Tag: Australian stories

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Books By The Beach: Asha’s Story Part Two at Kirra Beach

Kate Kelsen

Welcome to Kirra Beach, the second last stop on my Books By The Beach tour! It is hard to believe it is almost over!

The small rocky headland Kirra Point separates Kirra Beach to the north and Coolangatta Beach to the south, and is noted as one of the world’s premier surf breaks. In the past the surf break was known for producing high quality barrels. Today sand pumping across the Tweed River has filled it in and changed its character.

The Quiksilver Pro, an event on the World Surf League, is often contested at Kirra when the surf is not contestable at Coolangatta.

 

There’s variations on what the word Kirra actually means, but some believe Queensland Aborigines named it after a boomerang. Which makes sense as Kirra wraps evocatively around the bend separating Coolangatta and Kirra beaches and in front of Kirra Hill. Surfers flock to Kirra bend for its world-class breaks, and Kirra has also hosted the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro surfing competitions.

One of the Gold Coast’s most laid-back beach destinations, the suburb is home to Kirra Surf, which surfers consider the one-stop shop for surf gear. Like it’s neighbouring Tugun, Kirra is not a place you’ll find glitz and glamour, with plenty of weatherboard beach shacks still standing among the burgeoning apartment scene. The iconic Kirra Beach Hotel has been trading for more than 50 years.

In this post I am sharing with you my book Paid To Dance: Asha’s Story Part Two.

Three years after daringly stepping into the world of stripping, Asha has left The Runway, the club that made her an exotic dancer, to make a fresh start at at rival venue Mademoiselle’s. Here she is faced with a whole new set of challenges, including an interstate adventure to Melbourne’s glamorous strip club scene. Asha’s personal and professional lives collide in unexpected ways, in the lead-up to the grande finale of her stripping adventure.

PLEASE NOTE: At the end of this video there is information about purchasing the Paid To Dance books on Amazon/Kindle. My books are not currently available on Amazon/Kindle. Instead you can download a free PDF of the first chapter of Asha’s Story Part Two HERE: Paid To Dance Asha’s Story Part Two excerpt

Sexy Womanh hold hands and fingers on legs in fishnet stocking posing

I hope you have enjoyed your time with me here at Kirra Beach. Last stop- Coolangatta!

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Books By The Beach: Asha’s Story Part One at Bilinga Beach

Kate Kelsen

Welcome to Bilinga, the thirteenth stop on my Books By The Beach tour!

Bilinga is close to the Queensland/New South Wales border to the west and has the Pacific Ocean to the east.

Bilinga

The word ‘Bilinga’ is derived from the word ‘Bilinba’, meaning ‘bats’. The name was adopted in 1918 as a place name for Crown lands north of Coolangatta.

Bilinga was located on the Nerang-Tweed Railway line and, after the Crown Land auctions, a rail siding was approved for the site in 1919. By 1923 the nucleus of settlement had formed when Percy Henzel opened a general store near the rail siding.

By the late 1920s, the new coastal motor road improved access to the area for holiday makers and residents.

The drowning of a man on Bilinga Beach in 1937 led to the establishment of the Bilinga Surf Lifesaving Club in 1938.

The Gold Coast Airport is located in Bilinga. Despite being situated in Bilinga and across the border into Tweed Heads West, New South Wales, the airport is also known as Coolangatta, presumably because Coolangatta is better known than Bilinga.

In this post I will be sharing with you about Asha’s Story Part One, the second installment in the Paid To Dance series.

Inspired by a true story, Paid To Dance: Asha’s Story Part One tells of one young woman’s experience working as an exotic dancer in Brisbane, Australia. After a shaky transition into the workforce, eighteen-year-old Asha Graham takes a job at The Runway, a prestigious gentlemen’s club in Brisbane City. During the first two years of a five year journey, Asha’s life is changed in a number of ways, as she learns the ropes and adapts to the often harsh conditions of her chosen profession.

PLEASE NOTE: At the end of this video there is information about purchasing the Paid To Dance books on Amazon/Kindle. My books are not currently available on Amazon/Kindle. Instead you can download a free PDF of the first chapter HERE:

Paid To Dance: Asha’s Story Part One- Chapter One

cover-image-draft-ashas-story-pt-1

I hope you have enjoyed your time here in Bilinga with me. Only two more stops to go! See you next time at Kirra Beach!

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Books By The Beach: Paid To Dance at Currumbin Beach

Kate Kelsen

Welcome to Currumbin Beach, stop no.11 on my Books By The Beach tour!

Stretching from Currumbin Creek in the north to Wyberba Street in the south the area is easily identified because of its headlands that project into the beach. At the beach front, Elephant Rock and Currumbin Rock enclose a discrete surf beach. Currumbin Alley is a popular surfing site formed on the bar of Currumbin Creek, particularly for longboards.

Currumbin me

Samuel William Grey wa the first European to acquire land in the area. The first hotel in 1910 overlooking the mouth of Currumbin Creek. During this period tourism and industry significantly increased in the beach side and valley areas of Currumbin, and many of the houses at Currumbin date from the period of later subdivisions in the 1920s. The area also contains a number of ‘fibro’ beach houses.

Generally the area contains more natural vegetation than other areas of the coast due in part to the difficulty of building on the steep hillsides and in part to the presence of the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary- a long-standing icon and landmark at the Gold Coast. The Sanctuary comprises a substantial area of land on both sides of the highway adjacent to Flat Rock Creek.

In 2013, Currumbin was named Australia’s cleanest beach. At an award ceremony at Coogee Beach in western australia, the national organisation Keep Australian Beautiful crowned Currumbin with the prestigious title.

In this post I’m sharing with you about the Paid To Dance series.

Spanning three books, the Paid To Dance series provides a comprehensive insight into the stripping industry, from its origins to its modern day evolution.

The first installment, Stripping Past & Present, is a collection of stories from women who have worked as exotic dancers in Australia and overseas.

The second and third installments, Asha’s Story Part One and Part Two, focuses in on one young woman’s experience working as an exotic dancer in Brisbane and Melbourne.

The series was published between 2016-2018, after many years of ongoing research and writing.

PLEASE NOTE: At the end of this video there is information about purchasing the Paid To Dance books on Amazon/Kindle. My books are not currently available on Amazon/Kindle. Instead you can download FREE PDF Excerpts in the coming posts.

I hope you have enjoyed your time here with me at Currumbin  Beach. Next stop, Tugun Beach!