#71 | Gary & Gayle Johns - Backstage with Cooper & Matty Johns

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I hope you don't go gale comfortable there, she's looking
a little rigid.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
You want to massage or.

Speaker 3 (00:05):
Something nice and relaxed.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
I know that that's sort of that thing that's almost
poking and find a little uncomfortable. Yes, well, Matthew is
quite quite an appatitle.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Can you tell can you tell the listeners Matthew as
a as a young fellow, because he's he's quite a
fussy eater now with like things like mashed potatoes and
what he peas? Has he always been like that?

Speaker 3 (00:37):
Always?

Speaker 4 (00:38):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
He used to throw the peas under the table and
wipe his hands on the tablecloth and the cat.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Oh really, even.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
As a baby when you used to pure the veges,
wouldn't eat them.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Wow, such a fussy child.

Speaker 3 (00:56):
And I took him to the doctor because I thought
he was going to starve. And the doctor said he
if he had peanut butter sandwiches or vegemite sandwiches and
a bit of fruit di befine.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
I didn't like sandwiches either.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
What do you used to throw? What do you what
do you lunch?

Speaker 1 (01:10):
There? It's a packet of potato crisps.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
You know what's exciting about this? Experience. Right now, We've
got obviously, we've got Gary Johns or Gail Johns. We've
got Matthew Johnses Cooper John's, Jack John's in the corner.
We have in this room right now, there's three generations
of Johns's. And I think that's pretty special, don't you think, Guys?

Speaker 4 (01:28):
I think so?

Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah, are you excited part of this experience?

Speaker 3 (01:32):
It's very good that we still all speak.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
We have our moments. Yeah, Where's where's happy? Where's Joey?

Speaker 3 (01:40):
He's flying in from Java today.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
He had he's had a terrible experience.

Speaker 4 (01:46):
He's the spot.

Speaker 1 (01:52):
He knows who the male spot is double hands.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
I think it was Land.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
But he was saying about the monkeys were getting again
working is like one was doing diversion as we're going.
Just because paramoi paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Has Joey always been like that as from a child
a little bit. I wouldn't say paranoid, but thinking like that,
like that's the monkey's always been after him.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
No, No, when he was when he was really young,
Matt was really quiet and but we worked out Matt
had a bit of a hearing problem. He didn't hear people,
So when people have speaked, he might have to say
so like that. But Andrew was out there like he
was just so wild all the boys are playing football

(02:37):
that Gary coach used to call him mad dog like.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
McDougal, except he's not worth a billion dollars, not after
the divorces anymore.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, so he Yeah, he was always a bit wild,
but he had not as injury prone or that's what
it is now.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Every time and we get there made Andrew was good
at everything, wasn't he pick up? Pick up a surfboard?

Speaker 4 (03:10):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (03:10):
At the time you brought us our first bikes.

Speaker 4 (03:13):
Oh that was hilarious. What were they? What were they
called it? But not.

Speaker 1 (03:21):
Joey had a BMX and I had a dragster.

Speaker 4 (03:24):
So he was Joey was probably five or six. We
went to the bike shop to pick him up. We
paid for him, and he took off down the street.
That couldn't sider, he couldn't balance it. So I run
all the way home, hanging on at the seats about
you wouldn't dry back then.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
I was a catastrophe. I always get there. I always
I always thought the worst is going to happen, and
invariably it did.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
Yeah, Well joe kept hitting the back of your bike
with his will to try and knock you off it
an yes, yes, And.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
That's been a message. That's a pretty good message of
their relationship. How it's been. Always been quite testy these
two do They used to fight growing up a bit
as well.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Oh all the time, yeah, yeah, constantly, Especially if I
got on the phone, they'd have a punch up because
in those days you didn't have phone. She could walk
around with you how to sit and speak on them?
Oh yeah, so they go into another room and start
punching on.

Speaker 4 (04:20):
So I was at the pit one night when I
got home from work guard I said, oh, we've had
a night to night. What's happened? She said, all that
wallpaper you put it in Joey and MAT's room. Joey's
pulled it off the wall And I said, did have it?
She said, Well, he was playing up. So I hid
him with a feather duster, but he stock the feather
dust off. He'd broken it all about eight pieces. Then

(04:42):
here's nothing. He's block and gone into the bedroom and
pulled all that wallpaper off the wall.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
That was nice wallpaper.

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Another time you went out, but maybe you bought that
new lounge and went and then we when they came
home and lounge had busted. We'd having a stick and
I fell on the lounge and went straight through it.
Because when they got and they said, what happens to
I'll bloody Andrew he watched it. He just got a
massive flog.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
We were talking the other day, goes about you having ink?

Speaker 4 (05:09):
Did you?

Speaker 2 (05:09):
We have memories of you having some sort of ostrich
egg underneath your bed. Where'd you get?

Speaker 3 (05:16):
What was that?

Speaker 4 (05:17):
Well? I had a good mate called Peter Crawley and
he from Cuda Barramen and we went up there one
time to visit him and we'll go somewhere in the
car pas and the panic. So Pete said to me, here,
WA's this? So we get out in the car. Petkin
climbs through the fence. He lays on his back and
he starts kicking, kicking his legs like he's riding the bike.

(05:39):
And I said, what do you do? And he said,
are really inquisitive? They'll come over and he sure enough
those ms come up and they stood there watching he
waile he's lad on his back ride the bike. He said,
there'll be a nest around here. Somewhere, so we went
look and we found this music and he said you

(05:59):
want and I said, yeah, I'll take it home. So
I took it and then whatever hatch?

Speaker 2 (06:04):
So why were you Were you wanting it to hatch
or were you going to eat?

Speaker 4 (06:08):
I don't know what I was going to do with it? Good?

Speaker 2 (06:10):
Where is it now? Well, Joey was in it.

Speaker 3 (06:16):
They did warns not to break it because you'd never
get the smell out of the house. Such a bad smell,
and you've had.

Speaker 1 (06:23):
Some smells in the house. Let's face it.

Speaker 3 (06:25):
The dog Beefer, poor Beefer? What about it? The football
that time? Someone said, look at that dog on the
field and it was Beefer and he had worms and
someone scored a try and he was wiping his bum
on these as.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
I said, Yeah, he used toggest to drag, drag his
ass like literally carry the full house. All sudden you
hear this hysterical laughter. There's a dog on the field
zipping around. Was Beefer got out, over ran over the
football ground.

Speaker 3 (06:55):
And he was dragging his bottom across the Beefer was
a bastard and he got his name.

Speaker 2 (07:02):
He got his name. How did before? I want to
ask you, how you got to Maddie and Joey and
Kate's names. But how did you two meet to start off?
Because I don't know if I've ever really heard the story.

Speaker 4 (07:13):
Well, I was at the karate club desk run by
Gary Sullivan. Yeah, and it was a Friday night. I
was about fifteen, I think, and I was sitting there
was a haul in Curry and all the suits were
around the wall. So I was sitting there with a
good maid of mind, Jeff Roch from Curry. It walks
your grandma, little bitty skirt, little beardie brown beardie.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Legs, and what you think?

Speaker 2 (07:37):
What were you thinking? Man?

Speaker 4 (07:38):
I thought, Jesus Christ, where's she come from? What a
good sort?

Speaker 3 (07:43):
Now my version of the story, girl I work with
come from Curry. And I said that Gary John's is
a good sort and she said he lives up the
road from it, and she said, come down to the
karate dance state at my place. So I wasn't allowed
to go to dances, right think, So told Mama Lie,
and I went down there. We went to the dance.

(08:03):
So she introduced me to Gary. But it was the
wrong one. There was another Gary John's lived at Western.

Speaker 1 (08:10):
Was he a good sort.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Yeah he was. I wasn't was he good football?

Speaker 5 (08:18):
He's a soccer player, so I must say of all
the things like that. So the karate dance, so he said, Gary,
of course he was a relative of ours. Played for
Australia Rugby League and was a strange champion karate Australian champion,
karate champion. Yeah, and he spent how many years? He

(08:39):
was a bank rubber too, He was a bank rubber.

Speaker 4 (08:42):
He got.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
I'm not sure how long.

Speaker 4 (08:47):
That for the news? I think did he escaped? He
escaped from from Brisbane and they found him an Adelaide.
He's still alive, Gary, but he's battling bad health.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
How did he how did he escape from jail?

Speaker 1 (09:03):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (09:05):
I don't know. I don't know the story about that.
All I know is he went to Adelaide or somehow
I got to Adelaide and he went into the chemistry.
He had the money to buy any perfumes like under
arm or soaper, and so he stole them. Anyway, they
called the plate, they called the police and they got him.

