Whenever Mara Ellerton would visit Swansea author George Boyd to talk about local history, she was well aware that time would drift away.
"I would drop in for five minutes and come out two hours later, after listening to the stories he would tell," Mrs Ellerton, from the Heritage of East Lake Macquarie (HELM) group, said. "They just flowed."
Swansea lost its renowned storyteller on Friday.
George Boyd died, after being diagnosed with esophageal cancer less than three months ago. He was aged 84.
More than tell the stories of Swansea and record its history, George Boyd was part of the lakeside town's story.
"I think he was very proud [to be a Boyd], and I was very proud," said his wife of 40 years, Noelene. "To think we were here from the beginning [of European settlement in Swansea], and we've been here ever since."
George Boyd's great grandfather, Captain Thomas Boyd, brought the first European settlers to Swansea in his ship, Ann, in 1853. Then he and his family put down roots in Swansea.
Captain Boyd remained connected to the water. He was the first pilot at Swansea Heads, guiding mariners into and out of the channel, and he was a shipbuilder, helping pioneer a new industry by the lake.
For the Boyds, shipbuilding became a family industry. Thomas Boyd's son, James Lewis Boyd, built about 200 vessels on Swansea's shores. He had a shipyard on the town's western edge. During the Second World War, the yard built 24 ships for the US Navy.
More than being a hub of industry, the yard was a playground for young George and his mates.
"We'd go down and play 'pirates' on the boats," recalled John Craig, a childhood friend of George Boyd and later a well-known rugby league player for Lakes United.
The local kids learnt to swim in the deeper water off the shipyard, where the finished vessels would slide into the lake. It was known at Boydie's Hole.
When he left school, George Boyd worked for his grandfather in the shipyard. When James Lewis Boyd died in 1951, his grandson helped complete the last vessel, a trawler, to be built in the family's yard.
In that place, more than vessels took shape; so did George Boyd's interest in the history of Swansea and local maritime heritage.
"He just loved his grandfather and listening to all the stories; that's probably where it all began," Noelene Boyd said.
While he worked as a miner, George Boyd's passion for history had him burrowing into the lake's past. He interviewed older Swansea residents, recording their reminiscences for the local school's centenary celebrations in 1975.
After that, he continued to collect local stories. George and Noelene Boyd researched and wrote five local history books, and he also paid tribute to his grandfather, writing a biography of James Lewis Boyd.
George Boyd was a foundation member of the East Lake Macquarie Historical Society, before he joined HELM.
All the while, George Boyd wanted to share what he and Noelene had learnt about Swansea's past.
"As George said, he didn't do it to hide it away," said Noelene Boyd.
Mara Ellerton said she learnt a lot from the Boyds.
"I count myself as the apprentice, Noelene is the encyclopedia, and George was the set of encyclopedias," said Mrs Ellerton. "He knew everything and everyone."
In this time of very small funerals due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no public service for George Boyd. But perhaps in the future a memorial will be created for him in his hometown.
In 2006, George Boyd was instrumental in bringing recognition to his grandfather, with the naming of the James L. Boyd Reserve in Swansea.
Friends and family hope history can be repeated, and the grandson's name will be honoured locally.
"I would love that, if that would happen," Noelene Boyd said. "I think he deserves it.
"I've lost my best friend, and this area has lost an icon really."
For the time being, George Boyd's memory remains in the books he wrote, and in the knowledge that he shared with a lake community that he loved.
"He had great knowledge of this area," said John Craig. "We've lost some of that, but fortunately we've got the books.
"The history of Swansea that he's compiled, that will live on, that's his legacy."
