robyn Aylwood & Tony Murphy at Palm Meadows.
Robyn was a lovely lady who was the PR girl at Gold Coast international hotel, she moved to Melbourne Married & sadly passed away October 2010, RIP. Strangely enough her husband David Austin also passed away shortly after in July 2011.
A rose between two thorns
I don’t think so, two lovely ladies Kim English & Sharon Lee at Mariners Cove.
Dianne Bryce & Larry Wilson.
Larry was a terrific humour, he is the on coin coined the phrase about our mutual friend Harley Bradstreet “ANYONE CAN HAVE A BAD DECADE”. I often told people “if you need a good solicitor on the Gold Coast avoid Larry.” (only joking) Dianne was a fun lady who I took out a few times in the previous year or two. Ah Surfers Paradise life 1991 was very good indeed.
Two more old friends
I used to have regular drinks at the Avenue in Orchard Avenue with Len Jones & David Robertson. This was Surfers Paradise life 1991 and the Avenue is still there now in 2018 but it moved across the road.
Porsche, what Porsche? I can’t see a Porsche.
Two lovey ladies posing outside my home. Sharon Lee is on the right, I forget her girlfriend’s name.
I had such a good year with Karen however I have no allusions why she stuck around for so long. She was surviving on a pension raising a young child so money was very tight. The week before we met her car gave up the ghost which obviously curtailed her ability to get around. Along comes the white knight, aka David Herd who just happened to have a spare car which he generously provided as her much needed transport. During our time together each time there was a major disagreement I would repossess the vehicle & poor Karen was grounded. Upon making up the car would be returned and things would be back to normal, so folks therein lies the major reason this super hot babe stuck around for so long. 🙂
Xmas day in Auckland
We spent Xmas & New Year in Auckland with Karen’s parents, towards the end of the holiday we were desperate for some time away from each other.
In the Bay of Islands
A gorgeous lady who smoked like a burning brake drum. 🙂
Happy times in Port Douglas
A nice trip to Port Douglas & Airlie Beach, little did we know (well I didn’t) there was only a week or so left in our volatile relationship. 🙂
Whitehaven Beach Whitsundays
Is that the definition of sexy or what?
Perhaps one of the sexiest girlfriends I ever had
I took this photo 5 minutes after making love to this sexy lady.
This will amaze you…..
This was taken 26 years later in March 2017, she still looks fantastic.
Alan Pearson in Airlie Beach
I have known Alan for nearly 20 years, we knocked around in the same group when I lived in Adelaide in the 70s.
Mum & Dad’s 50th wedding anniversary.
My wonderful Mum & Dad celebrated their 50th with close friends at my brother Bryan’s Home in Leppington south west ofSydney.
Roberta at the Gold Coast Indy.
Roberta Aitchison in her sexy Meter Maid outfit at the Gold Coast Indy. Shortly after she took over the Meter Maid company and still runs it today. Another example of my Surfers Paradise life 1991′
Surfers Paradise life 1991 & here is Harley laying it on thick,
Yes ladies, I am a well known chick magnet.
Susan Hutton & her niece
Susan was a friend from Brisbane who would come to the coast and spend the weekend with me.
Another great photo to finish which shows Surfers Paradise life 1991
Surfers Paradise life 1991 as you can see was fantastic mainly due to some very interesting people.
Life was just one big party in the 90s, thanks for visiting my post.
My favourite song from 1991.
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Please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history, check it out if you wish.
Gold Coast 1995 life was good, & in fact all through the 90s, my home at 106 Upton St Bundall was “party central”, 1995 was no different, I was working for the NRMA as a Financial Planner and enjoying life to the max, this post shows many of the people who made it another memorable year.
I love this photo
My old friend Harley Bradstreet on theGold Coast 1995 telling one of his long winded stories that used to bore everyone to tears. He had a million stories but they were all about himself, the look on Kerry’s face is priceless. The other guy is Barry Madden who worked for the NRMA in Newcastle, it is now 2014 and we are still in touch often on Facebook.
Grahame Kinsela & Harley Bradstreet.
Harley was & still is a terrific guy, he now lives in Perth and collects & restores old Jaguars. Grahame was also an old friend of mine from the northern beaches area of Sydney.
In those days Harley seemed to stumble from one disaster to another, a mutual friend of ours Larry Wilson, a Gold Coast solicitor, coined the phrase referring to Harley, “anyone can have a bad decade”. This seemed to describe Harley to a tee. 🙂
November 2016 & I saw saw the sad news on Facebook that Grahame had passed away, RIP my old buddy.
