I stole these photos from the internet

 

3/149-151 Blues Point Road, McMahons Point, NSW 2060

 

The green dots in the photos point to an 'Art Deco Delight in Prime Locale', which sold prior to auction on 22 May 2026 for $770,000.

The advertisement described it as "nestled in the heart of the vibrant McMahons Point Village this refreshed, first floor unit offers a great first home, city base or investment in one of Sydney's most central and desirable neighbourhoods. Set in a small boutique block of only 4 with classic period charm and large communal rear gardens to enjoy. Offering a generous eat-in kitchen, separate lounge/dining area, bathroom/laundry, linen closet and large bedroom with modern built-in wardrobe, the unit is more than comfortable as is while offering scope to upgrade to taste. Surrounded by quality restaurants, cafes, pubs and shops - and conveniently located just minutes walk to the Harbour Foreshore, walks & parks, North Sydney CBD, ferry, rail and Metro - this is Sydney living at its finest."

 

The apartment sold is right above the SERENITY shop.
My apartment is in the red-brick building to the left.

 

When I came back to Australia in 1985, I bought an almost identical apartment at Number 153, the building right next door, but soon began to think that this was not "Sydney living at its finest". It probably had a lot to do with the regrets I felt about my disappointing homecoming.

 

 

I was desperate to get away again and to "cut my losses" by selling the apartment to whoever wanted to experience "Sydney living at its best". I was ready to accept even an offer which was $15,000 below what I had paid only three months earlier. Luckily, the lady never came back with the money because the apartment has given me a steady rent income for forty years. As for its current value, it's comparable to next door.

 

 

Having been spoilt by the peace of "Riverbend", I could not live there again, but it's nice to know that as an investment it turned out well.

 

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We've been left with no other choice

 

 

When people vote for Pauline Hanson, they're not really voting for ONE NATION; they're voting AGAINST the duopoly of Liberal and Labor, who look as if they're against each other, but away from the public eye slap each other's back and have a laugh.

 

 

The next election can't come soon enough because they won't be laughing when ONE NATION romps in - although, come to think of it, they'll still have the last laugh, as they retire on their generous lifelong parliamentary pensions plus all the other perks. What a scam!

 

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The Making of 'They're A Weird Mob'

 

 

Sixty years ago, on 13 October 1966, the classic comedy "They're A Weird Mob" was released. It's about an Italian immigrant, a 'New Australian', who has just newly arrived in Australia. It was based on the 1957 novel of the same title by John O'Grady who wrote under the pen name "Nino Culotta", the name of the main character of the book.

 

Read the book online at www.archive.org

 

In order to learn about real Australians, Nino takes a job as a brickie's labourer with a man named Joe Kennedy. The comedy of the novel revolves around his attempts to understand English as it was spoken in Australia by the working classes in the 1950s and 1960s. Nino had previously only learned 'good' English from a textbook.

 

 

"The House That Nino Built" in the movie is at 128 Greenacre Road in Greenacre, a suburb of Sydney. There the actors dug trenches, poured concrete, and laid bricks. It was then finished professionally and sold to raise funds for The Royal Life Saving Society. The stars' footprints were set in concrete slabs in the pathway. When it last sold in 2023 for $1,800,000, it had already been forgotten as "the house that Nino built" - click here.

 

 

The novel is a social commentary on Australian society of the period; specifically male, working class society. Women mostly feature as cameos in the story, with the exception of Kay who becomes Nino's wife.

The final message of the novel is that immigrants to Australia should count themselves fortunate and should make efforts to assimilate into Australian society, including learning to speak Australian English.

The movie met with some not so favourable reviews, such as, ""Behind the rugged exterior and grating speech of the average Australian, there lies a heart of gold: or so would seem to be the cosy message of this rather patronising tale of how an immigrant makes good in barbarous Sydney (by marrying the boss's daughter – how else?). Michael Powell seems ill-at-ease during the chummily extrovert opening, with its repeated assurances that Australia is a big, big country and its endless jokes about a foreigner's difficulties in understanding the slang; but after that the film stops trying so hard to be jolly, and the quieter sequences in which the Italian learns to live his new life are moderately effective. Nothing, though, can really conceal the fact that this is just a routine women's magazine romance in a new setting; and the acting is mostly indifferent.""

When the movie was shown in cinemas in 1966, I also had just arrived in Australia. I immediately fell in love with it and the country. In the movie Nino Culotta is called a Dago. I was sometimes called a Hun. I'm reminded of it every time I sit down to order something from a menu and the waitress comes over and asks me, "What can I getcha, Hun?"

 

 

Sixty years later, Australia has changed but my love for it has not. Every so often, when I want to remind myself of what I fell in love with and why, I sit down and watch "They're A Weird Mob" again. And so can you!

 

 

"Australians live Down Under. Like flies on the ceiling, they never fall off. Of course, they see themselves like this! They're a nation of sportsmen. They have a shot at anything that moves. This they call 'doing your block'. These they call 'schooners'. These they call 'sheilas'. Or 'beaut' sorts'. And this they call 'English'. They're a weird mob."

 

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The butcherbird is keeping an eye on things

 

 

Three weeks ago, the handyman, trusty Troy, pulled down the old verandah decking. Then we had to wait for the timber to arrive. Today he came to do the framing-up because today was a rained-out day and he couldn't work anywhere else.

 

 

With a bit of luck, it will rain for the rest of the week, which means he will work on the verandah for the next three days and get everything done except for the time-consuming laying of the Merbau decking.

 

 

To speed up the process, I bought this little gadget from BUNNINGS. It should help with the positioning of the screws and give a nice and neat finish. At a mere $10.45, it's certainly worth its price several times over.

 

 

At this rate, the job will be finished well within budget and well below what other tradesmen had quoted me. As I can't be there all the time to make sure that trusty Troy keeps up the pace, I've instructed the butcherbird to sit on top of the dropsaw and keep an eye on things.

 

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How many $15.00 LUNCH SPECIALS make a lawyer?

 

 

Our Chinese friends at Bomaderry are the most hardworking people we know. Just the two of them, with no extra help and no time off, they run their small  WELCOME Chinese   Restaurant  seven days a week, selling $15 Lunch Specials.

 

 

Yesterday, their daughter graduated as a lawyer! All those thousands of $15 Lunch Specials sold over so many years have finally paid off! And the parents could not be any prouder than they were at yesterday's graduation ceremony at the University of Sydney. What a happy family!

 

The parents took a day off - the first in many years - to attend the graduation

 

But there is more: their son Kelvin is also studying for his degree in Mechanical Engineering in a couple of years' time. Then, if his sister's lawnmower breaks down, he can fix it, and if he runs into trouble with the law, she can fix it. And if either of them feels hungry, they can go to their parents'  WELCOME Chinese Restaurant  for a $15 Lunch Special.

After all, that's were it all began. We hope they will never forget it!

 

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