Kenny the Croc

Kenneth Leslie Skinner died peacefully in Mossman Hospital in September. He was 73. However, Kenneth Skinner was better known as Kenny the Croc, the Port Douglas Crocs mascot for many moons. Kenny would lead out the team in his croc suit and hi-five them onto the ground. He was also a favourite with the kids. Kenny and kids got along so well he took a personal interest in their sporting future through the Port Douglas Junior Crocs AFL Club. It’s estimated he raised $100,000 or more when he started a regular raffle at the Central Hotel. “Kenny was a passionate supporter of our junior crocs and continually raised funds to ensure the kids of our community not only played AFL but all types of sport” said Craig Mitchell, the President of the Port Douglas Junior Crocs AFL Club “Kenny was the catalyst and binder that formed the Junior Crocs great relationship with the Central Hotel patrons through our regular Saturday raffle, he was one in a million” said Mr Mitchell. Kenny was always offering unique suggestions on ways to raise money and was never afraid to put in the hard yards for the club.

Kenny was a great dancer too, his dance moves at the Central Hotel to whatever music was being played live was legendary. Many a tear was shed at a celebration of Kenny the Croc’s life at the Central Hotel. Kenny’s family has confirmed he died of Melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. It was only a freak accident while away with his cousin Terry Grant up near the tip of Cape York, that revealed the worst. “We were walking on a beach when Kenny stepped on a shell which brought about a heal reconstruction and that’s when they discovered he was in trouble,” said Mr Grant. His cousin asked us to mention the cause of death in this article to remind people to have regular skin checks “If Kenny had of had a check-up ten years ago, he could still be alive today, but men and skin checks don’t seem to go together unfortunately” Mr Grant said. Deaths in Australia by Melanoma in men is almost double that of women.

Kenny Skinner will certainly be missed by the community, who have lost a great advocate for all junior sport and a bloody good bloke.

Chippy remembered

54-year-old Chris McMullen or ‘Chippy’ as he was known in Port Douglas, was a true soldier of fortune who had a handshake you could trust. Chippy was your genuine Aussie good bloke who loved the Far North and the people who live in it. But now he’s gone, and his many friends say the world is a lesser place for his passing. Chippy died from what’s believed to be heart failure after not feeling well in the weeks leading up to his death. He complained to mates he was having a few chest pains but thought things would come right. They didn’t and now friends and family are mourning a man who made everyone around him feel better. His sister Lisa told me that Chippy loved Douglas and it was as if he’d lived here all his life.

Chippy had a couple of watering holes, but the Barrier Reef Tavern was the place you could always track him down if need be. Regulars at the pub were shocked to hear the news of Chippy’s passing and one of his best mates, local tiler George Schreiber told Newsport “Chippy was dry, different and a one-eyed supporter of the Parramatta Eels, so it wasn’t much fun watching the footy with him” he said. A big celebration of his life was held at the Barrier Reef Tavern to farewell this extraordinary man. Once again you blokes pay a visit to the doctor if you’re not feeling well. You may die to regret it.

Chinese whispers

I love history and can’t get enough of it. The Douglas Shire has so much history. One story I loved researching and writing about was back in March. I already knew that the Chinese of the far north did so much in those early days of Douglas, but I never knew that Port Douglas had its real-life Chinese hero in the late 1800’s.

His name was Pang Ah Way from Mossman, who ran several businesses in Port Douglas including a butcher shop and general store. He was also naturalised and a wealthy landowner. Pang was a go getter and a man of the people despite many challenges.

Unfortunately, there’s no pictures of this remarkable man, but Newsport can sure paint a picture of the character of Pang Ah Way.

In the late 1800’s up to the turn of the century there was a lot of anti-Chinese sentiment despite the fact they occupied a huge part of the local population. The 1886 census notes that Chinese made up 40% of the total population of Port Douglas. Chinese were almost two-thirds of the district's entire population, but white folks weren’t all that tolerant.

In 1901 the Mossman Mill even prevented any Chinese from owning shares in the mill and paid them two shillings less per ton for their cane. Thankfully they scrubbed that racist rule seven years later in 1908. That disturbing information can be found on a small plaque in the triangle at Mossman that’s meant to be a reminder of the Chinese contribution to the district. Most people in the Shire or visitors to the region wouldn’t even know it’s there.

