Photo: Grant Brooks

The decision for Tim Maxwell to retire after ten years playing first grade rugby and 255 club games for Randwick was tough for a number of reasons.

Firstly there was the fact that he had made many great friends at the club over the years. Add to this the knowledge that he would be missing out on playing under the tutelage of his dad and it’s easy to understand why it was hard to hang up the boots.

“I have made the sort of friends that you make in tough times; it’s a pretty special club, “ said Tim.

“It would have been great to have dad coaching me. He has such a rugby brain that most people don’t have.”

But due to starting a job on the Central Coast and becoming a father for the first time it was inevitable that the second-rower had to call it a day for the sake of his career and growing family.

For John it was also disappointing that he would not be able to coach his talented son who was known as a fiercely determined player.

“It is absolutely disappointing, but then again he might not have made the team,” laughed John.

“It will be a shame. Tim plays the style of football that I want us to be playing this year.”

Both John and Tim have an impressive track record at the club.

John played an outstanding 323 first grade games from 1972 to 1992. No other rugby player in NSW, and probably in Australia, has played for 21 seasons at such a consistently high level.

When he retired from playing he immediately went into coaching and led the first grade team to premierships in 1994, 1996 and 2000, before vacating the position in 2002.

For the last few years John has successfully coached Randwick’s third grade side and when the opportunity to coach first grade again was offered to him this year he did not hesitate to accept it.

“I know the potential of the club and the players who turn up week in, week out. To play a roll in seeing both these succeed is what sees me coming back,” said John.

According to John, this year will be about getting back to basics and becoming more involved.

“All the grades last year seemed to be playing within themselves. We need to make every opportunity count and sometimes it’s okay to make mistakes,” John explained.

“The idea of playing within your capabilities in order to not make a mistake is wrong.”

So will we see Tim offering up any advice to his dad throughout the season?

“Anything I could say to my dad in an advisory role would be to just win. I will definitely go down and support him and hang around him and see what he has to say,” Tim said.

Photo: Mark Shapiro

Whilst the event has troubled locals for years, causing the consideration of many plausible concerns, the debate surrounding whether or not the party should be canned has raised some much deeper and multifaceted issues; namely, just who wears the pants in a community that is still grappling to come to terms with its own dramatic transformation and diversification over the past few decades.

Any old school Bondi local will have you know that in the past twenty years, their once quaint suburb has metamorphosed into a haven for hip, Vogue smoking, General Pants wearing trendsters. For many of Bondi’s life-longers, the feeling is that these disrespecting, party-till-dawn newcomers treat the suburb as a debaucherous playground, not their home. And they probably have a point. Take, for example, Bondi’s excessive market for bottle shops and alcohol; within just a 2km radius of Bondi’s epicenter, there are more than 34 venues licensed to sell takeaway grog.

It’s of little surprise, therefore, that despite the influx of travelers and blow-ins from other parts of Sydney on New Year’s Eve, the majority of Shore Thing attendees are actually these new, young Bondi residents themselves. Hence, just one small complexity in this battle, which is not so much about Bondi wanting to reclaim their beach for the night, as it is an attempt by the original and family-minded residents to revert Bondi to what it once was but now is not.

Due to the increase in backpackers over summer, Waverley Council has commissioned the Summer Safe Initiative, which runs as a campaign to educate visitors about ‘best practice’ when holidaying and allows for strategic measures, such as security on Christmas Day at Bondi. Additionally, the SSI commissions the Dudley Park NYE Party, which is a family focused event. The council would usually absorb the costs of such projects but instead they are paid for by the large fee (rumored to be between $250,000 and $300,000) that the council receives from Shore Thing organisers, Fuzzy.

The Bondi Beach Precinct Committee is emphatic that the event excludes families and all those not wanting to get hammered and rap along to Snoop Dog. They argue that it is a disservice and danger to the community and that the council is using Bondi as a ‘cash cow’ rather than acknowledging the rights of community members to have access to what would otherwise be an extremely popular NYE destination for most.

However, Brandon Saul, who has run Bondi’s NYE events for the past 15 years, says that no matter what ‘type’ of party you hold and no matter how good your intentions, young party-hard adults will still gravitate to the area. The point is to give them a space and an activity on which to concentrate their chaos. Not acknowledging the inevitable presence of a young, binge drinking generation and refusing to manage the situation with a structured event will only create mayhem, he says.

“To think that Bondi can actually put on a NYE party that will be a successful collaboration of diverse community groups is completely naïve,” Saul told The Beast.

Fuzzy’s contract with Waverley Council has recently expired and negotiations are now proceeding. Mayor John Wakefield has been vocal about his lack of support for Shore Thing in the past but acknowledges that many councillors are in support of the format. He also made it clear that the final decision will have nothing to do with money.

“If the council made choices based on money and money alone, there would be no such thing as libraries or street sweepers,” he said.

