Most people know him for either his cricketing skills or his equally impressive cooking, but the story behind Jayaweera “Bundy” Bandara is also one of starting over to build a new life.

Bundy – who’s full name is Ganegala Walawwe Jayaweera Bandara – has been living in Warrnambool for 18 years since relocating from his native Sri Lanka and has become the cheerful, energetic force behind the popular FishTales Cafe, in Liebig St, where he is manager and head chef.

Since moving to South-West Victoria, Bundy, 43,  has also established himself as one of the best cricketers in the region and was earlier this year named as the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association’s Division 1 Cricketer of the Year for his consistent batting. (His batting average was 69.29.)

Cricket has been a driving force behind Bundy’s life since playing the sport as a school boy in Colombo, Sri Lanka. His precocious talent saw him earmarked as a potential Sri Lankan test player and also gave him the opportunity to play in Australia.

In his late teens, he was sponsored by the North Melbourne Cricket Club for the summer of 1989-90 and, the following year, he spent a season with the Footscray Cricket Club, where his team mates knew him as “Jaya”.

“I would be in Australia for six months and then return home and play there,” Bundy said.

Bundy’s cricketing career peaked in the early 90s when he played first-class cricket – one level below test cricket – in Sri Lanka for almost six years.

“Many of the Sri Lankan test players were my playing mates – we had nine players from the test team,” he said.

At the same time, Bundy was building a successful career off the field as a marketing executive with Bartleet Finance in Colombo.

Then, in the mid 90s, came one of those turning points in life when you decide to either keep following the familiar path, or try something completely different.

Having made some friends in Warrnambool during his cricketing trips to Australia, Bundy grew to love the city  – “it is so friendly, so lovely” – and so decided to accept a sponsorship to play for Dennington.

“I also decided to enrol in a cooking course at TAFE, because I wanted to become a chef,” he said, smiling.

“My first job was right here (pointing to the floor at FishTales), washing dishes.”

The former marketing executive and first class Sri Lankan cricketer found himself up to his elbows in soap suds, but it is this humility that has made Bundy such a well-loved person in his adopted home, where he is now very much one of the city’s personalities.

He and his wife Kylie, whom he married in Warrnambool in 2000, run a Sri Lankan Community group that welcomes Sri Lankans who have moved to the area and organises cultural events throughout the year. The group has also been involved in fundraising activities for underprivileged children in Sri Lanka.

And then there are the famous “curry nights” that Bundy introduced to FishTales, where locals flock to try the delicious flavours of Sri Lanka.

“At first people were a little unsure about the curries, but they try them and they are very happy,” he said, laughing.

The local cricketing scene is also smiling, but not because of Bundy’s cuisine. Instead it is his son, Dominic (one of three children), who is already showing signs of being a champion batter.

“He has just been chosen for the Victorian Under 12 team – the only boy from this area – so we are very proud of that,” Bundy said, saving his widest smile for last.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”]T[/dropcap]aking on the restoration of a bluestone cottage in a rugged coastal landscape may sound romantic, but it is not a task to be taken lightly.

Artist Ben Fennessy and his wife Helen, who writes, spent a year deciding whether or not to buy a ramshackle, rundown dump on five acres that overlooked the Belfast Lough at Rosebrook, near Port Fairy, and turning it into a home.

The historic bluestone cottage and assorted add ons and out-buildings had been on the market for five years – five years! – when the Fennessy’s happened upon it during one of their visits to Port Fairy from their former home in the Otways.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] I [/dropcap]t took a special vision to see the beauty beneath the ugliness of the place, which had suffered from a combination of poor building extensions, a lack of maintenance and a series of tenants that showed little respect for the property, if not outright neglect.

(The state of the house was summed up when the Fennessy’s later removed boards covering the fireplaces and found piles of dirty nappies).

“It was very, very rundown and fairly hideous when we first saw it six years ago,” Ben said.

“We walked away for a year, but we kept coming back to it in our minds, thinking that it had really great potential, but that it would take a lot of work.”