(09:26):
When they he wouldn't tell him his name, So they
run fingerprints and that on him, and they found out
that gives it an escape prisoner. So he played.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
He played for Newtown, played the Newtown Jets with his
brother Robbie, Robbie brother in law, and then that same
team with the Dawson twins and Chris Hayward. Chris Hayward,
who's Bailey's He was his grandfather. Jesus, there's a lot
of Bailey follow Gary Sullivan. Did you like because you're

(09:58):
a lot younger than him, did you ever see him
have a stink stoush?

Speaker 4 (10:01):
Yeah? Yeah, I did many times, but one I remember
we're down the Hamburger Shop after the dance on the
Friday night. Gary had a security business. He used to
ride around this Boris Cooper s. So there was trouble
at the trouble at the pub and the Rainble boys
for Maitland were there, three of them, big blokes about
six foot five and they will causing trouble. So they

(10:24):
called the Cottoners and Russell Cookner's the sergeant. So he
comes over and he wanted nothing to do with it.
So he rings THESSOT police station. Because no mobiles in
them days. They said, sou iv, you can find Gary Sullivan.
He's working up there tonight to a security, so they
found him, tarl him. He's wanted him Curry. Russell Cook
knows her hands, so back he comes. We heard what

(10:45):
was going on. Ju's got around the town pretty quickly. Anyway,
Gary pulls up and the brad Bool boys. By this
stage we're down at the Hamburger shop and we're all
standing outside. So Gary gets out of the cooper s
and he kicks the bikes over. The boys come out
and there was a blue one Gary flat the three

(11:06):
of them. Russell Cook was sitting in the cop car
across the road. When it was all over, they couldn't
get up. Russell Cook gets out of his car, walks
over and right, are you kids get up?

Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yeah, well I don't know how he got there. But
back back to you guys, how he's meant so you
were you've been introduced to the wrong Gary. How did
it come about where you two came face to face
and then eventually horizontal like not the details of that,
but how did you.

Speaker 4 (11:37):
Basically it was horizontal.

Speaker 1 (11:41):
From my memory was more.

Speaker 3 (11:46):
Drunker introduced us and and then dance and it was
such a good dancer.

Speaker 4 (11:55):
It was the last see the lights that was But.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
Then they half we start going out together then?

Speaker 1 (12:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (12:02):
Right, And when you say dancing back then, it's like
I'm thinking, I'm visualizing, like back to the future when
it's you're kind of slow dancing. Is that what you did?

Speaker 4 (12:10):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (12:11):
Last dance? Was that?

Speaker 2 (12:12):
Last year?

Speaker 1 (12:12):
Was always slow dance?

Speaker 2 (12:13):
And did you share a kiss?

Speaker 3 (12:16):
Not then?

Speaker 4 (12:16):
Not first. I'll never kissed the girl before, so I
didn't know what to do. And what was practice on
the mirror?

Speaker 1 (12:24):
Did you remember the goat?

Speaker 2 (12:29):
Because I used to practice on the like I put
my thumb and my index finger together and I'd make
the shape of mouth and I practice that way. How
did you do you have memories of the first kiss?
What was he like as a kisser?

Speaker 1 (12:39):
Girl?

Speaker 3 (12:40):
No idea, I can't remember.

Speaker 4 (12:42):
I couldn't stop your giggler.

Speaker 3 (12:45):
I used to laugh and I got nervous.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, so and this is this is now? This is interesting.

Speaker 4 (12:52):
How old is that?

Speaker 3 (12:53):
It was? That fourteen for fifteen.

Speaker 1 (12:56):
Jesus and you've gone the distance?

Speaker 4 (12:58):
Yeah, very fifty four years and fifty five years in February. Yeah,
and what was what were you guys when you had
me twenty twenty nine married?

Speaker 3 (13:09):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (13:10):
Right, Well back here, I was still the preduce bordermaker
when we got married, and when you were born, I
was and I was stress ballermaker. Actually, so we had
no money at all. I had no bank account, I
had nothing.

Speaker 2 (13:24):
Back in those days. It's very traditional, right, you got
to get married young, did you like and back then
do you have to save that you don't have intercourse
to your marriage?

Speaker 1 (13:34):
That was well, we did have to get married, so
put it this way. I was at the wedding.

Speaker 2 (13:40):
Oh, you were there within the did you lie? Okay? Like,
do you have to lie back then?

Speaker 1 (13:46):
Did you lie?

Speaker 2 (13:47):
I suppose to parents and stuff that you were pregnant.

Speaker 3 (13:52):
Now mum, I think my mum guessed and yeah, so
then we just had to get married. It was now.
Someone said, how to Gary proposed? And I said, I
said to him, I'm pregnant. He went, Jesus really.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
And how curly? After that? Do you get married?

Speaker 3 (14:08):
Like?

Speaker 2 (14:08):
Is it a couple of weeks because you don't want
to be showing up a month month?

Speaker 3 (14:13):
We got married six to February, and Matt was born
twenty seventh of July.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
Holy Smokes.

Speaker 4 (14:19):
So girl and the girl's father lived in Coinsland, and
girl lived with a mom and a grandma, and she
had the ring her dad to tell him she was pregnant,
and she said, how the fuck did that happen?

Speaker 2 (14:31):
You went, well, let me let me start them against
on that.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
You know, Cooper asked me the other day. He was like,
you know, like our sense of humor our warped sense
of humor. He said, like, where does that come from?
And I thought, I thought, mate, it's Bobby Can. Yeah,
like you know Can Tricia's girl's father made.

Speaker 3 (14:51):
He was funny, funny really what was he?

Speaker 2 (14:56):
A charismatic millionaire?

Speaker 3 (15:00):
He was impressed with himself, like last time we went.
So the boys played the Gold Coast and we went
and stayed with dad and after the game it was
the worst none in my life. I was sitting with him.
Every woman that went past a look at her. Oh
my god, she's not a bad sort, and I was singing,
oh god, it's terrible. In the end, it was hitting

(15:20):
on women. So I'm sitting on my own and Gary
come in and said, why are you sitting here on
your own? I said, because I can't sit with him
any longer. It's just embarrassing.

Speaker 1 (15:29):
It's cheering for the Gold Coast.

Speaker 3 (15:31):
Yeah, And him and I had a fight and he
kept saying it's not over till the fat lady sings.
But I think she's warming up now.

Speaker 1 (15:38):
Remember you said, I remember being a very young kid,
and he would like, this is like because June Mom's mom,
my grandmother, of course, Gail's mom. She was an angel.
You got no idea like she was an angel. And
so what Poppy Can used to do once or twice
a year, him and his new wife used to hop

(16:00):
in his sports car, drive all the way down to
Cessnat and just live live there for about two or
three weeks.

Speaker 2 (16:06):
Well, just live at the well.

Speaker 3 (16:07):
My mum never owned a house, so she lived with
her mother in law, which is unusual, and said Dad
had come down to see his mom and mama be
there and he'd bring his girlfriend. Well, Grandma could not
stand the girlfriend. Yes, because she gave us some sheets
once as a present and said, oh when you died,
like these back because I paid a lot of money
for them. And Grandma said, well, don't wait till I die.

(16:29):
Take them with you now.

Speaker 1 (16:31):
There it was the car used to drive us, Yeah,
RX seven or so.

Speaker 3 (16:36):
Yeah, that red white big stripes.

Speaker 1 (16:40):
Used to get up and remember I went with him.
We're up at the Gold Coast at Broad Boots, where
he lived near Draculas. Yes, come on, let's go, let's
go the pub. So we go the pub next minute,
we'll make the bands on playing there, and he just
goes stop shop. Yep, yep, come on, write our boys,
you know, Mack the knife out. Let's go and one two,
and just got up and do about two.

Speaker 3 (17:01):
They have to really shoot him.

Speaker 2 (17:04):
Well, that's very much like you. You love you love getting
up on the karaoke mine gas. You much of a
karaoke man, Gail. You loved singing dancing down. Yeah, I
remember I.

Speaker 3 (17:16):
Got four songs, so I can do that. I'm a believer.
Twist and shout. She was just seventeen and.

Speaker 2 (17:27):
She was only said she was only.

Speaker 1 (17:29):
She was just seventy, which is I saw her standing there.

Speaker 4 (17:33):
Tell him the story about the rocks what not.

Speaker 3 (17:36):
We went to the races and were at the rocks.
So when we went back to the Fortunes of Wars,
they had this band playing all Beatles songs. So I
got up with them. So the band, I didn't know
if I was like a guest artist. Security didn't know
who in the hell I was, So I just I
sung about four songs. I kept saying, Oh, do you

(17:57):
know this yet?