Photo: Wes Lonergan

Yesterday at Lennox Heads the Bronte boys beat their nearest rivals Bondi and left Merewether and North Shelley floundering in their spray during the NSW final of the Jim Beam Surftag series.

Last month Bronte proved they were the ones to beat after taking out the NSW South division of the series at North Narrabeen, while Merewether and North Shelley were the top two in the NSW North division at Dixon Park, near Newcastle.

The knee-high Lennox Head waves didn’t have much to offer, but top-scoring efforts from the likes of young gun Caleb Reid put Bronte right in the mix in the opening round of the day.

In the final it was Ryan Clarke who came to the fore with Bronte going neck to neck with arch rivals Bondi in a nail-biting finish.

Whippet had only three minutes left to do his bit after Aaron Graham, Caleb Reid, Tom Whitaker and Luke Hitchings boosted the team’s hopes.

“I was the last surfer standing and managed to catch two waves in three minutes and scored enough points to give us the win,” Whippet said.

“The conditions were so small and there were no waves bigger than knee high.

“But everyone did their bit and Hitcho put us in the lead near the end and it was just up to me to score and keep us in front.”

But the pressure is not off yet with the boys up against some hot competition today as they go into battle to determine the best club in Australia.

Bronte’s opening quarter final heat will be against the Bondi, Queenscliff and (Mornington) Peninsula clubs.

And some of the world’s big guns will be in action in quarter final three, which will feature Joel Parkinson and Josh Kerr surfing for Snapper Rocks, Owen Wright and Adam Melling will be on board for LeBa (Lennox Head and Ballina), while Adrian Buchan will be doing his best for his Avoca club.

Cheer the Bronte boys on and watch all the action live at www.globalsurftag.com.

Photo: Wes Lonergan

The team of Azza Graham, Caleb Reid, Tom Whitaker, Luke Hitchings and Ryan Clark dominated the two-day event, in which 32 clubs from southern New South Wales took part.

Without sounding biased, and at the risk of gloating, contained here within are some interesting facts.

The Bronte team recorded the three highest team scores of the competition: 95.66 in round one; 96.97 in the quarter final; and, saving the best for last, 97.43 in the final! To put that into perspective, only two other teams in the entire competition got over 90 – Bondi once and Elouera once.

It wasn’t entirely smooth sailing though, with the semi final causing some serious stress on the heart. The boys just scraped through to the final in the last 30 seconds, holding out Queenscliff and Maroubra by 1.61 and 4.26 points respectively.

The final was a high standard, nerve-racking affair, with the teams from Bondi, North Steyne and Curl Curl all ripping. Azza got the boys off to a strong start, yet we still trailed Bondi early, though only by a slight margin. Enter Tom Whitaker, who on his power wave (the points for which are doubled) pulled off the highest wave score of the comp, a 9.17!

As time trickled down it was up to Ryan Clark to close the deal, and he did so by getting three strong waves and securing four bonus points for being the first competitor across the finishing line back on beach. His experience as the fifth surfer of this team showed, and in the end it was enough to beat Bondi by 6.34 points.

I also must mention the performance of Caleb Reid, Bronte’s second surfer. Anyone who has watched these Surftag comps over the years would know that Caleb is always one of the best performers going around. His surfing is right up there with plenty of the guys on the professional tour, and this Jim Beam Surftag teams event is the only comp (besides Bronte Boardriders) that he surfs in all year. And basically, he rips!

Well done to our neighbours Maroubra, who knocked Bronte’s ‘B-team’ out in the quarter finals and gave the ‘A-team’ a real scare in the semis.

Congratulations also to Bondi, another proud local club, who finally fielded a team.

I will point out that all of Bronte’s winning team learnt to surf at Bronte and for each of them Bronte Boardriders was their first surfing comp.

The same can actually be said for the 60 or so Bronte supporters, not including the WAGS, who travelled, many on the team bus, to support the team. It is unquestionable that at these events Bronte are the best supported, most enthusiastic, passionate and spirited club. Even the most successful clubs, such as Narrabeen and Snapper Rocks, have recognised this.

Yes, yes, I know – Bondi have got an awesome bus. And yes, we have to hire a bus, and it was pink. But, as it is with people, it’s what’s inside that counts, and you should have seen the inside of our bus on the way back from Narrabeen after our local surfers won another state title!

Go The Ducks!

Note: Three of the winning team member’s dads were actually Bronte Boardriders.

Age | 6 months

Sex | Male

Breed | Maltese x Shihtzu

Weight | 4.3kg

Squeak is a sweet, playful and active little boy.

He still acts a bit like a puppy and loves to play games.

He is social with other dogs and has an easy to care for non-shedding coat.

Squeak kind of looks like the badger out of Wind in the Willows but please don’t let that put you off.

If you would like to find out a bit more about Squeak, please call 9486 3133, email monika@doggierescue.com or visit our website at www.doggierescue.com.

Firstly, there is the question of whether or not it is appropriate to use sacred imagery for commercial purposes, from product design through to marketing.

The Commonwealth Bank has used part of Michelangelo’s artwork from the Sistine Chapel to market its credit card; Dangerfield had a Bigger Than Jesus sale, or some such thing, to name just two. Then there’s the whole wearing of certain imagery. Is that what they were intended for? Really? I have no problem with someone getting a tattoo of whatever if that’s meaningful for them, but the whole commercial enterprise is a different story.

The thing is, sacred imagery is not just a bit of fun, and it was never created to generate profits, or for the latest uber cool trend.

For Christians, this guy Jesus, and his mum, are powerful and loving additions to our lives, not just historical persons but real and alive today. For some, Jesus and his mum helped free them from addiction to drugs and alcohol, or deal with devastating stuff, or figure out how to live life in a more loving way, or even healed them from disease. You’ve heard the stories. Some Christians have even died for this guy Jesus, rather than renounce their faith, not just in times gone by but today.

Christian imagery is serious stuff. Not the stuff of merchandising, or supposedly clever marketing techniques.

But, for people without an emotional connection to Christian imagery, anything goes, and all that I have written makes no sense at all.

The other point I would like to make is some imagery is not cross-cultural. If it were, then the world would be a truly global space. Although technology is changing things, culture will always be the domain of a particular geographical area.

Santa Maria della Muerte is part of this cultural phenomenon. To my knowledge, this image is not used for worship in the Roman Catholic Church in Australia. Essentially, in our culture, images that depict skulls and skeletons are generally understood to be icons of rebellion, and even anti-Christians. Therefore, it would not be appropriate to use it here (unless of course we were inundated by Mexicans who brought their culture with them, as is the case in the US).

Cultural appropriateness is a basic understanding, something we apply when we travel. Should we go to a Muslim country and dress provocatively and kiss passionately in the street? When we’re arrested do we say they’re idiots because it’s a common practice in our country?

At the end of the day, this is just another case of shut up you Christian.

Photo: Grant Brooks

Some companies connected with the booming Australian mining industry, for instance, prefer women behind the wheel of the behemoth-like trucks used to haul huge loads of precious pay dirt.

At the forefront of equal opportunities for women in the last 30 years has been Bronte’s Joan Ford, who was recently awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the Australia Day honours list for service to business and commerce, to human resource management, and to equal employment initiatives.

And in what may be a first for a Bronte family, she joined her husband Bill as a recipient of an Australia Day award after Bill was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2005 for his service to industrial relations and as a contributor to community organisations.

It was Joan’s tenacity with Esso in the 1980s that raised the bar for women and set the stage for equal opportunity across the board in an age that saw many eyebrows raised among the male fraternity, especially in the oil industry where Esso was a leader.

“Yes those were very interesting times,” Joan said. “Back in those days women were mostly regarded as mere secretaries.

“There was a certain amount of antagonism surrounding women in the workplace, but I had the CEO on my side and that made it a bit easier.

“In my role as a training officer I pushed for getting women in to oil companies and getting acceptance for them in the jobs required in areas such as production and exploration, which included offshore work.”

Joan said one of the major changes that she achieved at Esso was the introduction of childcare facilities.

She said this has made it much easier for women to advance to higher roles within companies because it was now so much easier to juggle the responsibilities of the corporate world with those of being a parent.

“To attract women into the company they advertised positions to encourage both men and women to apply. Nowadays there are a lot more opportunities for women to work in what was once male-dominated areas.”

Joining Joan on the dais as an Australia Day recipient was Bronte’s Professor Martin Green, who received an AM for his research into photovoltaic energy.

Photo: Grant Brooks

Favourite Beach: South end of Maroubra.

Eatery: Chat Thai on Carrington Road, Coogee – “Shiny car and full tummy make you very, very happy.”

Watering Hole: I don’t get out much, but if I had to blow the froth off a couple the Clovelly Hotel is always fun.

Sporting Team: The Wallabies.

Music: The Black Keys, The Specials, The Radiators… any band starting with ‘The’.

Weekend Activity: Sneaking away for a solo surf is always on my radar but I also love taking the kids down to catch a few ‘bubblers’.

Quote: “You can’t have everything; where would you put it?”

Favourite Thing About Your Work: Starting with a messy garden, clearing it out to the blank canvas stage, then seeing the design build, grow and flourish into something really special is very rewarding. Working outdoors when the weather is fine also has its advantages.

Final Word: If you’re going to do it, you may as well do
it properly.

The show covers all of Picasso’s highly varied styles and periods including ‘blue’, ‘rose’, Expressionist, Cubist, Neoclassical and Surrealist.

Visit www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

Learn to teach your dog basic to competition level obedience.

For more info visit www.easternsuburbsdogtraining.org.au.