All the stories

99. Cruises

Today, I would like to write about my early life working on ships and about [...]

98. The Rockies

June 2009 was a very special month for Sue and me, one which we had [...]

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97. Brothers

Lately, I have been giving some thought to my two brothers and to the important [...]

96. Mauritius

In the 1970s, the flights from Sydney to Johannesburg required an airline stop in Mauritius, [...]

95. Gordon River

Late last year the ABC happened to replay an old documentary on TV, titled “Franklin”, [...]

94. I fell in love with Holland

To this day I can still remember my feelings of both anticipation and trepidation, when [...]

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93. Brisbane Roar

It was from two of my walking companions, Molly and Simon, that I learned recently [...]

92. An Irish Story

After recently watching three different series about Ireland on the SBS TV channel, I thought [...]

91. Kyalami Ranch

More than fifty years ago, when I was well into my employment at the steel [...]

90. A Family Man

My father was a family man, a man whose whole adult life was devoted to [...]

89. The Australian Darter

Recently, our younger grandson, Joey, was keen to show me the results of a primary [...]

88. Reflections

One morning recently, I was standing at the end of the Shorncliffe pier, looking out [...]

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87. James Davis – The Final Years

James’ obituary, in the Brisbane Courier, read: ″his career included some of the strangest experiences [...]

86. James Davis – Brisbane

In this post we will meet Andrew Petrie and David Bracewell, the men who were [...]

85. James Davis – Duramboi

In this post we’ll try to follow James, as he moves further inland, into country [...]

84. James Davis – Moreton Bay

Today’s post covers the next episode in James’ long and adventurous life. It outlines his [...]

83. James Davis – The Voyage

James Davis was born in Scotland (baptised 2 August 1807), and grew up in Broomielaw, [...]

82. Colorbond

In this post I will try to explain a little more about JLA’s further development, [...]

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81. A Tribute to a much loved Son

How does a parent write about a very dearly loved son, who was killed in [...]

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80. The girl with the blue hat

When I arrived in Australia in 1960, I was very fortunate to have some family [...]

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79. A Day Trip to Montville

On a very clear and sunny day in late April, members from our local Probus [...]

78. If only this could come true

I set out on my morning walk along the shore. Waa Gwaan! A Jamaican fellow [...]

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77. John Lysaght Australia

The story of JLA goes back a long way. It began in 1856 in England, [...]

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76. Staying out of trouble: backpack travelling in India

I was young and keen to explore the world. Living in Belgium at the time, [...]

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75. Tangalooma Jet

This time, I would like to tell you a little about my recent visit to [...]

74. Duckman

Mark is known among motorcycle enthusiasts as “Duckman”, a brilliant CAD designer of a series [...]

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73. Williams Memorial Institute

Williams Memorial Institute (or The Williams School, as it is known today) was a private, [...]

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72. Tai Chi

The class which I joined was at the Australian Academy of Tai Chi in Hornsby, [...]

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71. Mad Tuesday (“Dolle Dinsdag”)

On Dolle Dinsdag, 5 September 1944, people in our village were celebrating, because they believed [...]

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70. Goa’s Goodwill Ambassador to Moreton Bay

Today’s post is about Vivek, my friend and fellow walker, and about Goa, India’s smallest [...]

69. A Tribute to the America I loved

Following our days in Georgetown and Washington (refer post 67) we boarded a train once [...]

68. Terror in Tehran (Part 2)

The target of the attack had been the headquarters of the Islamic Republican Party. Many [...]

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67. An Eventful Trip from Newport to Georgetown

We were on our way to Georgetown, a charming historic neighbourhood in Washington DC, where [...]

66. Terror in Tehran (Part 1)

In June 1981, when the Islamic Republic of Iran was at war with neighbouring Iraq, [...]

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65. Write your own story

I’m happy to encourage you to join me and to start writing your own stories [...]

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64. Autumn – New England

”Autumn falls across New England like a bright patchwork quilt, the cooler weather painting the [...]

63. Dolphins

It was a beautiful morning in October when the news went out that the dolphins [...]

62. Pavarotti’s Room

Yes, the room we were given turned out to be the room where the Italian [...]

61. The Wedding of the Giants

A story about another Pieter who lived in the 15th century, brought to life again [...]

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60. Sint Nikolaas

It wasn’t until I began to write this blog post for my grandchildren in Australia [...]

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59. Michael Palin

Palin’s around-the-world trip took him from London, via Venice, to Egypt and, from there, by [...]

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58. IRAN

On Monday nights Sue and I sometimes watch “Four Corners” on the ABC and I [...]

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57. The Village of Mystic

The village of Mystic is probably best known for two things. Of greater substance is [...]

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56. 3 October

In early October last year, I received a letter from my younger brother Max, which [...]

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55. The Bright Side of Life

I think it was Molly who said it first. We should “Always look at the [...]

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54. Opa Piet

This is my paternal grandfather, Pieter van der Kwaak, after whom I was named and [...]

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53. Oysters

This blog post is dedicated to Stan and Wayne, who were two oyster farmers whose [...]

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52. The French Connection

One of my regular walking friends, I shall call him Patrick for this story, was [...]

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51. Joseph Conrad

On the Pier we talk about a wide variety of subjects that interest us which, [...]

