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
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
- Page 1 and 2: SKATEY… ……… The Life Of Les
- Page 3 and 4: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Early
- Page 5 and 6: Skatey The Life of Les Skate It was
- Page 7 and 8: Skatey The Life of Les Skate When I
- Page 9 and 10: Skatey The Life of Les Skate A new
- Page 11 and 12: Skatey The Life of Les Skate We had
- Page 13 and 14: Skatey The Life of Les Skate our ki
- Page 15 and 16: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Buildi
- Page 17 and 18: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Off to
- Page 19 and 20: Skatey The Life of Les Skate But it
- Page 21 and 22: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Scouts
- Page 23 and 24: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Apollo
- Page 25 and 26: Skatey The Life of Les Skate And th
- Page 27 and 28: Skatey The Life of Les Skate I ende
- Page 29 and 30: Skatey The Life of Les Skate An ear
- Page 31 and 32: Skatey The Life of Les Skate So tha
- Page 33 and 34: Skatey The Life of Les Skate James
- Page 35 and 36: Skatey The Life of Les Skate So tha
- Page 37 and 38: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Riddli
- Page 39 and 40: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Yering
- Page 41 and 42: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Over t
- Page 43 and 44: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Lynne
- Page 45: Skatey The Life of Les Skate But Ti
- Page 49 and 50: Skatey The Life of Les Skate We wer
- Page 51 and 52: Skatey The Life of Les Skate We had
- Page 53 and 54: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Then t
- Page 55 and 56: Skatey The Life of Les Skate All my
- Page 57 and 58: Skatey The Life of Les Skate In our
- Page 59 and 60: Skatey The Life of Les Skate We kep
- Page 61 and 62: Skatey The Life of Les Skate There
- Page 63 and 64: Skatey The Life of Les Skate I hadn
- Page 65 and 66: Skatey The Life of Les Skate He bad
- Page 67 and 68: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Les is
- Page 69 and 70: Skatey The Life of Les Skate The Ya
- Page 71 and 72: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Gruyer
- Page 73 and 74: Skatey The Life of Les Skate Les an
- Page 75 and 76: Skatey The Life of Les Skate ‘I d
- Page 77: Skatey The Life of Les Skate The co
<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