While many Chinese men had jobs on the goldfields and owned and worked in cane plantations, became market gardeners, cooks, tailors, even watchmakers, it was hard to rise to any sort of prominence.

Ah, but Pang Ah Way did. He came to Cairns from China with his two brothers, married Jane Goodwillie, an immigrant from England on the 20th of August 1890 in Cairns and the couple settled in Port Douglas.

He worked hard and parlayed his money into two thriving businesses and land. Chinese merchants like Pang Ah Way had a reputation for business integrity and generosity. Banks were known to lend large sums of money to them without security, as repayment of the loan was certain. Their names often appeared prominently in lists of donations to charity. While Pang was a clever businessman, he also had a social conscience.

One of the first acts of the new Parliament following Federation in 1901 was to pass legislation that restricted non-white, non-British immigration. The Immigration Restriction Act 1901 became the cornerstone of a policy aimed at keeping Australia white, what we now refer to as the White Australia policy

Pang was a highly educated man who could speak and write English fluently, a community leader and philanthropist and much loved within the Shire, despite the fact the wider Chinese community at the time had a tough time with racism. But he was not one to hide his light under a bushel. Pang Ah Way wrote a letter to the local Port Douglas Customs Officer stating that laws introduced by Government were racist and unfair. Pang pointed out deficiencies in the regulations that were causing hardship to his fellow countrymen and women trying to travel to and from China.

We don’t know when Pang died, and his final resting place is a mystery. This reporter did a walkthrough of the Port Douglas Cemetery in search of his or his British wife’s grave, but with no success. He may well have been taken back to China as many wanted their remains to be sent there for spiritual and traditional reasons.

Wave to Dave

Meeting Local businessman Dave Imgraben, the Director of NorthBreak Developments Pty Ltd, was a highlight. I love people with passion and Dave has it in bucketloads and although it was only a chat for one hour over coffee, he left a lasting impression.

Dave is not one to blow his own trumpet or seek the limelight, in fact just the opposite. You could say he desperately wants to be low profile. It’s not going to happen of course because he’s the man behind the proposed $300 million Port Douglas Wave Park and with that comes massive publicity and extreme scrutiny. A mutual friend suggested I meet this high flying, but preferred below the radar entrepreneur, over coffee in Port Douglas. Being a stickler for time myself, I was impressed he turned up almost to the second for our meeting at the Whileaway Bookshop and Cafe in Macrossan Street. He was casually dressed in a Billabong top and shorts. This man is a long way from a suit and certainly no blow in.

The early years

Dave first came to Port Douglas in 1987 which was the same year Christopher Skase built the Sheraton Mirage. Of course, at that time he didn’t have the same dosh that Skasey had but he was certainly starting to parlay his wealth.

Dave Imgraben was born in the South Australian town of Peterborough, 250k’s north of Adelaide. Since the settlement of Peterborough in 1870, the railways have been incredibly important to the district, with the town being the crossroads of Australia, linking North, South, East and West. In 1880 the lines linking Port Pirie and Adelaide were opened, followed by the line to Orroroo to the north, and finally Broken Hill/Silverton to the East and the NSW border. Dave’s Dad had originally moved here from Germany for his new life working on the railroad and a great adventure for the family in this town filled with steam and smoke.

Of course, Dave was in a huge hurry to get out “I didn’t really want to follow my father into boiler making, so as a young man I headed to Adelaide to attend Pharmacy School” he said. Once qualified he worked in the big smoke for six months before heading to Townsville. While there he kept travelling the 411 km’s up to Port Douglas for pleasure but finally bit the bullet and arrived here in the late 80’s to become the local Chemist. “I set up shop at the Saltwater Building in Macrossan Street although it was called Pandanus Plaza back then” he said. But, while happy to dispense his potions, the entrepreneur was starting to show and his first building project was Parkview in Mudlo Street followed by Macrossan House, a 4-star apartment project in the main street. His large-scale monopoly set was starting to grow.

In the year 2000 he left to raise a family on the Gold Coast, but his heart was always in Port. He returned in 2012 for a short stay and hasn’t left. Another thing I learnt about Dave is the fact his ego takes a back seat when he talks about Port Douglas and his dreams of seeing it become a better place. His eyes light up when he talks about the Wave Park and what it will do for the town, its locals, and visitors. Yes, a very impressive individual and I for one would love to see that Dave’s Wave Park become a reality.

A very safe and happy holiday period as we look forward to 2023 and those wonderful positive local stories to come.