50. Bluewater Festival

The usual peaceful atmosphere, which we so enjoy each early morning on our walks, had [...]

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49. Counterintelligence

I became a sergeant in the Dutch army and was further transferred to the town [...]

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48. Laurie’s Walk

“Laurie’s Walk” was started in 2006 by Laurie Jeays. Laurie was an active member of [...]

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47. Pilgrims to Jeddah

In one of my previous posts (post 25 “Mount Bromo”) I made a reference to [...]

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46. A Royal Coach

Sue, and I met the Australian designer and builder of two of Britain’s Royal Coaches, [...]

45. The Lost Tribe

One morning recently, on my regular early walk, my interest was caught by the sight [...]

44. Molly – “The Immortal”

On Thursdays, my friend and frequent walking companion, Molly, doesn’t walk with our regular group. [...]

43. Dickens, the Flâneur

Christmas in Holland was always a very special time of the year for me and [...]

42. Different Times

Sandgate was still a somewhat isolated community in 1880. It was connected to Brisbane by [...]

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41. Pig, the Dugong

Like many of the original European settlers, I love the idea that there are thousands [...]

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40. Indiana Jones of the Art World

It’s an unusual story about a Vincent van Gogh painting, which had been found and [...]

39. Life of a Recruit

On Anzac Day, I always feel proud to be an Australian. I feel very grateful [...]

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38. Crocodile Longtom

Crocodile Longtoms are also known as Houndfish,  Stout Longtoms, or simply as Longtoms. They’re plentiful [...]

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37. The Last Farewell

Vivek, one of my walking companions, who is originally from Mumbai, sometimes whistles happy Indian [...]

36. The White Heron

A heron, which is a sea bird, had got itself entangled in some fishing gear [...]

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35. Amstel Brewery

The Amstel Brewery, which was founded in 1870, was located next to the Amstel, a [...]

34. I’m leaving…..!

Today I thought I might tell you a little more about my New Zealand friends, [...]

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33. ABC Radio

One Thursday in April last year, the quiet and relaxed atmosphere that usually prevails on [...]

32. Baxter’s Jetty

Jules caught a fish early this morning, a flathead. It was a solid and very [...]

31. Port Kembla

You never know what to expect when you visit the pier. Sometimes it’s an unusual [...]

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30. Einbunpin Lagoon

In Post 5, published back in July 2023, I wrote about the lagoon which is [...]

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29. A Fish called “Bombay Duck”

One particularly cold morning this past winter still stands out clearly in my mind. When [...]

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28. Sandgate to Woody Point

A while ago, Sue and I were watching the evening news on TV when our [...]

27. Orange Roughy

This photo was taken on a cold morning in July last year at around 6 [...]

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26. Oscar’s Drone

One cold morning in June last year I found Oscar in his usual spot, which [...]

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25. Mount Bromo

From time to time, rather than focussing on my daily walk, I'd like to share [...]

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24. New York, New York!

Readers who have been following my blog posts will be aware by now of my [...]

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23. Scottish Apple Pie

Today I thought that I would like to give you a taste of the fun [...]

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22. Snakes Alive

In an earlier blog post I mentioned that my daughter Michelle, together with her husband, [...]

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21. Dutch Family Visitors

When I first got the idea of writing this blog there were a couple of [...]

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20. Triumph off Wakaya Island

It was a very windy and overcast day when I started my walk and I [...]

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19 “Heaps of Pike”

“Heaps of Pike!!” That’s what Logan told the hopeful fishermen who were walking towards him [...]

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18. Old Ben

Recently, while I was walking with Molly, he told me that a pack of twenty [...]

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17. War and Peace

As I am now very old, it follows naturally that I have many memories which [...]

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16. Explorations and Elephants in Sri Lanka

It’s amazing how a simple conversation can transport you to new places, or in this [...]

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15. E-Bikes & Old Bikes

Apart from the usual dogs and walkers, there was something else that claimed my attention [...]

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14. Memories of Ria

This morning was cloudy and humid, but, still good walking weather. Not long after setting [...]

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13. Dutch weather

I almost decided not to go for my usual walk today. The forecast had been [...]

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12. Stingrays everywhere

The conditions for walking today were ideal. The weather was mild and the sky was [...]

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11. Penny Farthing

This morning I noticed that someone had written a message, in chalk, on the path [...]

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10. Pippi and friends

During the course of my walks along the path towards the pier at Shorncliffe, I’ve [...]

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9. Pufferfish

Perhaps you might question whether life in a small village might become boring and repetitive, [...]

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8. “Ol’ Man River”

It was a quiet, pleasant morning and there was hardly a ripple on the surface [...]

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7. The village of Katwijk

It was busier than usual on the pier, with many fishermen trying their luck. Logan [...]

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6. Medal for Marching

When I arrived at my usual starting point this morning, I noticed that Ray was [...]

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5. Dowse Lagoon

One morning, not long ago, I received an early and unexpected phone call on our [...]

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4. Walking Forwards…and Sideways

It’s funny all the things there are to discover in the world, even at 87. [...]

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3. Bombay, India

Each morning as I begin my walk to the Shorncliffe pier, I pass a large [...]

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2. There is Music in the Air

It’s always a great feeling to be able to go for a walk early in [...]

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1. Stonefish

Today’s post is about the sometimes exotic and dangerous things that can lurk on our [...]

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