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Returning to climbing after 29 YEARS! 23-Dec-2014 At 10:48:54 PM deep Van Winkle

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Thanks for the background.
Holy dooley, I just noticed 1958 1st ascents on the Rhum Dhu by you, that's practically when I was born. Although I met NSW climbers all over Australia I only ever climbed in the Sydney/Bluies area once. On a trip in mid '76 as the late Col Reece's apprentice, I visited the East Coast for the first time. After being rained out of the Bungles we hit Sydney where over a few days Mike Law took us to the Manly seacliffs, Lindfield rocks, the Wolgan Valley and Mt Piddington.
At Piddo Mikl led me up Tombstone Wall 15 for my first taste of Bluies sandstone. I noticed that his kernmantel rope was somewhat stiff and I wasn't sure if it had been white originally or faded to that shade, also when given a snappy bend it sent up a little dust cloud. Anyway I pushed any concerns aside and started following up confident in the the knowledge that I was accompanying someone who generated vast amounts of column space in Thrutch's new developments sections. About halfway up I started to hesitate a bit wondering whether pulling on small sandstone holds in the carefree manner I was accustomed to on Araps quartzite was a good idea. A slightly concerned Mikl leant over the top and informed me that it was probably allright but maybe best if I didn't actually come onto the rope as it was Ewbank's old one and from whom he had purchased it. Needless to say I made sure I didn't come off anything that day.
He probably didn't use it for hard new routes but reserved it especially for visiting interstaters, say when he had them on some seacliff sandbag fighting back terror he could compound it by saying "Oh by the way regarding the rope it might be best if you ...."