For 20 years Jamie Durie threw everything he had into building an empire that spanned the globe, but today the celebrity gardener is staring down the gauntlet of a Supreme Court decision that could end up costing him more than $1 million.
A fortnight ago Justice Michael Slattery found largely in favour of Durie's former business manager Mike Curnow, who sued Durie – the former stripper-turned-television personality – after Curnow's services were terminated in 2013.
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Durie, who was partially victorious over a claim by Curnow for commissions on work brought to Durie by other agents, disputes that he would be facing damages of more than $800,000 as claimed by Curnow. Costs are yet to be determined with a directions hearing due next month, though after a 3½-year legal battle and some of the most expensive lawyers in the country, final costs could be another $800,000.
Durie was reluctant to discuss the judgment when PS called this week, though he did express his disappointment at the finding and that he had been targeted "because I have a public profile ...that guy has made millions out of me over the years".
![Australian horticulturist and television presenter Jamie Durie.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/g/a/o/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gydm4g.png/1505514345178.jpg)
Durie, who said he "was always prepared to pay my staff, the dispute was over how much" also said he had paid his own substantial legal costs, which could be as high as $400,000, unlike Curnow whose lawyers had taken on his case "on spec".
![Mike Curnow](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/g/a/k/k/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505450021427.png)
Mike Curnow. Photo: Lyn Mills
Curnow confirmed his legal team had taken on the case on a "no-win, no-fee basis", and countered Durie's comments to PS: "I made millions for all of us ... I am just glad the court found that a person should be paid for the work they do."
The legal battle unearthed several revealing chapters for Durie, including details of a $500,000 loan he sourced from millionaire businessman and former Macquarie Group boss Bill Moss in July 2010 to keep his empire afloat. Durie had to convince Moss to give him an extension on the 18-month loan, awkwardly telling him: "I know I have also made some bad decisions about buying assets, like Avalon … I've been caught short and embarrassed."
Moss agreed, while Durie has continued to support his causes, including his daughter Natalie Moss's annual charity fundraising event The Chocolate Ball.
![Jamie Durie, Natalie Moss at the Chocolate Ball.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/g/a/m/k/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505447994926.png)
Jamie Durie, Natalie Moss at the Chocolate Ball. Photo: Ken Leanfore
With all the stress, it's no wonder Durie has found inner peace in recent months among the bucolic green hills of Byron Bay where he has become a regular at celebrity meditation guru Gary Gorrow's star-studded retreat.
"I went simply to find more balance and walk down the little path of self discovery ... Each day was spent digging a little deeper into my partially painful past until all was revealed and resolved," Durie wrote on Facebook in June."A ceremony that taught us to drop the ego, clear out the demons, open the heart and fill the space with forgiveness, compassion and kindness. There were tears from a room filled with courage and sometimes fear and in the end we walk away feeling completely clear."Hands down the most significant spiritual awakening of my life and long overdue."
Hats off to Peggy
For nearly 80 years the late Peggy Crawley was a lover of thoroughbred horse racing, a passion that also inspired a love of millinery.
Last month, at the age of 91, Peggy died, leaving behind a treasure trove of dozens upon dozens of hats, in all shapes, sizes and colours, neatly stacked in their boxes around her Coogee home and representing decades of fashion trends.
But it was only a hint of how truly special Peggy Crawley was.
![Sydney racing identities Cecily Backhouse, left, and the late Peggy Crawley.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/h/o/q/s/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505448487138.png)
Sydney racing identities Cecily Backhouse, left, and the late Peggy Crawley. Photo: supplied
Peggy had been buying hats for race meetings ever since she first wore one to Warwick Farm as a nine-year-old in 1935. She would often travel the countryfor various race meetings, usually buying a new hat for the occasion.
She entered the legal profession, one of the trailblazers for generations of female lawyers who followed.
It was her legal background that resulted in Peggy taking on the Australian Jockey Club (AJC) in Randwick over its ban on women becoming full members.
It was Peggy who took the AJC board to court, telling the ATC Heritage Centre in 2015 that she had personally served papers on the AJC directors when she caught them at their regular Friday-night drinks at Randwick, having dodged her for weeks.
She eventually won the battle and was among the first women, along with her lifelong friend and horse owner, former District Court judge Cecily Backhouse, to be fully recognised as members at Randwick in 1982. This course once had an infamous yellow line separating women and men in the betting arena, lest the females interfere with the male punters heading towards the bookies.