My new jetty Gold Coast 1995
I remember this photo so well. My Doberman Ziggy is taking his first look at my new jetty, he was a very confused dog for the next hour or two.
This is what the jetty was designed for.
Drinks, drinks & more drinks, my jetty turned into the main party area for my house. On the left is Jim Bell, he rented a room in my home for 15 years, that’s what I call a long time tenant. Michael Gray aka “the Doc” was a local Radiologist & a well know collector of beautiful women. Finally on the right is John Hunjadi, a partner in several Gold Coast nightclubs, including ” “Cocktails & Dreams”, The Party”, & “The Bourbon Bar”.
Good buddy Phil Thompson.
Still one of my best friends today Phil was a handy guy to have at my Sunday BBQs.
My gorgeous girlfriend of the year was…..
Carolyn Clarkwas & still is a gorgeous girl, we were an item for about a year and a half in 1994 & 1995. Twenty years later and I’m glad to say we still keep in touch.
What do you think of these little puppies?
I gotta say I think they are gorgeous. 🙂
A weekend in Sydney
Carolyn & I flew to Sydney for a weekend, I caught up with my good friend Paul Slaughter, 2nd from left. The guy on the left was an actor from “The Bill” Tony O’Callaghan.
Great shot of the Gold Coast girls in Sydney.
On the left is Marie Stephens beside Carolyn Clark, far right is Kandice Aldington withMichaela standing at the back. It was a good weekend
My favourite song from 1995
The Oaks Hotel
Old friends meet for drinks at our favourite pub. Derek Pugh and Ian Rich,Paul Slaughter in the foreground with his sister on the left and girlfriend Clode on the right.
Drinks at my home before dinner.
I was always entertaining people in my home in Upton St Gold Coast 1995, after the year 2000 I started to entertain less & less due to my frenetic overseas travel. Wendy is 2nd from the right, sadly she passed away in 2017, RIP.
Beautiful Argentinian girl
Surely one of the most beautiful girls that ever visited my home, sadly I can’t even remember her name.
Photo bombed
Greg Johnston aka Greg Bin Laden looking like a middle east terrorist photo bombed me with the Argentinian Princess.
A gorgeous girl from Rio.
This is Andrea from Rio, my good friend Andre (RIP) bought her to Australia for a holiday.
Brazil on the left & Argentina on the right
Why does imported fruit always seem so much more exotic? 🙂
Time for some local talent
This is Jade, only on the Gold Coast would you go out like this. Please click on Google + to help my page ranking.
Fun on the Broadwater
Much of the Gold Coast 1995 life revolved around the water, many people like myself lived on the waterfront with our boat tied up to our jetty. The guy in the yellow shirt was a good friend of mine from Melbourne Ross Ansell, & as you can clearly see they seem to be enjoying themselves.
I was having fun as well
Here I am with Pascale & Rene, both gorgeous ladies.
Another party on the jetty
And the beat goes on at Gold Coast 1995, yet another party on the jetty, the guy on the left with his arm around Kandice was John Merryman from Sydney. We knew each other from the old days at Eliza’s in Double Bay in the 70s. The guy in the middle is John Gombos beside my sexy hairdresser Dianne in the red top. On the far right is Ziggy, same name as my Doberman.
Sadly Ziggy passed away around 2018, RIP.
So many girls in 1995 & such little time. 🙂
Thanks for visiting my Gold Coast 1995 photo blog.
Please note, this is not part of my Travel Blog. It’s part of my personal history, check it out if you wish.
Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life, was a very good year for me, as were many others. I intend to publish posts on the years I remember most vividly, & there have been quite a few. The header shows the view I had from my apartment at 112 Wrights Rd Drummoyne in Sydney, where I lived from 1979 to 1984. With my white Mercedes Sports in the garage, my Bertram 25 moored out front, plus my very own liquor store in Sydenham, some good friends and a string of beautiful girlfriends, life was very close to perfect.
The boat
I had the perfect mooring right outside my apartment, we had so much fun on Sydney harbor visiting all the great beaches & restaurants.
The car
My beautiful Mercedes Sports was the ultimate chick magnet.
The babes
As I said earlier, my life was as close to perfect as you could get.
