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March 17, 2025

Newsletter for the Offshore Residents of Pittwater, Australia - Volume 26, Issue 1222

We acknowledge and pay our respects to the Traditional Custodians of Pittwater, as well as our Indigenous readers

Karmel Patterson at the wheel of the Scotland Island community vehicle

Vale

KARMEL PATTERSON (1945 - 2025)

On 23 February Karmel Patterson, former resident of Scotland Island, died. She will be remembered as an entertainer, SIRA committee member, community vehicle driver, ferry deckhand, controller of unruly children and a friend.

After many years of contribution to island life, Karmel became increasingly reliant on her fellow residents. Few islanders were more generous with their kindness and support than Cass Gye. Below, Cass recalls an island character who did so much to enrich our community.

Karmel (left), age 9, with her aunt Vi and cousin Lorraine

Karmel Payne was born in 1945. She lived with her parents, Rita and Bert, along with her sister Yarna, in Foamcrest Avenue, Newport. Her father contributed greatly to the Newport Surf Living, the RFS, Rotary and other organisations, and Bert Payne Reserve in Newport is named in his honour. The family subsequently moved to Ingleside, but sometime around 1974 their house burnt in the bushfires.

At age 17 Karmel went overseas on her own to visit her cousin in the UK. She then travelled extensively through Europe. Just a few years later Karmel married Douglas Patterson, but that union did not last and she returned to Ingleside to live with her parents. Karmel became an avid square dancer and champion Scrabble player. She also completed a course with Toastmasters.

Karmel arrived on the Island in 1971, in her mid-20s. She bought a house on Florence Terrace, near Elsie Steps. She lived there with her second husband Jim Clyne, and in 1983 they had a daughter, Heather. Sadly, Jim passed away some years afterwards. Karmel continued to live in her house on Florence Terrace until ill-health forced her to live on the mainland, where she went to stay with her daughter.

Karmel, aged 36

During her time on the Island, Karmel was involved in various activities. She was on the SIRA Committee and chaired a number of meetings. For her services to the community she was awarded life membership of SIRA in 2014. Karmel also graced the stage, participating in many plays and revues with the Scotland Island Players.

Karmel performed the duties of deckhand for Church Point Ferries on the Newport School run and was known to threaten to 'sit on' misbehaving boys. Some may still be traumatised! Karmel loved fishing and while working as ferry deckhand would drop a line in at Church Point between runs. On at least one occasion she caught a decent pan fish.

Karmel also became a community vehicle driver and took the weekend shift, taking over on a Friday at 5pm and handing the vehicle to the next driver on Monday morning at 9am.

Karmel was fiercely independent and had a fully equipped van in which she would take off from time to time. She loved fishing and visited many spots up and down the coast. Her mother moved to Queensland after her father passed away.

Karmel was well known for her stoicism, carrying large bags and bottles of water from Tennis or Eastern to her home. In the early days another room was built onto the house, but the amenities were not really adequate and there was no water connected. The community helped run a pipe from her water tank down the side of the building, filled the tank with emergency water and installed a tap just near the front door to provide this necessary commodity. There are many other stories of the community helping her out on various occasions.

Karmel’s ashes will be scattered on the water near her sister’s home on the Central Coast.

Cass Gye

Karmel fishing while working as a ferry deckhand. Lewis Walker is clearly impressed.

Cass is not the only offshore resident to remember Karmel with fondness, as was evident from the many comments left on Facebook in the wake of her death. Here is just a sample:

She was an island legend and one of the characters who made life here special. Her revue performances will never be forgotten and she was an ever-willing community vehicle driver for many years. (CB Floyd)

Karmel singing at Scotland Island's bicentenary celebration, September 2010

Karmel lived down the road. I will always remember her blusteryness on the school ferry when our kids were young. Karmel dressed in black leather on stage at an island theatre production, making everyone laugh, and her jovial laughter as she paused to share a story, puffed out halfway up Eastern Steps with her torrent of bags... She had a hard life. I hope she finally finds her well-earned rest. (Juliette Robertson)

For me she was the embodiment of island life: overloaded backpack, a stout tree branch for support and her love of freesias when they bloomed in spring. RIP Karmel. (Jane Rich)

Karmel was a unique character and performer. Always said the LGBT community would have loved her at “The Albury”! A real island identity and a true individual. Vale Karmel, so nice to have known you! (Beth Jessup)

Karmel performing at an island comedy night, November 2016

Karmel was our neighbour for our first few years of island life. She was smart, resilient, vulnerable, acerbic and softhearted all at once. Hard to really get to know, but easy to love once you did. I hope she
finds peace over the rainbow. (Sabrina Antoniou)

She certainly did things her own way. (Sam Collins)

We knew her, Jim and Heather from when they had the two huge German shepherds in the early 80s. I used to deliver the Sunday papers to them. What a character! RIP Karmel. (Matt Blackwood)

Vale Karmel. Your hard life brings tears to me, and yet you always had a smile and you were always up for a chat. Your Scotland Island Players reviews were legendary, particularly the one with Heather at five years of age. (Karin Krueger)

Karmel Patterson ran a tight ship on the school ferry! Very fond memories. (Jennifer Knox)

Karmel Patterson, the perennial crowd pleaser. Nov 2016

I was just remembering Karmel this morning with Graeme Richmond, as we sat in her spot on The Amelia K. It was always in the middle of the outside seat behind the driver's cabin. (Alison Uren)

I treasure memories of Karmel and Joey working the ferry together. Joey was so cheeky at Karmel’s expense, Karmel with a pithy rebuke often had the last laugh. What a character! And such a great example of expression, strength and resilience for us islanders. (Karen Burns)

I have memories of her on the ferry with our kids. She always amazed me how she carried that huge backpack up Carol's hill. (Melanie Marshall)

A beautiful, amazing woman. (Michael Kneipp)

A celebration of Karmel's life

Many offshore residents will have a story to tell about Karmel Patterson, and you will have an opportunity to share yours at the Island Café this coming Sunday, 23 March (see poster below for details).

A gathering to celebrate Karmel's life will form part of the coffee morning. It will be facilitated by Emmie Collins, with photos and videos collated by Bill Gye. If you would like to share additional material relating to Karmel, or have stories to tell, please come along.

In the meantime, here's a story from islander John Travers, as recounted in Water Access Only: More Tales & Adventures from Pittwater (an anthology of stories by locals).

'Emmy My Love'

Karmel Patterson was a long-term resident of the island and was well known in the community. It would be fair to say that she was a bit of a character, somewhat on the eccentric side. Karmel was married to Jim.

Jim was a butcher, badly out of condition, obese with gout and a heart problem. He used to commute to work by ferry and every evening would get off at Eastern Whart and struggle up those long steep steps leading to Florence Terrace.

He was unable to make the trip in one go and got into the habit of resting at the lamp post halfway up on the left-hand side. He decided to call the pole 'Emmy' after Karmel's grandmother, a woman he was rather found of. He would arrive in the evenings, open up his arms and exclaim 'Ah, Emmy my love' and hug the post to support himself whilst getting his breath back before continuing. One day he happened to have a felt tip pen in his pocket, and he drew a heart on the pole. Inside the heart he wrote the words 'Emmy my Love'.

Jim died about 35 years ago.

If you go down to Easter Wharf, the pole, now abandoned, is leaning over at a bit of an angle. If you push your way through the undergrowth, you can still see the heart and make out the words 'Emmy my love'. The reason it is still so legible after all these years is that every so often Karmel would go down and gently touch it up with a Texta. The reason she did this, according to Karmel, 'is so that the words won't become lost, and it helps me to remember Jim'.

John Travers