Speaker 4 (17:58):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (18:01):
So then when we come and sat down, when I
sat down and go went, I think we're in a
bit of trouble. This bloke over he's staring at me
all the time any how, Oh not, I just don't
look at him. He said, no, just keep staring. So
the next thing he come around, anyhow, he had the
worst stammer I've ever heard. So he's trying, he's saying,
I know you, but he took him ten minutes to

(18:22):
say it. And then I said, well, if we tell
you who we are, will you leave us alone? And
he said yeah. So I said, oh, you know Matt
and Andrew John's where their parents let me buy your
drink and how it's about thirty bucks for a shout.
I said, okay. So then the far maid said, I've
told you no more drink for you get out, and
I said, oh, can you just buy us a drink

(18:44):
before he goes No, he's going straight out. So he
stood at the doorwave until us the rest of the night.

Speaker 4 (18:49):
Oh god, geez, I tell you it was there that night.
Was Kerry Hemsley, Oh buckets, Yeah, Kerry Hemsley an old
front role for the used to be a biking as well.
One of the right fellers.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
Well they used to come up to Marcaus Sylvesters.

Speaker 1 (19:05):
Yeah, that's right he was.

Speaker 3 (19:06):
Now.

Speaker 1 (19:06):
Next question, when we first got a caravan, what why
did we go to Middle Rock Caravan Park of course,
which was a nudist beach. What was the thinking there?

Speaker 4 (19:20):
We couldn't get anywhere.

Speaker 3 (19:22):
Else, any place we could get on.

Speaker 4 (19:24):
The council that only released so many every year, so
many parks because they've got this rule that they've got
to have provisions for boogle to travel yep. So so
that's that bottle have been tempted to so out of
the capacity of the park so we could get on
at finger which where we wanted to go. So we
had two years one ball.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
So do you have to with caravan do you have
to like buy a spot for two years?

Speaker 4 (19:50):
You play weekly, rent.

Speaker 2 (19:51):
Your rented everywhere? So that one because you eventually went
to Finger Bay Caravan Park. But the Middle Roight one,
what was that complete nudist beach?

Speaker 4 (20:00):
It was a nudist boach.

Speaker 2 (20:01):
And did you do you guys buy into that culture?

Speaker 3 (20:04):
No?

Speaker 4 (20:06):
I remember Blake Service in his car one day that
he had the closed on you loading over the mudguard
that all you could see was us.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
But I remember the first a gaz puts the cart,
he's put the caravan. We've part of the caravan, got
the n X up right. At this point, I, me
and Joey had no idea that was a nodistpech. He goes, right, boys,
what direct is going to have a swim? Well, it
was about five hundred meters over the scene dunes to
get there, and we finally get over the last sandurn.
I look over and I'm going, fucking hell, it's like

(20:37):
National Geographic. It's just tits and us and different balls everything.

Speaker 3 (20:41):
Are you?

Speaker 2 (20:42):
How are you there?

Speaker 1 (20:43):
About nine nine? I remember like the SCROTUMSLA had fucking
balls under their knees.

Speaker 3 (20:50):
Andrew has been scarred because there was a blake worming
and he was and he had the belt on round
that's all he had on.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
Yeah, because you're think of a nudist peach, you think
of like, you know, young super bottles and get So.

Speaker 4 (21:02):
What about when we was verst the caravan, we put
it in the yard. I put the adexe up, working
out what furniture we wanted in the beds for the
boys and all that sort of stuff. Where we're going
to put the skin. We ha no fridges and us.
So this particular day, I said, where's the boys? I said,
I don't know. She said, go and get them. Lunch
is ready. So I went out the yard to give

(21:24):
a whistle. No one there. Where the hell are they? Back?
Cat shut? I went down like an ear report in
the cariban. When I walked in, there sitting at the
table with a twist top or stubby and beer roote,
I said, what the hell you like? And I said,
we're practicing god on, hold hold us? How old nine

(21:45):
the seven?

Speaker 2 (21:48):
Isn't there a story? Isn't there a story? Because you
gotta hate the caravan story stories. Isn't there a yarn
where one of the caravan neighbors had a kayak or something?

Speaker 4 (22:00):
Yeah, a cano.

Speaker 1 (22:01):
I must have told that on Triple M. I reckon
three or four times every year on our show with
the audience, and that breaks on ofud. Hey, Maddie tell
us the the kayak story.

Speaker 4 (22:12):
Yeah yeah, So this blake was an old bricket. He
was he was he ruine our barstard. All the kids
who be playing cricket they'd hit the tennis ball up
against his caravan and he come out and take the
ball off them. Or they'd be playing football and the
ball would roll up and he and he take the
ball off them. Anywhy that? And he blues with him.
So Matthew wanted to go the toilet, so he went out.

(22:33):
He did each canoe the next morning about sisters because
of us, all I'll do blasco and fishing. He come
out and all sorts of carry on. The dirty bastards.
He seen it. You in there, Get out of here?
What is what's going on? He said? One of your
kids shdoy?

Speaker 1 (22:53):
And how did I say that?

Speaker 4 (22:54):
Come of that? Mate? I said, they wouldn't do that.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
Kids wouldn't do that.

Speaker 2 (22:57):
How did he know it was human excrement?

Speaker 4 (23:00):
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
For under the get up in the middle of the
night going up to the toilet, which is one hundred meters,
so I just do a ship under it.

Speaker 4 (23:09):
I remember.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
I remember the old you had to because it was
one of those caravan parks. You had to whack the
thongs on. You get a towel and you go and
have the shower and the toilet's up at the actual block.
All together because I remember when when Jack and I
were young and we'd always go up to Finger Bay
caravan Park. You know, we'd be having shower. It was
like my first exposed to a locker room because there'd
just be a bunch of old blokes in there and

(23:30):
you're just shower next to them in your thong to
save yourself from tinier.

Speaker 1 (23:33):
Yep, that's right.

Speaker 4 (23:34):
So what about what about the year we look at
after the boys Matt and Joe and the girls went
the boxing day races at Newcastle. We had all the
boys there, so Samuel was the only little fella.

Speaker 2 (23:45):
Yeah, Joey son, your age.

Speaker 4 (23:48):
And is We're playing up at the laundry block. Girls
up there doing some washing and they run in one
door and out there they're running around. All the kids
were there playing and Samuel goes missing. We couldn't find
him anyway. He'd gone about an hour. So I was
absolutely but was off our heads. We didn't couldn't find him,
didn't know what was going on over there. Put an

(24:11):
announcement over the bike at the caravan park. But little
boys being lost, you know. So anyway, a cousin of
mine founder found him and he got into an annex
followed one of the kids and going into an anix.
So we went up. They told us where it was,
so we went up and got him. You come with me,
and as we're coming down the road, you're walking behind him,

(24:34):
pushing him in the back saying you ain't getting the
fucking lunch nawny boy. Yeah, the age as him that
it was Boxing day, so everyone in the street was
out at the barbecue having a beer inside the addix,
and you swear poor old Samuel pushing him out in

(24:54):
the back of the head and say, you're a fucking
anawning boy.

Speaker 2 (24:59):
Something's ever change?

Speaker 1 (25:01):
He used to be, used to be some characters.

Speaker 4 (25:03):
Yeah, what about the day joe he got out of
bed the ship under the tree that.

Speaker 2 (25:08):
Was matt again.

Speaker 4 (25:10):
Yeah, the tree kicked a bit of sand over poor
old Shane Furnes across the road. Next day he's climbed
up the tree. When he jumped out, he jumps straight
into the ships, got it all through his toes and.

Speaker 2 (25:24):
Oh my, when you look back on uh, you know
you had obviously Kate as well. But I imagine Matthew
and Joey would have been the two hardest work or
naughtiest who would have been the hardest to race out
of those two. Joe Joey was Oh.

Speaker 3 (25:38):
He was very big headed, Yeah, and he like it.
Couldn't handle discipline if anyone tried to discipline, and he
hated them and teachers, coaches, football coaches anyway.

Speaker 4 (25:50):
But he wasn't frightened of anything. He dow anything, wouldn't
he Yeah, would do anything. It was about a ten
foot surfety one day and all the other guys are
out in the world having the time of the life.
I had Kate and i'd take him for a walk.
I walked up the headly and have a look, and
he's Joel. He was about eight, nine year old. He
wouldn't have been that on that green board.

Speaker 3 (26:11):
He wouldn't have been what even younger, about seven.