Lets begin on New Years Eve 1981
One of the best NYEs of my life, we overloaded my boat with 16 people and headed off to a seafood restaurant at “the Spit” for dinner before heading to the Opera House for the incredible fireworks. My girlfriend for the night was the gorgeous one in the middle, very unusual that I can’t remember her name.
New Year’s Eve 1981, the Great Escape.
It was like we were caught in a Beirut bomb zone with huge sky rockets peppering the overloaded boat, causing some of my friends to dive overboard in the middle of the harbor to escape the carnage.
Let’s backtrack to the start of our adventure, it was NYE 1981 and 15 of my friends boarded my Bertram 25 and headed for a seafood restaurant near the “Spit bridge” on Middle Harbor in Sydney. Onboard were some of my best friends, Wolf Wottke, Harley Bradstreet, George McEwan & Graham “Biff” LaRoche from Melbourne and 6 or 7 gorgeous girls. My boat was licensed to carry around 10 or 12 people however it was New Year’s Eve so who really cared?
We moored on the edge of the sand at the rear of the restaurant and at 8.30 pm sat down and ordered a feast. Here is where things started to go wrong, we hadn’t factored in the NYE crowd and the food was very slow to arrive, in fact it was after 11 pm by the time the waiter started to serve our meal. By then we were well along the road to intoxication as we had started drinking late afternoon at my apartment in Drummoyne.
As the Sydney fireworks were due to start at midnight we decided to pack up most of the food and head for the Sydney Opera house to watch the spectacular event.
We faced our second problem re-boarding the boat as the tide had come in and the boat was now floating 30 meters from the shore. Our only option was to wade out carrying the boxed up food in water almost up to our backside. The good news was our nice view of the girls hiking up their skirts waist high, which endorses the phrase that every cloud has a silver lining.
Now “Biff” was a huge man as the name implies, & Harley was almost a midget, sometimes we would cruelly refer to him as an ariel photograph of as human being. So with Harley clutching a cardboard box filled with oysters “Biff” tucked him under his arm and carried him towards the boat.
I’m not sure why “Biff” dropped him, when only 2 meters from the boat, perhaps Harley wriggled or maybe “Biff” was feeling the effects of too many beers. Anyhow Harley briefly disappeared underwater along with the box of precious oysters, which I’m please to say we did recover.
Harley was our own human disaster area, if something was going to go wrong he was usually at the center of things, in fact it was Harley who coined the memorable phrase “anyone can have a bad decade”.
By the time we all got on board it was around 11.30 pm and is was a good 30 minute journey to the Opera House so I gave the boat full throttle and sped toward the Harbour Bridge.
We arrived in record time about 11.55 and I was weaving through the 1500 or so boats like a drunken sailor, which of course I was, searching for a spot to anchor that was not too close to any of the hundreds of spectator craft. Hallelujah, what seemed to be a minor miracle unfolded before my eyes. A clear circle of water right in the middle of all the boats, so naturally I gave out a cheer and dropped the anchor just as the first fireworks explosion sounded right above us.
Elation quickly turned to fear as huge smoking wooden rods started raining down upon us. As I said at the start It was like we were caught in a Beirut bomb zone with huge sky rockets peppering the overloaded boat causing some of my friends, in particular Harley, to dive overboard in the middle of the harbor to escape the carnage. In the middle of the mayhem & panic it suddenly occurred to me we were smack bang in the middle of the fireworks “drop zone” which the water police had cleared in readiness for the show before retreating out of danger themselves.
I sprang into action like a drunken super hero and pulled up the anchor in record time, then fled the danger zone. No mean feat as my boat lacked an electric winch, so I had to manually pull the damn thing up by hand while standing on the bow.
We moored safely out of harm’s way and assessed the damage, naturally Harley was the most wounded, soaking wet with minor burns on his arm, plus a few small cuts from the smashed champagne bottle he was holding when hit by the first rocket.
Well we settled down and watched the rest of the fireworks reliving the experience that would be told many times over in the coming years, our own personal “great escape”.
Later we motored along the Parramatta River to Habberfield to drop off some passengers, and finally returned “drunk as skunks” to Drummoyne at dawn. Later that day George, Biff & I on impulse flew to the Gold Coastto continue our New Year celebrations.
The fabulous Opera House
One of the world’s great buildings.
New Years Eve 1982, the party continues…..
It seems 1982 was one continual never-ending party, here I am NYE in Sydney 1982 with Steve Bates, Helen Burke & Robyn Underwood.
