Lindsay Crofton Memorial Message

Published: October 27, 2022

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to the Coolum Beach Surf Club for allowing us to have Lindsay's Memorial here today and the support they have given me over these last few weeks. I would also like to give a very big thank you to Ernie and Anthony for their support and help in putting this together, so thank you.

I would like to say on behalf o myself and our son, Jack, welcome and thank you for coming to Lindsay's farewell and the start of his next mega adventure. By scattering his ashes today, he will be able to travel the world as he was planning to do in his retirement, he just won't be blogging about it with history and quizzes.

 

Lindsay Alan Crofton was born 11th May 1959 at Nambour General Hospital, the youngest of five. He considered himself a local even though he left the area as a baby and moved to Brisbane with the family. He grew up in Stafford, went to Stafford Heights Primary School and Everton Park High School. His love for the beach began as a toddler when his family Christmas holidays were spent camping at the old Kings Beach Caravan Park. His love continued into his teens when he would come up most weekends and surf at Pitta Street. He also developed a love for motorbikes, going to the Moto GP when it was held in Bathurst NSW. Riding down with mates and camping. Some of them are here today.

 

We met in March 1983 at the Breakfast Creek Hotel beer garden and 9 months later got engaged and married in 1985. Now looking back on our life together it was one hell of a ride moving around for work opportunities. Lindsay was working for the Brisbane City Council when we met. Then he got a job with the Hydro Electricity Tasmania in 1984 on the west coast, in charge of the batch plant for the dam wall face of two dams. First at Tullah, then in Queensland. We stayed five years - with a motor cycle tour of China and Mongolia thrown in for his first overseas trip. The King River dam was the last hydro dam to be built in Tasmania.

 

We found ourselves on the move again, this time for me to work in Ashford, Kent, UK to get my Midwifery Certificate recognised. Lindsay worked at a construction company - Tarmac - as a civil engineer building hotels across the country. He then ended up in Kuwait after the first Gulf war, working alongside Red Adair putting out the oil fires by building water catchment dams and roads to the fires. He was there for nine months. One night at 3am he rang as he had access to his boss's satellite phone to say 'hi' and listen to this... I heard a whoosh and then boom. They had found a hidden artillery bunker of Saddam Hussain and were firing off rocket launches for fun.

We stayed three years. We then spent the next 8 months travelling through Europe in a camper van. It was the thing to do back then; for Australian's relying on the 'BIBLE-Let's Go'. Lindsay being the war history buff, we spent a lot of time following anything that had to do with World War One and Two throughout Europe. After travelling we came home to Australia via America - backpacking for three months and seeing the sights. Once again, anything to do with a ware and we were there.

 

On arriving home, we decided we needed to be grownups and settle down. We bought a house in Oxley, Brisbane, but found ourselves on the move again. This time to Cooma, New South Wales for Lindsay's work for the Snowy Mountain Electricity Co - SMEC - in charge of the laboratory. He was asked to move to Sydney to do the same thing. We lasted the ski season, and he declined the offer to move 'home' to the Sunshine Coast (remember he thought of himself as a local). We arrived in 1994 and bought our current house in 1995.

Lindsay had a career change and studied to be an Advance Care Paramedic, which saw us once again on the move to Bundaberg. But the call of the coast was strong, and we returned after eight months. He graduated as a Paramedic and his love for surfing reignited. 

 

In 1997 we welcomed our son Jack. Lindsay was so proud that day and continued to be until his passing. Lindsay joined the Surf Club in 1998 and remained a clubbie till the end. Along the way he won a Gold Medal in the Qld State Titles Masters Surf Boat Rowing in 2010. He held many positions over the years, but Surf Boats were his favourite.

 

Towards the end of his working life Lindsay became a fly in, fly out mines rescue paramedic/mines firefighter/ mines drug tester and security guard, working at various mines in Western Australia and Queensland. Every time he came home if he wasn't at home, you would find him at the beach/Surf Club or travelling in Australia or overseas.

 

In his retirement the travel bug didn't stop. He backpacked around the USA following the Civil War trail, Eastern Canada, Mexico and Cuba for eight months. Who can forget the blogs, history lessons and quizzes? His latest adventure this year was to Peru, and again the blog, history lessons and quizzes.

 

So, let's now say farewell to Lindsay on his final and never ending mega adventure where he can travel the world to all the places left to be explored that he intended to do. 

So, Lindsay, thank you for sharing the last thirty nine and a half years with me and for the gift of our son Jack.

Farewell and happy travels.