Off the Record: Meet the girl named after one of OTR's favourite beaches

WHAT’S IN A NAME? It took 14 years, but Queensland girl Cheyne Mollard finally got to touch the pristine white sands of the beach that inspired her name. Last week, Cheyne and her family reached our stretch of the Australian coastline as they ticked over the 40,000km mark on their around-Australia camping odyssey. Cheyne, 14, had been hearing about Cheynes Beach for as long as she could remember. This was the mythical place her parents, Tina and Stephen, assured her was the best in the entire country — so good that they would name their first-born child in its honour. That’s a fair bit of pressure. So, after that first visit in 2006, did it live up to the hype? Off the Record spoke to Tina on Monday, as her Brisbane-based family continued their epic journey after leaving Cape Le Grand National Park. “We were so pleased to drive down that road and realise nothing had changed in all of that time,” Ms Mollard said. “This is our second lap around Australia and everywhere else you go, it’s been developed. “The sun came out while we were there and we just had the best four days ever and now my daughter understands why we went on and on about it. “It’s definitely still our No. 1 spot.” By this point in the conversation, OTR was feeling a distinct sense of pride of place. Here was someone who has tracked Australia’s coastline — twice — and seemed eager to shower our humble slice of paradise with praise. It would be rude to get in the way of that. The next question for Ms Mollard: Why is Cheynes Beach still No. 1? “It’s because it’s so secluded and it’s so remote and so untouched by any form of development really,” she said. “And the water, especially out at Back Beach, it’s something we’ve never seen — the sand is so white and the water just so blue. “Luckily this time the children got to see the whales so it was just amazing. We saw them from the rock. “My husband was actually fishing from the rocks at one point and he thought a whale was coming over to him but, lo and behold, a big seal popped up and looked at him.” Now, there is one awkward matter OTR must discuss. On arrival at Cheynes Beach last week, the Mollards realised they had got the wrong end of the stick with the pronunciation of Cheynes Beach. They had always thought it was pronounced “Cheyn-ey”. When others had pronounced her name “Cheyne” over the years, they were quick to correct them. Ms Mollard admitted she “felt a bit silly” when she was told there was no “ey” sound on the end of it, but it did not take away from their love of their name nor the place. It turns out she and her husband have a second child — another daughter named after another beach. Bonny, 12, was named after their second favourite beach in Bonny Hills, NSW. Unfortunately, a return trip to Bonny Hills revealed that the beach had been developed, losing some of its charm in the process. That leaves Cheynes Beach in first place with daylight back to second. The Mollards are now on the long trip home to Brisbane, but if they ever return, they hope Cheynes Beach is just as perfect as the day they left.