THE McLeay family moved to Swan Bay during the depression years.

They built a house on land owned by Mr Fred Lilley in Lilley’s Road where Ted and his brother Keith had horses.

The boys built yards to capture brumbies and break them in to sell them for pocket money.

Together Ted and Keith built a 27 footer, the “Barracouta”.

They fitted a Chev six horsepower engine, which they bought from the local Karuah baker Len Engle for £5.

Each year at the Christmas period a regatta was held at Mungo Brush.

Keith, with his mate Jacko Deakin, decided to take the “Barracouta” to compete.

For the main race it was decided to purchase a new two-bladed propeller from Laurie Simpson’s chandlery in Newcastle.

After completing the qualifying time of 12 minutes for the course Keith decided the boat went faster with the original three-blade propeller.

They went around the headland and changed the propeller back to the original three-blade.

The “Stella Maris” was the hot favourite for the event, owned by Phillips Melbourne Oyster Company of Oyster Cove, Port Stephens.

It had won all previous years.

So it was no surprise that Phillips’ boat started from scratch with the “Barracouta” starting from 12 minutes ahead.

“Bang” went the starter’s gun and they were off!

The race was on and to the surprise of all, the “Barracouta” crossed the finish line 15 minutes ahead of the highly fancied “Stella Maris”.

With the old propeller they beat their previous time by three minutes and were awarded the prize.

Regatta organiser Don Maslen took the boys into the office and complained about them beating their previous time.

Keith explained to Don what they had done.

Fortunately Don, who was a good friend, said he would pay them on the condition that they didn’t come back.

Ted, a welder by trade, also repaired and sold boats before he built the “Que Sera”, a 40 foot timber trawler at Thornton and launched her at Hexham in 1956.

The name “Que Sera” was chosen because it means “What will be, will be”, a popular song of the era and a reflection of the future uncertainty.

The locals couldn’t pronounce this so they called it the “Queer Sarah”.

Ted just smiled.

“She caught her share of fish and prawns,” he recalled.

Moving to Nelson Bay, Ted, wife Ruth and their Collie dog Tess lived on the boat until they built their house in Tomaree Street.

The young couple often sailed to Broughton Island where Jimmy “Kerosine Tin” Karageorgis was very kind.

On occasions Ruth and Tess stayed with Jimmy on the island while Ted was trapping.

Jimmy fed Ruth her first meal of octopus and fish roe.

Ted resisted the temptation.

Later Ted went set lining and became very friendly with the Mitchell family, especially Sandy Mitchell and his sons Clyde and Barry, owners of the “Eileen Sylvia”.

Sandy took Ted, considered to be a newcomer, under his wing and guided him on the right track of fishing – treating him like a son.

Some of the other local fishermen were not very helpful at all.

Sandy suggested Ted install an Echo Sounder, which he did for £700. There were only four echo sounders in the port at that time.

“The other locals will be asking you where the reefs are now,” Sandy said. Under Sandy and the boys’ guidance, Ted turned the boat into a Danish Seiner from which point fishing became profitable.

Always out to improve things Clyde Mitchell and Ted put twin gear on their trawlers (double nets).

Clyde discarded his, but Ted continued successfully using it.

It was considered that Ted’s boat was the first trawler using twin gear on the NSW coast.

After 10 years of fishing Ted decided to build a 60 foot steel boat to replace the “Que Sera”.

He firstly explained to master boat builder Reg Hyde, from Salt Ash, what he wanted.

Reg made a model boat with Ted’s measurements and design and later gave valuable assistance by completing all the woodwork in the wheelhouse and fo’c’sle.

From Reg’s model Ted built the “Matador” in Tomaree Street with help from old friend Rex Foster, who was a retired blacksmith, and Max Kellet.

The “Matador” was launched at Little Beach in 1966 and was called out on many occasions by local police to rescue boats including “Anna E” and “Shamrock” which had gone ashore or broken down.

Local police, under Sgt Rick Kane, had no ocean-going boat at that time and relied on the powerful motors in the “Matador” when emergencies arose.

Ted fitted a 671 GM diesel main drive, a 371 GM diesel to drive the winch gear and later fitted a 371 GM to drive the onboard refrigeration and power plant.

After 2 years working local grounds, Ted decided to go to Queensland for the winter prawn and scallop season.

Whilst doing a good deed for a man, whose boat was sinking, Ted supplied a stranger by the name of John Stewart-Moore with a mobile pump.

This man turned out to be the Managing Director of South Seas Fishing Company, a combined Australian and Japanese company.

John offered Ted a position of supplying prawns to the company in the Gulf of Carpentaria which Ted accepted.

By this time Ted had installed a V12 GM diesel which was capable of 500 hp.

One season Ted caught 20 tonnes of prawns in one day, which were taken to Thursday Island prawn factory for processing.

The trip took 18 hours.

Unloading was done over four days – 40,000 lbs of prawns at $1 per lb.

Returning to work out of Port Stephens for three years Ted sold the “Matador” to a man from Cairns who had the misfortune of wrecking her on Half Way Reef, Torres Strait.

Ted’s local deckhands included Alan Smith, Merv Russell, Kevin Glen, Jacko Davis and Steve Thompson.

By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE