Coasties’ Nostalgia: Summer Memories, Local Gems, & Why We Love the Central Coast

by blake gray, principal at apex estate agents

Summer will soon be upon us and Coasties usually can’t get enough of it. It bares many gifts. The weather is warm and inviting. School, university and work take a break. To add to the enjoyment there’s a sprinkling of special events and holidays to celebrate. It’s the time of the year when long–lasting memories are created. It’s also a time for nostalgia. I interviewed four Coasties to find out a little bit about their memories from home, how it is that they came to live on the Central Coast and why they love it.

QUESTIONS

1. Where were you born and what kind of home did you grow up in?
2. What is something that you remember about your home growing up; sounds, smells, features?
3. Why did you move to the Central Coast?
4. One sentence to describe the suburb in which you live.
5. What is your favourite summer activity on the Central Coast?
6. Favourite room in your home and why?
7. Advice for anyone thinking of moving to the Central Coast?
8. Powerful memory from family holidays?

Ann from Bateau Bay – age 73

• I was born in The Entrance, Central Coast. I grew up in a family of 6 in a small, post–war style, 2–bedroom home in The Entrance.
• We were a typical post–war, single income household family and even though money was not abundant, we ate really well and had a blast. I remember that my parents had their own bedroom and us 3 kids shared the second. When the fourth child was born, my parents slept in the dining room while us girls shared one bedroom and the boys shared the other. I remember the pink carpet with a cherry red pattern in it. We also had a wide hallway off the front door where my father had placed a piano.
• We were always here. My dad worked as a piano technician at Paling’s Piano Tuner in Gosford, Central Coast. One day he was visiting a client (my not yet grandmother) for a routine piano repair and noticed a young woman in the client’s family photos, and immediately asked if he could meet her. That young woman was my mother.
• Very green, lovely trees, good vibe.
• I love going to the Beach. Particularly Blue Lagoon, or Shelly, or Toowoon Bay.
• My home was built in 1967. I like my living room because it’s open plan, with massive windows and has a good vide inside.
• If you’re looking to move to the Central Coast then you should because it has something for everyone. It’s a mix of rural, suburban and beachside houses.
• I have a memory of The Entrance Beach being so full of life. The Surf Club had music playing out over the beach during the day, and they had big, tough, rubber floats for hire. Between the ages of 10–18, I spent lots of time there with my friends and siblings.

Mitch from Bateau Bay – age 65

• I was born at a public hospital in Waverley, Eastern suburbs of Sydney in 1960. I grew up as the middle child in a family of 5 in North St Marys, Western Sydney, in a small, single level, 3–bedroom home in housing commission.
• I have fond memories of the neighbourhood. Although it was quite poor – a working class environment – the people around me were some of the friendliest.
• My family moved here when I was about 12 years old because my father (Kenneth) got a promising job opportunity on the Central Coast.
• Bateau Bay is great.
• My favourite holiday activity as a kid was surfing all up and down the coastline.
• The lounge room because I like watching sports and that’s where the big tv is.
• You can’t go wrong, so do it.
• It’s not necessarily a memory from the holidays, but my warmest memory is the births of my two boys.

Sonya from Bateau Bay – age 64

• I was born in Southport, Gold Coast and grew up in a family of 5 in Narraweena on the Northern Beaches. It was a small, 1950s, 3–bedroom, fibro home.
• I remember the horrible gas stove we had to light and the parquet floor in the hallway that we used to slide up and down with our socks on – after mum had polished it.
• Romance.
• Bushy, great climate.
• I love walking around the Tuggerah Lake Walking Track and Cycleway, or riding my bike.
• I think my studio, because that’s my creative space.
• No matter what you’re into, shopping, the outdoors, sport etc, everything is close.
• I always looked forward to the Christmas holidays because the kids were home for a longer period of time.

Greg from Blue Bay – age 66

• I was born in Kogarah, South of Sydney. As a kid I grew up in a newly completed, 3–bedroom, blonde brick home in Liverpool, in a new estate, with lots of vacant land around.
• The school I attended was also new, in fact we were the first group of kids at the school, which meant my group were always the oldest – other students came in under us in the following years. Our home in Liverpool bordered the Hume Highway. This was before the infrastructure – no concrete barriers, no treeline, nothing – which meant that you heard every sound from the highway.
• Initially we purchased an investment property in Forresters Beach which had a granny flat on it, which we used as a weekender. Eventually I moved into this property years later.
• Great position, great ocean view, great neighbours.
• I live opposite the beach so love walking along Blue Bay Beach.
• My lounge room because I can watch tv, look out at the ocean and people watch.
• The beaches are some of the best around, the parking is not a problem, there’s little to no pollution so if you like the outdoors, then it’s for you.
• Holidaying with the family in Toowoon Bay some 20+ years ago. I have fond memories of exploring the rockpools and coral at low tide with my two sons.

0448 822 123 | bg@apexestateagents.com | apexestateagents.com

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