LOCAL LIFE
HAWKESBURY ’ S FINEST ... The Dennis Family
Thirty-one-year-old Michael has “ magic in his hands ” and operates his own highly successful business , Precision Cabinetry . Breeding ! A good sire and dam can always produce quality offspring – think of the Raper , Thornett , Mortimer , Ella , Fox , Chappell , Hughes and Waugh siblings !
Mens sana in corpore sano – Latin for “ healthy mind in a healthy body ”.
The Dennis children obviously had that quote drilled into them by their parents , as they all passed that test with flying colours !
All five Dennis offspring showed ability across a range of sports during their schooldays and through to adulthood , in particular , David of course , and Amy who excelled at tennis , representing Combined High Schools and in cricket as a handy batter and skillful bowler . Ok , let ’ s get back to the sire and dam ! John grew up in Maitland , and after leaving Maitland Boys High with his HSC , gained his teaching degree at the Newcastle College of Advanced Education . Little wonder his and Mary ’ s children were good at the sport caper . John , a skillful medium pace bowler , represented NSW Combined High Schools in cricket for three years and after moving to Sydney was good enough to play for Northern District , and also captured three Hawkesbury District A Grade premierships with Richmond .
He also pretty handy at rugby union
The Dennis family has plenty to smile about ! This photograph , taken before the children learned to fly and leave the nest , shows John and Corey packing down in the second row behind ( l-r ): Michael , David , Mary , Matthew and Amy .
and his skills at that game and cricket carried over into coaching – in fact three young cricketers whom he coached went on to great heights in the game – Steve O ’ Keefe , Peter Forrest and John Hastings . “ My first teaching posting was to Collarenebri Central School up in northwestern NSW , a K-Year 10 school where I taught for three years ,” John said .
“ I then had a posting back to Sydney , teaching industrial arts at Asquith Boys High for a year and then onto Richmond
High in 1978 where I remained until retiring in 2014 .” John said .
Where he was joined on staff in the late 90s by Mary who had also gone into teaching at Narrabri and then Colo High before switching to Richmond High where she taught home economics and industrial arts .
The couple met in 1976 and married in 1978 , but once the children started to come along , both agreed that Mary take a break from teaching to be always on hand for their children . Much as her grandmother and John ’ s mum , Betty !
“ John and I were in total agreement on that move and we ’ re both delighted with how all our lives turned out ,” Mary said . “ We ’ re so proud of our children ’ s accomplishments and how , in turn , they are imparting the same guidance to our 15 grandchildren .”
Yep , John , Mary and their children are the Real McCoys !
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Suitable for business related storage with new heavy duty 150mm thick concrete floor
Unit sizes range from 66m2 – 165m2 with some limited 15m2 units
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Contact 0418 957 294
735 Windsor Road , Box Hill NSW 2756 02 9627 5775 sales @ kls-sandstone . com . au www . kls . sandstone . com . au
THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au HAPPY NEW YEAR ! ISSUE 176 // JANUARY 2025 7