by Greg Martin

So, I tossed a coin!

After interviewing Les Sheather to get a yarn about this fascinating bloke, I was torn between whether his story belonged in My Other Life or My Favourite Place.

Astute readers have already figured out which side of the coin landed face-up!

To say the Hawkesbury City Council Mayor has had an interesting life is like saying John Wayne could ride a horse!

Les has packed a lot into his 76 years in what he proudly calls“ paradise”. And

through it all, he’ s never shied away from hard yakka, earning a quid in all sorts of jobs. A true jack-of-all-trades, he’ s been a farmer, labourer, builder, concreter, feral animal culler and even a soldier his number coming up in the June 1970 National Service lottery.

A passionate water-skier, he’ s been heavily involved as both competitor and official. Away from the coalface, his interests have always rested squarely in shooting and waterskiing— and he excelled at both.

Les first strapped on skis at age 13. He went on to tackle 14 gruelling Bridge to Bridge races, snagging a few minor placings before hitting the jackpot in 1984 with victory in the two-up, six-cylinder boat class. His regular driver, brother Jeff was at the wheel that winning year. And, as they say, retire when you’ re on top. That’ s exactly what Les did in water-ski racing.

Still fit as a Mallee bull, Les continued recreational skiing until he turned 70 and remains active behind the scenes as a long-serving member of the Bridge to Bridge organising committee.

His shooting story begins even earlier. Les has been taking aim since age nine.

The Sheathers lived at Ebenezer— parents Everett(“ Snow” to everyone) and Beryl, with children Michael, Jeff, Susan and Steven.

“ Dad gave me my first gun

when I was 10— a single-barrel shotgun— and he taught me the importance of safety,” Les said.“ In all the trips I’ ve been on since, no dramas no one’ s been shot!”

Young Les used that shotgun to bring home rabbits and ducks, not for fun, but to help feed the family.

“ Dad and a few mates were often invited out west near Coonamble to cull kangaroos, and I got a leg-up at age 10,” Les said.

“ Each year after that I went bush. About five years ago we switched to culling pigs— they’ re in plague proportions out there. Crikey, those sows can have 13 or more piglets two, sometimes three times a year!”

Now let’ s wind the clock back to young Les.

Born in 1949, he attended Ebenezer Primary and Richmond High, leaving in 1964 with his Intermediate Certificate.

His first taste of real work came with a council contract crew cleaning flood ways and creeks across the Hawkesbury.

“ I never shirked work— I put in as hard as anyone,” Les said.

“ At the end of my first week, the boss handed me my 20 pounds wages, then slipped me another twenty, saying the first lot wasn’ t enough for the work I’ d done.” That work ethic never left him. When that job wrapped up, Les joined Bill Paul’ s Portland Head orchard, working citrus and vegetable crops.

“ It was a great life experience,” Les recalled.“ I became a jack-of-all-trades and learned heaps about engines, which has

Les and Michelle Sheather on the wedding day, March 2, 1970. The couple tied the knot at historic St Thomas’ Anglican Church, Sackville.

helped me ever since.” Les left the orchard in June 1970 after being called up for National Service.

He completed three months basic training at Wagga, where he proudly earned the Outstanding Soldier Award.

“ I loved the bush and hard yakka, so the training suited me down to the ground,” Les said.

His service included time at the School of Military Engineering at Liverpool,