Diane Campbell
There wasn’t a Santa cap in sight when Bungalora (NSW) resident Derek once again spread his Christmas cheer along the Ocean Way at Coolangatta Reserve.
As he spruiked to the passing joggers, dog walkers and skateboarders on Christmas morning, there was no ‘Ho Ho Ho’ just a very Aussie: ‘Free sausages. Get one into ya’.
Supported by his wife and teenage daughter Indiana, with his in-laws visiting from Narrabri looking on, Derek spent his holiday with others in mind.
The Telstra employee has been handing out his free Christmas sausage, complete with bread, onion and sauce, for the past two years – and Christmas morning 2018 was no different.
He greeted those he recognised from previous years and was up for a chat with anyone who wanted to.
Derek cooked around 100 sausages from local butchery B & C Meats and handed them out to perfect strangers.
At the end of the morning, any left were taken to the Coolangatta Surf Club’s beach hut as a welcome early lunch for the volunteers.
When the idea first came to Derek he was thinking of the homeless. But he doesn’t discriminate: this year the recipients included an Adelaide couple on the coast to visit family.
‘I like doing something for others at this time of the year and when I get back home I reckon I’ve earned a few soups,’ he said.
Although a lot of passers-by declined Derek’s offer, he’s not deterred and has plans to return to the foreshore on Christmas Day 2019 with his special brand of goodwill.
Onya Derek.
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