Two Pearl Beach Residents Receive Life Membership Awards

At the General Meeting of the 1st February 2025 Paul Wickham and Greti Rieger received Perl Beach Progress Life Membership awards, in recognition of your outstanding contribution over many years.

They both received awards together as we never think about Paul Wickham without thinking of Greti Rieger as well.  Paul and Greti are a great team.

Paul was born and raised in Newcastle and as a teenager started work in The Woolstore while playing bass guitar in a garage band. He soon left for the bright lights of Sydney and worked as a roadie for a few moderately successful Aussie rock bands in the 70’s, which is where he learned how to dazzle the crowd with sound and lights and the occasional pyrotechnics, almost setting alight the stage on Countdown once. After a few years the slog of the road and the glamour of show biz wore off and Paul decided to further his education. But then he met Greti who first hijacked him on a tour around the globe. Upon returning to Australia in 1988, he got serious and went into the Public Service, first to the Navy, then to SBS and finally the Department of Health where he remained till his retirement in 2010. During this time he was always pursuing music, learning the saxophone and doing Arts and Science studies.  

Greti studied as a radiographer.  She always had an adventurous spirit and loved travel so it was inevitable that when she met Paul they would travel the world together.  And they continue in their travels in Australia and Canada in recent years.

Photo: Paul and Greti receiving the Membership Awards from Russell Grove

Paul and Greti discovered Pearl Beach in 2008 and instantly fell in love with the village, its environment, and the warmth of the locals. At an early Progress meeting, Frank Long, who was then running the entertainment system, held up a small black unit and asked if anyone in the hall knew what it was. Paul piped up ‘a graphic equalizer’. Frank replied ‘Come and see me at the end of the meeting’. With that Paul and Greti became volunteers for the sound and light system, and took over Frank’s role when he and Carole departed the village. They have been supported over the years by the generous help of many others, Paul Toohey, Gary Phillips, Phil Rich, Peter Romey, Ron Saunders, , and now Nigel Tisdale.

Paul always strived to get the best possible setup for the various events and a memorable presentation for the audience. He wanted to create a more professional sound and lighting system for the hall and with the help of Russell Grove was successful with a grant application to the Community Building Partnership in 2019. This resulted in a safety and energy efficient upgrade to the old electrical wiring, switchboard and LED stage lighting.  The installation and continued management has seen both Greti and Paul up ladders frequently.

So now that Paul’s ladder climbing days are numbered, he decided that it was time to concentrate on his first love again, that of music, and he has come full circle and is now learning to play the bass again.  Greti can now pursue her other creative interests, including photography.