Lyn McGettigan
Memoir, entertainment and performing arts, humour
Lyn, one of three children, was born in the city, raised in the bush, in Glen Innes and Baradine. Her father was in the Forestry Commission and her mother was a nurse. She was educated at St Ursula's, Kingsgrove, then graduated from Bathurst Teachers' College.
The work ethic of her parents, the rough and tumble of country life, then challenging teaching in 'difficult 'country and city High Schools, equipped her well for her life in pubs.
In 1971 Lyn met Brian the Publican at The Penshurst Hotel. Their first hotel together was the red-brick, suburban Union Hotel at North Sydney, folllowed by Sheila's- a unique, new entertainment concept, then McGettigan's, where an under-age disco brought together the teenagers of Sydney.
Tatts Tavern at Penrith was a tough pub. Never a dull moment, fondly remembered.
A tree change to The Lake Jindabyne Hotel, a huge entertainment venue showcasing Australian and International bands. Then her last hotel, The Kincumber on the Central Coast, where she was greeted by a warm caring community.
Lyn led a parallel life. After gaining her Hospitality qualifications at Ryde TAFE, 1985, and from Cornell University, she taught and trained Hospitality students throughout NSW, in clubs, pubs TAFE and UNSW. The slogan, "No More It's the Law" is the lasting result of one training session in Jindabyne.
She fulfilled a childhood dream when she graduated from UNE in 2001 with a BA in Archaeology (Aboriginal) and Palaeoanthropology and worked with the Indigenous mobs on the Central Coast.
Her three children, Danielle, Kate and Brian, lived and survived through this life and have followed her into Hospitality.
As she passed through the bar-room door for the last time, Lyn knew there were too many good stories to go untold.
She is divorced, writing, and enjoying life with her friends, family and grandchildren, and consulting in the Hospitality industry.
