HAWKESBURY ’ S FINEST ...
by Greg Martin
She Who Has Never , Ever Been Disobeyed sent yours truly on a mission to “ find me petunias ” and my first port of call was her nursery of first choice , Joy Leader ’ s East Kurrajong Nursery which she has operated for 45 years .
As is my want , after Joy explained , “ yes , she has no petunias , she has no petunias today ”, always on the lookout for a story , I asked she who has green thumbs , could I feature her in the Hawkesbury Independent .
“ Nice of you for asking Greg but I like to fly under the radar but once again , thank you thinking of me ,” Joy replied .
As I was exiting the gate , a nicelooking gentleman , called out : “ I sell flavoured coffee beans – you could do a story on me ”.
The nice-looking gentleman turned out to be Joy ’ s partner , Graeme Simms , and being a gentleman of note myself ,
Graeme markets a huge array of innovative origami cards which sell , well , like hot-cakes or cups of his delicious coffee beans . Photo : Kathryn Johnston .
I patiently listened to Graeme as he enthusiastically talked coffee beans .
I must admit I was thinking I could do a small article on Graeme and his beans but then as the conversation progressed and Graeme told me a bit more about himself , he had me hooked , gutted and sizzling on a hot-plate . Love it when stories land in my lap ! There ’ s much , much more to Graeme Simms than being a purveyor of exquisitely flavoured coffee beans .
Originally from Perth , Graeme has crammed several lifetimes into his 68 years .
He served 20 years in the Australian Army , had four-year stints with NSW Department of Administrative Services ( DAS ) and Thomas Nationwide Transport ( TNT ) and then ended his career working for a pay packet by spending 18 years in NSW Corrective Services . On the right side of the cell doors ! Graeme is a man who adheres to the old saying - “ use it or lose it ”.
Since retiring in 2017 , he obviously helps the delightful Joy around the nursery and established Coffee Connex , a business which markets a huge variety of Colombian-grown flavoured coffees which delight the senses .
Coffee Connex markets 26 flavoured coffee beans and another three decaffeinated varieties including Chocolate Macadamia , Caramel Fudge , Cinnamon Hazelnut , Irish Creme , Tia Maria and the very popular Blue Mountain which Graeme says has “ a hint of chocolate ”.
Coffee Connex also boasts an innovative mobile Coffee Float – Graeme converted it from a 1988 horse float – from which he sells patrons cups of coffee , his flavoured coffee beans , chocolatecoated coffee beans and the most imaginative origami cards you , well , could imagine .
Graeme purveys his plethora of products at farmers and produce markets in Richmond , Cobbitty , Lawson , Glenbrook and Blackheath and online at coffeeconnex @ hotmail . com and further information can be obtained on the Coffee Connex Facebook page .
Enough already plugging this Count of Coffee and let ’ s go back to where it all began .
That was back in Perth where he lived with his mother , stepfather and their brood of 11 children until he joined the Australian Army in 1971 as an 18-year-old .
I digress for a moment . Graeme ’ s mum ,
Edna , is still hale and hearty at 93 and this renowned artist is still producing superb artwork on canvas and ceramics .
“ After leaving school I completed two years as an apprentice carpenter but I realised that career wasn ’ t for me so I joined the army and after basic training at Kapooka in Wagga Wagga , I trained as a motor mechanic with the Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers ,” Graeme explained .
“ It was a great training ground and I learned to work on everything from tanks and armed personnel carriers to cars and motorbikes .”
Over the ensuing years , Graeme had postings to Sydney , Brisbane , Perth , back to Sydney and during those years furthered his education by gaining a Diploma in Automotive Engineering and rose to Warrant Officer Class II .
He had one overseas posting at that time , spending seven months in Irian Jaya ( West PNG ) as a member of the peace corps during the conflict between the Indonesian Army and the Free Papua Movement .
“ It was a fraught time for all of us because we weren ’ t permitted to carry weapons whereas the Indonesians and the FPM forces were armed to the hilt ,” Graeme said .
“ After we finished our posting and our ‘ plane touched down in Darwin , I walked down the stairs , bent down and kissed the ground , so happy was I to be back to home and safety .”
After being demobbed in 1991 , he worked for four years as Workshop Controller for the DAS and then after accepting a redundancy , he spent another four years as Workshop Supervisor for TNT Forklifts .
In 1999 Graeme was back in uniform with NSW Corrective Services at its Silverwater Remand Centre where he toiled for 18 months before being transferred to Long Bay Correctional Centre .
He was at Long Bay for 10 years during which time he became heavily involved in working with units specialising in looking after the interests of inmates .
“ I worked with a number of units working with sex offenders , violent offenders , inmates wanting to self-harm and those inmates who had physical and mental disabilities ,” Graeme said .
In 2010 , Graeme was transferred to the Francis Greenway Correctional Complex at South Windsor , rising to become the Senior Correctional Officer looking after
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6 ISSUE 138 // NOVEMBER 2021 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT