A paradise in the 1970s. I quickly got work with Mineral Deposits, a beach mining operation, and lived in a rented caravan in the caravan park, and surfed. Working shifts meant I could surf during the day – my skill did not improve.
Sandra was working in the office and we soon got together and moved into a house up the hill with Donna, and Duncan was born – quite idyllic. Every Friday we would get a lift into Kempsey and shop – no car then. Fosseys was the place for children’s clothes but I can’t remember much else about these expeditions. Eventually we bought a 1949 Ford Prefect, which had a gearbox fault – it would always throw out of second gear. I bought two spare gearboxes and had one rebuilt and the other for parts so that when it became inoperable I would change gearboxes. Cars were very simple then. We did a lot of k’s in the Prefect – up into the Dividing Range on precipitous roads. It was high off the ground so excellent for off-road but unstable on the bitumen.
The Ford Prefect
We got a dog, Rufus. I can’t recall how we obtained him but a legendary unbiddable dog. His principal accomplishment was running backwards while biting the driver’s front tyre as we motored through the village.
Charles Newey, the manager of the mine, encouraged me to study for the Leaving Certificate (pre-Higher School Certificate), which I did by correspondence with NSW TAFE. Sat the exam and topped the State in Ancient History and Geography, OK on English and failed both Maths. However, Macquarie University was just beginning its second year and hungry for students so was accepted for a BA, which I started externally but soon discovered I wanted face-to-face teaching. This meant moving to Sydney, finding accommodation for the four of us, and work.
Duncan’s first birthday with a brief cameo appearance of Rufus. These movies are over 40 years old, Kodachrome 12 ISO (very slow), no light meter so not so bad.
More old movie