SUZANNE: Hello Bianca. I remember when we first met at the 2018 Woody Point AGM. Like me, you were new to the Bays. Even though our chat that night was brief, you struck me as a young woman who was aspirational, vibrant, clever, and different in some undefined way. It seems that impression was pretty close to the mark. But I still know nothing about where you came from or what you did before settling in the Bays. Could you please fill us in?
BIANCA: Hi Suzanne, thank you for asking me for this Q&A. I honestly thought you were calling to interview Brent! However, I am humbled (and somewhat perplexed) for the opportunity? experience, and I apologise in advance if I bore any of your readers.
I was born in 1978 in the small suburb of Putney in Sydney’s inner west. In the same year, my parents started a hospitality recruitment agency in their home garage and were also gifted with a Spoodle they named Rudi. Rudi was my best friend for 15 years.
I went to Putney Public School until 1989. My favourite part of school was when Rudi escaped the house and found me, barking outside my classroom and sometimes being allowed to sit under my desk after licking everyone to death, much to the delight of the class.
I was a very active kid, and an early riser and only child. I loved the outdoors and was a total tomboy, preferring BMX, tree climbing and mud fights to wearing dresses and playing with Barbie dolls.
At the age of 10, I started at Wenona a (then) very small all-girls school. Soon after, we moved to Mosman and later, Fairlight. I was pretty shocked to find that there were no boys to play with at my new school. I struggled in the classroom, so I immersed myself in playing sports before and after school. Swimming, hockey, softball and skiing were definitely my favourite sports. Mum and I started the school’s first ski and snowboard team back in the ‘90s. With as much training as the Jamaican bob-sled team, we were ‘unbearably slow’ but I was convinced we were It, and admit I had a slight swagger in my 13-year-old step after that!
After the HSC, I commenced a Visual Art degree at Sydney College of the Arts. I loved art but didn’t want to be at uni – it was a weird parallel universe where I felt like a total fraud and imposter against my truly artistic peers. I deferred after one year with the hollow promise to my mother that I would return for a ‘taste of the real world’, as one student put it.
I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I needed to start somewhere. So took a job as an admin assistant in Channel 9’s accounts department. I soon realised the position was a great platform, as I got to know every production manager in Channel 9. With no qualifications or training, I had to work my butt off to stand out and was stoked to be offered a job on the then iconic ‘Getaway’ show. I then went on to try various roles on a handful of productions before taking the leap into freelance production work.
I cut my teeth over the next 14 years on over 20 productions. I have been so fortunate to work under some of the most amazing mentors, I lapped everything up. I was so impressed by them, and loved learning and upskilling. The freedom and constant change of the freelance world became a perfect fit for me. Even when I was having the time of my life on one job, I loved knowing it was going to end … and excited for the next opportunity. Looking back, the unknown and fear of rejection at every interview was kind of thrilling to me.
Besides a strong work ethic, my parents also instilled in me the travel bug. For my first solo overseas trip I was instructed by my mother that I had to get a one-way ticket so that pressure of time wouldn’t interfere with opportunities and experiences. Then, to her horror, a few years and trips later I almost gave up my career to chase the eternal winter and become a professional (and no doubt very happy) ski-bum after a few way-too-much-fun ski seasons in Canada and the US.
In my early 30s, I lived in Bondi for a hot minute after joining a local triathlon club and spent the next few years, riding and/or running and swimming seven days a week. I tired of the road-lycra quickly and became a little obsessed with ocean swimming. The Sunday Ocean swim race series on the Northern Beaches eventually drew me back to my spiritual home, where I always felt a true connection.
By my mid 30’s I still had no idea know what I wanted to do or be when I grew up but had a growing attraction towards a minimalistic off-grid life, to lessen my carbon footprint and, on a personal level, slow down and declutter my life of ‘stuff’ to clear my busy mind. But to be honest with you, I wasn’t sure I would ever achieve it…
And then, in 2017 at the age of 38, I met my soon-to-be husband Brent. Brent grew up in Bayview and has been a resident of the Island and Lovett Bay for over 25 years. I was living in a rundown old shoebox on Manly’s prestigious Bower St overlooking my Nirvana, aka Cabbage Tree Bay. It didn’t take very long at all for Brent and me to fall in love. Brent the Pirate was a diver (amongst many other talents) and I had spent most of my 30’s pretending I was a mermaid in the big blue, so we seamlessly bonded over water, protecting our environment, and adventuring.
