Ian Burns
cruises ,” Ian said . I asked Ian to give me the history of his involvement in the Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler . “ A brief history about the boat first off ,” he replied . It was commissioned by National Parks and Wildlife NSW and built by the Reynolds family who had a boat building business on the Lane Cove River in the National Park .
“ It did tourist cruises up and down the river and operated there until 1990 before taken to work on Sydney Harbour .
“ In 2000 James and Sue Kelly , local antique dealers who lived at Wilberforce , bought the boat and had it sailed up to Windsor to become a tourist attraction .
“ I had met James through our involvement in Camp Quality and he talked me into working parttime onboard , doing anything from manning the bar to crewing the boat .
“ After James was sadly killed in a car accident , I decided to sell my own business restoring antique bathtubs , and bought The Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler in 2012 .
“ Best move I ever made – except of course for marrying my wife Margaret and us having three daughters , Amie , Clare and Natalie , who in turn have provided us with six grandchildren .” As smooth as peanut butter is our Ian Burns ! Again , with the questions ! I asked Ian was he a
Hawkesbury local .
“ I am now , but I was born at Bankstown and grew up in that area , finishing my schooling at Chester Hill High before taking on a four-year plumbing apprenticeship with AGL ( Australian Gas Light ) and remaining with the company until 1985 .
“ I then took on a role as a project manager for a
The majestic Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler on the beautiful Hawkesbury River . Torrumburra will soon be delighting passengers after a mammoth restoration by owner and skipper , Ian Burns .
civil engineering business before kicking off the antique bathtub business two years later .
“ You might laugh , but it was a terrific business , finding and restoring bathtubs of all shapes and sizes – I ’ d source them anywhere and everywhere – in sheds and out in paddocks – crikey , the places you ’ d find them !” He sold the business to buy The Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler – so he ’ s still very much acquainted with aqua !
Ian had much delight in telling your writer that he was a star halfback for the Chester
Hill Hornets rugby league club , winning several premierships from the under 12s through to under 15s when he had to give the game away due to work commitments .
“ And might I add that my fiveeighth throughout that period was the great Terry Lamb who , as you are well aware , went on to become a Canterbury Bulldog legend and play for NSW and Australia ,” Ian said .
And I , and all our readers wish nothing but good fortune for Ian Burns and The Hawkesbury Paddlewheeler .
Fire catastrophe
Unprecedented heatwave conditions in Europe and North America indicate that our next summer is going to be brutal .
Observing the fire disasters overseas should compel Hills residents to be on high alert . Now is the time to prepare for the extreme fire danger we will no doubt be experiencing this upcoming summer .
The last few years of La Nina rainfall has generated a huge fuel load in bush , scrubland and even grasslands . Now the pendulum is swinging back to a drier and hotter El Nino , the threat of bushfires is very real .
People living on what the RFS call the “ Urban Interface ” know that living amongst the gum trees has never been more dangerous !
One Australian company has boosted its fire pump production to make sure they have sufficient product available to protect homeowners from the ravages of what may be Australia ’ s worst and most savage bushfire season .
Australian Pump introduced the Aussie Fire Chief almost 30 years ago . The pump was designed to be better than any other product on the market , with the company making a major effort to improve pump performance , features and value for money .
Aussie Pumps supports Hills homeowners to set up their bushfire protection systems , offering guidance in pump selection and operation .
Aussie ’ s website has some excellent and informative videos to help you prepare for bushfire season .
Further information and free copies of Aussie ’ s Bushfire Survival Guide are available from your trusted Aussie Gold Distributor , or download from our website aussiepumps . com . au .
KURMOND
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Phone 4572 7549 www . parkleasandsoil . com . au
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 159 // AUGUST 2023 7