Late 1986 We return to Sydney. Mum is dying

1986 - Our lives in America
We get an urgent call from my sister, "Get back as quickly as you can, Mum is dying." This is Town Hall Station   December 18, 1986. I ask NCR management if they will pay for the trip back. They kindly agree to look at my contract and decide no, they don't have to pay; "It isn't in your contract." I don't really expect an outburst of generosity or humanity and I always wonder why I am so loyal to NCR. We tour the QVB which has recently received a major upgrade. The stained glass windows in the QVB are stunning The glass domed roof in the QVB is stunning as well
Plenty of natural light shines through glass roof to illuminate the shops below. Jacqui and Jenni window shop. Jacqui is 23 at the moment. The G'day Cafe
Outside the QVB is a statue of Queen Victoria herself, Australia's sovereign, with loyal Australian subjects grovelling at her feet From Centrepoint Tower looking north east through the Sydney heads One of the worlds most recognisable icons is the sails of the Sydney Opera House. Probably the Eiffel Tower in Paris comes close. This is Queen Mary's Cathedral in a prime location on the corner of Hyde Park Sydney.
The Darling Harbour entertainment precinct is under construction during late 1985. This is the view looking across the bridge to North Sydney. The red blob is very near the NCR building in North Sydney. This is the q.v. building looking down from Centrepoint Tower. The Cenotaph in Hyde Park is a memorial to Australia's fallen heroes
An open air theatre in Martin Plaza with a jazz band entertaining the lunchtime crowds. This used to be called Martin Place, and it was one of Sydney's worst traffic bottlenecks, but it has now been transformed into a pedestrian Plaza and it's a vastly more pleasant place to enjoy a lunchtime sandwich. Looking down Martin Plaza towards the GPO. Australia Square is the round building on the left and for a few years it was Australia's tallest building. These old bond stores on the Sydney Harbour foreshore is where the sailing ships of last century used to store the wool before shipping it off to England. It is now pleasant series of open-air restaurants.
The convict built stone building in the middle of the harbour on the left is called Fort Dennison or Pinchgut. The British soldiers, who ran the rum trade in early Sydney, would hang and gibbet prisoners on this island . It was also a prison where they would be fed bread and water only. In late 1796 the Governor installed a gibbet on Pinchgut. A convict hanged and gibbeted there was to serve as a warning to other convicts. Such is Christian Mercy. The ferry wharf at Circular Quay. Looking under the Sydney Harbour Bridge at Luna Park and North Sydney. NCR is to the right of the Zurich Building. Greenpeace
Charles F Adams class destroyer belonging to the Australian Navy moored at Dawes Point The hydrofoil Curl Curl is named after Sydney beach. Hydrofoils stopped operating in March 1991. The hydrofoils covered the 10-kilometre journey from Circular Quay to Manly in 15 minutes compared to 35 minutes for conventional ferries. An open air restaurant is that the front side of the Sydney Opera House.
Centrepoint tower is visible on the extreme left. Classic view of the Sydney Opera House. This is the Corso Manly. It has been converted to a public Plaza. The Ocean beach at Manly. Curl Curl is the next beach north
I was shocked to see this young woman exposing herself. Shocked I say. The beach in the background is Shelley Beach Looking up the coast from Shelly Beach.
A good surf is running at Manly. The Norfolk Island Pines are slowly dying because of pollution from car exhausts, I continue to be shocked at these brazen displays. 1987 OurLivesInAmerica2 0039 a This is the harbourside beach at Manly.
I notice quite a difference between Sydney seagulls and California seagulls. California seagulls seem to have more grey in them. I take a trip out to Liverpool to say hello to Brian and look at his beautiful new model. Brian's workmanship is always stunning and this is among his best. I Fly it on December 20, 1986. Brian chats with fellow modeller Frank Battum. Jenni's sister Susan. She was living in Sydney at the time.
This is Lee, my sister Joan's daughter. Lee sorted everyones' presents into piles to make distribution much, much quicker. December 25, 1986. Lee wears a T-shirt featuring the punk boxing kangaroo My poor old mum doesn't look good at all. Jacqui shares Christmas with us.
My mother and my daughter. One just starting her life and the other nearing her end. They are both wonderful women. Grant opens a present for Granny while Jenni looks on. My sister Joan and her husband Roger. Joan is my next best friend after Jenni. Roger is a very decent bloke as well. Me at the peak of my beauty.
It is all downhill from here. This is the last photograph I ever take of my mother. I carry her from the Baulkham Hills hospital to here and she only lasts about an hour after which time I have to take her back. I get to tell her what a wonderful mother she has been. I'm glad I get the chance to tell her. This is good friend Ian Smith. We spend the night with him and his wife Julie. He says he's going to make a movie called Trouser Snake Aberdeen to compete with Crocodile Dundee. We leave Australia on Saturday, 27 December 1986 headed for Hawaii. The end of this segment