The extent of the task ahead was laid bared in an Archicentre report that, Helen said, “ran to several pages”.

“The roof was being held up by tomato stakes,” she said, laughing at the memory.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] U [/dropcap]nderneath all of the half-baked renovations, however, sat a sweet, four-room bluestone cottage that, despite all of its terrible makeovers, was as solid as the day it was built some time in 1856 as the engineer’s house for the local mill at Rosebrook.

“The original bluestone was actually in good nick, so we brought it back to that original footprint,” Ben said.

Over a two-year period, the Fennessy’s tore down a parasitic, 1970s extension at the rear of the cottage, restored the original cottage and added a magnificent big-windowed, light-filled space – designed by Warrnambool architect Tim McLeod – that overlooks the lough.

The result is a character-filled blend of the very old and the ultra modern – but the story doesn’t end there.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] B [/dropcap]en’s eye for the quirky has seen two more fascinating additions that, together, form a separate, self-contained living space for their daughter and ceramic artist, Clare Fennessy.

Clare’s lounge room, small kitchen and bathroom is housed in a pre-fab railway building originally from the Warrnambool Railway Station that, when Ben found it, was being used as a hayshed out in a paddock.

“Rosie”, as the railway shed is now known, snuggles neatly against an antique railway carriage that dates back to 1911 and was once used to transport refrigerated goods. It is now Clare’s bedroom, complete with a roof insulated by horse hair.

“I’d seen it sitting in a paddock at Illowa and so I approached the owners and asked if they wanted to sell it,” Ben explained.

“It was being used as a fertiliser shed at the time.”

With the property finished, and two alpacas installed in the surrounding paddocks to keep the grass down, the Fennessys need only enjoy the inspiring space: perfect for such creative souls.

  If you enjoyed this story, you might enjoy…

Colonial oven still makes a crust, Dunkeld

Secrets of an old shoe 

Restoring a treasure back to life: 222 Timor St Warrnambool

‘Glass’ house has a new beginning

By Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DDCE8D;”] T [/dropcap]o some people, the destiny of a sand plover sitting on a nest probably doesn’t mean all that much, but Bluestone supporters are different to most people.

We know this because of how they – perhaps including you – responded to our efforts to protect one small plover that had made the decision to nest in dry sand about 150 metres from the Hopkins River bridge, right where fishermen, walkers and plenty of energetic, beach-excited dogs like to roam.

In fact I was roaming when my big clodhopper shoe nearly wiped out the two speckled eggs that were so well camouflaged as to be almost invisible. (Mama bird was nowhere to be seen at the time: she had probably popped to the shops).

Thinking the eggs were abandoned, I admired them and moved on.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DDCE8D;”] T [/dropcap]he next day, however, I was roaming again (I do that a lot, in the mornings) and Mama bird was draped over the eggs like a woman wearing a feathery ball gown: and so the quest to protect “Pip” and her eggs began.

We thought this would involve no more than a visit to Parks Victoria who would be able to protect the nest by roping off the area and banging a few signs into the sand, just as we had seen at other coastal nesting sites around Victoria.

But unfortunately Pip’s GPS was off.

If she had nested on the actual foreshore, another 750 metres away, she would have been in the domain of Parks Victoria. Instead, she was in a sort of no-birds-land that, upon investigation, was found to be managed by the local council.

The council, unfortunately, was up to its neck with other things – things obviously much bigger than Pip – and was unable to respond with the haste that we had hoped.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DDCE8D;”] W [/dropcap]hile we waited for the cavalry to arrive, we made our own signs – from whatever we could find – and rigged up a very non-convincing fence using bits of old rope.

Days ticked by, during which Bluestone began to post “Pip” updates on its Facebook page and hundreds of people began to follow our progress, or lack thereof.

As the days turned into more than a week, we checked our fence and our signs and were constantly amazed that, despite some horrendous weather, both continued to hold.

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DDCE8D;”] W [/dropcap]e were also constantly amazed by how many of our readers wanted to know how Pip was faring – she was fast turning into a minor celebrity (although without an agent).

