Author: John Elphinston

Annual Class of ’73 Tattersalls Dinner

/ John Elphinston / 1 Comment

Once again we were priviledged to be invited by the youngsters to share Christmas dinner. Our numbers were down but we made up for it with style. Phil and Chris Newman, Al McMurran, Kev Loughrey and John Elphinston and Sandra Davies represented the class of ’72 but alas no photo – we’re getting forgetful. But thankfully someone remembered the camera, and there were a few other photos taken – first prize goes to the Gallipoli Survivors from ’72 and ’74.

It was somewhat special to see the class of ’74, many of whom, some of us hadn’t seen for 50 plus years. It’s pleasing to report that all our hard work paid off as they’ve turned out to be a fine bunch of young men. Well not so young anymore but . . . .They spruiked their 50th Anniversary Class Book and they’ve kindly agreed to for it to go up on our website so you can judge for yourselves.

The speeches were good – lively and entertaining and Kev did us proud with a heartfelt speech of thanks. We were also priviledged to have Tracey Spicer deliver an after-dinner talk on Artificial Intelligence. Tracey’s grandfather was a decorated WWII veteran and a very close neighbour to Peter and Rosemary Keane in The Gap.

Thanks to Peter Keane for organising the dinner and for the invitation.

SE Qld and Northern NSW Gathering

/ John Elphinston / 1 Comment

It was time to gather at the Gold Coast so we convened on the Grand Hotel Labrador for a few Christmas drinks and lunch. Thanks to John Black and John Mac for organising it.

We are going to have to make aformal name change soon as the numbers from south of the border continue to grow. Good to see Sue and Lindsay Rowlands join us for the first time from Pottsville and also to welcome Judy and Murray Smith from Coffs Harbour and Janet and Kevin Loughrey from Ballina. Unfortunately Maurie Meecham missed out on being in the photo.

Happy Chritmas to all. . .

Great Memorabillia

/ John Elphinston / 1 Comment

At first I thought it was just another class photo and then I realised it was something I hadn’t seen before. Obviously I didn’t spend enough time in the corridors of power. Many thanks to Al McMurran for bringing it to the surface after all these years. If you talk to Al, he’ll reveal how come he managed to obtain and retain such a piece. Many thanks Al. The 56 year old original will be on display at Coffs.

John Mac and I went to Landsborough for the official handover. A nice outing to the Sunshine Coast.

If you want to see the memorabillia, click here.

Cheers

John Elph

Coff Harbour Gathering

/ John Elphinston / 5 Comments

From JohnMC

This is the final reminder that on the 19 and 20th of August, we are having a Classmates and Partners Gathering at The Pacific Bay Resort, Coffs Harbour. We have 52 attendees in total with 21 rooms booked and a few staying offsite as well. The resort (https://pacificbayresort.com.au) still has rooms available and if you decide at the last minute to book, please keep me in the loop so I can cover off the numbers for our suppliers. Remember to use the code “RMC “ to get your discount.

The list of those who have booked is below and they will receive a separate email asking them which aspects they plan to attend for catering purposes.

If anyone has any specific questions I am happy to assist; john.m.mcnamara@bigpond.com

Regards, JohnMc

Booked @ Pacific Bay:
Rod Allan and Jenny Tracy
John and Jacqui Black
Warwick and Brenda Elliott
John Elphinston and Sandra Davies
Geoff and Caroline Hay
Bill and Marina Houston
Peter and Kerry Jenke
Gerry and Annette Jones
Steve and Debra Jones
Kevin and Jan Loughrey
Jon Mander-Jones and Partner
Peter and Sue Martyn
Don and Diedre Muirhead
Duncan and Carmel McInnes
Tony and Mary McLeod
John and Margaret McNamara
Phil and Chris Newman
John and Vivienne Price
Paddy Ryan and Judy Fraser
Graham and Maxine Smith
Peter and Helen Teys
Attending but not booked at Pacific Bay Resort :
Dave and Trish Cran
Maurie and Joan Meecham
Darryl and Robyn Poole
Murray and Judy Smith
Rowan and Jane Tracey

Northern Catch Up . . .

/ John Elphinston / Leave a comment

Thanks to John Mac for organising another great catch up. We had a good roll up, with Al McMurran attending his first lunch since relocating to the Sunshine Coast, Don and Diedre and Kevin and Jan from just south of the border, plus the Gold Coast and Brisbane regulars.