As the Herald's racing stalwart Max Presnell told PS: "Some of the punters were like white pointers on the kill, surging towards the betting area. The green coats [attendants] kept a watchful eye to make sure the women didn't cross the line ... it was a different era, and it was a very silly rule. Peggy was the one who challenged the status quo of women in racing."
While Peggy's legacy on Australian racing is much deeper than her extraordinary collection of hats, PS understands the hats are going to several good homes, including Sydney fashion stylist Lydia-Jane Saunders, who hopes to see some of the headwear given to Opera Australia and NIDA.
Indeed a fitting tribute for such a pioneer.
Slow clap for Ernie and Elaine
It's going to get a little noisy in Macquarie Street on Thursday night, with a few howlers competing in the 25th Annual Ernie Awards for Sexist Remarks at Parliament House.
Ernie's founder, Dr Meredith Burgmann, said there would be a capacity crowd of 340 "cranky" women at the celebratory dinner, with this year's theme "Wonder Women" in order to celebrate a female Dr Who and other "small achievements" along the way.
"We thought we might be celebrating a woman US President and a woman UN Secretary-General but hey, a female Dr Who is still great," she enthused to PS, admitting that she still found it extraordinary that the awards existed a quarter of a century after they were launched.
Hot favourites for this year's awards include former minister Matt Canavan for blaming his mum over his citizenship.
![Senator Matt Canavan, the now ex-minister for resources and northern Australia, nominated for an Ernie for](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/i/k/x/a/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505332929103.png)
Senator Matt Canavan, the now ex-minister for resources and northern Australia, nominated for an Ernie for "blaming his mum". Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
John Laws gets a nod for making women who work for him wear skirts, on which he said: "I just love women … and I love them to look feminine … and to me a skirt on a beautiful body is a very, very feminine thing."
Barnaby Joyce is a contender for replying to Emma Alberici's solicitous comment about his skin cancer removals, telling her: "Got home late last night and my wife beat me up."
Cricket Australia is on the list for demanding women cricketers vouch they are not pregnant when signing a contract.
Senator Malcolm Roberts for saying: "When … is a wolf whistle harassment? It depends upon the person. Some girls think that that's wonderful ..."
Keysar Trad for his comment: "Using violence against women is a last resort for men who have already tried to appease their wives by buying them flowers or chocolates."
Victorian Judge Christopher Ryan for calling a 14-year-old sexual assault victim "nubile".
Kings Cross figure John Ibrahim for writing in his biography The Last King of the Cross about his business partner Margaret Staltaro: "Margaret is like a wife, without the sex or the cooking, or cleaning. Just the arguing and nagging".
![John Ibrahim's](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/2/e/k/z/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505448953922.png)
John Ibrahim's "wife" comments earn him an Ernie nomination. Photo: Fairfax Media
And it's not just the men up for awards, with this year's "Elaine's" contenders including Bronwyn Bishop's response to the HRC report into sexual harassment at universities: "A good old wolf whistle. Gosh, I remember the days when that was a compliment. Where have they gone?"
Margaret Court for saying: "Tennis is full of lesbians".
![Margaret Court sparked outrage following her homophobic comments.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/k/f/h/3/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1504511935100.png)
Margaret Court sparked outrage following her homophobic comments. Photo: Vincent Thian
And last year's winner Pauline Hanson for her objection to paid parental leave: "They [women] get themselves pregnant and [the government will] have the same problems they did with the baby bonus, with people just doing it for the money."
SPOTLIGHT
Throughout the 1960s, '70s and '80s, beautiful leggy blonde Simone Troy was one of Sydney's top showgirls, mesmerising audiences not just around the racy bars of Kings Cross but across countless pubs and clubs throughout suburbia and regional Australia.
![Simone Troy in 1960's.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/i/b/1/q/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505449349931.png)
Simone Troy in the 1960s. Photo: Supplied
Night after night her Playgirls Revue, which the former Les Girls dancer formed back in 1975 with fellow showgirl Monique St John, would be packing 'em in, the pair putting on a show that combined a bit of glamour, plenty of titillation and bawdy jokes, and enough sparkle to liven up even the most sedate country bingo hall.
And the crowds, mostly husbands and wives, were in awe, largely because much of the show's appeal was the fascination with the two stunning women, who had been born male.
