Joanne Dunn

Joanne Dunn

We met Joanne several weeks ago when she was taking a break from her usual routine of walking the dog and going for a dip. We’ll let Joanne tell us her story:

My husband and I travelled from New Zealand in 1987 to join a close friend of my husband’s who had chosen to make Bondi his home.
At that time, our first home in Sydney was a bedsit in Ramsgate Avenue opposite Bondi Beach which was where our bond with Bondi Beach began.
Within two months, we had decided to go to a house auction just to see how it went and we ended up walking out with the winning bid.
In hindsight, I would say the hope of a better future was what brought us to Australia.
Both our daughters were born at Paddington Royal Hospital for women. And they both were raised and educated in this wonderful beach side community.

What has changed in Bondi in the last 37 years?
House prices, parking, people driving badly with no empathy towards others.
To some it up in one sentence, people aren’t as patient as they used to be.

The day we met, yes I intended to go for my usual ocean dip.
However on that day, I stopped walking with my husband and told him to go on ahead while I sat thinking about our visits to the beach in the future.
Realising that my ability to do the one thing that I’m free to enjoy doing, walk our dog at Bondi Beach and then take a dip in the ocean was going to gradually stop happening [having been diagnosed with a] terminal illness.

Until that happens, I will see you at Bondi Beach tomorrow.

We look forward to it.