Don Kinsey: 1962-1976 Family Life in Sydney

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Previous 1958-1962 - Early married life in Sydney

Messages and Tributes from Sydney and GBR

First child - Catherine

Catherine Louise (variously known as Cate, Catie, Cathy and Catherine) was born in 1962. William John (Bill) followed in 1965 and Anne Elizabeth (Anne) in 1967. Dad was present with mum for all the births, unusual for a husband in the sixties.

Cate (5), Bill (2) and Anne (<1)

Dad had nicknames for everyone in the family. Catherine had Mouse or, Mickey Mouse. Bill had Pee Wee and Intermedious (Intermediate mouse - between Mickey and Minnie). Anne had Minnie (mouse) and Nubble or Nub. The evolution of Nub was Anne -> Annabelle -> Nubble -> Nub. Dad often also referred to Anne as Bliss or Blissful Chicken (Bliss for her tendency to be happy and dreamy, but no idea where Chicken came from!). When talking to us, dad never called us by our given names, only nicknames, even in the last days. Mum and Dad had nicknames for each other, but that is their story.

Our childhood was fun. Most of the time we didn’t have a television, although ultimately buying one on hire-purchase..

Anne: “I particularly remember the soundscape at Turramurra. Dad often listened to music on the stereo at high volume. He might play his first musical love - symphonies, but he also played baroque trumpet, guitar and harp concertos, Harry Belafonte (Live... and Live at Carnegie Hall), JC Superstar, Tijuana Brass, Osibisa (Welcome Home), and Pink Floyd (Dark side of the Moon and Meddle). Very sixties and seventies, but at the same time very diverse”

As kids we played below the house and the cliff in the bushland that extended down to a creek. All our neighbours had big yards also, too big to fence. Dad built a ladder down the cliff and fashioned paths through our patch of bush, which we maintained ourselves as we got older. So we spent a lot of time exploring this extended playground, especially as it was also our route to school. The bush was all natural vegetation with large old gumtrees full of cicadas as well as banksias, wattles and other wildflowers.There were plenty of rock outcroppings to climb too.

Dad built extensions to the house and a wonderful cubby house that sat on a sandstone shelf above the house. Between the house and this rock shelf was a narrow walkway that went past caves hidden amongst ferns and moss making it look like fairy grottos, especially when they dripped and filled with rainwater.

The Turramurra house with lush front yard and bush outlook


The path in front of the house and some of the fairy grottos


Dressed for School in the front yard with one of our dogs and one of the neighbours	dogs

On the back verandah

Dad had fish. Not one or two, but hundreds. Our living room featured a 7 foot tank that had a very old catfish, Oscars and many other fish. The talk was so large, dad had to reinforce the floor foundations to hold it up. Dad would go out to the compost heap, dig up worms and drop them into the tank. The severum would would go wild trying to get to the worms. They loved eating the worms and we loved the spectacle. Dad had a whole room full of fish next to his study in the extension. Some of the tanks were green with algae to afford some privacy for the fish he was breeding. He raised many Cichlids and sold them to local fish shops for other aquariums, getting fish food in exchange.

We also had other pets too. Dad loved dogs and cats (and raccoons - but that is a story for another page). Dad's favourite dogs were Dachshunds.We had, at various times, Bismark a solid brown and Rommel, a black and tan. Both were miniature Dachshunds. We also had cats; Siamese cats which mum and dad bred. Sometimes a good siring and sometimes (if they were not quick enough) pot luck with some local tom. The Siamese had a lovely temperament.

Dad with Cate, Bill and Bismark at the beach

Dad in the front yard with Bismark


A couple of our Siamese

Boating in Sydney

One year (probably 1972) we went to the Sydney Boat Show. Dad fell in love with a DeHavilland Trojan. The Trojan had been around for a couple of years as a fibreglass boat, but this was the first year they were producing an aluminium hull version. It was going to be used by the Water Police to replace their aging fleet, but ours was the first one on the water. We had twin 65 Horsepower Mercury outboards. We were all in love. We loved being on the water and exploring Sydney Harbour. There were very few places in the Harbour and Middle Harbour that we didn’t explore. The first year we had the boat was a bit embarrassing. We would be out on the harbour, either by ourselves or with friends (usually the Thomas’s) and would be stopped by the Water Police. Those who knew Dad will know that he stuck to law pedantically (OK. There was one time with the Jaguar). They just wanted to know what Dad thought of the boat they were about to get.

The Trojan was moored at the Spit when we first got her, but that was both expensive and quite a long way from our home. Dad moved her to a mooring in Roseville. We spent most weekends out and about, and the boat became a very important part of our lives. Of course dad made many modifications. He built a teak seat that spanned across the gunwales and provided extra seating and a great place to eat lunch. One of the fixed seats was modified so that it could be easily removed and a gas burner installed in its place. These sort of modifications are commonplace these days, but much less so in the early 1970’s.

The Trojan at Spit Marina

Our favourite place to go was Collins Beach. Back then, the only access was from the water and if we were lucky, we could have the beach to ourselves. No such luck these days. Sometimes we would go to Store Beach,but the nudists seemed to like that one, and usually got in early. We also went to The Basin in Broken Bay for Easter at least twice. We would take all our bedding and camp on the boat. The trip out of Sydney Heads could be an adventure. As we rounded North Head we would be hit by the odour of the sewer outfall. You could see the brown slick. The birds loved it though, and it was a great place to see all sorts of birds fishing. Sometimes we would see Albatross. I cannot convey how majestic it is, seeing a bird the size of an Albatross take to the air. It seems impossible that they can actually get airborne when they start making their ungainly strides across the water.

The swell was often taller than the boat and Anne spent most of this part of the trip curled up on the anchor chain in the bow trying not to be sick. When we got to Broken Bay the water was usually full of jelly fish. Not the little clear ones, but great big brown ones. Sometimes they were so thick we could hear them hit the boat as we moved along.

The best bit about the Trojan though was bow riding.In calmer water all us kids rode the bow with our legs dangling in the water looking down through the clear water. Magical memories.


The Trojan at Spit Marina

Christmas

Our parents liked to give us amazing surprises. One Christmas, Mum and Dad decided to give us a pool from Santa Claus. They had to level the ground, put up the side wall, install the liner and fill it with water - all overnight. Santa tied a string to the pool and then unraveled the string through the house to the bedroom the three of us shared. On the end was a note saying to follow the string when we were all awake and warning Cate of dire consequences if she woke the others up. The pool was a Clark 18inch above ground pool and, in Sydney summers, was wonderful. It was definitely one of the most memorable Christmas gifts we ever received.