"It was a very different time, we had to deal with the cops, we had to deal with prejudice, we were treated very badly ... it's not like we could get a job behind the counter at a shop ... but Simone I always admired, she was tough. She went out and took control of her future ... at a time when women were not meant to do that, let alone trans women," lifelong friend and fellow showgirl Carlotta told PS this week, just days after Simone Troy died of pancreatic cancer, aged 71.
"But behind the tough facade she was one of the most caring and generous people you could ever hope to meet."
![Carlotta and Simone Troy.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/i/b/2/l/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505449375081.png)
Golden Girls, Carlotta and Simone Troy. Photo: Supplied
Carlotta first met Simone Troy when she started dancing with Les Girls in 1964, having joined the troupe after working in a hair salon in Kings Cross.
While Simone Troy, Monique St John and Carlotta were very much considered showbiz curiosities back in the 1960s, they were part of a much larger community of transgender artists treading the boards at various venues in Sydney. For the vast majority of the performers, making a living as a "female impersonator" did not provide for a secure future.
But that was not the case for Simone Troy, who invested her earnings into a sizeable property portfolio, which included a luxury home at Lurline Bay, famous for its swimming pool with "Simone" boldly emblazoned across its tiled bottom. In her later years she would also provide homes for many of her "sisters" in the business.
While Carlotta carved a career in the mainstream media, Simone Troy continued to work the clubs she knew so well.
Her chauffeur would drive her across Sydney, from Darlinghurst's Taxi Club to The Newtown Hotel, so she could perform, with a bottle of scotch ready and waiting on the back seat for her between shows.
She was fiercely territorial too. On one occasion she drove out to a club in Granville in full hair and make-up where a rival act was using the name Playgirl Revue. Legend has it she warned the impostors to take down the sign and change their name or she would return and "burn the joint down"! They complied.
![Simone Troy in her heyday.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/i/b/1/x/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505449355004.png)
Simone Troy in her heyday. Photo: Supplied
At another gig she accidently mistook a Serbian club as being a Croatian venue and proceeded to make jokes at the expense of the Serbs. As the heckles grew louder she hurriedly went backstage, her boa dropping feathers in her wake, to tell her troupe of dancers to pack their things and run for the back door, sensing her encore performance might not go down quite so well.
Her last years she spent in semi-retirement living in a grand home on the Gold Coast, just down the road from Carlotta and Monique St John. The three "golden girls" still had a bit of show left in them too, making quite an impression on the locals during their weekly coffee dates at Pacific Fair.
Matty J suits up for the office
To fans of The Bachelor, he is simply the shirtless adonis "Matty J", but around the offices of David Koch's Pinstripe Media in Sydney's CBD, the hunky reality television star is very much the be-suited Matt Johnson, account manager, having recently taken up a position with the Sunrise' host's marketing firm.
![Matty J had to choose between Laura and Elise in the finale of The Bachelor.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/g/x/y/0/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505431580296.png)
Matty J had to choose between Laura and Elise in the finale of The Bachelor. Photo: Supplied
He was still fronting up to work this week, though he was using a variety of ingenious excuses to evade attention when leaving the building.
Meanwhile Sydney has become home to the most Bachelor contestants ever in recent weeks, with Matty J's also-ran Elise Stacy moving into a new home about 30 seconds' walk from Matty J's Bondi pad, which might be a little too close for comfort given he chose Laura Byrne.
Talk about awkward!
Indeed it would seem the freshly minted reality television stars are attempting to maximise their 15 minutes of fame, positioning themselves in the most likely paparazzi zones around town.
John Symond sails into Monte Carlo
All roads lead to Monte Carlo this weekend for John Aussie Symond's 70th birthday celebrations, reportedly costing the otherwise savvy businessman a staggering $10 million.
![Birthday boy John Symond celebrating 70th in style.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170919052448im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/y/g/v/c/g/image.imgtype.articleLeadwide.620x349.png/1505290717937.png)
Birthday boy John Symond celebrating 70th in style. Photo: Jane Dyson
The four-day "extravaganza" will see the likes of Justin Hemmes and Neville Crichton joining 200 other guests being put up at the seriously swanky Hotel Hermitage, where rooms range from $600 to $45,000 a night. Eek!
The Sydney posse will be ferried to his new $100 million private cruise ship Hasna which is moored just off the coast for what has been dubbed "The Grand Voyage", though hopefully without the Titanic ending.