Speaker 4 (26:14):
He's out the surf. So this old guy was there,
and I knew he must excuse me. Would you take
Cake back to the caravan garlice? So I'm going to
go out My young black's out in the water, go
and get him. So I swam all the way out
here's through the waves, got out of their exhausted and
he said, Dave, what are you doing out here? I said,
you know, on the beach. What are you doing out here?

Speaker 2 (26:37):
So what was was matthew a lot easier then in
that sense, like to raise.

Speaker 4 (26:43):
He's a sleep all day. So we had no trouble.

Speaker 2 (26:45):
Really, we were a big sleeper back then.

Speaker 3 (26:47):
Well, Matt loved the cricket too, and that was on
in the holidays and he didn't like the surf because
he used to get chafed. So he go down and
he didn't want to get too dark, so he go
down the beach, have a swim, go back up, watch cricket.

Speaker 4 (27:00):
Yeah, we have thirty eight years we had there at
the park.

Speaker 2 (27:03):
And who when we talk about, you know, being scale
young scully wags when they get into their teens, who
was who was getting into more trouble than in the
teenager years, Like in terms of going out and drinking.

Speaker 3 (27:16):
Now, the boys didn't really get into trouble or go
out drinking at that stage because they were both trying
out for football, so they used to train on a Sunday,
so training through the work hardly ever went out.

Speaker 4 (27:29):
What about the night you got running by the coppers
coming after the working club, Yeah, the park with a baton, Yeah, yeah, yes,
he was having a piss in this all? Mill?

Speaker 2 (27:41):
Yeah, you were having in public?

Speaker 1 (27:44):
Yeah, I went and I went to get back into
the pub to do a piss and they said no, no,
but we've locked up. Mate, So I'm walking. I've gone
up and around hot next couple up, what are you doing?
So I'm just in away and I couldn't get the
pub to a piss anyway. Hit bellow me with a
baton and then took me the police station fingerprint of
me and went court.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
What was that was that?

Speaker 1 (28:08):
Why?

Speaker 2 (28:09):
Surely incessant? There's enough flads urinating in public.

Speaker 3 (28:11):
That's something decent exposure?

Speaker 4 (28:14):
It was? It was this couple was no good. I
knew where he drags. One afternoon, I knew it was
a work and I went around under chatty. Yeah totally.
What I thought of him?

Speaker 2 (28:23):
And what and what what did you think of him?

Speaker 4 (28:26):
I just told him as a grub and I'll do it.

Speaker 1 (28:30):
But you know, things were used to do. Like I
look back now, something I like At the time, I
thought it was a little weird, but I looked back
it out and I think, fucking you guys must have
been Jesus. Like I used to get your where your bikini?
I put come out and I put gals two piece
bikini on and I stand out in front of the

(28:51):
house and mister Whippi come past. I'd weighed mister Wibi
down and like he'd be just looking at me, and
I had the title bikinis will be driving past front
of the house and I'll be just out the front
and dressed.

Speaker 3 (29:05):
And I thought it was hysterical. I still laugh him,
encouraged him.

Speaker 2 (29:11):
I imagine that they would have stretched a lot of
your clothes back in the day then as well do
they do they bring a lot of their mates around
to the house.

Speaker 4 (29:18):
Yeah, there was house was full. Yeah who was I
was coaching at the time up there when the waters
were growing up and there was all the footballers at
the house after the game. Yeah, drinking Johnson sleep the.

Speaker 2 (29:32):
Night because when you was it you when you were
coaching gays and I believe you're your under twenties team
or your a grade that's not going to see they
stole you and took you to mad Monday and the
Gold Coast Is that right?

Speaker 4 (29:45):
They abducted you, not the Gold Coast, Cassildill Bay. Yeah,
I was walking over the papers and the milk. The
bus pulls up and they said get in. I said,
where's yelled? They said, we're going for a drink, so
I said, oh, well, why not?

Speaker 2 (30:00):
And then they took care all the way to there,
all right, Garl.

Speaker 4 (30:02):
About seven o'clock that night, I said, oh, by your loves,
where the hell are you?

Speaker 3 (30:05):
Or?

Speaker 4 (30:05):
I said, cafil Bay at the pub?

Speaker 2 (30:10):
Did he disappear much gal?

Speaker 4 (30:11):
Yep?

Speaker 3 (30:13):
Another night? Another time it was pay day when they
used to go and or get their pay from the year,
and guy said, I promise, I'm undergoing. I have to
get the money. I'll be back. Okay, we might take
the kids for a picnic or something. Okay, anyhow, never
come home. And then the next thing I got a
phone call from the hospital and they said, has fallen

(30:34):
out of the car and he's up at the hospital.
We're getting all this metal out of his bottom. And
I said, yeah, we'll just keep him up there.

Speaker 2 (30:43):
How did you fall out of a car?

Speaker 3 (30:44):
What does it?

Speaker 4 (30:45):
Don't remember what happened, but all I remember someone said
to Norm Venderson who under There was Norm driving Kenny
Morris in the middle and I'm on the outside. It
was a single So to you, we're going down Aberdey
Road with bird drinking. She's like o'clock in the morning.
It was about nine o'clock at night and they spent
the door flew out and I thought grabb bushby, but

(31:08):
I fell out. My asked to hit the road and
they reckon. I read that old see Nobby's booch. So
the next day normal, Normal was working for Lifeguard Tires
and apparently this blake would be driving behind us and
he said, he Normal, something fell out at the back
of your youth last night. He said, no, that was John. Yeah,

(31:30):
I was a mess. You got no idea. I had
no skin on my head. It's tore me trousers off,
just shredded. The skin was off her eyes.

Speaker 2 (31:38):
Just stop you drinking for a while.

Speaker 4 (31:40):
Not till about Wednesday, I think games again.

Speaker 1 (31:44):
Dad get on the sauce. And Mom would say, now listen,
when he comes home, I'm going to lock the house. Mate.
You don't let him in the house. Right, he's going
to bang on the door. He's going to he'll try everything. Right,
next minute we're here, poomp boom.

Speaker 6 (31:58):
Boom, kayle don't do Gail, Matthew, I'm going don't Matthew.

Speaker 1 (32:15):
We went on anyway, I did just sleeping at the front.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Mind you do that to learn his lesson?

Speaker 3 (32:23):
Yeah, because you've been drunk and stupid, and with the
bed your.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
Bed weather as well.

Speaker 4 (32:30):
Were you up a couple of times?

Speaker 1 (32:32):
Is that?

Speaker 2 (32:33):
Is that stop now as well?

Speaker 4 (32:34):
One day at the caravan park, we're playing cards. It
was a wet day, so all the blakes got together.
We're playing cards, and I think I drank forward in
large bottles, but I was pretty pissed. I went to
sleep on the bed. Used to.

Speaker 3 (32:52):
You.

Speaker 4 (32:53):
Yeah, anyway, I woke up and I went, oh my god,
I was floating. But I didn't do it once or
twice in one night. The next day dragged pulled all
the shirts off of water with all the dinner, dragged
the mattress. What do you doing that first? She said,
I'm putting it out the drawing, will never sleep with it.

(33:14):
So everyone was coming past as kids went to bed guard.
Now Gary did.

Speaker 1 (33:20):
With with mining up there, coops and Jack. There was
just an enormous drinking culture. And you know we went
sort of through the family by Hervey, uncle uncle Hervey, hurting.

Speaker 4 (33:33):
The peers and herby Pearce and waded legs.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
You know.

Speaker 4 (33:37):
One one one day they used to drink. They used
to go to Foster. All the miners and says stock
Curry ever mine Western. They'd all going to Foster holidays.
So the culture was two o'clock they'd head down the pub.
They'd all come home forty seven. So they had five
hours of solid drinking. I'm talking about drinking six half
of doz of skewters an hour, you know, which is a.

Speaker 1 (33:59):
One day.

Speaker 2 (33:59):
Herb be drunk fifty four schooners went.

Speaker 4 (34:02):
He went down there at two o'clock, and there was
a dance on that night, so I forgured his wife's name. Anyway,
said all the other boys left about five because they
were come back to dance. And Herbie said, now I'll say,
just at such and such as wife, get dressed and
come down, we'll go to the dance. So behind the bar,

(34:24):
the barman every day used to mark every schooner Herbie had.
He had fifty four for the day.

Speaker 2 (34:30):
And then went to the dance, to the dance. And
now did he danced imas you would have been hard
to hold up.

Speaker 3 (34:35):
Probably didn't dance you get hold his rock.

Speaker 4 (34:38):
Honestly, you wouldn't have to think.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
Out the drink, because isn't there a story of how
he drank the like a couple of blokes in it.
Because he was renowned for how many schooners you could
drink up and that way.