Last Wednesday – 13 days after Pip’s nest was first discovered – the council was finally able to stake out her nesting zone with string and wooden posts, and erect two serious-looking signs.

We have no doubt that the Bluestone FB page helped that to happen and just in time, as on Sunday (yesterday) the river was packed with people and dogs enjoying the first day of Summer.

 [dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DDCE8D;”]S[/dropcap]omething else happened over the weekend too.

Our first Pip-ette.

The second, we have no doubt, is not far behind and both Pip and her partner (Pat?) are sharing the nesting and chick-watching responsibilities.

Thankyou Bluestone supporters – we have made a small but important difference.

[box] Unlike many young birds, sand plovers are self-sufficient from the moment they leave the egg. They are not fed directly by their parents, but collect their own food (under the protective eye of Mum or Dad) and spend most of their time hiding in the sand dunes until they are old enough to borrow the car keys.[/box]

Do you enjoy Bluestone? Please subscribe so we can continue to grow.

If you enjoyed this story, you might enjoy… 

A little less conversation, a little more action

Windy? Let’s make the most of it!

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] L [/dropcap]ast week for our Quiet Hero we brought you the inspiring story of the Year 12 students from Bayview College, in Portland, who have chosen a fantastic way to celebrate the end of their secondary schooling.

Instead of spending “Schoolies” getting drunk and partying until their clothes start to shred, these Year 12 students have headed to Vietnam for “Schoolies with a Cause”.

They are spending their time not only exploring another culture so different to their own, but are bending their backs helping on various work projects at the Thanh Loc School.

This week, for something a little different, we decided to share some images from the Schoolies with a Cause Facebook page so you can see the students in action.

[slideshow_deploy id=’3096′]

What a great addition to your resume as a graduating Year 12 student – choosing to spend Schoolies helping out people less fortunate than yourself.

(And thankyou, again, to Katy Sullivan from the Pickled Pelican in Portland for providing us with our coffee and cake vouchers to give two of the key people involved in this project, Rod Stone and Nicole Reefman.)

 Read about more of our Quiet Heroes…

Pat McLaren and the silent terror

A winner for Woodford

United we stand – Wbool Uniting Church

Kylie Thulborn – pushing boundaries

The Drylies and creating art with kids

Susie Alexander fights cancer…and aims for a fun run 

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] D [/dropcap]o you remember growing up and reading a pile of adventure books that, as wonderful as they were, all featured characters from places other than Australia?

The Secret Seven, Mr Biggles, Treasure Island, Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, The Diary of Adrian Mole and even Harry Potter…all classics, but all British.

Today, however, there are so many terrific Australian young children’s authors and the personalities, history and culture of Australia are front and centre of the storyline.

For this week’s Bookmarks, Michaelie Clark, from Warrnambool Books, has chosen the latest in a series of hugely popular books aimed at young Australian girls:

[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] ‘ [/dropcap]The Our Australian Girl books have been hugely popular in the South West over the last year, and the newest collection is proving to be no exception.

With the fourth book in the ‘Lina’ set, A Lesson for Lina, recently released, the story of the young Italian-Australian girl who dreams of being a writer is now complete. As with the other Our Australian Girl books, Lina’s story is a fictional tale set in a real place and time in Australia’s history, with this collection centred around mid-1950s Melbourne.

(A Lesson for Lina is set in 1956 – any idea what event in Melbourne it might feature?)

Each of the collections (there are six so far) in the Our Australian Girl series is penned by a different author. The ‘Lina’ collection has been written by much-loved Melbourne author Sally Rippin, making it a stand-out in a stellar series.”

Ps. The Our Australian Girl series will have an equivalent series aimed at boys – Do you Dare? – that will be released early next year.

[box] Keep up to date with new releases and treasured classics from Warrnambool Books on their Facebook page.[/box]

  Catch up on our other Bookmarks …

The many faces of Nikki Gemmell

Buy a book for a child this Christmas: Bethany appeal

A long way from suet pudding

The Dressmaker still winning fans

Preserving Indigenous stories: Fiona Clarke