Originally from Havre, a small town in France about the same size as Darwin, Maxime Campart came to Australia at the age of 24 as a backpacker.
Starting in Sydney, with just a cursory command of English, he spent two months in the big smoke before buying the cheapest air ticket he could find. He landed in Cairns.
With savings running low, Maxime was desperate to find a job. He took a position as an Italian cook in the Torres Strait. It was another world. He learnt to speak English from a parakeet named Frank.
After a few months he went travelling through Asia and was on his way back to Cairns when the plane landed in Darwin. He stepped off the plane, collected his bags and in a classic Darwin sliding doors moment, decided not to check in for the flight to Cairns. Instead, he took a cab into Darwin city and spent his first night at a backpacker party on Mitchell Street.
Working as a bartender at the famous Cha restaurant, Maxime met his wife, Rebecca. They’ve been happily married for eight years.
Maxime has just started a new venture in Darwin, Pokè Ola. It’s a Hawaiian fusion food outlet that focuses on the freshest seasonal ingredients of the day.
This is Maxime’s Territory Story.
