Mister Brisbane: Pier of the realm
Shorncliffe or Sandgate? Not even the council is sure
Childhood memories kicked in when I drove to Sandgate recently and spotted what I thought was the old Shorncliffe Pier that I used to visit as a child. It didn’t look quite right — and that’s no surprise, since it’s not the same pier. The one I remember has been replaced with a sturdier structure. It’s good news, I suppose, that there’s still a pier there, but it’s a shame that they couldn’t have saved the original.
It also doesn’t have pinball machines in the shelter, which was a big part of the attraction of the old pier to young me. I suppose that was a small nod to the giant piers at English seaside resorts, which had (in some cases, still have) amusement arcades, theatres and other entertainment/sideshow attractions. For me, Shorncliffe, Sandgate and Redcliffe were “Gold Coast lite” — the beaches you went to when you couldn’t go to the real beach.
I’d love to hear your memories of Sandgate and Shorncliffe.
P.S. The council can’t seem to decide whether it’s the Shorncliffe Pier or the Sandgate Pier, with signage identifying it by both names.
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IN THE MAIL
One of the bigger hassles of moving home is to change your address with everyone who has your address. And it’s not easy to remember which people or institutions that might include. As I write, I’m working through the banks — yes, banks in plural — and those companies that I periodically pay money to. As thorough as I want to be, I know I will miss some and for years to come letters for me will continue to arrive at my previous abode. And that will continue until actual letters cease to be a thing —which may be sooner than any of us think.
P.S. Of course, not everyone is making this process easy. One bank’s website says I need an “active security device” to make the change. I have no idea what that is, but it sounds dangerous.
HERITAGE SCHMERITAGE
I’ve just read about the Planning and Environment Court overturning a Brisbane City Council decision opposing the demolition of a nearly 100-year-old “character home”. It reminded me of a time, long ago, when a councillor told me that a determined developer with deep pockets would always win a court battle over a council —partly because the council couldn’t justify spending ratepayers’ money opposing and appealing every application.
More recently, a bloke in the suburb where I grew up told me how he went to a community meeting where the developer of an unpopular project simply said: “We’ll take you to court, we will win and you will pay our costs.” The lesson, apparently, is: Anything is possible if you’re rich enough. And that’s sad for the rest of us.
PERFECT GUEST
Maybe he goes home and kicks the dog, but I doubt it. In fact, I have to repeat what I said on 4BC last week: Trent Dalton, best-selling author and award-winning journalist, is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Trent came to the studio to be the “mystery guest” on the Weekends with Spencer Howson show, and he couldn’t have been more charming.
Trent and I first ran into each other when we were both working for Brisbane News magazine in the early part of this century. It was Trent’s first journalism job and he credits the experience with turning him into the man he is today. It was a delight to be able to invite him on to Spencer’s show, and I’m still smiling about how gracious he was when talking about me and the other journos he met back in the day.
Make no mistake, as if it isn’t already obvious, this young man is going places. His first novel, Boy Swallows Universe, has been made into a play for the Brisbane Festival (book here now, because it will be sold out) and will soon be an eight-part series on a streaming network near you. His follow-up, All Our Shimmering Skies, is going gangbusters. And yet for all his fame, he’s currently knocking on Brisbane doors at random to talk to people for another writing project. How many best-selling authors would do that?
FAINT PRAISE
Last week, my podcast enabler, Podbean, sent me an email congratulating me on reaching the 10th episode of the Mister Brisbane podcast. At the time, I’d already published 40 episodes, with the 41st queued up and ready to go that night. Perhaps they didn’t like 30 of them.
On the subject of podcasts, I was recently a guest on Ghosts of Boyfriends Past. That episode hasn’t yet “dropped” — as I am obliged to say in the language of the audio industry — but I’ll let you know when it does.
FEEDBACK
On the subject of vaccination, Judith says: “I got the AstraZeneca vaccine last month. No major concerns about getting vaccinated. I was more worried about the effects of contracting COVID-19 than any vaccine side effects.”
Matthew wonders: “How many under 50 year olds would be happy to have it if that meant getting a vaccine sooner?”