A region as lovely as the Illawarra has many advocates, volunteers who work behind the scenes, devoting a lifetime’s service to the greater good. 

In Thirroul, one of those people is Murray Jones, who spent 20 years as the secretary of Thirroul Village Committee (TVC).

Murray stepped down at July’s AGM and, in summing up his time, told the Flame simply: “I did my best to do what needed to be done.”

In doing so, he’s upheld the legacy of Don Gray OAM, who – worried the town “was looking rather tatty” – called TVC’s first public meeting in 1991.

Murray is the sixth generation of his family to live in Thirroul and – thanks to research by Illawarra pub historian Mick Roberts – can trace his ancestry to 1870s settlers, including a Norwegian pioneer named George Whitford.

“He went to America in the 1850s, 60s, for the gold rush,” Murray said. “And then he followed the gold rush out here. The joke in the family is … he got off in Sydney instead of Melbourne.

“He started walking south, found this place, and a girl. He was a pastry cook by background, so he opened up some sort of bakery in Thirroul, actually where the Ryan’s Hotel is, on the corner. He became a timber getter; he got the contract to supply the piers for the jetty at Sandon Point and was paid in barrels of rum. So he started selling it.”

Ultimately – after a few run-ins with the law – this led to the establishment of the hotel we know today as Ryan’s. “Believe it or not,” Murray said, “he died of cirrhosis of the liver.”

Growing up in Thirroul

Thirroul was a great place for a child of the 1950s and 60s. Major developments were stymied by the area from Stanwell Park to Thirroul falling into a 10-mile green belt around Sydney, designated as part of the Cumberland Plan post-World War II.

Murray started work at the steelworks as a trainee in 1969 and studied mathematics part time at the University of Wollongong. He’s had a successful career in information technology,  including roles at major companies like BHP, Xerox and 3M, lecturing at TAFE and starting up three different software companies. “I got on the ground floor on it, if you like,” he said. 

Now 72, Murray has not got around to retiring.

“I don’t think I will whilst I enjoy what I’m doing. I still have a business with my sister, a company called Ecquate. We use life-cycle analysis to trace the environmental cost of products through their supply chain. It’s interesting work.” 

Teamwork keeps the town tidy

The past two decades of TVC achievements have been “a team effort”, Murray said. 

The TVC leads the beautification of Thirroul, removing graffiti, caring for gardens and planting trees. To a lesser degree, it is involved in development applications. “The other thing is to try to make people proud of the area where they live,” Murray said. “That’s quite easy to do in Thirroul, because it’s such a beautiful place.”

Murray only has praise for council’s efforts today. “To me, that council does a good job and the TVC is only too happy to deal with them.”

His first TVC task – convincing council of the time to keep a key laneway open – remains a personal highlight. “That’s the reason why I got involved in 2004. A public notice appeared in the Mercury saying that Kelton Lane will be closed.”

As Murray pointed out, “If that road is closed, then there’s only one way in through the northern suburbs.”

One car accident in the wrong place on Lawrence Hargrave Drive, as happened about a year ago, and everyone north of that point could have been cut off from the southern suburbs.

“To have a basic closure of a road in such a way that, in certain circumstances, they could lock up thousands of people in an area and they wouldn’t be able to get out – it was just absurd.”

Thirroul – the new Bondi

New developments south-west of Sydney will make our beaches more popular than ever, with Thirroul tipped to become “the new Bondi”, Murray said. 

“It has one of the best beach complexes for families in Australia. It’s got a big pool, a huge picnic area, which has never been open to vehicles.  The only event that’s allowed there is the Thirroul Seaside and Arts Festival.”

Keeping the grassy beach-front pristine – as it was when Murray got his first part-time job as a 12-year-old collecting pennies at the entrance to the Thirroul Beach dressing sheds – is one of the TVC’s successes. 

“We used to play barefoot football there when the surf was no good,” he says. 

Even today, you can sit under the Norfolk pines – planted in the 30s and 40s – and run across to the beach barefoot, without the fear of broken glass. And with a scorcher of a summer ahead, those trees are set to provide sweet relief.

“Those Norfolk Pine trees, they have a magic effect. It’s quite amazing. What happens is their complex leaves collect condensation overnight, and during the day, they basically drop cold air down. Immediately under those trees, it’s always cooler. With that natural air-conditioning out of the height of the tree, it’s a great place for a family to picnic.”

Murray won’t be lost to the TVC – he’s staying on as a member and a friend from Uni, Annette Jones (no relation), has taken on the secretary role. 

“We’ve got a good group of people who will carry it forward,” he said.