On Location in Tasmania

/ John Elphinston / 2 Comments

From John Mac

Last week Trace and I visited Michael and Annie Barrett in Richmond, Tasmania. It was our 7th or 8th trip to see them and it has now turned into an annual event. Michael is doing pretty well and is 84 and still full of cheek as you would expect. He remembers our Class with much affection and amazes us with his recall of events from our years together.

I just wanted to share this with you all and say that Michael passes on his best wishes to you all.
Regards,
John Mc

Coffs Harbour Gathering

/ John Elphinston / 1 Comment

From John McNamara

Last week I visited Coffs and today I had mornos with the boys and have received my guidance.
Thank you for those who have shown interest in attending. We have 50 attendees in total to date and the list of those attending is below. There is obviously room for more and if anyone wants to book please follow the process on the website.
Our main purpose remains to give us the opportunity to catch up as a wider group and have fun with people who share a story. What we are after is a casual gathering without too much organisation but I do know some of you like a bit of structure, so here goes.

Tuesday 19 August
Check- in time is 3pm but if the room is available, you are in. The bar opens at 2.30pm and closes much later. If you are driving, you may want to consider bringing an esky with you with your best wines from home so we can sample these if we get invited to your room. If flying, Uncle Dans is 2km away and we will do a tock run if asked.
Happy Hour is 5pm so this would be a good time to gather if you are not already there.
Dinner – Dinner will start from 6pm but there will be no rush to sit down as we will be collocated in a separate area but spread over 5 or 6 tables. The menu in the dining room has a range of menu options. If you have special dietary needs please engage with Pacific Bay Resort. Everything is  ‘ pay as you go ‘ and you can charge you room or pay by cash or card.
Dress this evening is Hawaiian / Tropical with lots of colour which is likely to keep other guests from coming near us. The August temperatures range from 9 – 20C and the area we have been allocated for dining is outdoors but can be closed off and has outdoor heaters.

Wednesday 20 August

There are a number of tourist type activities in and around the Coffs Harbour area. Some may wish to play golf or tennis or go for a walk on the beach or just relax and do nothing. Inspirations can be found here:
https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/north-coast/coffs-harbour-area/activities
https://www.coffscoast.com.au/info/

Breakfast – most have booked for breakfast in the dining room.
Mornos – as a suggestion there is a coffee shop attached to a World War 2 bunker that houses the National Cartoon Gallery. The National Holden Museum is close by  – it is $8 per head for people our age which covers entry to both.
Lunch –  we suggest you visit the Coffs Harbour Surf Club. It is well patronised with a good menu. If we have the numbers they will set aside a separate area for us so we can keep talking.
Dinner – The evening plan is to repeat Tuesday with Happy Hour followed by dinner.


A month out from our gathering I will ask Elph to send out something whereby you tell me what, from the above, you wish to attend so I can pass this on to The Bunker / The Surf Club and Pacific Bay for catering , staffing and seating purposes.
That is it from me for now. If you have questions I am happy to handle via the web or via email at John.m.mcnamara@bigpond.com

John Mac

Booked @ Pacific Bay:
Rod Allan and Jenny Tracy
John and Jacqui Black
Warwick and Brenda Elliott
John Elphinston and Sandra Davies
Geoff and Caroline Hay
Bill and Marina Houston
Peter and Kerry Jenke
Gerry and Annette Jones
Steve and Debra Jones
Kevin and Jan Loughrey
Jon Mander-Jones and Partner
Peter and Sue Martyn
Don and Diedre Muirhead
Duncan and Carmel McInnes
Tony and Mary McLeod
John and Margaret McNamara
Phil and Chris Newman
John and Vivienne Price
Paddy Ryan and Judy Fraser
Graham and Maxine Smith
Peter and Helen Teys
Attending but not booked at Pacific Bay Resort :
Dave and Trish Cran
Maurie and Joan Meecham
Darryl and Robyn Poole
Murray and Judy Smith

Coffs Harbour Gathering

/ John Elphinston / 2 Comments

From John McNamara

Last week I visited Coffs and today I had mornos with the boys and have received my guidance.
Thank you for those who have shown interest in attending. We have 50 attendees in total to date and the list of those attending is below. There is obviously room for more and if anyone wants to book please follow the process on the website.
Our main purpose remains to give us the opportunity to catch up as a wider group and have fun with people who share a story. What we are after is a casual gathering without too much organisation but I do know some of you like a bit of structure, so here goes.