Speaker 4 (34:48):
The bloke put a challenge up to him. He was
a timber cutter from a career and he heard about
Herbie's reputation as a drinker. So he come up there
to Foster waited for her. If you come in, and
he said, I've got a challenge for you. Might I
heard you can drink, you know? He said, I bet
you can't drink ten schooners in an hour. Herbie said, well,

(35:08):
I'm not going to try an aw because I'll go
in here all day. He said, but I'll I'll come
back tomorrow. You be tomorrow will try it. So the
boys used to go out too, So Herbie left the
ten utmast olve and hiss cover past there. He said that, man,
I'm going a bit early today, he says, so, oh jeez,
I'm not going early, he said. Now I've got a
couple of things to do. So setting out the hour

(35:30):
sil he went to the pub.

Speaker 1 (35:33):
So he drank.

Speaker 4 (35:34):
He drank the ten schooners of an hour, just to
test himself. And he went up and he said, right,
I said the blake right, I'll take the.

Speaker 2 (35:40):
Challenge, and then it knocked it out.

Speaker 4 (35:43):
The next hour he done another ten.

Speaker 1 (35:46):
So he went to the pub first, all just to
see if you can do it.

Speaker 2 (35:50):
Yeah, what an unbelievable What's what's the most? Because girl
used to poor schooners at the pub as well. Right,
did you ever have to pall schooners four guys?

Speaker 4 (35:58):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (35:58):
He come in and were you giving him free schooners?

Speaker 3 (36:00):
No?

Speaker 2 (36:01):
No, you're always challenging him. What's the most amount of
schooners you reckon? You ever had at a pub?

Speaker 4 (36:08):
When I turned twenty one, I had twenty one schooners?
Oh well, I hardly ever used to drink that. I
was a mess. I was a mess when you drink
that that particular day.

Speaker 3 (36:18):
Yeah, and he actually borrowed someone's motibike, new motibike and
fell off it fell onto a car.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
Because you were renowned as well. I remember all the
stories that Dad would tell us growing up, and you
would tell us from time to time about you were.
You were a local enforcer around town up in c I.

Speaker 4 (36:38):
Don't know about that. A couple of times there was
a lot of a lot of blokes that wouldn't show
to respect to the older people.

Speaker 2 (36:44):
I remember when we when we had lunch up there
with Bog, one of my friends. When we went up
with the Hunt of Valley with your mate Sternie, it
looked after us up the Hunt of Valley with the
bus charter. You were telling him a story about how
your old trick was if somebody was disrespectful, you'd go
and wait in the toilets, and not in like a
romantic way. You'd go in there and then when they come,
that's where you give him a bit of a bit

(37:05):
of a stern talking to that right.

Speaker 4 (37:07):
Well, it happened once at Pruden's. I had a good
arm mate, Tidler Milligan, and I used to work in
the mines for him. He always wore a pork boy
hat felt poor. They aws dressed them backly, never ever
got married and lived on his own. Anyway, this bloke
kept knocking his hand off, this young bloke, pick it up,
give him back to Tidler, and I said, mate, cut

(37:28):
it out, leave him blame. And he kept doing it
so so so I'll fix you. So I went out
the toilet. I knew he'd have to have blurk shortly.
So I just went and sat on the pen and
left the door open a little bit wait for him
to come in. And then he comes.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
Yeah yeah, when said because the bloke. The bloke ended
up telling some of my mates, mate, this is what happened,
you know, and he said when I walked into toilet,
he said, Gary just came out of toilet and goes.

Speaker 2 (37:57):
Surprise because remember remember when we were we us. He
went to the the Aussie not long ago, the pub
up there, one of the pubs, and there was a
bloke who came over and said, good ay, and I
you introduced me to him and he said, oh that
used to be that used to be Matt's under under
tens coach.

Speaker 3 (38:16):
Oh Matt Barber.

Speaker 4 (38:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (38:19):
And then there was apparently there was a bit of
a time when he gave Mattias spray and under tens
and you give him a little bit of a job.

Speaker 1 (38:25):
Yea, he told he said the Gazz, your son's a
big head, so Gaz. The next morning, I remember getting
to the game and I'm looking at maps, got like
an eye that was shut and and and he was like,
wouldn't look at me and the assistant coach is going,
oh you are right. He goes, yeah, I shouldn't have
said it, you know, you fucking shouldn't have said it, right,

(38:45):
And I'm going, what's going on here? And then someone said, yeah,
you roll me and beat up the coach. We're at
the time of the guy Joey played hooker for a
while one yeah played hooker anyway. This opposition coach told
his play out, when you're packing this crump, just kick
Andrew Johns as hard as you can every time in
the shins.

Speaker 4 (39:05):
I run into Andrew kicked you back. Yeah, yeah, And
I chipped him and I said, what do you doing
that for? That's not that's not you don't do that
your age anyway, And he said, oh, you said the
other bloke was kicking me. I found out that the
coach told him on a purpose, and I'll fix this again.

Speaker 2 (39:24):
What do you go and kick him in the shin?

Speaker 4 (39:26):
Yeah? Yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:31):
Some of the stuff, mate, you remember, Like I look
at them now, it's almost like sitcom stuff. Does everyone
up at the caravan now street everyone was like big drink.
Its quite raucous, and all of a sudden, he's born
again Christians moved into the band next to us, remember that,
and that, like I'm talking hardcore Christians, that alcohol was
the Devil's thing. Mate, rock and roll music is like Satan's.

(39:53):
If you miss some rock and roll music, it will
ruin your mind. Leaning up in the Hell's.

Speaker 3 (39:57):
Cooper, she remember we're watching Ray and she chipped me
about the kids watching that. She said, Dan, let that
into your house. She letting the devil in.

Speaker 1 (40:09):
Well, he used to dress up like the devil, didn't
you remember? Once we got there once and we got
quite belligerent. She had chipped us about something. You know,
you don't listen to that music, and I fixed her.
So I went and got the ghetto blaster and put
JOJ Kale's cocaine on.

Speaker 3 (40:26):
What about We had a party there one night and
Sludge was telling jokes and they packed up the next
day and they never come back. Yeah, because I was thinking,
oh no, I was just going to be filthy about this.
But we went Remember when we went to we went
to but Eye Barn or something, Yeah, and they had
extraps tattoo on and they played cocaine. She went and

(40:48):
got the bus and they said, come on, everyone's got
to lead because they want to go home. She said,
that's wrong.

Speaker 1 (40:54):
That music got to get we're all dancing a time
sitting on the bush.

Speaker 2 (41:00):
What about because being the parents of NRL players can
be tough. What about but when you ride the highs
like the ninety seven Grand Final was that? How did
you guys celebrate that as the parents? Were you back
at the least club with these guys or yeah.

Speaker 3 (41:14):
We stayed at your mum and dads.

Speaker 4 (41:17):
Yeah, so that was a day. That was a daytime
go that's right at the Sydney Foom.

Speaker 3 (41:22):
So we got pretty yeah, oh well, it's unbelievable. We didn't.
We just thought we'll go back to the club and
meet everybody. When we got back there, we couldn't.

Speaker 1 (41:31):
Get in hundred and undred thousand.

Speaker 3 (41:33):
So they couldn't let us in. We got to the
door and they just said we can't open the doors,
can't let you in. So we'll stand with chiefs Mum
and dad, Harold and Judy, and then Harold said there's
people going in. They must be going into the kitchen.
Come on, let's follow them. So we did. We follow
them in and that's how we got into the function.

Speaker 1 (41:51):
It was remember our bus went into people climbing the
sycamore trees, jumping on the bus and trying to kick
their way in. The whole city was in this frenzy.

Speaker 3 (42:02):
Was even driving back. You know, we just couldn't believe
all the people on the side of the road, all
the overpasses, the roundabouts, people were having barbecues and that
on the roundabouts.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
Did you drink for like, did you party as hard
as these boys did five days? You went for five days.

Speaker 3 (42:20):
It didn't work for five days.

Speaker 1 (42:22):
Because remember because at the time, you don't like, the
birch Pa shut down and all the all the mines
were on strike, Dad, you mean the picket lines. Yeah,
and our bus driver used to buy them, the bus
driver when he was trying to bring the scabs in.

Speaker 4 (42:37):
Oh yeah, So what happened The miners were on strike
and they bought the scabs in. We fared out later
they gus from the army, which they probably didn't want
to do it, but they bought them because they could
drive masoonery. So anyway, I was on the picket line
and a good made of mine who's not with Mcryan.
It was part of reasonable But I love the fight.

