HAWKESBURY ’ S FINEST ...
Andrew is grooming Delta to emulate Takoma ’ s courage and skills in future Medieval tournaments . Photo : Kathryn Johnston by Greg Martin
The knight in shining armour lowers his lance and urges his sturdy mount to a gallop down his side of the list .
As horse and rider meet their adversaries , Sir Andrew Beattie ’ s lance smashes into his opponent ’ s breastplate , sending the luckless jouster tumbling to the ground .
Andrew Beattie has once again reigned supreme in the Medieval sport in which he has been a world champion .
But inside the armour plating protecting his body is a man of a multitude of contrasts .
Not only is he a toff with a lance , he is also a master swordsman , has the eye of Robin Hood with a bow and arrow in hand and is an expert at sliding Shuriken ( throwing stars ) out of his hand , a-la Shintaro in the 1960s hit TV show , The Samurai .
Andrew has worked on numerous television and movies as a stunt man and safety officer , ensuring the stunts are performed perfectly and therefore , safely . But wait , there ’ s more . Much more ! After completing his schoolin ’ at Meadowbank Public School and Newington College where he was dux in his biology class , Andrew completed degrees in Macrovertebrate Palaeontology and Biology with minors in anthropology and archaeology at Macquarie University .
He was employed by National Parks and Wildlife , firstly as a volunteer while at Newington , and then for 14 years as a paid employee , mainly working on the Northern Beaches region .
He also dabbled in martial arts , progressing to a black belt in Tae Kwon Do , and also found time to row , coach and cox for Newington and
Balmain Rowing Club .
From 1992 until 1998 he regularly travelled all over Australia and to New Zealand and the United Kingdom , teaching palaeontology to a multitude of enthralled students .
Yes , much more than a toff in shining armour !
Andrew is best known to his fellow Hawkesbury residents – he lives at South Maroota – as the founder of the amazing Winterfest Medieval Fair .
When your scribe and photographer , Kathryn Johnston , arrived at Shire Beattie to interview Andrew , we were amazed to find him in a buoyant mood despite the 2021 Winterfest at Hawkesbury Showground being cancelled at the 11th hour because of Covid-19 restrictions .
“ It was heartbreaking for all of us – the medieval knights and damsels , the archers , the falconers , the ‘ smiths , the armourers , the musicians and performers and all the people who were to man the 80 stalls ,” Andrew said . “ Every Winterfest we organise is a notfor-profit event with all proceeds directed to worthwhile charities , those of which pour 100 per cent of donations into their works .
“ Since our first Winterfest at Castle Hill Showground back in 2007 , we have managed to distribute $ 526,000 to worthy charitable causes .
“ That first event attracted just on 1800 people but attendances grew year by year and at the last Winterfest held at Hawkesbury ( showground ) in 2019 , 13,000 people came through the gate despite it being a very cold couple of days .
“ Obviously the larger the attendance , the more funds we can allocate to our charities and we were supremely confident that those
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6 ISSUE 135 // AUGUST 2021 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT