A Noosa man has decided to ditch the dating apps and look for love the old school way, through an ad in Noosa Today Newspaper.
He’s well traveled and educated, a home owner and Noosa local for 38 years. With limited information on the note, I was interested to know more about his story.
“I’ve mucked around on dating apps for about 10 years and I’m not a fan. There’s a lot of people dissatisfied with internet dating these days,” the man said.
I spoke to Patrick Roach, 68, while he watched a surfing competition on the television.
“I’ve been connected with the Noosa Festival of Surfing for a long time. I don’t have much to do with it now as my son is all grown up,” he said.
Oh, so your son is a surfer then? I naively asked.
“He won the World Championship, the year before last, and he’s been on the front page of your paper a couple times,” Patrick replied.
If you’re as useless as me at recognising surnames, he’s the proud father of Noosa’s longboard superstar Harrison Roach.
Harry will get a good laugh out of this story, Patrick says, along with his daughter in Coolum.
“Long before your time, that’s what you used to do,” he said, about placing an ad in the paper.
“It’s nothing new. Because there was no way to meet people in those days unless you went down to the local pub.”
When he first arrived in Noosa in 1986, Patrick said to his now ex-wife ‘Where do you want to live?’ and she decided on Noosa. “Well, let’s go,” he said.
“She wondered about a job and I said ‘don’t worry, I’ll find something’,” Patrick recalled.
He’s had so many jobs since then that he can only remember half of them.
“For example in 1975, I was a chauffeur butler to a millionaire. I learnt a lot through that and then I traveled through Europe and the USA before I got married and I ended up on Hayman Island,” he said.
Before he reached the island, Patrick became a model in Brisbane.
“You used to get $25 an hour back in 1981 and it was good money,” he said.
“When I arrived in Hayman Island, I had just done a photo-shoot for a sex book. And the ad ended up on the back of 300 buses in Brisbane. And then it made the papers.”
While he’s now retired, Patrick owned about 10 or 11 small businesses in Noosa over the past 25 years.
With some free time on his hands, Patrick’s looking for a companion to enjoy the river and beaches with.
“I read a lot, do a bit of fishing, go to the movies, and watch a lot of sports on TV,” he said.
Patrick’s looking for someone who’s well-traveled, and is financially independent.
“Anywhere from my age to 10 years younger, I don’t really mind. And somebody who’s a good conversationalist. That’s a number one priority,” he said.
If you’re in the Noosa area and looking for love, call Patrick on 0411529051.