(42:59):
I loved the anyway, what happened. The scabs are on
the bus and the bus pulls up, so Mick opens
the door with you thro all the luggage, so the
bus couldn't get through the gate. So the driver gets
off and said that mcdad did that again, put the
door big jumped on the bus and locked the door
so the driver couldn't get back in. So he's in

(43:20):
there with the scabs and there's about fifty of them
in there, and he's sallow. What he thinks of him?
Braves th oversea and they never said a word. Blake's
never said a word. But anyway, he was in there
half an hour. There's you get half an hour anyway
if you fish up, open the door, let the driver on.

Speaker 1 (43:39):
Remember, wasn't the driver our bus driver with the knights
was at another another time you jumped on the bus
and was getting to job him And he says, oh, no, Gary,
it was.

Speaker 4 (43:51):
I don't remember.

Speaker 2 (43:53):
I pleased the fifth wasn't there. I remember just telling
me a stro when I was out there not long
ago about you must have been doing some work out
of mine or maybe a steel factory when you're about
ninety Yeah, and you yeah, we.

Speaker 4 (44:09):
Were first married, we had no money. So I got
off from the job. I was working for McAuley Brothers,
a curry and they build them had a special smellder
up at Barriber and I got an opportunity to go
up there work and I had to sign a contract
to go and I had to say nine months the
last or three weeks and I come home guard. I said,

(44:29):
where can you come home? Because it was really good money.
We're working seven days a week, four hours a day,
and everything I was getting I was sending it home
to guild in the bank and yeah. So guy said,
what are you doing home? And I said, I missed it.
I wouldn't tell them that I had blue with the boss.
The boss was a rural arrogant bars or let it

(44:49):
get it, and he used to chip you all the time,
you know, don't do that, don't do this, do that,
you know, and I know what I'm doing, mate, No
You're not do it my way and all this sort
of stuff. So I had enough of just so the
doctors over it and he said, well you can go home.
I didn't lose my job to take cross, but anyway
sent me.

Speaker 3 (45:11):
So we had to live with MM longer because.

Speaker 4 (45:13):
Years years later, years later girl was working one Friday
night and I used to take the boys over to
the Trots and he wouldn't believe it. He is this
blog at the Trots. He comes over, what's the shape
the head to say, hello, I just go away, baite,
I don't to talk.

Speaker 1 (45:30):
It's lucky, lucky you did, I mean, yeah, yeah, well.

Speaker 4 (45:37):
What happened there? Years later, I'll watch what are they cool?
At Church six six thirty on Sunday night, A Current Affairs,
Current Affairs. There was a stayer in there about they
have one in West Australia and they couldn't get anyone
to work, so they hired Aboriginal people and after a
couple of years kids were born with short, little short

(46:01):
arms with hands from the call, like the little mine babies.
Yeah yeah, right yeah, And they found these deformities in
so the government just shut on down and straight away.
And what they did sixty minutes when this factory where
they were milling asbestos and they had a past scrape
and they run across the girders like that. It was
just like tar picking it up. That's what was getting

(46:26):
in the lungs. It was killed people. Yeah, so it
was very dangerous, yeah, very dangerous.

Speaker 2 (46:32):
Yeah, did going back for a second to being the
parents of NRL players and even the grandparents of Jack
and I, which I imagine would have a couple of
lot of shit for. But did did you have any
incidents with people in the in the stadiums or people
sort of putting ship on the boys when you were
growing up?

Speaker 4 (46:50):
Growing up?

Speaker 1 (46:50):
I mean you had a stink after full time? Yeah
st George, Yeah, yeah, he was a corporate box. So
right after they grabbed him, yeah.

Speaker 3 (47:00):
Seeking about about boys beand girls girls not carrying on.
And then Matt come out and Gaz was yelling out
back at him, and Matt come out and he jumped
up into the box. And after that, Gary and I
always had an escort to our car. I don't know
if it was an escort the security, so I don't

(47:21):
know if it was to make sure we didn't create problems,
didn't come here.

Speaker 4 (47:26):
What about what about that blog from Nelson's bay he
used to play front row against. Yep, he's dead there.
I think he died drug overdose. I think anyway, he's
causing trouble up in the in the in the in
the club after the game, So all the parents and
girlfriend and mates, and that used to see it at
the back of the bar. The players had come out

(47:46):
of the shed with it all over, drink together before
we went home. So this particular blake is kicked out
because he's playing up, so he comes down. He decides
to cause a bit of trouble. So it's zero Australia,
little boo. He starts say, mate, he said, your two
boys saw rooting each other and all this sort of
stuff and called them names and girls and all that

(48:07):
sort of stuff. And I said, I've had enough of this,
so I've got in by the throat and I read
him up against the brick wall, and I'm trying to
punch you, but riving McCormack's got out of you by
the expert that threshes flew in your mum, she got
two figures up his pushing over his nose. Call him
all sorts of basards, because.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
Look we the John's families had some different different fights
in their time. But Trish, Trish hates in a whole
different way. Did you did you guys get electrician initially?
Did you have any good interactions with her?

Speaker 3 (48:42):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (48:43):
Did you make it good? Because she can she can
get quite fiery aggressive.

Speaker 4 (48:46):
The time she blew up with me one night, called
me a lot of educated idiot, which of course is true,
educated idiot.

Speaker 1 (48:59):
The first time.

Speaker 4 (49:00):
It's a bit of a fairly jack. Actually, the first
time I brought trisho.

Speaker 3 (49:05):
Yeah, yeah, we were was going to work and he
was having lunch and he went, hey, girl, Matt's you.
He's got a sheller with him.

Speaker 4 (49:15):
He never bought a girl there before.

Speaker 1 (49:17):
Joey stay over that time time. So NaN's out, Mom
and Dad and Nan and Joey and Kate. Kate was
like me and Kate were always really really tight.

Speaker 3 (49:30):
He used to go and get the cuddle every morning.

Speaker 2 (49:32):
Because Kate's quite quite younger, she's ten years young.

Speaker 1 (49:35):
So there's a so so she come in in the
mornings Saturday morning and she jump jump in and cuddle
me and wake me up. So this sular night, I
had a girl next to me in bed and I'm
laying there. Next minute I fell jump over and I've gone,
oh fuck it. So she jumps over and she and

(49:55):
then she's.

Speaker 3 (49:56):
Looking and then she come out to me and said,
there's a girl in there with Matt. It's Peaky's girlfriend.
Matt port her home because Peaky left her out and
I went, all right, yeah, and so I just thought
I'd better tell you. So when I said, Matt, get
that girl up, get her out of there, or she

(50:17):
walked out, was like the walk of shame. We're all
sitting there, did.

Speaker 2 (50:22):
Like was there a rule of the boys can bring
girls home back in the day?

Speaker 4 (50:25):
Like what was that was the first I would have
got tested?

Speaker 3 (50:28):
And they had double bunks.

Speaker 2 (50:32):
He's on the top bunk.

Speaker 1 (50:33):
Okay, just quick. Some of the blokes over the years,
right some of it. Because one of the things I
do remember as a kid is like new blokes all
playing practical jokes on each other. And there was a
bloke I think you just passed gray paint ye because
I remember you tell.

Speaker 3 (50:50):
Them about night. We had everyone around and next in
the fireber came smash the door, smashed the door in,
and they were going to find us because they said
they could have been could have been a fire and
they're at our place and someone had rung and said
there was a fire at our place. And then all
the boys said it was painy, so gaz rips into

(51:10):
paining and then he left. But we never turned out.
They didn't find us but we had to get a
new door.

Speaker 1 (51:18):
For There was just always shenanigans. Yeah, up with the
caravan part at home. As you said, there was always
like you know, always players like you know, we're Dad coaching.
There was just always blokes around like Panda Barry Andrews
For people that don't know, he was a legend at Cronulla.
Then he you at the Roosters and then broke his
arm and just went, you know, and decided to come

(51:40):
to set up and play ragular League and Dad coached him.
But he and Dad were best mates. So Panda just
get blind and then turn up at harm. I remember
that time one of the boys, one of the centers, Pender, said, mate,
what do you keep fucking dropping the ball? When I
kept firing because a gun player? And the Santa goes, mate,
you passed, You passed the ball too hard? He goes

(52:01):
fucking passed the bat? Oh yeah right, So he loves
the Pube comes straight over to our place and he
gets me and Joey and it's right in front.

Speaker 3 (52:08):
Of like right out of bed. He got him out
of bed and stood him in front of this glass
door and thrown balls at him.

