Garratt's Autobiography Part 1
2/3/2026
A historical perspective of my life written by me, Garratt Campton. First memory age 4.
Well, I did say in my first post this blog was going to be self-indulgent... so why not do an autobiography? This, for me, will also be a memory tool. A test to dig back and recall past events.
Summertime in the 70s & 80s in Byron Bay were beyond magical. It was a full-blown hippie town, much like a mini Woodstock every day of the week. Half-naked stoned surfers, transvestites, junkie musicians, Rastafarians, and everyone in between. Booze, weed, LSD, mushrooms, heroin and pills galore. The main hangout spots were the park, the beach and, for some, the pub. Cheap surf shops, clothes, fish and chip shops galore. Nowadays it's much the same, albeit everything is inflated 200x for tourists, and the people who made it great are long gone. Replaced by multi-millionaires, backpackers who were sold the dream that existed 30 years ago and families on holidays.
The Robinson Family
The earliest thing I can remember: Suffolk Park, 1982 Christmas holidays. I was 4 years old. Suffolk Park is about a 10-15 minute drive south of Byron, the beach south of the lighthouse. It was completely empty, void of tourists except for the caravan park at the southern end of the beach, which was mostly permanent locals anyway. When I was young my mother and father would frequently visit PJ (Phillip), Jenny, and Lorrie Robinson for holidays: Easter, Christmas, July.
PJ (my mum's ex) had built a brick house in a new estate (1200sqm) right on the beach. It was a two-storey building with the upstairs being a loft. A large archway made of brick was a feature on the front of the building and I was in awe that a man could build such a magnificent house himself. It had large windows that bled into the natural surrounds and a charm that felt like it belonged there.
My potential future wife
Lorrie was 1 year older than me and I adored the heck out of her. I remember riding up and down the vacant street on our bikes and into the ground levels of half-built homes. We learned how to catch flies by clapping above their bodies when they landed. We would spend hours upon hours making the biggest drip castles in the sand on one of the best beaches in the world. We always said that we were going to be married when we got older... as kids do. But we lost contact when her parents divorced around age 8 and then my parents divorced a couple of years later. The last time I saw her was at a market in Brisbane when we were 16. She was as beautiful as I remember, an absolutely stunning natural blonde goddess draped in a white sundress and black docs.
The reserved one
I was a very quiet, reserved kid. My mother told me later in life she felt like that was potentially my dad's fault and he agreed, telling me to think before I spoke or scolding me for yelling, running around and being a kid. I'm not sure there's much truth to that; sometimes kids are just quiet observers. But I do remember I always felt like a dumb kid. School never made sense to me and I was always at the bottom of the class and lonely at lunchtime.
In grade 5 during my parents' divorce my teacher wanted to keep me back a year as I was struggling badly at schoolwork. My mum fought with my teacher and the principal during a meeting and they ended up letting me continue on.
Strange memories...
A few of my friends and I used to give each other blowjobs at age 4-5. I'm not sure why or how, or who discovered it first. But we figured out it felt amazing, and would spend ages pleasuring each other between playing with blocks or hide-and-seek and tag. I don't remember much of my childhood, so I'm unsure why those memories stick out in particular. It didn't feel wrong or like we were going to get in trouble, so I find it odd that I even remember. I guess I just really love blowjobs... This experience didn't last long; I think within a year we just stopped doing it. Perhaps we were caught by parents and told not to do it again, or perhaps we just grew out of it.
My first/second/third/fourth girlfriend
My other memories from age 4 are of Paddington kindergarten. I had my first official girlfriend there (not counting Lorrie; perhaps she was my second if Lorrie was my first). We would spend all day together playing, and at nap time would always put our cots together so we could sleep next to each other. Although she was special to me, I don't remember her name without looking at my class photos, and it's been very many years since I've seen my kindy pics. I'm not sure they are even still around.
We lived on Hale St in Paddington, Brisbane city and I had a cattle dog named after "Grover" from Sesame Street. There was a little cubby house out the back that my dad had built and a birdseye chilli bush on the side of the house. I remember once I ate a bunch of them and was screaming in pain for mum, who thought it was too hilarious to help me with haste. At least it seemed that way to my 4-year-old brain who needed the pain to stop instantly.
The birth of game addiction
It was a short walk to Caxton St Pizza and Arcade. Dad would take me up there frequently and that is where my love for video games began. We would spend ages playing the new arcade machines before getting pizza or fish and chips from the local shops. We had to move after plans for the Inner City Bypass were announced. Every house along the western side of the road was bought up by the government and demolished. We lived on the eastern side, but as it was turning into a freeway, it was time to move.
Thomas St, Red Hill was our next house. It was closer to school, and right next to the Patrinos' fish and chip shop and the Red Hill Skate Arena. I went to kindy, primary, and high school with Kostantinos (Kosta) Patrinos. His parents, and two older bros were an institution in Red Hill. The fish and chip shop always had a few arcade machines, and tabletop games, and so did the skate arena, so growing up I would frequent them.
Ithaca Creek Primary School
In Years 1 and 2 at primary school the kids would always play catch and kiss. While a lot of the boys hated getting caught I would always be deliberately slow or trip over or hurt myself to get caught and kissed by Simone, Serena, Jackie, Jay and a few others. Yes I was the biggest 5-6-year-old slut, but I was also very much attracted to girls.
I remember my classmates and the fun we had in class. Most of my kindy went to Ithaca, but then the primary school kids were split between The Gap and Kelvin Grove State High Schools after graduation.