With a high-profile job anchoring the ABC's 7.30, Leigh Sales is used to bright lights and big names. But her early life was set among the burning-hot bitumen and above-ground pools of Bald Hills, Brisbane.
I grew up in Keperra and Bald Hills. In the '70s and '80s, when I was a kid, Bald Hills still felt very much like living in the country. You could see a dairy farm from the verandah of the primary school. We lived in a small three-bedroom house, until mum and dad followed that old Australian tradition and put on an extension, making it a four-bedder.
In that era, your parents didn't want to see you again until it was getting dark. For fun, we used to ride our bikes around the neighbourhood, non-stop basically from the second we got up. We used to like playing cricket in the street as well. Nearly everybody had an above-ground pool - in-ground was luxury - and in summer, we barely got out of our togs all day. I still remember sore feet from running across the lawn and getting bindies, or running across the bitumen road on a hot day and getting burnt feet.
For a special night out, we would go to the Double Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant at Strathpine. That would maybe be once or twice a year. We also used to occasionally go to the drive-in at Boondall or Aspley. Mum and Dad took my brother and I to the triple Star Wars bill when Return of the Jedi came out.
We would buy groceries at Strathpine and I remember it was a really big deal when the Westfield Shopping Centre opened. I thought it was huge at the time but by comparison to today, it was absolutely tiny, just a couple of rows of shops really. I also remember when the Hypermarket opened at Aspley, that was huge.
Nearly everyone I knew went to either the local state school or the local Catholic school. The boys over the road went to St Paul's but other than that, I didn't know any children who went to private schools. When I started, Aspley State High had a fairly poor reputation but then a new principal arrived and it really picked up a lot. I thought it was a great school; I had an excellent time there. I'm still friends with many people with whom I went to school. I love my friends from school, they're the best people.
I took drama as a subject and we used to get cheap tickets to various theatres in Brisbane. I particularly remember La Boite always had great shows. I never thought of Brisbane as a cultural backwater and it used to annoy me when people said that. Although, I guess compared to Sydney or Melbourne, it was true. It didn't feel like it to me though - I was stoked to be able to see any live shows. The first concert I ever went to was the Michael Jackson Bad tour at the Boondall Entertainment Centre. Pretty good concert to have as your first!
I know I sound like a total square but I didn't ever really go nightclubbing. I didn't like the scene. But while I was at QUT, Friday's and City Rowers were the places to be. I lived at home during uni and I wasn't involved in any campus activities. I was there to study and otherwise I was at my part-time jobs: teaching music (piano and organ), playing at weddings and working in a hairdresser.
My first big journalism job was at Channel Nine in Brisbane. I was so absolutely thrilled. I learned so much working at a television station. It was interesting to have the front row seat to what was going on. Wayne Goss lost his premiership when I was a young journo and that was amazing to watch.
I think Brisbane helps keep me in touch with what average Australians think about things, not just rich people who live in inner-city Sydney. I'm there all the time. All my family is still there, and every time I visit, I feel like I'm at home. It feels like my stress level drops right down.
I love seeing my friends and sitting on their big back verandahs and catching the afternoon breeze. I love it when my boys can hang around with their cousins. It's a great city, I love it and I get cranky when people in Sydney say, "I could never live in Brisbane." I think, "shut-up you wanker," which is a very Queensland thing to think.
But coming from Brisbane is probably going to give me some issues with skin cancer later in life. All that time playing outside in the Queensland sun! I look 45 but truth is I'm only 22, I'm just weatherbeaten.
I get cranky when people in Sydney say, 'I could never live in Brisbane.' I think, 'Shut up you wanker," which is a very Queensland thing to think.
- Interview with Katherine Feeney
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