Australia and Pentax - frustration (whinge)

[David Nelson]

G'day,
   You may remember my problem with my *ist D, where the pop-up flash 
seemed to seize the camera's operations. After more of a fiddle I reckon 
that the problem probably indeed resides in the flash, or whatever 
mechanism charges and gives flash information to the main body. I never 
got the flash to fire but the shutter would release if I set the option 
of 'release shutter when flash is charging'.
So, took the camera in to Australia's distributors (C.R. Kennedy, 
pyrmont office), who took it off my hands (should be gone for  around 3 
weeks! Argh!). While I was there I asked if I could perhaps see some 
pentax gear. For some reason I thought the distributors might stock some 
equipment! Huh! (actually, they said they used to, but got cleaned out 
by burglars a couple of years ago)
Then visited a couple of largish camera shops in the city (Ted's and 
Fletchers), to see what they had. Camera deprivation had set in now and 
I was desperate! Yet again, I saw practically nothing - a few *ist Ds 
and film SLRS, one 18-35, the af360, but that's about all! The highlight 
was pretty much having a look at the sigma 12-24mm.
Soooo! That's about the end of my whinge... oh wait - one more thing - 
to top it all off the meter on my K1000 has seized up!
Okay I think that's about it. Perhaps something constructive can come 
out of this topic anyway - I was wondering whether any of the Aus 
PDMLers can recommend a way to see some pentax gear. I think Melbourne 
CRK is the base - do they have a range of pentax gear? Any shops around 
that stock some? Is the world's driest inhabited continent totally 
pentax-equipment free?

...won't go outside won't look around won't admire the light won't make 
the pain of cameralessness more...
(-:

David