Two Things To Live By

2020 has forced a lot of people to slow down and reflect on life’s big choices. 

Do I even like this house? Do I like the person I stare at while chomping cereal every morning? What about my frail and nervous jerk of a pet cat, have we ever really got along? Out of all the dirt on this earth, why have I chosen to live here?

For surfers Creed McTaggart, Noa Deane, and Neal Purchase Junior, plus anyone else who lives in Country NSW, the answer to that last question is easy. 

The region became popular amongst surfers fleeing Vietnam war conscription and the ambitions of the cities in the late 60s and early 70s. A steady stream of surfers, hippies, and colourful characters soon followed, filling the many small communities that hide amongst the coastal hills and enjoying the natural beauty and world-class waves.  

It’s an area of Australia well known for its ‘alternate thinking’—a term often used as a euphemism for mysticism, superstition, pseudoscience, and a general disregard for evidence-based reasoning and expert opinion. In other words, there’s a lot of charging crystals on the full moon and not a lot of time for the scientific method. 

In this small pocket of the world, the jury remains out on widely accepted truths like the credibility of vaccinating kids and the safety of 5G mobile towers. But there are two areas of scientific consensus that have been reached. 

The first is that the quality of the points, back-beaches and thick east swell has made this one of the most desired places in the world for a surfer to live. Secondly, the many iconic old pubs, whose only change over the decades has been the collection of patina-rich character, are some of the world’s best places to have a beer with your pals. 

We’ve partnered with our friends at Coopers Brewery, Creed McTaggart, cinematographer Mikey Mallalieu and filmmaker Toby Cregan to put these two theories to the test in ’Spring Blues’. 

Creed and pals at home exploring their backyard is the second of two videos in this series. If you missed ‘Highway Blues’ check it out over here.