BONNY HILLS NSW

0622 Bonny Hills

"In 1933 my late father, Thomas R. Bartlett, in company of his working partner, the late Ted Hungerford, went to the then called, “Green Hills” for a few days over the Easter period. The roads were two wheel bullock tracks from the Pacific Highway, crossing several swamps where you selected your own track on each crossing. My late father, Tom, as he was known, took such a liking at the first view of the area, that he immediately purchased 20 acres of land off A.D. Suters." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett (1991) IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0623 Bonny Hills

"Three quarters of this 20 acres was very heavily covered in oak, honeysuckle, tea tree, thick lantana and other vines nearly too thick for stray cattle or kangaroos to get through." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett (1991) IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0624 Bonny Hills

"Each weekend we traveled from Wauchope with my late mother, Cis, my elder brother, Hugh, Dad and his partner, Ted, and of course, me. " We cleared the boundaries. Tom then purchased 162 acres off A.D. on the northern side, five chain or 100m from the high water mark, on the sea side of Vinegar Creek. FROM: Arthur G Bartlett (1991) IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0625 Bonny Hills

"Both properties cost ten shillings, or $1 per acre at this period of time. The latter property was referred to as the “bush” paddock and we were able to cut down the bloodwood trees for splitting all the fence posts. This was done with axes, cross cut saws, sledge hammers and wedges. There were no chainsaws in those days." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett (1991) IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0626 Bonny Hills

"The home block was then fenced and a plain five wire fence was erected around the boundaries to keep out straying stock. An area was cleared for the house. That was erected temporarily. The home was finished on about December 28th 1933 and we shifted from Wauchope to Green Hills permanently." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett (1991) IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0627 Bonny Hills

"My brother, Hugh, and I cleared small trees by hand at the time. We used a mattock, axes and a pole for a lever to grub the trees out by the roots. We then purchased a second hand 1923 Fordson tractor with steel wheels and run by power kerosene and also a mould-board plough, which weighed approximately three hundred weight. A further purchase was an all steel bull harrow of two leaves. This was the limit of our machinery for quite some years." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0628 Bonny Hills

"My father, Tom, carried on his trade in Wauchope as a builder through the week and stayed in town all week. It was an ordeal to travel the roads, especially in wet weather when the highway was only a corrugated gravel road. The trip each way took one hour if you didn’t get bogged." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett (1991) IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0629 Bonny Hills

"Our working week was from daylight to after dark seven days a week till such times as we got more land cleared and ploughed. We planted three acres of passionfruit. We also planted our first bananas and 2000 pineapple plants. FROM: Arthur G Bartlett 1991 IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0630 Bonny Hills

"There were only four other houses or weekenders at Green Hills at this time. In 1937 A.D. cut up a row of blocks fronting Ocean Drive. Jack Parker bought a couple of blocks above the present surf club and had a house shifted from Wauchope. This was completed for Christmas 1937." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0631 Bonny Hills

"In approximately 1935, Jack Suters took up land on the eastern side of us and cleared and built a house for himself and his daughters for holidays. His two sons, Doug and Charlie, also built a weekender each along side. FROM: Arthur G Bartlett IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0632 Bonny Hills

"Towards the end of the depression in 1935, Dad who had been working in the building trade, because of money shortage was forced to go on relief. This was the same as our present day dole, except you had to work for your pay. Your pay depended on your family status, the number of days you worked. A single man worked one and a half days. A married man worked only two days and a man with one or more children as dependents worked three and a half days. Dad worked 3 ½ days each week and was paid every second Thursday at Laurieton. He was not paid with money but with chits. One for the baker for an amount of bread over the two weeks, the same for the butcher and the grocer." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett (1991) IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0633 Bonny Hills

"The roadwork was carried out using shovels, picks, mattocks and axes." FROM: Arthur G Bartlett IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0634 Bonny Hills

"The area where the surf club pavilion and parking area is at the present time was, in the early 1940’s, a corn paddock, fenced with the eastern and northern sides of lantana 10ft high, shielding the crops from the sea breezes. When the paddock went back to grass, I used to shoot rabbits there. FROM: Arthur G Bartlett IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0635 Bonny Hills

Bonny Hills is a town in New South Wales, Australia about 30 minutes drive south of Port Macquarie. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 2,870 people. FROM: Wikipedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0636 Bonny Hills

Bonny Hills has a service station, local Tavern, local beach, two holiday parks, post office and a fire station. FROM: Wikipedia IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0637 Bonny Hills

The Wauchope Bonny Hills Surf Life Saving Club as we know it today was formed on the 8th October 1958 at a large public meeting held in the Wauchope Community Hall. Wally Sneddon was elected President. The club continued to patrol ‘Little Beach’ till 1960 when it was decided to move around to Rainbow Beach ‘Big Beach’ because of the lack of space for carnivals and future activities. FROM: Wauchope Bonny Hills Surf Life Saving Club. IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0638 Bonny Hills

The elevated coastal views from this seaside village, twenty kilometres south of Port Macquarie, are some of the most spectacular in the region. Bonny Hills was originally home to the fishing enthusiasts amongst the tough, north coast timbermen and dairy farmers from nearby Wauchope and hinterland. FROM: australianexplorer.com IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017

0639 Bonny Hills

The old wood fishing shacks of the past are long gone, replaced by homes and holiday parks with million dollar views. Family friendly Holiday Parks are located in Bonny Hills and Rainbow Beach, only a short stroll to spectacular beaches. The cabins at Bonny Hills Holiday Park maximise the panoramic coastal vistas as do a number of other affordable holiday lettings throughout this area, ranging from houses to holiday units. FROM: australianexplorer.com IMAGE BY: Hazel Hogarth TAKEN: October 2017