Skatey...The life of Les Skate
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Skatey...The life of Les Skate

Biography of Les Skate edited and prepared for publication by volunteer biographer Lorraine Blythe on behalf of Eastern Palliative Care October 2019 Biography of Les Skate edited and prepared for publication by volunteer biographer
Lorraine Blythe on behalf of Eastern Palliative Care October 2019

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Skatey The Life of Les Skate Tim’s pretty well organised. They have a very good setup there. Lovely home, lovely big garden. Everything you could want. But he is talking now about looking for something else. Not in the area they’re in now, over in the built-up area. On the highest peak he can find. If he has to buy the house, he’ll just knock it down and build the castle on the hill. Rol bought his first house in Loughnan Rd, in Ringwood. I spent a fair bit of time on that. He bought this little old place. It was a house that when you saw it, you knew you could do something with it. It was on a very steep block up Loughnan Road, looking down over Ringwood. We dug out and built underneath. Then we built on top which gave them a new big bedroom, an en suite, a dressing-room, a new big living area, and a kitchen. Underneath they had their double garage. It worked quite well; it was a good start for him. It was a house that when you saw it, you knew you could do something with it. It worked quite well, it was a good start for him. From there Rol and Tim went into this joint venture of a ski-water-jump park. Rol sold the house at Loughnan Road and they both put money into the new venture. They bought land out at Gruyere and that’s where Rol still lives now. After the completion of the construction of the water-jump, (that is a story in itself!) they had great success, it was fantastic. Australia wouldn’t have had our world champion ski jumpers, including Kirstie Marshall, if it hadn’t been there for them to train on. Australia wouldn’t have had our world champion ski jumpers, including Kirstie Marshall, if it hadn’t been there for them to train on. The long-term idea was that the general public would also come and pay and have a bit of fun. But it fizzled out after a while. There’s only a limited number of people who do that sort of thing and in the end, they couldn’t keep it going. I was warned about it by Tony Jordan. He was the man who controlled Domaine Chandon. He said to me one day, ‘I don’t think this will work Les, it’s a limited market.’ He knew you had to have clients. And so, it didn’t go on. So Rol made his home up there. He was still working in the carpentry business up until he had a fall and damaged his shoulder. He had always been a motorbike enthusiast, because Karen’s, (his wife) father was called ‘Mr Honda,’ because he imported all the Honda stuff from Japan. So, Karen was deeply into motorbikes too. The big building there that they had for the ski people, became Rol’s motor bike repair shop and that has become his business. 46

Skatey The Life of Les Skate I think they love it so much they will stay there forever. The property had a very old home on it that had been moved there. I have just finished renovating and adding to it and it’s come up very nicely I think they love it so much they will stay there forever. I’ve never stopped going up there for the past three years, since Tim’s house at Cape Patterson was finished. There’s always something for me to do around the property and I love going there and helping out. Les working around Rol’s property at Gruyere. 2019 47

<strong><strong>Skate</strong>y</strong><br />

<strong>The</strong> Life <strong>of</strong> <strong>Les</strong> <strong>Skate</strong><br />

I think they love it so much they will stay there<br />

forever.<br />

<strong>The</strong> property had a very old home on it that had been moved there. I have just finished<br />

renovating and adding to it and it’s come up very nicely I think they love it so much they<br />

will stay there forever. I’ve never stopped going up there for the past three years, since<br />

Tim’s house at Cape Patterson was finished. <strong>The</strong>re’s always something for me to do around<br />

the property and I love going there and helping out.<br />

<strong>Les</strong> working around Rol’s property at Gruyere. 2019<br />

47

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