Doyles restaurant & the Watson’s Bay hotel
Three or four times a week my boat & I would head for Doyles restaurant & the Watson’s Bay hotel at Watson’s Bay. This was our favourite destination for long drunken lunches.
Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life with Helen Burke.
Helen & I spent most of 1982 together after bumping into each other (having not been in contact for several years) at Melbas nightclub in Surfers Paradise on the evening of January the 1st, the night after my epic “great escape” on Sydney Harbour.
I caught up with Helen again in 2014 at her home in Dromanawhere she produces excellent wine.
Grahame aka “Biff”, Kitty & Helen Burke.
January 1982 and the party continued on the Gold Coast. The new sexy girl in the photo was “Kitty” a totally uninhibited Dutch girl who I knew from Sydney, but that’s another story. 🙂
Kitty
Without a doubt one of the sexiest most uninhibited women I have ever known.
I rest my case
Biff is in heaven as you can see from the look on his face. 🙂
Lunch at Coolangatta
This was at Oscars on the beach with Graham La Roche and crazy Polly, I forget the other guys name.
A very difficult achievement
Here is Kitty, Di & Helen helping me achieve one of those very important difficult goals that I set myself during my younger years. Three ladies that I have bonked in one photo, that’s kind of like winning 3 Olympic gold medals, made more difficult when each of the three knew about the other two, priceless. 🙂
Kitty & her two sisters.
Three happy beautiful Dutch girls.
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Good friends at my home in Drummoyne Sydney 1982
Here is Graham LaRoche, George McEwan & Kitty’s two beautiful Dutch sisters in Sydney 1982.
Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life with Helen & Teresa
Helen Burke from Melbourne & Teresa Hamilton-Smith from Adelaide, oh oh! How can I not include the lovely Kitty? Make that my three favourite girls. 🙂
Well ladies, I have an idea
Say no more. 🙂
OK, check out these beautiful girls in Sydney 1982
Sandy & Teresa Beautiful Jenny
The perfect day on the harbour with a boatload of beautiful ladies, Sydney 1982 flying high.
Here is a short video I took on NYE 2012 of the view from my condo at Drummoyne.
Home sweet home 1979 to 1985.
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David Herd & Vin Deveroux in Los Angeles.
My friend Vinny picked me up at the airport in a Roller, then we headed straight to La Cage de Folles to meet Christeen Rudas a friend from Australia.
Christine Rudas
Christine was a hostess at La Cage de Folles.
Gorgeous Blonde at La Cage de Folles
Apparently she was in a show called Hee Haw, the closest match I can find is Gunilla Hutton, the age would be about right but I’m not sure if that is really who she is.
La piece de resistance
So here is my 15 minutes of fame I guess, lucky enough to meet Liberace and get a photo with him.
For many years Ian ran a tennis ranch in Los Angeles, in fact I think he still does in 2016.
We stopped in Hawaii on the way home
I went to L.A. for 2 months with Steve Bates then Helen joined us for the final 4 weeks. We drove to Vegas, Mount Mammoth, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco and down the coat to L.A. Helen & I also flew down to Puerto Vallarta for a few days.
Every time I hear this song I’m transported back to the Californian coast
April 1982, guess where I am?
We drove from Vegas to SFC.
Dinner at Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf SFC.
Helen was never considered shy and introverted. 🙂 🙂 🙂
Thinking about my life in 1982 with all the babes, boats, gold chains & big hair, reminds me of another of my favourite songs from that year. Do yourself a favour & let Bertie take you back.
Bertie Higgins - "Key Largo" (Official Music Video)
Madison & Emma Aboud
Emma was the daughter of my ex girlfriend Carol Aboud, here she is with my wonderful German Shepherd Madison.
Don Morris was CEO at Mojo Advertising
Don was another good friend from Sydney 1982, we did a lot of boating together & drank a few cold beers.
Captain Peter (Hollywood) Hobbs & Liz De Crossan
One thing I can say about Peter in Sydney 1982 he could always attract the good looking ladies. I’m probably being unkind, Liz as you can see was extremely beautiful.
Jenny Dale, another lovely lady
I was lucky enough to have a little fling with this gorgeous lady.
Yolande, the Macleans girl
Even in a poor quality photo she is still beautiful.
Check out the video.
Denny Collins & Peter Hesky
Two good friends for the 70s & 80s.
Good friend Denny Collins, RIP.
Denny was a great fellow, he sadly passed away after a long illness about 4 years ago.
