I am not quite sure when my my first meeting with Leo took place . I certainly met him long before Irene came to Dondingalong . I know that for a couple of years I had a neighbours on the south side with whom I had very little to do , a married pair living up by the road and the brother in law living down in the gully at the base of their block . Their housing was not much more than a shed with an attached tank , and a small shed at that , with a sort of outhouse used for a shower.

The block itself did have a wonderful view across the valley over the river , towards the very far distant aerodrome , and further beyond that to the blue of the ranges at the end of the Macleay Valley . The slope down to the gully that ran into my block was cleared , but the western end of the block was heavily bushed . At the lowest point there was a small intermittent creek that had been crudely dammed , but the dam was broken .

The one possible disadvantage of the block was that between the house and my block there had been dug a quarry , providing the base metal for the ridge road that ran past us . The rock from it was a variegated red , and the walls of the quarry were neither deep nor spectacular , but I always found them interesting to study any time I went past , either up along my boundary fence or when passing it on a visit to the shed .

That quarry became a bit of problem for the new owners later, as Leo was ambitious to build in it , but local government regulations were as usual in these matters , very obstructive .

I do remember seeing a khaki brown land rover style vehicle going past a couple of times , and then one day as I was up near our gate , it stopped and a lanky , short bearded man in khaki work shorts and shirt , with very practical boots , uncoiled himself from behind the wheel and came over and introduced himself . That was the beginning of a very fruitful acquaintance that lasted for the rest of our time at Dondingalong.

Leo was a remarkable man in many ways , as was gradually revealed over the years . He was first and foremost , as far as I could gather , a wild life photographer , who had emigrated here from Switzerland . I have a book given to me by a group of students , which was filled with his photographs , one book among many he was associated with .

As a greenie his qualifications were impeccable , for on several occasions as he arrived he brought trailer loads of young trees and seedlings , that he lined up along his driveway up to the shed , several lines deep . They came from hundred of pots that had taken up all of his Sydney backyard , and which had apparently extended into his Sydney neighbour's yard as well !

These he gradually planted out , beginning at the road boundary of his acreage , and working gradually westward down the slope . When he had enough planted there for his satisfaction, he began to work down into the bush at the bottom of the slope . That native was not disturbed , but a great many new trees were planted in among the older bush.

With only a large rainwater tank , fed from the roof of the shed and a small outhouse nearby , water was always a problem in their early times there . Since I was lucky enough to have a dam with a capacity far beyond my own needs , I was happy to let him run a pumpline from that to a spot that gave him easy access to watering the trees on his land . In return he saw to the watering of my orchard when I was away for any lengthy period . Co-operative neighbours are a blessing !

It has not been until recently that I have learned of his close association with university and museum groups for whom his qualifications , which he rarely talked about , must have been a great benefit . For somebody with his ability he was extremely modest.

Then , after an interval , I met Irene . She was remarkable in her own way too . Among other things she was a dancer , who was later to set up a dancing school in Kempsey. Of Polish parentage , I think , she spent a lot of time in Sydney with parents while Leo built up the greenery on their block . Between them they made a wonderful pair of locals whose company I enjoyed greatly , even though I did not see all that much of Irene .

Being up there on my own I was able to experiment with my cooking , and I remember being highly flattered when Leo complimented me on my use of herbs in my cuisine that I grew . I was often able to invite either Leo when he was there alone , or both of them when Irene came to stay , down to my place for a meal. Not that we ever took it to great excess , but since I was also into home brewing , I was able to ply any or all visitors with the results. The first batch of stout that I made was a fairly potent brew , which led to some interesting consequences .

The pair had come down in the evening for a meal . I recollect that we began with some pleasant wine , and very likely went on to a second bottle . Then I brought out a couple of bottles of the stout ( entirely the wrong order for the connoisseur , I know ! ) which led to a couple more and a couple more .....

I , of course , did not have to get home , and though it was not much more than about 350 meters back to their place they told me later that rather than go via the ridge road , they walked through the bush parallel to it . Not a difficult path , but there was need for considerable mutual support.

Then , some months later , I was gleefully informed that Irene was pregnant . It seems that the stout had done what stout is so often supposed to do !

Their first child was a delightful girl , both pretty and intelligent . A couple of years later , though unassisted by any of my brewing , a son arrived . After his first couple of years , whenever he came past with his mother on a visit , he was guaranteed to have a face covered with citrus juice , so I always referred to him as The Mandarin Kid . A lovely family altogether , and I have long missed them.

More about them next time .