‘CAPTAIN’ Peter Beattie is being remembered as a talented chef and entrepreneur, leaving quite a legacy on Swan Hill during his time in the town with his ownership of the Riverboat Restaurant on board the PS Gem.
Mr Beattie, who passed away at the end of last year in Hervey Bay aged 79, was a former Swan Hill resident who was renowned in the area for his sense of humour and welcoming nature.
Longtime friend and renowned figure himself Colin Cameron remembers meeting Mr Beattie when he first came to Swan Hill in 1975, when Mr Cameron had just purchased the 3SH Radio station.
“He realised I was on my own as I was camping at the main caravan park in my parents’ campervan, and he befriended me and we were close friends ever since,” Mr Cameron said.
Mr Cameron shared some of the stories and memories that he experienced with Mr Beattie, who was quite the character and his scallywag nature was adored by all who knew him.
Before he made his way to Swan Hill, Mr Beattie was a well-known TV chef, performing alongside legends such as Don Lane and Bert Newton, which led to him quickly grabbing attention as a flamboyant chef.
With a wicked sense of humour, Mr Beattie twice found himself in front of magistrate following false advertising claims on his restaurant menu.
The first instance was when he was advertising wild Mallee pig on his menu, however Mr Beattie argued “Your Honour, wouldn’t you be wild if you were about to get your throat slit?”.
On the second occasion, Mr Beattie was believed to have broken the law which prohibited the sale of snakes on restaurant menus in Victoria, but unfortunately for the magistrate Mr Beattie was prepared.
“Your Honour, the snakes didn’t tell me if they were from Victoria or New South Wales” said Mr Beattie, with both of the above charges thrown out by the magistrate following the defense put up by Mr Beattie.
When he wasn’t defending himself in court, Mr Beattie was serving up dishes which were uniquely Australian with Mr Beattie once requested to cook up a feast for a distinguished crowd at the 1988 Miami International Boat Show.
The guests were treated to a menu that featured yabby tails wrapped in bacon, damper, roast jolly jumbuck as the main course, with pavlova for dessert, which was then followed by billy tea or coffee.
Mr Beattie was well known for his witchetty grub soup which if legend is to be believed, he used to pay the local children to retrieve the witchetty grubs from the banks of the Murray River.
Another interesting story is when Mr Beattie was a stunt rider in the 2003 film Ned Kelly, however Mr Beattie soon found himself in trouble with the camera operator when it was discovered he was wearing his brand new watch.
Quite the larrikin, Mr Beattie was one who would drop anything to help a friend in need, and residents who were lucky enough to meet Mr Beattie during his time in Swan Hill are sure to have fond memories of the man.