In 2018, Brent and I decided to make it to official, start a family and – in the footsteps of my parents – start our own family business, Taylor’d Marine Services trading as Broken Bay Barges in our ‘garage’, aka Brent’s boat.
Our business model was ethical vessel disposals – to clean up the waterways of derelict vessels and provide boat owners an affordable alternative to dispose of their vessels, rather than sink them when they are no longer of value or have been issued a removal notice by Maritime. We have lobbied government regarding clean-ups and vessel recycling incentives, and were in involved in the Maritime Transport for NSW End-of-Life Vessels Issues Paper. This submission dealt with the imminent dilemmas that timber and fibreglass vessels will have on landfill and our environment in the very near future as these vessels’ lifespans are coming to an end. Okay, okay, I will stop on that note … it’s hard to get off my soapbox once I get started on this issue!
So, we pulled all our money together and bought an old dumb barge near Forster and spent every weekend for a month sanding and painting it to bring it back to life. We named it ‘Bruce’ and pushed it with Brent’s tinny before we bought ‘Bradstow the pusher’. We were frequently asked if we could offer a to-your-door-delivery service to Scotland Island and the Western Foreshore, so we then bought an ex-military 4×4 Unimog with crane, and a Skid Steer Loader. While over-water transportation isn’t what we initially set out to do, it brings us great pleasure to be able to adapt our services to our community while we continue to tackle the big issues behind the scenes – and hopefully one day make a real change to our marine environment.
I eventually joined Brent full-time onboard The Pelican and in 2020, our little Pirate, Ocean joined our water world. Ocean has become a familiar face in the community. He is sociable, loves the water, boats and trucks, and is our little ray of sunshine. I love seeing the world through his eyes, and giving him this unique upbringing on the water surrounded by such natural beauty and our inspiring offshore community.
SUZANNE: Wow. You’ve had such a full life already, and it’s not even half over. Ok, question time, please Bianca. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
BIANCA: Perfect happiness is when I am wrapped in the warm or cold embrace of the big blue as the sun starts to rise over the horizon. There is no tomorrow and no yesterday. Just this perfect moment. I am totally free.
SUZANNE: What is your greatest fear?
BIANCA: Missing out on life experiences and opportunities because I said ‘no’ out of fear, and fear that I/we are not doing enough to help this planet for future generations.
SUZANNE: What is the trait you most dislike in yourself?
BIANCA: I struggle to vocalise boundaries.
SUZANNE: What is the trait you most dislike in others?
BIANCA: Unaccountability for one’s actions.
SUZANNE: Which person (living or deceased) do you most admire, and why?
BIANCA: Oh gosh, I admire so many people, I couldn’t name just one. Individuals who are making positive change in their community, for our environment. My family, my best friends from school (since we were 10 years old), my husband, caregivers, educators, humanitarians, individuals who make sacrifices for complete strangers. This world is brimming with admirable people!!
SUZANNE: Which person (living or deceased) do you most despise, and why?
BIANCA: I definitely despise people’s actions but I don’t despise any one person. Everyone has their own story, their own personal and generational trauma that they probably aren’t even aware of that could be the root of their despicable behaviour. In saying that, anyone who takes advantage of another human to benefit themselves on any level deserves an uppercut and should be forced into some kind of therapy so we can collectively break the cycle of despicable people … idealistic huh!!
SUZANNE: What is your greatest achievement?
BIANCA: Hands down, little Ocean
SUZANNE: What is your greatest regret?
BIANCA: Saying ‘no’ too many times out of fear.
SUZANNE: Which talent would you most like to have?
BIANCA: The skills to play and create music.
SUZANNE: What is your motto?
BIANCA: My motto has changed through the ages:
At age 7: I love everyone
At age 17: Bomb the mainstream (thinking I was so original sneaking out to raves and actually making change in this world by analysing everything that’s wrong with it in between losing my mind to techno bangers until the sun rose!!!)
At age 27: Everything in moderation, including moderation (I obviously kept the party going, although I turned the volume down a notch as I was now moonlighting as ‘adult’)
At age 37: Life isn’t a dress rehearsal.
And as of last Monday: No one is getting out of here alive, so we may as well have a good time!
SUZANNE: I was going to ask one more question but I’d rather finish on Monday’s motto! Thanks so much, Bianca. It’s been an absolute pleasure speaking with you.
Note: This Q&A was adapted from Antionette Faure’s 1886 questionnaire. It was made famous by its first contributor, Marcel Proust, and is now known as the Proust Questionnaire. Of course.