Valli Kemp, beautiful big eyes.
Valli was quite a well known Sydney model in those days.
Sydney 1982 flying high
On the left is Wolfgang who was my best friend through the 70s and early 80s.
Can life get any better than this?
I really doubt if there has been a better stage in my life than Sydney 1982 flying high enjoying life.
As you can see Sydney 1982 was really a non stop party, those were the days my friend we thought they would never end. 🙂
Towns on the NSW coast are really worth visiting, starting 80 kilometres north of Sydney we have Ettalong on the Central coast. This small town has so many wonderful memories for me as it was the place my family spent the Xmas holidays from when I was a small baby until I was a teenager. In those days the road was quite dangerous and wound around the mountains like a snake around a pole. The journey in those days took about 2.5 hours, now it’s just over an hour on the motorway.
Ettalong in 1953
Here I am at 10 years of age with young brother Warren and my grandmother Nan Tippett. Here is somewhere to stay in Ettalong with magnificent views over the water, the Tantra apartments.
Terrigal
Thirty minutes further north and a little more upmarket is Terrigal, another very popular holiday destination. Terrigal was first settled in 1826 by European Settler John Gray, who called his property Tarrygal, after the indigenous Aboriginal place name, signifying ‘place of little birds’. The town’s long beach is highly popular with tourists.
My favourite NSW coastal town, 400 kilometres north of Sydney, in fact my Australian residential address is here at my brother’s home. Warren has lived here for over 20 years and I always visit when I am in Australia.
Port Macquarie was first visited by Europeans in 1818 when John Oxley reached the Pacific Ocean from the interior, after his journey to explore inland New South Wales. He named the location after the Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie.
Seaside Towns NSW Coast Australia
Port Macquarie is a retirement destination, known for its extensive beaches and waterways. The town is also known for its koala population, being the home to the Billabong Koala Park, and the Koala Preservation Society’s Koala Hospital, caring for koalas injured through bushfire, dog attacks and collisions with vehicles.
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Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour is located on the north coast of New South Wales about 540 km north of Sydney, and 390 km south of Brisbane. Coffs Harbour is one of many regional cities along the Pacific Highway between Newcastle and TheGold Coast.
Seaside Towns NSW Coast Australia
The Observatory hotel is just a short walk to several restaurants and cafes, the only downside is being woken early in the morning when the first train stops at the station 50 meters in front of the hotel.
Yamba Clarence River NSW Coast has a population of just over 6,000, which tends to triple in the holiday season. The economy is based on tourism & fishing.
Iluka at the mouth of the Clarence River.
Iluka is a small village at the mouth of the Clarence River on the NSW coast. It is situated directly across the river from the resort town of Yamba. At the 2006 census, Iluka had a population of 1,739 people. The town’s name is derived from an aboriginal word meaning “near the sea”. It has long beaches on the ocean side of the river. It is reached by turning off the Pacific Highway approximately 20 kilometres north of Maclean. As Iluka is a popular tourist destination its population increases slightly in the holiday season with many Gold Coasters in the summer and Victorians in the winter.
Byron Bay
Byron Bay is a beach-side town located in the far-north-eastern corner of the state of New South Wales. It is located 772 kilometres north of Sydney and 165 kilometres south of Brisbane. The history of Europeans in Byron Bay began in 1770, when Captain James Cook found a safe anchorage and named Cape Byron after John Byron.
It is a resort popular with both domestic and international tourists, including backpackers, who travel along the Australian coast; the scenery also attracts skydivers. The area is also noted for its wildlife, with the whale watching industry a significant contributor to the local economy.
Byron Bay
Only a 60 drive from where I lived in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast, I would occasionally drive down for lunch at the famous pub near the beach. One of the great Seaside Towns NSW Coast Australia.
Byron Bay lighthouse NSW coast
Australia’s most easterly point.
Magnificent deserted beach near Byron Bay
Miles of deserted beaches are all along this part of the coast. I intend to live somewhere along this coast around 2022. Hopefully I will find a little bolt hole where I can live in peace until I die. 🙂
Kingscliff Northern Rivers Coast NSW
A fairly typical coastal town with lots of coffee shops, tourists & terrific beaches.
Point Danger NSW coast
Port Danger is on the border of New South Wales and Queensland. It’s a very popular location for surfers.
Port Danger
Thanks for visiting my Seaside Towns NSW Coast Australia photo blog, it certainly is one of the world’s great coastlines.
