People these days often ask us why we left Kangaroo Valley after more than 40 years in residence, but more importantly want to know how our new life out of the Valley is going. But first some background into how and why we came to be in the Valley in the first place.
I knew of the Valley in my youth as friends and I would camp in Upper River and swim in the beautiful Kangaroo River. I would have been19 or 20 and I loved the place from first sight.
Mary and I then came to the Valley on 3 December 1979, purchasing the General Store and Newsagency (now the bottle shop). With us we had our five-year-old daughter Simone and our ten-week-old baby daughter Gemma. Simone joined the KV school as soon as the new term started.
We ran the seven day a week store for the next five years servicing the local community, which consisted in those days of old-established families, many being born and bred in the Valley.
Our children came to love the bush and freedoms of the Valley at a very young age. Richard was often spotted by a local up a gum tree or building a bush hide-out. He always came home when he was hungry.
I played the role of Father Christmas in all the regalia at the preschool for some years, and I remember one small boy looking up at me and saying “Hello Mr Preston”. Another time I was making my way to the preschool through the school grounds while the school assembly was on; the Merchant boys were playing their guitars to a hushed audience when I appeared at the open window and threw in a handful on lollies; as you can imagine it caused chaos! Tony Butler, the principal at the time, saw the funny side of the act.
Very early in the piece we both joined Valley organisations, in my case the then vibrant Apex Club and KV Tourist and Progress Association as it was at that time. Much later as an inaugural member to the Lions Club, Chairman for the Pioneer Village Museum Trust, and secretary for the Church of the Good Shepherd for some years and treasurer for the Rectory Park Way subdivision project. We bought a block in the subdivision and built a home in those very pleasant surroundings. Mary was a member of the Children’s Medical Research Institute, she is still a member of the KV View Club, and she taught Scripture at the school for 17 years.
I also spent a large amount of time at Chakola’s Operation Challenge (Experiential Learning P/L) with Derek Lucas OAM, guiding team building and leadership to most of the large companies, mainly from Sydney and Melbourne. Through his programs Derek changed many lives over many years with his amazing talent and people skills.
In 1983 we commenced building a new restaurant, Trads Bistro ,as an addition to our Moss Vale Road property, which we opened in September 1984 and traded there for the next eight years before leasing it to various restaurateurs over the next few years (currently the Indian Curry Restaurant).
In December 2001 the Lions Club commenced building the Ambulance Station with donations from the community and various trades companies; I was the Project Manager along with Franz Mairinger, President and responsible for fund raising. Many of the club members supplied the engineering, plumbing and electrical services for no fee and raised the funds, which amounted to just under $500,000. Some of those funds were raised by stopping cars on Hampden Bridge and on one occasion we were berated by police in a patrol car whom we eventually shamed into putting in!
In 2009 my son Richard and I incorporated a new company, Preston & Sons Construction P/L, and we continue to build many new homes in the Valley and especially the additions and refurbishment to the KV Rural Fire Station building in Broughton Place, which was particularly gratifying.
We have fond memories of Kangaroo Valley and still have many friends whom we visit from time to time. We still attend the Church of the Good Shepherd and enjoy the fellowship that entails. We have no trouble in driving over either Berry or Cambewarra Mountains since we’ve done it for all those 40 years.
Since moving to a quiet North Nowra Street we find it very central to both the business areas each side of the bridge, and it’s only 15-20 minutes into the Valley. Other than that, why did we move? Well, there are several reasons but no major one. We found that the Mt Scanzi Road had become quite busy, the house we lived in a bit larger than we needed and the maintenance of the grounds a bit arduous. At the time of our decision our son and daughter-in-law were building a new larger residence in Bangalee; they have four boys, and their current house just wasn’t big enough. Since the house had been completely renovated and our thoughts were on downsizing, the opportunity presented itself for us to acquire their property for our new home.
It has been heart-warming to be accepted into the cul-de-sac and attending two years of Australia Day street BBQs together with the other lovely residents.
We have absolutely no regrets in moving, as we now see our ten grandchildren much more often, including those that live in St Georges Basin and Canberra. So, all in all a great move.
Bruce & Mary Preston