Speaker 1 (52:14):
At full blast like you know from the other side
of the room. Just mate, right over, right out of
the ball as hard as you can't. He just fire
it and bang. Is that too hard? No fucking yeah,
no worries. And he goes back to the part and says, mate,
those two little idiots they can catch.

Speaker 3 (52:32):
Who was the How the bloke used to come around
play the boys Nintendo all the time?

Speaker 1 (52:36):
Terry Great, Terry Reagan.

Speaker 4 (52:39):
You ever heard Terry Reagan sty No, I haven't went.
He went. He left us in eighty two, went to
the Roosters first, and.

Speaker 1 (52:47):
He went Roosters, and he went Balmint Tigers, and then
finished at the Candle played in the eighty seven Grand
Final against But mate, you don't at those clubs. Everyone's
got Terry Reagan's stories. He was fucking crazy, so they
there was once Laurie Daily loves to tell this story.
He said, rego, we train on a Friday night. If
we're playing on the Sunday, which is just about always,

(53:08):
he said, rego go to the pub. And he'd have
about fourteen schooners and hop in his car and drive home.
So he said, mate. And he had a lawnmown business,
so he said, mate, this particular night I've trained, go on,
slam slamm the schooners and and he's dry driving home
and all of a sudden there's an RB two just
up the road. What am I going to do? So
he pulls, He pulls the his car over the side

(53:32):
of the road, pulls that, pulls out the mower and
the whippersip and everything. Anyway, he just starts mowing some
bloke's lawn out the front right. This bloke comes out
and goes, mate, what are you doing? And he goes, oh, mate,
there's an RB two up the road. Mate, I've just
jumping up here. May if you let me do this, mate,
I'll know your lawn for free. He goes, you're too

(53:52):
an't He goes, yeah, it's right mate. He goes on,
detective sergeant, when you finish, go out the back about
the back.

Speaker 2 (54:00):
To Did he let him? Didn't get in trouble?

Speaker 1 (54:04):
No, no, let him? But made some of the things.
He lived with us for a while, didn't he?

Speaker 3 (54:09):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (54:11):
He rings him up every now and then. He's very
passionate about rugby league, Oh, very very passionate. And he's
always got a wins about someone, you know, some club
or something. But he's good. He's good. We got invited
to his wedding. He got he married Colige Gavilot Horsetralia.

Speaker 1 (54:27):
From from uh some of the other stuff, remember like
you said you found a bag of pot and things
like that in the house because he was a standover
man for the Tromboli's notorious crime crime gang down in
Griffith and he was a standover man there. So he
caught wind of him and then he came up and
played for cessnot some characters in their sides.

Speaker 4 (54:51):
He left in eighty two. Jimmy Walsh come from Gloucester
in eighty three, didn't he. So Jimmy took over Willie
uh Terry Reagan's flat. So before Rugo left, he pushed
the better side and shot on the carpet. Then he
pulled the bed back, so Jimmy and Vickie moved into
the unit. Vicky used to say to Christious smelling that user,

(55:12):
I don't know what it is anywhere. One day she
got our now to look under the bed. It is
his bloody big tur.

Speaker 1 (55:20):
Just on a serious turn here a little bit like so, Dad,
you were the best junior coming through at Curry Curry
and Curry Carry has produced most rugby league nationals of
any town city in Australia's produced that many. It's unbelievable.

Speaker 4 (55:35):
Sixteen I think.

Speaker 1 (55:36):
Yeah, your next door neighbor was Johnny Sadler. He's not
used to live over the over the back, over the back. Yeah,
Johnny Sadler and Garry Salov and Billy Hamilton, all those
players incredible players. But mate, when and Dad met, Dad
went to cessnot because Curry. Curry signed Johnny Raper, didn't they. Yeah,

(55:58):
so the great, the immortal Johnny he went to Curry.
So Dad went to sesnot when he was young. But
I'm telling you now, mate, when cesnot played Curry, you
can go to all heavy derbies all around the world,
you know, Liverpool, Evert and everything. Nothing would have been
more violent in the crowd and the.

Speaker 4 (56:15):
Games and that ten flights on the on the hill
like a whole I.

Speaker 1 (56:20):
Mean sometimes just to bring in the right squad. To
remember that time at cesnot the whole hill was just
it was just like a right like a ball.

Speaker 2 (56:29):
In book broad Is it still like that still?

Speaker 4 (56:32):
So you get the crowd as they used to get.

Speaker 1 (56:35):
I remember being a kid, it was terrifying.

Speaker 4 (56:37):
I went to stock in seventy three. The year after
they won the premiership with seventy two and they matched Systo.
Maitland played in the Grand final seventy so they opened
the season at Synock. So Sesnock played Maitland and it
was the football ground was an noble because they used
to play cricket there in the summer. There was that
many people there that they had to get the kids

(56:59):
and put a between the sideline and the fence so
the kids could see. We couldn't run on the ground,
we had to walk and step over the kids singing
on the playing fields. There was that many people well,
and I remember I think it was about twenty cents
to get in for an adult, nothing for kids. And
I heard someone say after the game, the Donnie Scayfield,

(57:21):
So what was the gate takers today? He said, I
think it was five thousand dollars that's how many people.

Speaker 3 (57:28):
In.

Speaker 4 (57:28):
Yeah? Is that?

Speaker 1 (57:29):
Gal?

Speaker 2 (57:29):
Did you did you hate watching Gary play because that's
from a different era, that's as violent as a sport gets.

Speaker 3 (57:35):
No, I didn't worry me.

Speaker 1 (57:36):
I hate.

Speaker 3 (57:36):
I worried me more watching the boys play.

Speaker 2 (57:39):
I was going to ask you that who what did like?
You had your partner. You got this got your sons, but.

Speaker 1 (57:45):
Look back on But it would be when we go
to Curry and Place versus Curry. I'm telling you now, mate,
they like the crowd would find me and Joey when
we're young. Boys may may be full going adults punts
the shit out of us. You know. I go you mum,
and sometimes women when I see him, boys spat on me.
One day, Like the level of rivalry between those two

(58:07):
towns was just insane.

Speaker 3 (58:08):
Well there was even people would get up like seven
o'clock in the morning, go down to the ground and
park trucks, tabletop trucks outside so they could stand on
the trucks because they knew would get in wat fence.

Speaker 1 (58:22):
It was unbelievable. And Dad's the size of the dad coach.
They'd start the season all the time, play one of
the big Sydney sides. So one year Balmain blocker Roach
still says, he goes, mate, I'll never forget we played
your dad's side. He said. I was a young bloke
and I'm up against a blow called Willy Tarry. Willy
Terry is a North Coenslander. The dad signed to come
down and he said blockers standing there, fucking blocker can fight,

(58:44):
and Blocker went, I'm going to teach you a lesson today,
old man. And he said, Willy Tarry as about to packet,
helped me off and just went bang. He said, Maddie
hit me that hard, he said, I literally ship my
pants said he hit me bal main beats. That's not
that ninth to thirteen nine. Then the next year they
played new Town. Newtown that year made the Grand Final

(59:07):
and I think Newtown but you're six to two or something,
so made it was. It was top class football, but
violent beyond earth.

Speaker 4 (59:15):
Yeah, very violent. I remember when I first started to
play a grade. All the old blokes used to say,
you've got to get your arm up, as I used
to get knocked out a fair bit. So you're run
into the ruck with the ball and then you have
arm cocked up. Well, I don't say you wouldn't cop
a stiff up said like, it wasn't a pedally that
they knock out.

Speaker 2 (59:35):
How do you see the modern game now, then, because
you've lived through basically three or four different generations of
rugby league, I don't like it. You don't like them
modern game?

Speaker 4 (59:43):
No, they don't like it at all there's no contest
anymore for the ball, so that they can't kick the
ball in the ruck. The scrums are a waste of time,
but may as well just have a bunny scratch between
two blokes, get to have they reads together and try
the ball in the middle so you can rake back
the first. But it's just I don't think it's tough,

(01:00:09):
don't get me wrong, but uh there's a big there's
a big gap between eight and the bottom tobes. You
can only pick the top eight every year. Just who
they buy and what they've got. It's the same as
the women's game. The women's go, you'll forget about it

(01:00:30):
now it's going to be Roasters and Brisbane now they
let just your southwill gather Risband. I don't know why
Newcastle that we're going to have to level that out.

Speaker 1 (01:00:40):
It's too unfair. Again, just to finish, we'll say this
like when we talk about you know, the different eras,
to let people know this is going to sound. When
you first started playing at Cessnock, you bake the day
of the game. You used to meet at the pub,
is that right? And have a few students they did.

