Bondy Beach - Sydney - Book

Book snippet from:

It Happened in the Seventies - Sea Change Story

An intriguing story of risk-taking, self-discovery and profound change.

Living in Bondi - Bondi Beach and the Bondi Icebergs Club - Book Snippet Page 32

It Happened in the Seventies - Book by Dieter Luske

Finding a suitable unit is never easy, and it was no different in Bondi where we wanted to live.

Amazingly enough, we found a suitable unit close to Bondi Beach. It was reasonably clean and sparsely furnished but relatively large. We loved the spectacular ocean view and didn’t mind not having beautiful furniture. Yes, that would be our unit, within a 3-minute walk to the beach and in the only high-rise building around Bondi. It was a gem on the 5th floor, overlooking Bondi Beach. Rent was $34 per week, and we could move in on Monday, September 30.1974.

The contrast between rainy, grey Hamburg and glorious-looking Bondi Beach could not have been more stark.

We loved the beach but were not the type to spend much time on it, and with our swimming skills not adapted to surf conditions, we were merely splashing around. We also had a hellish respect for sharks.

A swimming pool we passed on our walks down to the beach seemed worth checking out. Our typical swimming style, breaststroke, was best suited to calmer waters. As it happened, the pool was quite famous through its association with the Bondi Icebergs Club.

The following day we took our bath towels, went to that pool and paid 20cents entry fee each. It was a tidal pool filled with seawater and not chlorinated. Everything was concrete and natural rock; there were also wide concrete steps to sit on. Schoolchildren receiving their first swimming lessons had priority; then, it was our turn. We hopped in and swam the 50-metre length of the pool. At first, we only managed a couple of lengths but over the coming weeks, we eventually managed to swim 20 lengths.

On our second visit to the pool, we talked to the lady collecting the entry fee. Her name was Gabrielle. She and her husband Henry lived in a cottage next to the club as caretakers of the pool. We liked her; she was originally from France, grew up in Switzerland and spoke perfect German. That day, after the schoolchildren finished their lessons and left, Gabrielle invited us to her house. We kept talking into the late afternoon, and for the first time, we heard something positive about the aborigines and how they had been mistreated and misunderstood.

Every time we went back to the pool, Gabrielle had something new for us; that was how we ended up with a Gem Hunting Atlas of Australia. It whetted our appetite for digging up sapphires, topaz or amethyst, but also for opal, a gemstone we knew almost nothing about. She gave us one called a triplet.

She gave us another gift, something much more valuable than opals. She told us that Giselle and I were soulmates, destined to be together, and our love for each other was not only obvious but rubbing off on the people we met.

We were touched by Gabrielle's observation, which profoundly influenced us. We knew we were well matched and hopelessly in love, but to hear that from someone else, particularly someone we liked and respected, heightened our awareness.

I had promised to help clean the pool, little realising how tough that would be. It turned out more like an extreme sport than a helping hand. By the time we arrived, Henry had already pumped the water out of the pool. What remained was a lot of sand, which needed to be swept and shovelled out. Giselle helped to brush the pool.

Standing in the pool, I was confronted by a three-metre-high wall, with the ocean on the other side. Our challenge was to shovel all that sand back into the sea.

I still have no idea how Henry could do such hard work at his age. Despite being fit due to my karate training, I was in pain for a few days after the ordeal. From then on, I helped him weekly.

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It Happened in the Seventies

A Memoir of Love, Colliding Worlds and a House on a Hill

An intriguing story of personal risk-taking, self-discovery and profound change.

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...available as e-book - paperback & hard cover

Dieter Luske -> Author Profile

Published by LU-Books

An inspiring read of a life-changing escapade Down Under

Phil Brown – Arts Editor

Bondi - Sydney - The Seventies - Photos:

It all started in Hamburg - click > Hamburg in the Seventies for photos

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