Tuesday 19 August
Check- in time is 3pm but if the room is available, you are in. The bar opens at 2.30pm and closes much later. If you are driving, you may want to consider bringing an esky with you with your best wines from home so we can sample these if we get invited to your room. If flying, Uncle Dans is 2km away and we will do a tock run if asked.
Happy Hour is 5pm so this would be a good time to gather if you are not already there.
Dinner – Dinner will start from 6pm but there will be no rush to sit down as we will be collocated in a separate area but spread over 5 or 6 tables. The menu in the dining room has a range of menu options. If you have special dietary needs please engage with Pacific Bay Resort. Everything is  ‘ pay as you go ‘ and you can charge you room or pay by cash or card.
Dress this evening is Hawaiian / Tropical with lots of colour which is likely to keep other guests from coming near us. The August temperatures range from 9 – 20C and the area we have been allocated for dining is outdoors but can be closed off and has outdoor heaters.

Wednesday 20 August

There are a number of tourist type activities in and around the Coffs Harbour area. Some may wish to play golf or tennis or go for a walk on the beach or just relax and do nothing. Inspirations can be found here:
https://www.visitnsw.com/destinations/north-coast/coffs-harbour-area/activities
https://www.coffscoast.com.au/info/

Breakfast – most have booked for breakfast in the dining room.
Mornos – as a suggestion there is a coffee shop attached to a World War 2 bunker that houses the National Cartoon Gallery. The National Holden Museum is close by  – it is $8 per head for people our age which covers entry to both.
Lunch –  we suggest you visit the Coffs Harbour Surf Club. It is well patronised with a good menu. If we have the numbers they will set aside a separate area for us so we can keep talking.
Dinner – The evening plan is to repeat Tuesday with Happy Hour followed by dinner.


A month out from our gathering I will ask Elph to send out something whereby you tell me what, from the above, you wish to attend so I can pass this on to The Bunker / The Surf Club and Pacific Bay for catering , staffing and seating purposes.
That is it from me for now. If you have questions I am happy to handle via the web or via email at John.m.mcnamara@bigpond.com

John Mac

Booked @ Pacific Bay:
Rod Allan and Jenny Tracy
John and Jacqui Black
Warwick and Brenda Elliott
John Elphinston and Sandra Davies
Geoff and Caroline Hay
Bill and Marina Houston
Peter and Kerry Jenke
Gerry and Annette Jones
Steve and Debra Jones
Kevin and Jan Loughrey
Jon Mander-Jones and Partner
Peter and Sue Martyn
Don and Diedre Muirhead
Duncan and Carmel McInnes
Tony and Mary McLeod
John and Margaret McNamara
Phil and Chris Newman
John and Vivienne Price
Paddy Ryan and Judy Fraser
Graham and Maxine Smith
Peter and Helen Teys
Attending but not booked at Pacific Bay Resort :
Dave and Trish Cran
Maurie and Joan Meecham
Darryl and Robyn Poole
Murray and Judy Smith

Coffs Gathering

/ John Elphinston / 4 Comments

From John Mac,

Classmates,

As you know, we are planning a gathering of like minded people in Coffs at The Pacific Bay Resort on 19 and 20 Aug this year. To date we have 42 coming and the list is below. Of these, 36 are booked into the resort. In addition, Murray and Judy Smith are locals and we have a couple of caravaners. I reconciled bookings with Pacific Bay Resort yesterday and the below list is correct.

Murray and I are meeting with Pacific Bay Resort on 27 March and getting down to business now that we know the numbers. I will plan for 50 and hope for 60 so don’t hold back.

Remember when dealing with The Pacific Bay Resort to quote “RMC“  to gain your group discount. 

After our meeting on 27 March I will consult with my ‘Band of Merry Men’ and give you a more detailed plan.

Cheers

John Mac 

Attending but not booked at Pacific Bay Resort:

Dave and Trish Cran
Maurie and Joan Meecham
Murray and Judy Smith

Booked @ Pacific Bay Resort:

Rod Allan and Jenny Tracey
John and Jacqui Black
Warwick and Brenda Elliott
John Elphinston and Sandy Davies
Geoff and Caroline Hay
Peter and Kerry Jenke
Gerry and Annette Jones
Kevin and Jan Loughrey
Peter and Sue Martyn
Don and Diedre Muirhead
Duncan and Carmel McInnes
Tony and Mary McLeod
John and Margaret McNamara
Phil and Chris Newman
John and Vivienne Price
Paddy Ryan and Judy Fraser
Graham and Maxine Smith
Peter and Helen Teys