Men's Stories

Men's Stories

The Red Lamp
- John Dorl
A young boy plays a prank on the people prawning in Lake Illawarra

A Holiday Every Day
- Bob Parsons
Bob was brought to Lake Illawarra as a child for picture perfect fishing holidays. When he moved to Lake Illawarra, it was like being on holidays everyday.

A place of opportunity
- felipe azabal
Felipe came To Australia from Spain. he saw Australia as the place to give his children better opportunties in life.

Away from the hurley burley
- Bob Terry
In Oak Flats there were always plenty of things to do
and plenty of ways to learn responsibility.

Finding the Flow
- Doug Prosser
Doug’s passion for the Lake has taken him on a journey
spanning many years and countless volunteer hours.

Fortunate/Unfortunate
- Gordon Orange
The story of a man who kept making and losing fortunes over his life,
but who never gave up.

Garage Days
- Ron Gooley
Oak Flats was a paradise for struggling working class families, building their houses and their community bit by bit as money and time allowed.

Growing Up in a Fishing Family
- Leo Massey
To Leo, growing up in a fishing family was to have a magic childhood, and the things he learnt have stayed with him all through his life, even though he was one of the first boys in a number of generations not to take up professional fishing.

It’s Family
- Noel Thompson
Fishing families work hard and play hard. They are contributors to their community, and the Lake is really part of their extended family.

Growing Up on the Lake, Chapter 42
- Lindsay Smith
Lindsay smith, OAM, is one of the most active naturalists and environmentalists in NSW. Born in 1951, he grew up on Lake Illawarra and his CHildhood tales are rich with adventure, discovery, invention, characters and wildlife.

Odd Jobs
- Ron Graham
Money was scarce in those days, so you’d turn your hand to anything. Ron yarns about a few of the odd jobs he did growing up around Lake Illawarra.

play work love
- Sonny massey
Sonny Massey’s musings on Play, Work and Love through his life on Lake Illawarra

Roaming Free
- Ron Graham
Back in the day kids and animals just roamed free around Lake Illawarra.

Six generations of fishing
- russell massey
The history of the Masseys: a professional fishing family on Lake Illawarra.

The Survivor
- Kevin Gillis
Kevin’s grandfather loved fishing and was an exceptionally good swimmer, but Kevin never saw his grandfather go onto the Lake. One day while Kevin was researching the family history he came across a newspaper article that shed light on why.

Water
- Jack Hyde
Jack’s account of how much hard work is involved in getting the water to your house so that you can turn on the tap and enjoy a nice shower at the end of the day.

Life Under Sail
- Ken Christophers
All the things that are so darn good about sailing, as leant at Oak Flats Sailing Club.

A Dirty Picture in a Golden Frame
- Ray Shaw
Ray emigrated from a steel town in England to a steel town in Australia, but he has always had a link with nature.

Living Like Kings and Queens
- Allan Carriage
“If we all take care of the lake we'll live like Kings and Queens". Allan knows the Lake well. As an elder of the Wadi Wadi people, his family have been here for generations. The Lake was a paradise providing plenty of food and great memories.

Taking up the fight
- fred moore
An account of the importance of the Coomaditchie community in the struggle for Indigenous rights in Australia.

Born to Fish
- Ken Christophers
Ken’s life in fishing started on Lake Illawarra.

THINGS I LEArnt AS A SCOUT
- John Dorl
John recalls his involvement in the Scouting movement: the fun times, the camaraderie, the journey of commitment and the learning of trust in the face of adversity.