(01:01:02):
Col and Gordon Bradley, the twin boys. They grew up
with the Marion Curry. They used to go out and
I went with and they'd have four minutes before they.

Speaker 4 (01:01:09):
Played the day of the game. The day of the game,
and Cole said me, one day, you come down the pub, Gas,
I said, what for? You said, I have a beer?
I said, no, I'm not here before I play. I
wouldn't have one the night before.

Speaker 2 (01:01:22):
Oh you didn't. You didn't do that.

Speaker 4 (01:01:24):
No, I couldn't have played. But the old days, when
I first started playing grade, they used to drink wine.
They have sherry in the shed or musket and all
the Fords used to share a bottle around and they
knocked the bottle off between the sixers. What yeah, what?

Speaker 2 (01:01:42):
What was the theory behind that?

Speaker 1 (01:01:43):
Why?

Speaker 2 (01:01:43):
Wine is that?

Speaker 4 (01:01:45):
So? You used to make clear clear your lungs, say
you can breathe it?

Speaker 1 (01:01:49):
And what about the coal mines games? Just quickly, you know,
working down there you took I remember Gas used to
say to me, what do you want to do your life?
I'll be a coal miner, he said, I'll fix you.
You took me down there and went fucking hell the
place she used to drink down there, down the mines.

Speaker 4 (01:02:02):
No, not down the mines, but they used to drink
before when I was working afternoon shift. A lot of blokes.
She used to play golf of a Friday, so then
they'd have half of us as skewness. And it wasn't
the place to go half half pissed too, because you
had to be aware of what was going on around
you all the time. A lot of the tragedy. Yeah,

(01:02:27):
if I got time to tell them about the shaft
we got caught in the shaft. Yeah, this story. What
happened was a Friday night. We were working swing shifts,
so we started at sixth night finished at two in
the morning, but we used to work right through the
Saturday and doing double shift. So this night we're all
prepared for the double shift. Anyway, been raining about forty

(01:02:54):
eight hours, and we had three big dams at the mine,
which just used to pump the war out of the
dams and up the top that had filled it down
to the second one filled it own a third and
then they'd pumped back down the pit and we'd use
it again to clear all the dust used to hose
it down and all that sort of stuff. So we
used a lot of water anyway, what happened. The top

(01:03:15):
then burst and all the water from the three dams
come down the hill and where we used to get
in the sharer in the in the cage to go
down the mine, which was eighteen hundred feet the water
was the lowest point on the property. So the water
was just going down on a big drain. So the

(01:03:35):
pit flooded and worried boy and we were sort of
about one hundred meters higher than where the shaft stopped
at the bottom. So we got word we had to evacuate,
and that was everybody. So we got we got the
pit bottom. By that stage the water was up to
our waists. The cage was waiting for us, and the

(01:03:57):
manager was there. The other manager was there, the black
charge everybody that day. He was there and he had
a sheet of paper cool at your name jumping. He
made sure that Lydd never left anyone behind. So we
organed in. The shaft was overloaded because when only holed
about maybe thirty thirty people, so I remember correctly, and

(01:04:20):
we probably had twice as many blokes. And so they
said right over and shut the gates, let's go. So
they rang up, they rang the bills three times that
mony the winds driver could hit the three bills, so
we're right to go. Clear. We started going up. We
got up nine hundred feet in the power and off
the wind shouse got plooted and we're suspended in the air,

(01:04:43):
and I think we're in there nine hours. Anyway, what
happened They finished up, They lowered a walk he talked,
He down on a y rope down to us and
the under managed charge. He got on the and they said,
what's happened is the water's gone over the transformer and

(01:05:03):
it's flooded. We've run the energy company to come out,
bring a transformer out. We're going to try and get
this out. We're going to hook the new transform up
and we'll start and we'll winches out. So they took hours,
and anyway, I didn't we're there for no one anyway.
So anyway, they hooked the power up and they loaded
the thing back down again. They said, right, everyone braced themselves,

(01:05:27):
were right to go. So they turned the power on
and the brakes wouldn't work, and we started to go.
We dropped about one hundred foot and they slammed the
emergency brakes on and we're bombed up and there like that,
and it was that scary. If the rope will broke,
we're all dead. Anyway, they loaded it down and they

(01:05:49):
said we're gonna We're got to get another one. So
they had to bring another. They didn't have enough power
in that generator to pull us all out. It was
too heavy, the case was too heavy. So they hooked
another one up. The speaking down again and they said, right,
we're going to try again. So sure enough we got up,
but we're only creeping like that. The whole thing was vibrating.

(01:06:13):
Blokes were crying like when we got out, blokes actually
come back to work. It was that scary.

Speaker 1 (01:06:19):
Did you go back?

Speaker 4 (01:06:20):
Yeah? I did? But anyway, pretty emotional stuff. This. So
when we got to the surface, they have these steel
foot They lift the cage up above the level of
the ground. These steel fruit come out and they set
the cage on it and then they opened the gates
and let you out. So what happened on the gate

(01:06:43):
side we would get out, those foot didn't come out.
There's something wrong. The the back ones come out and
they sat the cage down and the weight come off
the rope and we tipped like that, tip sideways and
it sjammed, so we couldn't get the gates up. We
couldn't get the men out, and blacks were screaming, yelling,

(01:07:04):
and they said staying, don't try and get out, staying
to stay in the cage. So they got everybody. They
dragged blacks back off trying to climb over the over
the gate, dragged blacks back in and they'd lifted it
up and they got a hammer and they built it
into the stool foot because they finished something. They come
in and sat the cage out the gates. So we

(01:07:25):
all got out. So the mine manager was there, the
police were there, the fire we gave resume mine's rescue
were there. Everyone the hundreds of boot will support this stuff.
And that was it. But anybody they run home, didn't they?
They rang all the bloke's parents informed of what was

(01:07:48):
going on and tolerbant. Circumstance was very emotionally.

Speaker 1 (01:07:53):
Yeah, I remember you wake something and I didn't you.
You said it's looking pretty bad. Dad's going yeah, yeah,
well i'll tell you what after that. I think we
need a drink.

Speaker 4 (01:08:03):
Guess I had to drink.

Speaker 1 (01:08:07):
Give Uncle Herbie a call.

Speaker 2 (01:08:09):
Thanks guys, thanks for coming on. We've been wanting to
get you on for ages.

Speaker 4 (01:08:14):
Very good.

Speaker 2 (01:08:15):
We could get, we could we could get you could
talk tell stories for hours later on three part four,
we'll see how long we're all kicking.

Speaker 4 (01:08:22):
I had another one four years, but we don't have time.

Speaker 1 (01:08:25):
Quick one. We got a quick one.

Speaker 2 (01:08:28):
Yeah, go on, go on, let's kick it, just quick one.
Don't worry about Jack.

Speaker 4 (01:08:33):
When I was when I was a junior Curry. When
I was a junior Curry, we used to play. They
used to They never had Bendy plays for the team.
They're lucky to get us a third grade side, and
they'd be all short for the reserve grade, so they
used to bring unders up. We were allowed to play
five games through the year of reserve grade. So movie
good mate Race. He was playing in the center and

(01:08:54):
I was playing lock and we played South new Castle.
We had a black name Eardie O'Brien and Curry was
an old old front rower, old tough as aniles, old bloke.
So we're playing against South and they brought this kid
down from Narrow broy and he was about six foot five.
This kid, big bloke, hard to handle, and Ernie was

(01:09:14):
into me. He said, gas, get into this blog. Don't
you over and I'll do me best. And I couldn't
handle him, you know, he's British, be carefuy with's sort
of a block. So we get into the schedule. Outside
Ernie said, don't you worry, Ernie. I'll sort him out
the second half right over. So Ernie's locked him up
and he's going wak a home building. They're both on

(01:09:37):
the ground and Ernie saitting there. Kenny bow was referee.
He said, come on, Ernie, get up, and he said
I can't. He said why not? He said, I'll ship me.
So he said, are you kidding me? He said no.
He said see here from bucket and the sponge and
another pair of shorts. So Patyas was a trader. He

(01:09:57):
come running there. What's wrong? And he said, on the
your shorts shipped yourself. So so they brief the shorts
out and give me the buck and warded all the
two two teams, who all stood around in said of
the crowd couldn't see we're piercing ourself far. So anyway
they wash you up against guys. Kenny Bayer gives a
shout to appenalty for Caserne wouldn't get up. The next

(01:10:21):
we hear this rural laughter from the hill. Pat's over
there and he's got the shorts up showing the crowd
pull the ship over the back of the short, good
old day.

Speaker 2 (01:10:35):
Let's go

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#71 | Gary & Gayle Johns

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