When Gavin Morris started reading weather charts as a teenager, he had no idea it would lead him to where he is now.

Driven by his love of surfing, the Woodberry youngster wanted to know what day would be best to jump on a train to Newcastle to ride some waves. 

“I’d get the [local paper] and I used to go to the weather page to learn how to read the synoptic chart,” he said. 

“I was trying to understand because I was catching the train and up in the Valley it was a westerly wind and the skies were blue but I’d get down here and it was a southerly, totally different and I thought I need to understand because I am blowing my hard-earned milk money on the train ride and it was totally pointless.

“Then Des Hart (former NBN News weatherman) came to my school – he was the first person from television that I ever met – and I got his weather book and it started from there.”

His thirst to understand the atmosphere continued to get stronger when he sailed halfway around the world on a 100-year-old square rigger. 

Gavin boarded the ship in Scotland and then travelled across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to New York. 

Now, his weather obsession is driven by his love of paragliding. 

During his years in New York, Gavin says he was “infatuated with knowledge and news” about weather and the world in general.

“It was actually my best friend in New York that said ‘you know what, you’d be a great weatherman, the way you explain it you make it interesting and I can understand it’,” he said. 

What started as an “incredible hobby” led to jobs with National Geographic, ESPN and NBC, but after the 9/11 attacks he returned to Australia and got a job with the Weather Channel.  

“Then I went and spent time with the Bureau of Meteorology in Melbourne and gained more accreditation and became senior forecaster at the channel,” he said. 

After these life-changing experiences, Gavin scored what he describes as the “best job in television” at NBN News. 

He’s worked at the studio for almost 13 years, but local weatherman and presenter are just two of the roles he now plays.

Together with his fiancé Sari Kelana, the proud Novocastrian recently welcomed one-month-old Ellie Jade to the world. 

He says being a father to little Ellie as well as his 16-year-old son Phoenix is “unreal”. 

“There’s a huge advantage to being an older Dad because you’ve done it before and it’s not as overwhelming,” he said. 

“I’ve always wanted the pigeon pair, I wanted them back-to-back but it’s actually pretty good having this gap.”

And, while one minute he is changing nappies and the other he is driving his son to a job interview, he is thoroughly enjoying the full spectrum of parenting.

Even though it will be a balancing act juggling fatherhood with his new role on the news desk, with support from his family Gavin says he is ready for the next part of his life. 

“We’ve spoken about it a lot and we’re ready for it,” he said. 

“Sari is an amazing woman and she knows it is going to be challenging as any young mum does but we’re all good with it and I’ve spoken to my son, we’ve all had big conversations.”

His return, however, is tinged with a bit of sadness after Paul Lobb’s shock departure.

“I had a cry with Lobby on the phone, I was upset, like we all were,” he said. 

“When they were telling me I was thinking ‘this is a bombshell moment [but] I am listening to some of the smartest minds in Australian television and all I can do is trust them’.”

However, Gavin was fully prepared for the backlash that came with the decision.

“It’s harsh but I knew it was coming,” he said. 

“It’s understandable; I mean this community has this connection to NBN and they’re angry.

“They went through all of the emotions and naturally you always lash out at the closest person to you, and I was the closest person to Lobby and I have taken the role and it was totally expected.

“There is no easy way to go through this process.”

Moving forward, he knows exactly what he needs to do. 

“All I can do is do my best and live up to the legacy of NBN,” he told Newcastle Weekly. 

“Stick with us, it’s going to be a big year of change and growth but what is coming is actually really exciting.”

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