About us
SUSAN
From the lush tropical North Queensland cane fields, I have enjoyed living in most Australian states. Looking back over the past 60 years sugar cane farming has changed a lot. Cane fires were an everyday occurrence and local communities worked together to bring in the harvest. Weekends provided the opportunity for plenty of sporting activities – tennis, cricket, vigaro and athletics, but when introduced to camping the whole of North Queensland became one big adventure playground. The love for travel soon led me to exploring further afield.
Working at various administrative jobs funded holidays about every six months by a variety of transport modes – flights, coach journeys, train travel, ocean liners and hire cars. Although it wasn’t until 1983 when I acquired my first backpack and boarded an international flight to London that revealed the wider world was ready and waiting to be explored.
GEOFF
I had the opportunity to leave home at the age of 12 which really set the scene for wanderlust. However, those formative years set me up to work behind a bar as well as mining underground. It’s hard to believe I started this before my teenage years but lots of things were possible back then. The next six years were spent in the big smoke at Gympie boarding school and holidays at the pub in Howard and the sand flats around Hervey Bay.
Uni study in geology was a tough time financially however, it was made possible by a Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam who set up free tertiary study and a monthly subsidy equivalent to the dole. After three years I was ready for employment and with a high demand for labour, it was easy to get into mineral exploration.
They were heady days as geologists were issued with a 4wd and recovery gear. Supported by a long-range radio I was sent solo into a number of remote locations. One of those was in Far North Queensland allowing field breaks in Cairns every month. That was where I met Susan.
TOGETHER
As a couple we met over a game of pool and it would have been a brief affair except Susan decided to move to Perth, when Geoff relocated for work there. The work soon dried up and our first backpack journey started through Europe including work time in a London pub and an Israeli kibbutz. By the time we got back nearly two years later, wedding bells were ringing. After an eventful honeymoon, sharing the breakfast room every morning with Johnny Cash in person, we moved into our first house in Queenstown Tasmania. This lead quickly to three year stays in Cobar NSW, Golden Grove WA and Darwin NT. It also meant some additions to the family with Sean born in Dubbo and Liam in Perth. Darwin bought further change with the impact of the first real Fly In Fly Out job that the family worked around. Travel for the family was adapted to include a trusty Pajero, builders trailer and a tent as we wended our way through the Pilbara, Kimberly’s, the Red Centre and Kakadu.
The remoteness of the NT was concerning and we started looking for jobs where the mine was nearby and schools available. The answer was Charters Towers which became home for nearly 30 years. The 1890’s house on 1/2 acre soaked up a lot of effort to bring it back to life but it was a team effort and with the addition of family dogs Milo and Vanilla, we attacked it with gusto.
Both boys outgrew the town and left to start their own stories. We met with our accountant and finalised the plan “transition to retirement” when fate intervened. Susan took up a position in Melbourne that lasted six years including two years of covid lockdowns. We enjoyed all of it and the opportunity to explore the cultural centre with amazing art and architecture.
Home is the Sunshine Coast now, sharing a house with Carmel, Susan’s sister and another garden makeover.